Crimson

Chapter 27: Dreadful Coincidence

He set the goblet down on his observatory desk with a small clink. The amber firelight streamed through its contents as a figure loomed in the doorway.

"Belmont." Said Dimitri. He did not turn around to face him.

"It's too late." Bel responded.

"What do you mean-" Dimitri began. But an answer was not necessary.

The intoxicating scent of blood hung over the night class menacingly. Y/n's blood.

Dimitri's red eyes stared widely at Belmont.

"She already knows." Was all he said.

Y/n winced at the small incision made on the palm of her hand. It seemed only fitting to have symmetrical injuries.

She was careful. A small slice. But enough so that a few scarlet beads formed on her skin.

The girl hoped she was wrong. That maybe she was going crazy. That there was no way in hell this would prove anything.

But not for the first time in y/n's story, she was wrong.

"I thought patrol was over?" A female voice called from the darkness. Y/n's heart jumped.

Into the candlelight stepped a girl with long brown pigtails, green bows, and a black school uniform.

"Cut yourself?" The girl snickered. Y/n recognized her as Leyla, the one causing trouble on her second night. "Lucky me."

Y/n stepped backward, only to bump into a wall. But when the wall exhaled, she realized it was a person.

"Let's make this quick." Said the blue haired girl from behind y/n.

She drew her knife in alarm, only to be laughed at by the brunette. To y/n's horror, she had sharp fangs protruding from her canines.

"N-no..." Y/n muttered. She shakily maintained her grip on the hilt of the blade. "I don't understand..."

"And you won't have to-" The girl said.

In an instant, y/n was jerked forward, Leyla's pig tails falling over the girl's arm as she prepared to sink her teeth into her open wound.

As y/n struggled to scream, a splatter of wet crimson freckled y/n's cheeks. Her eyes wide with horror, the side of the night student's head had been impaled with what looked like a piece of wood.

In too much pain to maintain her grip on y/n, Leyla sank to her knees, struggling to pull out the stake as blood flowed down her porcelain cheek.

Y/n quickly turned brandishing her knife, to find Dimitri; his expression calm but eyes livid.

Leyla yanked the weapon from her face, before slowly trying to stand. However, she was shot to the floor with a sharp thud as a long leg stepped on her back, pinning her in place.

"Still a disappointment?" Lucian asked from above.

"Y/n..." Bel appeared at the base of the steps.

The remaining girl's eyes grew wide with fear. But before she had time to react to the tall boy behind her, she fell lifelessly to the ground with a sickening crack- her neck broken. Y/n let out a terrified scream.

Roman stepped over her body, dusting his hands.

Y/n's attention shifted drastically from boy to boy, fear still paralyzing her to the spot.

"You fucking bitch." Leyla cursed from the floor. She wailed terribly as Lucian mercilessly yanked her pigtails upwards; his foot still planted firmly on her back, crushing her into the floor.

"Well this isn't good." Roman remarked.

Though y/n found herself unable to move, she began to hyperventilate at the sight of all the violence.

"Y/n, it's okay, you're safe-" Bel began.

"You killed her." Y/n pointed at Roman, choking on her words.

"What else was I supposed to do?" The boy shrugged absently.

"She'll be fine-" Lucian said quickly.

"As for this one..." Dimitri began striding over to the brunette on the floor, "I don't think the same can be said for her."

With each step, the girl seemed more and more afraid.

"I wasn't going to kill her, I swear!" Leyla pleaded. Tears mixed in with the blood on her face.

"Please! Don't do anything Dimitri-"

"See to it that she's taken care of." He said, looking at the others.

"Cadere won't be thrilled when he gets back." Lucian threatened. "Look away y/n."

As if by instinct, her eyes slowly found their way to the floor. Y/n's scream got caught in her throat at the second sickening crack.

When she looked up, she saw Roman had slung the blue haired girl over his shoulder, and Lucian had picked up Leyla as if she were no more than a log.

The two disappeared as y/n dropped the knife, her shaking becoming more apparent.

When Dimitri drew his attention to her, she hastily clamored for the knife again.

"Y/n-"

"Back away!" She yelled. "Get away from me- I know what you are."

Dimitri sighed while Bel spectated sadly.

"What are you going to do- kill me too?" The girl cried. "You're vampires!"

"We know that you know." Dimitri said delicately.

"Does Cadere know? Is he- does he-"

"Relax y/n," said Dimitri. His voice was soothing but Y/n didn't want to hear any of it.

"If you're going to do something to me I'm not going down without a fight-"

"No one here is going to hurt you," Lucian promised, re-emerging from the corridor.

Y/n's eyes darted from figure to figure, the darkness and fatigue being overshadowed by her desire for the truth.

"Tell me who you are."

~
Amid the commotion downstairs, Roman told Lucian he'd be there in a moment.

Scaling the passage to the upper floor from the cellar, Roman opened the door to Avery's room.

It was the only room upstairs with a yellow glow streaming through the cracks, and the only room with a violet haired boy laying smugly atop the bed; a book in his hands.

"When did you get here?" Roman demanded.

Avery chuckled to himself, his blue eyes lazily trailing over the pages.

"Who said I ever left?"