Page 50 of Tainted Souls
“My friends would say I’m embracing the monster,” he says quietly, falling into step beside me.
“Your friends aren’t here,” I remind him, more snappily than I intended. “And they’re not the ones living this.”
“You’re right.”
I sling my backpack more securely, smirking. “Go again?”
After a couple of practice sprints, the tunnel widens into a natural cavern. The first specks of daylight spill through a narrow opening in the ceiling, illuminating crystalline formations that glitter like stars. The exit is near, revealing a lush forest outside.
This chamber, with its proximity to the surface, is perfect. No wild vampires lurk today—a fact that frustrated me during the bounty hunt with Faye the other day—but now the emptiness feels like a small gift.
I slide my backpack to the ground and remove the blanket, spreading it across a smooth section of cave floor, away from the shaft of sunlight streaming through from above.
“Watch out for those light spots,” I caution, pointing to where the sunbeams touch the ground. “They’ll burn you.”
But Max’s hand is already there, his fingertips passing through the light. He jerks back with a hiss of pain as the skin on his fingers reddens and smolders.
“Shit!” He cradles his hand against his chest. “That really hurts!”
I sigh, retrieving a bloda from my backpack. “I tried to warn you.”
“Curiosity killed the cat,” he says, making us both laugh. “I figured since it can’t technically kill me, it can’t be that bad.”
“Well, there’s a reason why that boundary is never crossed.” I gently take his burned hand in mine, the blisters already healing. “Once the sun touches you for long enough to truly burn, which is usually after five seconds, give or take, you become paralyzed. Your body locks up and becomes completely immobile, while your skin continues to sear until sunset.”
His eyes widen with horror. “You mean I’d be conscious the entire time?”
I nod, keeping my voice calm despite the gravity of what I’m telling him. “The pain is excruciating. My friends described it as being flayed alive, layer by layer, for hours. That’s why most vampires caught in the sun don’t survive. Not because sunlight kills them, but because they’re helpless until nightfall. Even if you survive past that point, depending on how long you’ve been burning, healing could take days.”
Sitting down, I arrange everything picnic-style on the blanket. Max stands at the edge of it, watching me with an unreadable expression.
“Do you do this often?” he asks, catching a bloda I throw at him.
“Not exactly this, picnic and all,” I admit, “but I know these caves are safe havens for vampires during the day.”
He snaps the can open reluctantly. “I still can’t believe this is my life now.”
“I know,” I say softly, patting the space beside me, “but you’re not alone.”
He sits down next to me, sipping the bloda with a grimace. “This tastes… artificial.”
“Better than the alternative,” I point out, pouring us a glass of wine.
“That’s true,” he says with a chill.
As we snack, the tension slowly ebbs from Max’s shoulders. He begins asking questions about vampire physiology, the hidden parts of Penn City, and how his life will change. I answer as honestly as I can, neither sugarcoating the challenges nor dwelling on the negatives.
“I won’t age anymore, huh?” Max stares at his hands, trying to fully grasp his new reality.
I give him a reassuring smile. “No.”
He contemplates this, rolling the empty can between his palms.
“What about you? How fast do dhampirs age? Faster than vampires, slower than humans, right?”
We’ve gone over this specific topic before, but I understand the nuance is different for him now.
“Probably.” I shrug, still unsure myself. Aside from my brother and me, no records of any other dhampirs exist, so no one really knows. Decades might pass before there’s any changes, or there may not be changes at all.
