Crimson's parents were killed by vampires when she was 6 years old. Because of that, she's sworn vengeance on all vampires and spends every night tirelessly hunting for vampires to kill. Lamech is the leader of the biggest vampire clan in the world...
"Really?" Cassie said at my revelation and looked even more intrigued. "I would have thought that we could see that difference normally. Being shifters and all. But it really does look like they are the same color as the pupil."
Before I had time to answer, I felt my head being turned by Alair that sat to my right. He stared intently into my eyes in a way that made me feel very awkward.
"Would have thought we could also see a difference, but there truly seems to be none," he said and let go of my chin.
"Magic that could cause such an effect on the eyes though are rare and would require tremendous power as far as I'm aware," Olivier said. He was seated next to Cassie and throughout the dinner she had seemed to be curious about everything, so there was no wonder that she turned to jump into the conversation.
"What magic could cause it?" she asked him.
"Of course my knowledge is limited and my theory is mainly based on qualified guesses from that knowledge. However, as they say, the eyes are windows to our souls," Olivier begun explaining. "This is more than just a saying. There is a reason why some magical creatures, witches among them," he made a slight nod towards me, "recognize their mates when looking into their eyes. And a reason why both we, vampires, and you, shifters, change eye color when our more primal sides take over. Our eyes are windows to our souls, or to our nature might be a better explanation. They change eye color for us because we have two natures inside of us. The more human and the more animalistic. For shifters this is clearer than for vampires as your animal exist inside of you as a second consciousness."
He swirled his wine glass slightly before taking a sip. I felt myself being intrigued by what he said, and by the looks on everyone in the room, all were.
"As such," he continued, "it would stand to reason that any magic that would cause someone's eye color to change would be aimed at altering that person's nature in some way. Perhaps to hide it or the opposite, to strengthen it."
"Would that have been the cause to why the direct line of shifters was said to have had red eyes in their wolf-forms instead of the normal amber? To show that their nature was different from other wolves? Stronger that is," Cassie inquired.
"The direct line? Ah, the line said to have been the first-borns all the way back to the first shifter?" he asked and Cassie nodded. "That would stand to reason. Though perhaps not stronger, but simply to show that their nature and the magic within them are closer to the Goddess compared to other shifters."
"If it's possible to hide it, then they could still be out there and alive also, right? Just that their red eyes are hidden by magic?" Cassie asked, excitement evident in her voice, but Olivier shook his head.
"The last descendant's death is too well documented for that to be the case, I'm afraid. But in theory, yes."
"Could someone's nature be hidden through magic and that someone be unaware of it?" Lamech was the one to ask the question and it caught me of guard. I couldn't help but feel like he implied that was the case with me and it made me feel uncomfortable. So much so that I answered before Olivier had a chance.
"Of course not," I said. "It's impossible to completely hid something like that. There would still be signs that would make the one subjected to the magic aware of that something is off. And as Olivier said at first, it would require very powerful magic. I doubt any witch would be powerful enough to manage it on her own for instance. And even when successfully done, wouldn't last for forever. So the magic would have to be done on regular intervals for it to not eventually wear off."
Olivier nodded at me. "Yes. Take the suppressants shifters can take to counteract their heat for instance. They are, of course, not meant to suppress the whole nature of a shifter, but only a specific part of it. So the magic behind them are much lesser than any magic needed to suppress a whole person's nature. But even so, they are needed to be taken regularly during the heat to have effect."
I watched Lamech carefully as Olivier spoke and it looked almost as if a light, an idea, that had been ignited slowly dimmed for each word spoken. That did nothing to settle my emotions. I couldn't know if the question had been purely out of curiosity or not, but I couldn't help but feel like it was related to me. That he actually had thought for a moment that magic hid a part of me. That was absurd though. I hadn't been old when my parents had died, but I knew with complete certainty that my mother had been a witch and my father a human. So there was nothing to hide.
But the absurdity wasn't what got to me. Did he ask because he thought that could be the case or because he hoped it was? Did he perhaps hope that I was more than a witch, that I was stronger and therefore more worthy of being mated to him?
I felt self-doubt coming over me and I wanted nothing more than a change of topic. Anything, just something that could give me something else to think about. Thankfully, Cassie's curiosity obliged.
"How do you know all of this?" she asked Olivier.
"You must have heard of the Library," he simply said.
"The one said to hold knowledge of all things magical? Isn't that one only for witches?" one of the Gammas, David, asked and threw me a look at the same time. It almost seemed like he tried to provoke me.
"It was built by witches, but knowledge belongs to no one. Knowledge is the one thing in this world that doesn't discriminate," Olivier simply said to refute the question. "If you've never been, I do advice you to go. If nothing else to see what the Librarian looks like to you."
"What do you mean?" Cassie asked.
"The Librarian looks different for everyone," I answered in Olivier's stead. "No one knows why or what the reason behind a specific form is."
"Have you ever been?" Olivier asked me.
"I've never had a reason to," I shrugged.
"Ah, too bad. I have always been curious as to what the Librarian might look like to others. To me, I'm embarrassed to say, they look like a book."
He shook his head and gave an awkward smile.
"An interesting title at least?" I teased.
"One that is yet to be written, but by the looks of it, just some second-rate romance book with a half-naked man on the cover."
He shrugged and we all laughed lightly, moving the conversation to much lighter things than magic that could hide a person's nature.
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