Blood deep (Black Series 3)

Chapter 30

Rose

I've been here for 6 months already, asking people, searching, trying to find out more about my origins. Everybody laughs at me and says I am chasing a fairytale.

My eyes have dried out from how many tears I have shed. I miss Theo so much I can hardly breathe. I haven't called home at all. They call me every single day... Selena, Dorian...Theo... but I never answer them. I don't know if I'm going to find all the answers I'm looking for and I don't know what I'm going to do if I do find them. What if I won't like what I am? What if I indeed charmed Theo to fall in love with me? What if I took away his decision to love whoever he wants? Can I be selfish enough to go back to him after confirming such horrible things?

So here I am, in front of an old gipsy's house. Rumours say she's an old witch. This is my last attempt to find out what I am. A lovely older lady from the vegetables market has told me where I can find her. She saw me crying while carrying my bags and asked me what is wrong. I don't know why, but I poured my entire soul to her and she guided me to this house. I left out the special details about vampires and Iele, but I did tell her that I am searching for who my mother was.

Stading there, in front of the old house door, I can't help but feel extremely nervous. My palms and sweating and my entire body is shaking. What am I actually doing here? She will probably kick me out and call me crazy like everybody else.

The door opens before I can even knock and I am greeted by a gorgeous man with dark eyes, black hair and an olive complexion. He looks mesmerizing, I couldn't ignore his beauty.

'Buna.' I tell him in Romanian.

'Buna.' He answers back. 'You can speak in English, since my mother told me that is your language of choice.' He adds with a lovely accent while guiding me to the living room.

The house is quite small but cozy. There are lots of porcelain figures spread all over the furniture. The furniture looks quite old itself but is in a really good condition. He guides me towards a round table and pulls out a chair so I can sit down.

'Hello, dear girl.' I hear a sweet voice. I turn around and see the same woman from the market standing behind me. She places her hands on my shoulders while I look at her surprised.

'Don't look at me like that, sweet girl. I was afraid you would run away from me, that's why I didn't tell you who I was.'

'I didn't even knew if you could understand me. I spoke in English all the time. I just needed to talk with somebody.'

'Well, I realized in this life that there is always room to learn new things. So I started studying English when I was 35. My son was in his second grade at school. We learned together.' She calmy explains while she sits down.

'My name is Rose.' I tell her not knowing exactly how to start a conversation.

'My name is Carmen.' She says with a warm smile. 'Tell me what you want to find out, child.'

'You'll probably think I'm crazy.' I lower my eyes and smile hopelessly.

'Try me.' She says while her son sits down with us at the table.

'Well... how much do you know about vampires?' I ask her laughing nervously.

'You want my serious answer or my official one?' She raises her eyebrow questionably.

'The honest one.' I look deep into her eyes.

'Ok, child. You asked for it. Vampires are complicated creatures. They are extremely beautiful, yet deadly. Sometimes I think that the only thing that stopped them from taking over the world in the past is the fact that they cannot walk in the sunlight.' She lets her words slide without any type of sarcasm.

'So, you don't deny they exist?' I ask her while my heart flutters in my chest.

'I don't deny they exist, my dear. As I don't deny what I feel from your side.'

'What do you mean?' I ask her confused.

'There's a full moon approaching and your powers are increasing. You are radiating.' She tells me, making me even more confused.

'Radiating? Powers?'

'Child... Don't tell me you don't know what you are... if so, you are very dangerous for people around you.' She warns me.

'I know my mother was a Iala. Her name was Eva. She died giving birth to me. My father was human. I was raised by my uncle and after he died too, I was raised by his best friend's family.' I spill my heart out in one breath.

'When did you turn 18?' She asks me concerned.

'On August 24th, last year.'

'Oh dear. Your powers came during the first full moon after your birthday.' She explains to me.

'What powers exactly?' I ask hrmer curiously.

'Well... you are a forest creature. Your powers include making vegetation grow and thrive, protecting the trees from being cut, your mere presence makes the forest bloom.' She says.

'That's it? What about the power to seduce men?' I ask her with desperation in my voice.

'So you know a thing or two.' She says while putting her palms on the table.

'Can this power seduce vampires also?' I ask her with a small voice.

'That's a weird question to ask, my dear.' She brings her palms together.

'Please, just answer me.' A tear escapes my left eye as I try to desperately hold back from crying.

She takes my hand into hers and closes her eyes. I feel her warm hand against mine and calm myself a little. Her hands gets warmer and warmer while she gently increases her hold.

'The answer is yes, you can seduce vampires to make them desire you but you cannot make them fall in love with you.' She opens her eyes and sees the relief on my face.

'That is what you wanted to know, isn't it, child?' She asks me and I nod feeling happy tears flood my face.

'He loves you because he fell in love with you, my dear. You didn't charm him into loving you.' She lets go of my hand. 'You must let this love guide your soul and give you the strength to do what needs to be done.'

'And what needs to be done?' I ask her confused while drying my tears away.

'You may live long, dear Rose, but you are not immortal. You will eventually grow old and die. You must choose the path you want to follow. He will know what to do.' She says to me.

'Why can't you tell me?' I ask her impatiently.

'Because it's not my place to tell you. Go back to him, Rose. Go back to your love.'