CHAPTER 28: AM I STILL ME?

Her body slammed into mine, soft and trembling, her warmth cutting through the cold chaos around us. I didn’t push her away. The tears on her cheeks, the shaking in her frame... those told the story better than words ever could. I couldn’t understand it, maybe never would, but she had chosen me over her family. So, for now, I’d protect her.

"Beatrice... don’t leave me here... wherever you go, I want to go. Please..." Her voice broke, fragile and pleading. Maybe her family’s secrets ran deeper than I knew. Maybe there was something hidden behind all this madness that drove her to me. I didn’t have time to wonder. I just reached for her hand, our fingers locking as I pulled her close and turned toward the horizon.

The flames burned brightest there, which meant no one alive was left in that direction. Perfect. It was the only path where escape might be possible. The city was overrun, monsters tearing through the streets, howling in bloodlust. They were dangerous, but not nearly as terrifying as the man whose son I had just killed.

"Let’s go," I whispered, voice hoarse. The air tasted like decay, heavy and metallic. It wasn’t just fear anymore, no... it was death itself clinging to my tongue. I glanced back once, and the sight froze my blood.

Something was wrong with John. His aura didn’t belong to a human anymore.

"Go. Run like a rat. Flee to the ends of the world knowing I’m right behind you, vampire."The voice rolled through the air like a death sentence, every syllable shaking the ground beneath my feet.

When I looked back, he was kneeling with his son’s body cradled in his arms. John’s eyes—once warm, once human—had turned pitch black. Ink seemed to leak from his pupils, spilling down his cheeks and seeping into the earth. A dark mist bled from his skin, creeping across the broken stone like liquid shadow. Wherever it touched, the ground blackened and cracked, the corruption spreading toward me inch by inch.

I clutched Elira tighter, pulling her against me as I forced my wings open. They struggled under our combined weight, each beat heavy and uneven, but I pushed us off the ground anyway. The air stung, trembling from the power that still clung to him.

Beelzebub shivered against my neck, his tiny body convulsing with fear. I could feel his heartbeat racing like a drum. For a moment, I thought he might actually die from sheer panic.

Elira’s body trembled in my arms, her gaze fixed on the darkness spreading below. The look on her face chilled me. It was as if she recognized. As if she’d seen this before. As if she’d lived it. I had a thousand questions clawing at my tongue, but now wasn’t the time.

"Father..." The word escaped her as a broken whisper. She turned her head away, eyes squeezing shut like gates closing against the flood. Not a single tear fell. What struck me most was that she didn’t speak her brother’s name, not even once.

John’s voice rose again; it sounded metallic and warped, vibrating through the air like rusted steel grinding against bone. "When the sun sets over the horizon, my shadow will reach for you. When the rivers run dry in the far north, his resurrection will grant me power enough to end you once and for all. Until that day, run, little vampire. Run like the coward your cursed blood was born to be. Wherever you go, calamity follows. Wherever you go, the world ends. Your life has no meaning, only damnation."

Every word burned into my mind, each syllable scraping across my thoughts like a blade. I didn’t look back, but I memorized them all. Madness or prophecy, I couldn’t tell, but I knew one thing: those words would come back to haunt me.

I cut through the flames, their tongues licking at my skin. The heat seared, but I was fast enough to outrun it, just enough to survive. The forest ahead shimmered through the smoke like redemption itself. I only needed to reach it.

I risked one last glance back. Through the haze, I saw Clara beside Hera, who was just beginning to stir. My skill was wearing off. Her eyes found mine immediately, sharp and cold even through the distance. For a heartbeat, we simply stared at each other, an unspoken promise hanging in the air, before my body vanished into the sky, wings carving through the smoke.

Below, chaos reigned. Fire devoured the town, corpses walked, and John’s curse echoed in my mind. Wherever you go, calamity follows. Maybe he was right. Maybe Beatrice was never meant to live long. Maybe the reason she died early in the book was because the world itself rejected her existence.

After a long stretch of flight, my body finally betrayed me. My wings grew heavy, strength leaking out of me with every beat until I descended lower and lower, crashing through the treetops before slamming into the ground. Elira and Beelzebub tumbled beside me. The cold embrace of dirt caught us, soft and merciful.

I lay there for a while, breathing in the smell of soil and burnt air. A canopy of trees offered shade overhead, quiet and unmoving. I had no idea how long I’d flown. Everything after leaving that city felt like a fever dream. But the horizon was clear now, without smoke or flames. Finally, we were far enough to rest.

"You okay?" I asked, glancing at Elira. She sat slumped against a tree, face blank, eyes hollow. When she heard me, she turned slowly, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

"I’m great. Thank you, Beatrice."

That was all she said. Nothing more. The smile stayed too long, brittle and trembling, until tears finally welled up beneath it. Maybe it was her way of surviving the day, pretending until she could lie to herself well enough to breathe.

I leaned toward Beelzebub, whispering for him to go to her. He scampered over, tiny paws pressing against her lap, nose twitching as he rubbed against her arm. A small, warm thing couldn’t fix a broken heart, but sometimes warmth alone was enough to let someone break properly.

So I sat and watched for hours as she cried, unending tears spilling like rivers, until exhaustion took her and she fell asleep beneath the trees. Then there was only me again, left with the noise in my own head.

What a beautiful start to my story, huh? A doctor turned monster, a survivor covered in the blood of those I swore to save. And this... this is only the beginning.

I looked up through the gaps in the trees, the sky faintly glowing from the dying sunset.

Am I still me? Or have I already become Beatrice completely?