The first thing Adrian learned was that vampire senses were overwhelming.
He could hear mice in the walls, birds in trees miles away, the whisper of wind through grass. He could smell everything—the distinct scent of every person in the valley below, the age of the wood in the monastery, the minerals in the mountain rock.
And the hunger. Always the hunger, a constant presence at the back of his mind, whispering that blood was near, blood was available, blood would satisfy.
"Focus," Kieran instructed, standing in front of him in the monastery courtyard. "Choose one sense and concentrate on it. Block out the rest."
"How?" Everything was so loud, so bright, so intense.
"Start with sight. Look at me. Only me. Let everything else blur."
Adrian tried. It was like trying to focus on a single instrument in an orchestra—possible, but requiring immense concentration. Slowly, the world around Kieran faded, becoming background noise.
"Good," Kieran praised. "Now expand slowly. Add hearing. Just my heartbeat."
"You don't have a heartbeat."
"Then listen to my breathing. My movement. The sound of my voice."
Adrian did, and gradually, the world became manageable. Still overwhelming, but no longer crushing.
"It gets easier," Kieran promised. "After a few months, filtering will become automatic. You'll barely notice you're doing it."
"Months?"
"You're immortal now. Months are nothing."
The concept of immortality hadn't fully sunk in yet. Adrian looked at his hands—pale now, the same marble-white as Kieran's—and tried to comprehend that these hands would never age, never weaken, never die.
"I'm really immortal," he said, awed.
"Really immortal," Kieran confirmed. "How does it feel?"
"Terrifying. Exhilarating. Strange." Adrian looked up at him. "I can see you differently now. I can see... everything. Every micro-expression, every movement. You're beautiful."
Kieran's expression softened. "So are you. You've always been beautiful, but now..." He reached out, cupping Adrian's face. "Now you're eternal. Preserved at twenty, forever young, forever perfect."
"I don't feel perfect. I feel hungry."
"That's normal. New vampires are always hungry. You'll need to feed every day for the first month, then it will taper to every few days." Kieran pulled out his phone. "I have donors arranged—humans who volunteer to feed vampires in exchange for payment and protection. Ethical feeding."
"Wait, there are human volunteers?"
"Surprisingly, yes. Some enjoy it—the vampire bite releases endorphins, makes feeding pleasurable for both parties. Others do it for money. Either way, it's consensual." Kieran pulled up a contact list. "I have three regular donors in Shanghai. We'll start with them, teach you to feed without killing."
"What if I can't stop? What if I drain them?"
"I'll stop you. The first few feedings, I'll be right there, ready to pull you away if you lose control." Kieran's voice was gentle. "I won't let you become a killer, Adrian. I promise."
They practiced control exercises for hours. Kieran would cut himself—his vampire blood healing almost instantly—and Adrian had to resist the urge to drink. It was torture, every instinct screaming at him to feed, but Kieran's presence helped ground him.
"You're doing well," Kieran said after Adrian successfully resisted for a full minute. "Better than I did. I attacked my teacher within the first day."
"What happened?"
"He staked me and left me to heal. Painful lesson, but effective." Kieran smiled at Adrian's horrified expression. "Don't worry. I won't stake you. I have more patience."
That evening, they tested Adrian's physical abilities.
"Jump," Kieran instructed.
Adrian jumped and found himself on the monastery roof twenty feet above. "Holy shit!"
"Vampire strength and agility. You can jump higher, run faster, lift more than any human. But it takes practice to control. Most new vampires break things constantly because they don't know their own strength."
To demonstrate, Adrian accidentally crushed a stone in his hand, reducing it to powder. "Oops."
"Exactly. For the next few weeks, touch everything gently. Assume you can break it, because you probably can."
They practiced combat next. Kieran moved with his usual liquid grace, and Adrian tried to match him. His new vampire body responded with speed and power that would have been impossible as a human, but he was still clumsy, uncoordinated.
"Your brain is still learning to operate your new body," Kieran explained, easily dodging Adrian's attack. "It will take time. Muscle memory has to be rebuilt."
Adrian lunged again, and this time Kieran caught him, pulling him close. "But you're fast. Faster than most new vampires I've trained."
"Is that good?"
"Very good. It means you'll be able to defend yourself sooner." Kieran's hand slid up to cup the back of Adrian's neck. "And it means when we spar, you'll actually be a challenge."
"When we spar? You mean like now?"
"Now you're learning basics. When we spar, I won't hold back. I'll fight you like an enemy." Kieran's eyes flashed red. "It will be violent and bloody and exciting. I'm looking forward to it."
Adrian shivered, arousal mixing with anticipation. "You like fighting."
"I like fighting with you. There's a difference." Kieran leaned in, his lips brushing Adrian's ear. "But first, you need control. Because when we spar, when we fight, when I pin you down and make you submit... I need to know you won't lose control and try to kill me."
"I would never—"
"Your vampire instincts might. The predator in you might see me as a threat, as competition. You need to learn to control those instincts before we can play." Kieran pulled back, his eyes still red. "And we will play. Soon."
Adrian's fangs descended involuntarily, his body responding to the promise in Kieran's voice. "How soon?"
"A few weeks. Maybe a month. When you can feed without my supervision, when you can control your strength, when you can think past the bloodlust." Kieran kissed him softly. "Patience, little vampire. Eternity is long. We have time."