ISADORA
For the first time, I fell asleep. Yes, I fell asleep. I don't know why, but I felt an intense exhaustion and... ah. I was tired. I was tired because, as he said, the night we had was long.
In truth, our days are long. We look for ways to pass the time—and that distraction we found in each other. But this is the first time I’ve felt this tired, perhaps because he didn’t stop until I was exhausted. That’s what he wanted, for me to admit to myself that I couldn’t live... without this.
I touched my belly. It’s already quite big, and I can feel the life inside my womb. Just like a normal pregnancy, I don't feel anything unusual in my body—I don't vomit, nothing hurts, or anything—I just get hungry and crave... blood.
I got up and noticed that I was alone in bed. I roamed the whole house, but Alejandro wasn't there. He wasn't here, and I didn't know where he went. I didn't want to go outside because I didn’t like the bright light.
I sat on the couch and waited. Not long after, the door opened, and I saw him enter, but—he had companions. Andres and his men. Alejandro and I met eyes, and it seemed something amusing was happening now.
I stood up and silently opened the windows even though I disliked the light.
"Sit down, gentlemen," I simply said, and the men complied. I sat next to my husband. I didn’t know why they were in my house again.
"We are here, Isadora, to discuss the rumors spreading in our area," said Andres’ father, then gave me a meaningful smile.
"In my home?" I retorted. "This is not a place for meetings."
"We will only be brief, Isadora," Andres said beside his father.
I glared at him. They sat as if they owned the house my parents built.
"Continue, gentlemen. What is this rumor you want to investigate?" my husband asked while gently squeezing my hand.
"The rumor that a demon has been enticing the women in our area," Andres began, looking at me. "Enticing women for hundreds of years—until now."
W-What?
I was stunned and stared at Andres, who was now looking at my husband. My eyebrows furrowed at Andres’ behavior. He never spoke when he saw me, especially when I was with my husband.
He looked at me. "Am I right, Isadora? You are one of those who believe that demon is why Victoria left." He gave a small smile. "You told me yourself, didn't you?"
I clenched my jaw. "You are right. But with all the problems people face in our area... why did you decide to prioritize something you’ve always thought was a joke?"
I didn’t hold back in my words. If I were alone now with no ally to run to, I would probably be scared.
"I didn’t expect you to think like that, Isadora. For a woman, you are smart," said Manuel, Andres' father. He smiled at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "But we found the missing woman in the woods. Dead, with many holes in her body, and her appearance seemed drained of blood—as if it was done deliberately."
"And your first thought was a demon?" I asked, frowning.
I heard a faint laugh from beside me. I looked at him, and he was staring at me. He smiled at me as if he was enjoying what was happening now—because I knew...
Alejandro faced the father and son.
"What kind of help do you want, gentlemen?"
*******
I stared out the window, watching children play under the setting sun while my companion gently caressed my swollen belly.
"Isadora, are you okay?" I heard Alejandro ask.
"I killed that child."
"Isadora, it wasn’t you," he said, causing me to look at him. His long hair was loose now. He wasn’t wearing a top and didn’t seem to mind the cold this afternoon.
"I drained her blood, remember?"
I stared at him. "She was still breathing when I buried her."
And I did it on purpose. I was ruthless, but if I revived her, I would be the one to suffer and die.
He didn’t respond. He caressed my hair and gently kissed my temple. I looked away from the window and at the man beside me.
No... I don’t feel right.
I feel like nothing will go well.
That all of this...
"Is something bothering you, Isadora?"
"I want to know you." I stood up and released his hand. I went to my room and quietly lay down on my bed. I closed my eyes and exhaled. I just felt the bed move, and an arm wrapped around my waist.
"Do you think you can refuse me?" he whispered and kissed my nape.
I opened my eyes and stared into the distance. "Yes."
I glanced at him slightly when I heard his soft voice in my ear. "I can say that I witnessed the world's aging." From my waist, his hand moved to my hand, and he gently clasped it in his. He squeezed it slightly before speaking again. "I traveled the world for centuries, searching for answers why, in any way, I couldn’t die."
I turned to him and hugged his body. I buried my face in his chest and remained silent. "My family is from Rome in Italy, and like you, we worshiped God, living far from sin."
I slightly pulled away and looked up at him. "Rome in Italy?" I asked. "I’ve never heard of that place."
He smiled a little. "That place is very far compared to here. You need to cross several seas and mountains. And the language is not like here." He caressed my cheek, careful and gentle.
"One night, some people entered our home..." His gaze shifted to the void. "...killed my parents and siblings, but I fought back—even though they used their own fangs to kill my family. And one of the women who killed my family made me... like this." His gaze shifted to me, and our eyes met. "And after hundreds of years, my love, I realized there is no god in this world."
He bowed towards me and gave my lips a brief kiss. "Anyone can become a god if you desire it. And I know you understand what I mean."
I understand.
He became a god. He became a god because he wanted to.
"Humanity is easily deceived..." He kissed me again before speaking. "Physical appearance is the most important thing to get everything you want. Men and women deceive each other."
That’s true.
But... if you are one of those blessed with looks, many will be drawn to you, and many will want you to die instead.
"Since I was a child, you were used to scare me, Alejandro," I said, softly laughing. Our eyes met again. "That if I continued fighting with Andres, who grew up with me, you would enter my room to take me, and no one would ever see me again."
"And did you get scared?" he asked mockingly, with a small smile.
I shook my head. "I wondered if it was true that even if the demon didn’t speak, a woman would still be drawn to his appearance. They said a woman would only be drawn if her faith was not strong, and that was a great sin."
His smile widened. "And was your faith enough, my love?"
I shook my head again. "If you entered my room then, I’m sure my parents would never see me again."
"Because I took you?"
"Because I willingly went with you."
He laughed softly and kissed me again. He pulled away briefly and whispered, "If we switched positions, Isadora, if you had entered my room hundreds of years ago... I would have willingly gone with you. You wouldn’t need to kill anyone."
"What?" I asked, not understanding what he meant.
He smiled and didn’t speak anymore. He kissed me completely. Slow and careful. But soon, the movements of his lips—our lips—became hungrier. Though confused, I went with the flow and didn’t ask any more questions.
I focused more on the sensation of his touches. I stared at his hand between my thighs, and when I looked at him, our eyes met. His gaze was deep; he always looked at me like this when I was busy and unaware of his presence.
His eyes dimmed when our gazes met. "What do you want, my love?"
And it seemed like I had heard that question a long time ago, even though he had only asked me what I wanted a few times in the months he was beside me.
No, this was the first time his tone was different.
I was taken aback when he knelt on the floor while I was sitting at the edge of my bed. I just stared at him when he placed my leg on his shoulder. He looked up at me as he gently kissed my skin. "Is this it?"
"A-Alejandro," I called to him. "D-Don't kneel." I tried to remove my leg from his shoulder, but he stopped me.
"I lived to worship you, Isadora." He kissed the side of my thigh again. "Since I invited you into my room, I knew my purpose was to kneel and serve you."
What?
"I don’t understand—" I stopped when I saw his expression. It seemed he was also surprised by what he said.
He didn’t speak anymore, and neither did I.
And in my view, his kneeling in that position seemed familiar.
*********