"Could it really be possible for your life to depend on one person?" wondered the woman in charge of watching over Rey as the transport passed through the temple's underground entrance. "Yes, because the one who could bring my life to an end is this very individual."
Far from the cameras and surveillance devices used by humans, the staff said goodbye to Roman and, each taking the boy assigned to her, headed off in different directions.
"Lía." Roman stopped the woman he trusted most—the one carrying the white-eyed boy in her arms. "I trust you'll do a good job. Maybe it wouldn't hurt if you let all your selfishness out."
The elderly man turned and walked away until he vanished from her sight, leaving her with a tangle of feelings she couldn't quite name. In a situation like this, it would have been natural to be told the opposite.
"All my selfishness," she echoed under her breath.
Still cradling the limp body of the "one fallen from the sky" in her arms, Lía made her way to the medical center of the complex, the place where she held the most authority. After making sure no one had seen her, she slipped into a room that was supposed to be an operating theater. The space was wide and clean, equipped to treat more than three patients in critical condition at the same time.
Carefully, Lía laid Rey's body on the main table and began preparing the instruments she would need for the decontamination. In the room, besides her and the unconscious boy, there was one more presence—an object that did not breathe but still made its own distinctive sound. Hanging on the wall, always punctual, the circular mechanism never failed when its hands pointed to three o'clock, on a moon where the day was divided into sixteen hours.
Once she finished her preparations and stepped back up to the table, she thought, "I remember the day I decided to change, to suppress my selfishness and act selflessly for others. But what does that even mean? Just because someone gives me permission doesn't mean I should betray my principles."
Lía didn't understand why she couldn't control her own body, which was already seizing on the chance offered by solitude, silence, and darkness to start misbehaving. "Am I really about to relapse? After all these years of behaving myself, how can I allow myself to sink so low and break my promise? I disgust me." She continued her inner monologue as if she were scolding herself, already repentant and disappointed by what she planned to do, acting as though she had already done it.
"When do you know that what you're doing isn't morally right?" Lía asked herself, then immediately gave the answer engraved in her mind: "When you feel you have to hide it from everyone else in order to do it. Is that the reason I feel so guilty?"
"Yes and no at the same time," she answered her own question. "I'm hiding in the dark because I have to. If my contact with this being from another world becomes public, my life will end in an instant. Does Roman know that's how it will be—and that this is technically my last meal? My last chance to enjoy my life?"
Before starting the decontamination procedure, Lía waited until the dead of night, as if she were gathering up her resolve. She was afraid of being discovered and executed, but at that exact moment she felt even more guilty about the way her own body was reacting. The uncertainty of not knowing whether, once she began the decontamination, she would be able to stop herself from doing something even more deplorable gnawed at her. After all, she belonged to the temple of the amorous arts as much as she belonged to the medical staff.
"In case something happens," she told herself silently as she moved to lock the doors and turn off the lights, like someone preparing to commit a crime. "If the most unexpected thing comes knocking at my door, I'll find myself at the center of a situation impossible to explain."
Tick, tock… tick… tock, went the clock in the darkness.
Even after taking every precaution not to be caught, Lía still hesitated to act—not because she fully grasped that her actions crossed every line of norms, values, and beliefs tolerated in the society she belonged to, nor because she might lose the comfortable job she held, or even her own life; though not necessarily in that order.
Another doubt invaded her mind: "If he were to open his eyes, I'd have to take action then… wouldn't I?" Lía was one of those who believed that if bad things were to be done, they had to be done properly.
"No! I refuse to accept this as a relapse!" she told herself with an indignant look, her breathing shallow, ready to withdraw and complete her task without further preparation or detours. "For some reason, he feels different from the others. Even in his vulnerable state, he is someone I don't want to play with, someone I don't want to use, and definitely someone I don't want to make my slave. I mean, if I truly intend to be selfish."
Minutes passed, and despite having decided not to do anything she might regret, the doctor was touching and massaging the penis of the body she was supposed to be bathing and decontaminating. A body whose consciousness was being suppressed by some circumstance.
Doctor—that's what they called her, since Lía held the most authority in a center dedicated to curing and preventing diseases, should they occur; what else could they call her? Regardless of the academic knowledge she possessed or the accreditations provided by the current government, calling her anything else would be incorrect. She was also obligated to offer her body in exchange for money, if requested by those who didn't want to end up in hell.
"If he wakes up, I'll run. I don't think he'd be conscious enough to identify this as reality. A fleeting wet dream… that will be the justification I can give him," the girl convinced herself.
"If I label these kinds of events as 'relapses,' can I call this compulsive search for pleasure an addiction?" Another question arose in her mind: "When I seek momentary pleasure, knowing full well I'll regret it in the future, what are those guilts and regrets that await me? Yes, I know I'll have them, but can't I take measures to avoid them?"
"He has nothing to do with this; the problem is me," Lía declared aloud. She was trembling, sweating coldly, yet she brought her head closer to the flaccid organ she was holding in her hand. "I am responsible for my actions, but I can't turn back, even though I want to more than anything. I know this is the best moment. Perhaps the only one, to feel no guilt in the future; maybe it's good for me not to think so much about what I'm doing. On the other hand, to prevent him from waking up and me having to run, I could inject him with a sedative, a drug that leaves no trace, but I won't do it, because a part of me wants him to wake up. Why? Do I desire to amplify the feeling of rage and guilt?"
She smelled it while confronting her insecurities. Lía was dying to lick the exposed glans before her, intending to make its owner feel good. A sleeping person isn't aware of what happens to their body, and even if they were, they wouldn't be fully so. Regardless of it being a violation, to her, taking advantage of someone incapacitated was like working to remain unrecognized. Doing something that makes people feel good and gives them happiness, without them knowing they felt good or experienced happiness, was an emptiness akin to returning a fortune in money found on the street and only receiving the hollow thanks of someone who isn't the owner. More or less like saving the life of an unconscious person and having someone else thank you.
"No! I am not who I promised to be. It's not my body or my selfishness; it's my ambition that's responsible for all this. But from the beginning, I was reacting to the presence of this situation." Raising her gaze and peering through the gloom, Lía saw Rey's face. "Román is the one to blame for my actions. Otherwise, how would I have left that temple? How could I have noticed a 'fallen from the sky'? How could I pay attention to someone I don't even know? How could my body grow damp and react to a creature whose masculine features aren't fully formed? All because he put me in this situation, despite there being hundreds of other 'Damares' in that temple."
"It is more than just the dangerously convenient situation," Lía confessed to herself with intrigued eyes. "Even though I would have preferred to stay with the vampire, this one's visual aspect is far more striking. In his scent, in the energy he emits, in every scar, in every fold, in every line and curve of his skin, there is something that stirs hope in me. Ever since I placed my hand over his eyes and calmed him, I felt released from an immense burden, as if he had accepted me."
Kneeling at the edge of the table, Lía moved her head and parted her thin, pale lips. Despite having her tongue out, mere millimeters from making contact with what she so desperately wanted to lick, taste, and swallow, she still hesitated. She even pulled back for an instant. "This is wrong. I can't keep justifying myself and making others out to be the cause of my problem. I can't allow myself this relapse once more. I must admit I have lost much from not even being able to save myself from this situation I plunged into. There's still time. I am strong, I know."
Biting and tasting the index finger of her right hand—the one that had touched the young man's member—she decided to spread her legs with her left hand, remove the panties she was wearing, and stimulate in a circular motion the pleasure button nestled between. With this gesture, she tried to restrain herself by all means possible. She was determined not to let herself go, and after finishing in an orgasmic explosion that cleared her thoughts, she took a wet sponge and began to wash her patient's body with the intention of sanitizing him and demonstrating that she was in control of her own actions.
Under an ever-burning moon, the clock read five minutes past three in the morning.
"Selfish!" Lía shouted at herself.
In the middle of her task, she had let go of the sponge meant for cleaning, bathing, and disinfecting, to once again stimulate her sex and even take the liberty of grabbing the young man's member and smearing it with the oral fluids she had on the tip of her tongue.
The point of no return. Lia knew full well she had already passed it, and all that remained was to continue, to satisfy her desires so she could return to being the clear, reserved, and composed person she was.
Committing fully, the more she pushed herself to rouse the flaccid member with the suction from her fine lips, the more guilty she felt about it.
"Grrr!" she protested reluctantly. How could I say I am any different from my father's blood? Even after finishing this deplorable act, I won't be satisfied. My actions will culminate in wanting to conquer him, to make him my slave, to manipulate him from the shadows. Fallen from heaven, tell me, be honest—how long will you last before my personality breaks you?
This ecstasy... I've never felt it with anyone, Lia admitted, sliding her right hand between the young man's legs and parting them enough to advance her fingers into the space there. Despite having been with so many people, I never held such expectations for someone whose name I don't even know. Is it because you are far more dangerous? You know, fallen one, making a vampire or a werewolf into creatures that pose no problem, considering the situation and the times, is truly difficult. As difficult as saying they are ants and you are a tiger.
Remembering the emphasis Roman had placed on not uncovering the individual's eyes, she lifted her body above the table. Leaving the fingers of her right hand where she had embedded them, Lia was determined to clarify the doubt that was equally lodged in her thoughts. Something told her she could find the answer if she managed to see what her tutor had seen.
With her left hand, the curious girl opened the eyelids of the sleeping youth.
"Oh!" Neither hell, death, nor a thousand demons could have frightened Lia, not as much as those eyes frightened her. Weak and banal, with fire in their heart, seeing and feeling what was foretold in the future, she nearly lost her reason. I see them, I feel it, his eyes are piercing me. You are not a tiger; you are a dragon. A weapon that, if I can master it, will protect me from others and solve the problems I cannot, even if it means Belldewar comes crashing down, she told herself, after letting the eyelids close and placing a tender kiss upon them. Knowing this, I cannot afford to make the same mistake as stubborn hunters, those who end up lamenting when the prey they aimed to keep locked away escapes. Perhaps that is why Roman chose me.
Lia withdrew the fingers of her hand from where she had them, placed her hands on the edge of the metal table, breathed deeply, held the air for several seconds, and let her breath escape. She repeated this process once more, as if trying to regain control of her desperation, of the heart that wanted to leap from her chest, and of the feet that could no longer support her weight.
Be patient and wait, she told herself. I can finish my work, leave, and let him be the one to seek me out. That would mean I'd have to lie to him by pretending to be someone I'm not, all just to know who he is. Trying to manipulate him that way wouldn't help. No matter how good my story and my acting are, would it even be believable when the time comes? On the other hand, will he give himself to me when he sees this shattered body? Or when he realizes my true self is nothing more than a prison for those around me?
Guilt, sorrow, and sadness colored Lia's face. She thought too much, she was saddened, and yet, she moved her hands away from the table she was gripping and began to unbutton the major garments she wore. With her eyes closed, she remained with her breasts exposed, and then proceeded to undress completely.
The garments that had covered that feminine body were tossed to the side of the table, yet she was not entirely naked. Her skin was white, but it looked sickly, almost to the point of pallor, with reddish traces of infection along the embroidered seams she bore. Ignoring this, the symmetry of that feminine body, the curves of her breasts, her hips and thighs contrasted with the black of the shadows composing the room, and her arms and legs appeared slender.
Her back did not hold a slender posture, but a dispirited and hunched one. It was evident her figure had become less defined and curvaceous with the passing years, and the scars that were visible, like those on her back, seemed far more grotesque now than when they were mere wounds.
Though her body was clearly the vestige of a beautiful and enchanting vessel, one that in its time could captivate any onlooker regardless of distance, Lia's traits were not entirely human. Or rather, a human would not be capable of inflicting such things upon themselves.
Inflating her chest once more and holding the air, she stroked her nipples with the intention of hardening them, though they were covered by a patch of interlaced, finely embroidered threads meant to conceal what lay beneath.
With the additional stimulation from several pinches of her fingers, the nervous tension in the erogenous zone of Lia's nipples made the flesh harden and the tips protrude with an intimidating erection, making them appear more pleasing, though they weren't fully exposed.
"Without clothes, my lies are pathetic and vulnerable…" she said aloud, in a failed attempt to rouse the unconscious figure. "My body is composed of shameful scars. They mark this flesh that steals the freedom of those who have drawn near. Look," she continued, "wounds I inflicted upon this body reluctant to die." She kept pinching the tips of her nipples, but also ran her index finger along the border between what was flesh and what was not. "They form the finishing touches of the perfect trap for a man. The damsel in distress seeking someone to protect her. I must accept it, I am the same when I am desperate and seeking a way out. The innocence within me was extinguished forever. It is far too late to change."
In the darkness of the place, her eyes shone with an uncharacteristic blue. The naked doctor continued to caress the young man's exposed skin and watched the clock that seemed to move so slowly. She seemed to be waiting to be caught in her crime, in what she intended to do. Closing her eyes, she listened with her ears. If at any moment footsteps were heard in the hallway, or perhaps a call over the loudspeakers for another patient who might be getting up to use the bathroom, or anything else she heard would be enough for her to withdraw and stop her actions.
Tick… tock… the small machinery on the wall seemed to shout. The cold air moved through the ventilation grates, keeping the room climate-controlled at twenty degrees Celsius. The breeze passed exactly where no one walked, from the room, under the sliding door, escaping into the halls and continuing its path until it died, stagnant.
"Each second is an opportunity I have been giving myself," she sounded somewhat disappointed. "At this point, where I am naked, hot, and aroused, I am already willing to take the risk. I have no salvation, nor do you, unless you open your eyes and look at my exposed body. If you awaken from your sleep, perhaps we will stop following my game, or perhaps we will continue, but I will not feel guilty. Looking at your body, I realize we are not so different," said Lia, climbing onto her knees on the table to sit astride the young man. "The scars on your skin demonstrate the need you have had to survive. My skin says the same… If you wake up now, look at me and ask, I have no reason to feel ashamed! You know? Yes, I admit that, unlike you, I self-inflicted damage seeking small intervals of mental liberation, but just like you, I did it as the only means to fight and survive against my enemies: loneliness, rage, fury, the need for attention, insecurity, stress, and guilt."
Needing to feel another's body, wanting to merge with it, the doctor extracted her tongue and licked the patient's lips, as if she wanted to lift his skin. From his mouth, she moved down to his neck and came so close to biting Rey's skin that her fangs grazed the area.
For Lia, the exit from that situation—so promising of disaster and a bad ending—still had its doors open. She had undoubtedly lived many years and had also heard more than once that "There is always time to seek, repent, stop, and change. Everyone has the right to make mistakes, to be selfish from time to time. Erring does not make you a better or worse person; that depends on what you decide to do afterwards." But she was turning her back on that door.
"Come on!!" she demanded desperately of the unconscious body. "Awaken from your sleep and give yourself over to satisfying the pleasures of my flesh, my body and soul! Awaken and savor my body! Let us speak without having to use words. Listen to my movements and you will understand that I will always end up giving you pleasure in exchange for you making me feel happy."
After straightening up and letting her hair down, she turned on the bed and crouched over her patient's face, leaning forward. She acted like an uncontrolled beast in search of food. She was losing control of her actions as she stopped thinking. With her mouth, Lia once again swallowed the pleasure of the mundane, of what was morally forbidden, the intoxicating taste of the abyss's depths.
"With every taste I take of you, the more I feel you are the right one!" she said, though it was muffled with her mouth full. "The relief I feel at this moment, with your member inside my mouth, feels so nostalgic. I could eat it, devour it, and swallow it if I so wished. But I don't, because then I would have nothing left to play with, nothing to fill the emptiness of this body."
She brought her left hand between her sex and the face of the sleeping youth, moving it frenetically. The sepulchral silence of the dark room was contaminated by the indecent sound of wet, smacking noises.
"Can you even see all these fluids coming from me?!" she said, her eyes rolling back. Without stopping sucking the still-flaccid muscle of desire from the boy lying on the bed—"This feeling, this fire, this passion of dirtying your face…" Lia felt the fluids from her vagina trickling between her fingers. "Oh! Everything at this moment is perfect, and that perfection is what is controlling my body. No, it has stopped being perfect," she corrected herself, realizing they couldn't reach climax despite the high she was experiencing.
"I cannot conceive of being happy with less, I know it, I am not satisfied. I am like this, I was raised like this, and I grew up being like this. My selfishness knows no limits. Even so, knowing I am incapable of being happy no matter how much I have or will have, is it too much to ask that I want you inside me now? I'll give you everything you want, my body, my soul, my life," she pleaded. "I don't want to keep waiting to have you inside me. Don't you feel good when I have you in my mouth?" she said while making circular motions with her tongue. "I know it feels good when I touch you with my tongue, I do it so you'll grow big and hard for me. Mmm… if it doesn't get big, then you won't be able to enter me the way I want."
Having no choice but to use her imagination, she slid her fingers where the wetness flowed from. Lia imagined herself having sex, riding the body that lay there, reaching the climax of the moment.
Lia's breaths halted, diminished, and quieted. With a look of resignation, she lifted her body, freed the young man's member, and while savoring her lips, she took the opportunity to gather her hair as she climbed down from the bed, preparing to finish the work she had begun.
"This satisfaction is only temporary," she affirmed while covering her body with garments again. With little effort, she bent down and picked up her undergarments from the floor to put them on, even though they were wet.
"But thinking about it, I don't feel so dissatisfied after all," she said, almost finished with her cleanup, wiping her vaginal fluids from the small, closed-eyed face. "Ufff, I look at you and start fantasizing about the addictive pleasure a partner of the opposite sex can offer me. After so many years, could I possibly be hoping that someone like him might love me?"
Plunging the yellow sponge into the interior of a plastic bucket, Lia squeezed the water out with her hands and, after pushing the young man's body to one side, set out to finish her task by cleaning his back.
Now that I think about it, she said to herself. I've never been this interested in someone so dangerous. Even with his eyes closed, regardless of having possibly lived as long as I have, he looks enchanting… What if his mind isn't mature enough to appreciate what I could offer him? That would make him a lost beast, without a path. In that case, I could guide him, bite him at my convenience… that would be quite interesting.
The clock read five in the morning. The doctor, dressed and well-groomed, set all the utensils she had used for the work to one side. Filling out various forms, she occasionally glanced at the table to see if the "fallen from heaven" would wake up. Despite hiding it behind her papers, she was so anxious she couldn't sleep, much less allow herself to leave him there and go to her room.
Who assures me that someone else won't steal your heart if I leave? It was the question for which Lia still had no answer. She was not willing to risk such an opportunity. Now, what can I do to make you wake up? This wait is killing me.
At eight in the morning, Rey took a deep breath and opened his eyes quickly. He felt on his shoulders the weight of eyes watching him and intended to assess his situation to react accordingly. A bright light was the first thing to greet him, nearly blinding him, as his pupils were still dilated to the point of being able to see in the dark.
With equal speed and clouded vision, Rey tightly closed his eyelids, then rubbed them with his hands and opened them little by little, intending to help his pupils adjust to the brightness. The fact that he wasn't bound hand and foot gave him a slight sense of relief. He wasn't in as bad a situation as he had expected.
When his pupils adapted, the young man noticed something in front of his face, held by a kind of metal arm hanging from the ceiling. It was like the objects that abounded in the room of Miján, the technologically advanced light elf who was Dante's teacher. Thanks to that, Rey knew the device in front of his eyes was for illumination and that they were known as LED lights powered by electrical energy.
Lying on the pleasant surface that only a bed could provide, the boy twisted to the sides and, upon barely extending his hand, realized he could reach the cluster of several aligned, illuminated strips of devices and move it away until he removed it from over him. Without the blinding glare from the device, bright as the sun, Rey's vision returned bit by bit, and with it, his perception of his surroundings.
The stress that any unknown territory could provide began to affect him, increasing the rhythm of his breaths. Sitting up in bed, he turned his head from side to side. Rey observed everything around him, curious to see how many unusual objects he might find in that astonishing, new place.
The young man's gaze halted when a few similar beings were spotted; though they were situated in an isolated place, they didn't seem like a threat. On the other side of one of the windows, traversing the facility's hallway, was a group of females dressed in white. To Rey, they seemed to be communicating something of little importance, yet they looked as if they were tired.
The young man tried to listen to what the nearby beings were saying. Concentrating on his hearing, he simply heard the 'Tick, tock' of something circular on the wall; he also managed to hear breathing.
The glass was a good sound insulator, and therefore, none of the words spoken by the group of women outside the room could be heard clearly, but the fact that he could sense a breath other than his own meant someone else was with him in that room. Probably the same person who had placed such a luminous device on his face to wake him.
For Rey, the fact that his inseparable white beast said nothing and the sensation of feeling recovered were the best advisors of the moment, which encouraged him not to feel in danger, even if there was someone else with him. After relaxing his breathing, the boy realized something to which, apparently, his nose had already grown accustomed. A familiar essence that could overwhelm his sense of smell and prevent him from perceiving anything else. The same scent that returned him to the security of not being in danger during the brief moments he regained consciousness.
"Mother…? No," he answered himself. "You smell exactly like her, my aunt, and one of my brothers."
Eyes that seemed incapable of expressing astonishment were now manifesting it, as thoughtful, stammered words left the pale lips of the girl with tied-back hair, who had stopped hiding behind a curtain to step into the field of view of the one who had spoken.
"A long-lost tongue, the one you speak, a tongue I only spoke in my childhood. If you say I share the same essence as your mother and brother, perhaps it is because we are of the same species," she said, particularly dismayed at the possibility that the young man was descended from a vampire.
Lia was surprised; the gaze of the fallen one was so sharp he looked like a predator. I cannot know what he is thinking, she told herself.
Rey, who had processed a great deal of the vocabulary the emotional beings around him spoke, as an act of superiority decided to speak in the language that was easiest for the present girl.
"Your eyes, body, and hair say otherwise," said Rey, knowing that the lineage of vampires has very distinctive characteristics, such as blue eyes, white hair after having lived a certain time, elegant bodies, and a character that is educated.
Regardless of their ability to live an eternity, it doesn't mean they know how to wait, especially for what they want. Their survival instincts bind them in a very peculiar way to another person, and they try to preserve those bonds by all means. So much so, that because of this condition they instinctively learn to develop their powers. She, who called herself a vampire, had no corresponding physical traits, except for the scent.
"My name is Lia," she responded, fearful of what she was hearing. "Lia Priom. My hair has been tinted by time, but I keep it under this dark appearance, as with my eyes. My body... that's another story."
"The humans?" Rey asked a presumptuous question, like one recalling the experience of being seen by such individuals when he fell from the sky.
"Here, in Belldewar, the humans rule. The rest of us are considered 'objects,' 'common, alien, or reserved property.' Property which can be discarded, if the case arises. If you are classified as a threat, your life, and that of your family, friends, and acquaintances, is exposed to the risk of elimination," she explained, while revealing the blue of her eyes by removing a thin, fine black film from them. After appreciating the calm behavior of the sharp-eyed boy, Lia gathered enough courage and decided to address a matter she needed to confirm. "Are you the son of a vampire... and brother to the two who came with you?"
After nodding his head, the boy proceeded to introduce himself.
"My name is Rey, 'with no surname.' Brother to a vampire named Jhades Priovan and a werewolf named Dante Lobano. Where are my brothers?"
"They are well..." Lia's voice sounded somewhat nervous. Unaware she was overlooking an important detail, she looked to the sides with a fearful expression, provoked by hearing the words "vampire" and "werewolf." "I give you my word, please, do not name them as such in front of anyone else. Most humans fear the descendants of Lycaon and of Lilith. Understand that to introduce yourself that way to someone else is to put your life, mine, and that of everyone we know at risk."
Rey displayed an understanding demeanor at the warning. Then, he looked around, as if asking, "What am I doing in a place like this?"
"Your eyes were closed for thirty-two hours," Lia continued speaking. "Your medical condition is delicate. Miraculously, I was able to realize your body is poisoned by radiation, as I experienced some symptoms from being exposed to you. You are still far from a full recovery, but at least you are out of the danger zone."
"Radiation... poison, my body," Rey stammered, as an urgent question arose in him. He couldn't believe he was still sick despite having slept. "It's true I was caught in an explosion before being thrown into this place. But in the place I come from, the currents of time help heal and restore anyone who sleeps a full night. How is it that I am still sick?"
Seeing how the boy had reacted to the subject, Lia allowed a faint smile to play on her lips. She was standing before someone who knew nothing of this place, nor of human civilization. Indeed, he is not from this moon or any neighboring planet, she thought, and then added, her voice deliberately casual. She paid close attention to his body language as she leaned forward, the neckline of her garment revealing a suggestive hint of cleavage—a calculated, seductive move.
"Here, your wounds, illnesses, or medical conditions will not heal simply by sleeping and waking. The days are eternal; there are no nights. The lights of technology never rest, never fade, nor do they age. Artificial light ensures darkness does not exist. I am the head physician of the guard corps for this temple of amorous arts." Lia seemed to be trying to bolster her credibility by revealing her title. "My diagnosis and treatment are the most precise you will receive. I repeat, I do not recommend you use your energy or subject your body to strenuous physical exertion."
"Energy… exertion…" Rey repeated the girl's words.
"Being poisoned by radiation, your body depends on human treatments for decontamination. Unless you are capable of finding some legendary, non-human means of resurrection and purification," Lia continued, emphasizing the gravity of the situation. "Without my treatments, you and your brothers, every time you use your powers or push your bodies to their limits, will accelerate the poison's progress to the point where you can only cough blood, suffer collapses, and finally fall into sudden death."
"What is Belldewar?" asked Rey, remembering the word the girl had used for this place.
"I don't understand the question," clarified Lia.
"Describe this world to me as you truly see it."
Lia froze for a moment. She was sure she had already described the place, albeit vaguely, but she had covered the necessary points. Still, why not do it a second time? All to please her listener, who seemed more receptive to knowledge than to her arts of seduction.
"This civilization is divided into two parts. The humans, who seek to dominate or extinguish those who oppose them, and the other part—though they go by various names—consists of slaves who have lost the will to live or the privilege of being considered living beings."
Rey shifted his gaze to where the girls were talking, the ones outside the room who had lingered in the hallway, murmuring.
"Which category do they belong to?"
Lia followed his gaze. Like a supervisor who had just noticed the negligence of her subordinates, she walked to the door and opened it with an accusatory stare. Yicel, one of the murmuring girls, gave a little jump in place as the door behind her swung open and she saw the doctor emerge. She quickly apologized for her lapse before scurrying off with the others.
"Though it may not seem like it, they fall into the second category, but there is life in their eyes due to their revolutionary ideas," she answered Rey upon returning to the room. "Akai's group got into trouble and suffered several injuries. She and the others should be tending to those patients, but it seems they're worried about you and your brothers being here. You'll meet them in due time. But before anyone oversteps my authority and enters this place, put these on." Lia took a small box containing two black lenses covered in a liquid film. "They're the same type of lenses I wear. They're for your eyes, to help you pass unnoticed."
"Revolutionary ideas?" After posing the question, Rey fell silent.
Just before answering the last question, in the stillness of the room, advanced conclusions raced through the girl's thoughts. She began to tremble because the young man was not showing the reaction she had expected to elicit.
Someone who has lost all contact with everything he knows, who can never see his loved ones again, who has fallen into a world as dangerous as this, who lies naked on an operating table with a stranger… someone in his situation shouldn't wear such a natural expression, should he? she thought. So far, he is only interested in information. It's as if knowledge helps him survive and adapt. What if he acts this cold and calculating because he has no one he wishes to see again? Perhaps he is accustomed to being pursued and hunted? Hmm… brother to a lycanthrope and a vampire…
Finally, Lia understood the implication of how dangerous this boy must be for Román to have named the other two as merely the tip of the iceberg. Beyond the sharpness and oddity of his eyes that made him look draconian, what stood before her was a hybrid, a white-eyed beast that seemed to draw darkness around itself. With this, fear ignited within her.
Rey lifted his gaze toward the descendant of the Priom who had halted her words and her once-confident expression of attentive helpfulness. He had the ability to read faces, and on hers, he read "terror."
"Yes," said Rey, his voice growing hoarse. "It is exactly what you're thinking. I am an unwanted child, after all."
The young man's presence had become imposing, so much so that she was paralyzed.
Can he read my thoughts?!
Rey approached her. Extending his right hand, he brushed the hair from Lia's astonished face and spoke the following words: "In the place I left behind, my end was to die. I have nothing to miss from a world where the only way to survive would have been to kill my loved ones before they claimed my life. Now I am here, in another place… where I have a new chance to live, where I will have to measure my decisions and, it seems, depend on you and the old man who found me, as you are the only ones who know about my brothers and me."
The roles are reversing, Lia thought, in a state of panic.