– Interesting.
– And fun.
– How does this happen? – asked my father, clearly interested in this innovation.
– Everyone has a student from the junior year sitting on their neck.
– And you?
– And me.
– Who's sitting on your neck?
– A third-year student girl.
– How's your relationship?
– It's not. The only weird thing about this situation is…" I started, but suddenly stopped talking. Should I tell my father about my strange state of mind since I'd met Viper? Maybe he could explain what the hell was happening to me.
– The scent of her blood," I said instead, not wanting to share my weakness with anyone. – I've never smelled blood so beautiful. It's so heavy and tart that it makes it hard for me to focus when I'm sitting next to her.
I learnt long ago to control myself and temper my predatory instincts. Now any scent, even one that incited me to kill, was not dangerous to me. But Viper blood beckoned to me like no other in all the years of my long life. I mentally pictured drinking that marvellous blood and feeling the sea breeze on my face. But where would that sea breeze come from if Viper was born and raised in Brno?
– Does her blood taste as good as its flavour?
– I didn't kill her.
Father's testing gaze was like he was trying to scan my soul. Talking about Viper interested him far more than I'd realised.
– If you want her blood so badly, drink it, then you'll get those thoughts out of your head," my father advised me.
– Have you ever experienced anything like that? – I asked.
– All of us, at least once, suddenly feel obsessed with a certain flavour. In such a situation, you should kill the victim so that you don't feel constrained. Kill her and forget about this nonsense.
– That's what I'll do," I said to get my father behind me.
Kill Viper and drink her blood. Kill her. How easy it is. How easy it would be to get rid of this problem. How sweet this moment will be. The moment I'm free of it. Isn't that the answer to my question?
But when I imagined killing this girl, this elf, I felt uneasy. Something in me rebelled against even the thought of it. This decision would be horrible. If I killed Viper, and this fragile girl was gone – the mystery would be gone. What if her death was in vain? What if I never find the answer and I'm tormented because I was wrong to do what I did? No. Viper has to live. I won't kill her just because talking to her has put me in this abnormal state. Yes, she's only human, but if Viper is to lose her life, it won't be by my hand. Because I had no idea how I was going to live knowing that I had robbed the world of such a fragile, wonderful flower with a strange name like Viper.