[Blood Archive Entry]
Darian looked at the scene of carnage, the anger and disgust that coursed through his body settling down.
He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh air. His heartbeat slowed and became more stable.
Slowly, he relaxed his hands, which were clenched into fists. He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders.
Without looking at the bloody mess—guts, bile, and mangled flesh—Darian waved his hands nonchalantly. A white flame flared up, wild and voracious, and turned everything around Darian into ash.
He turned around and walked towards the crashed car. The unfortunate victims of the beasts. His gaze was fixed on the bloodied baby chair on the back.
With another wave, this one being more reverent than nonchalant, the white flames came back. Calm and steady. They embraced the car, melting the steel and turning plastic and leather into smoke and ashes.
Darian nodded and turned away. His face appeared to be serene. Hiding whatever turmoil lay in his heart.
He walked back to the car.
Inside the SUV, the demigods stared at Darian's approaching figure with a mixture of awe and fear.
Thalia could barely blink; her heart seemed to forget that it was supposed to be beating. She swallowed dryly when she remembered how she had provoked the boy, how she actually tried to fight him. Now looking at him again, she could only go back to their supposed 'altercation,' and she pictured Darian giving her the same treatment he gave to these monsters.
It was not a comforting thought for the demigoddess.
Not in the least.
Luke felt like hitting Thalia again. This time with all of his strength. He kept repeating the same line of thinking over and over again.
'What if he hadn't held back? What if Thalia pissed him off enough for him to want us dead?'
Luke sighed tiredly and rubbed the bridge of his nose, then he leaned back into his seat and stared at the roof of the car with a blank gaze.
And on top of his lap, Annabeth's eyes glinted with curiosity and awe. Her young mind didn't even register the possibility of Darian hurting her, not out of naivety, but more out of faith that her new friend wouldn't harm her.
An innocent thought.
But this was precisely what Luke and Thalia had fought for. To preserve this innocence that remained in at least one of them.
Isolde looked wholly uncomfortable seeing her son cause such carnage. Though she wasn't to be blamed for it. As a mother, she still thought of him as that innocent—though oddly mature for his age—boy. The one from before the 'awakening'. Try as she might, she didn't know if she could find this normal.
'Maybe what I need is some time,' Isolde thought.
Rebbekah seemed unfazed. She didn't find the fight repulsive or excessive. She had seen Darian do worse during their ghoul extermination. One thing did stand out to her, and that was that Darian was quite angry at the moment, for whatever reason. She felt as if she could almost feel that anger herself.
But that was surely impossible.
When Darian got closer to the car, they all settled back into their seats and pretended as if nothing had happened.
Darian opened the door, got inside the car, and slammed the door shut.
He closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and leaned back. Not saying anything at all.
"Darian… Are you alright?" Isolde asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," his reply could be considered rude, and indeed it was, but his mother didn't seem to take offense as she just nodded and turned away from him.
She turned the key and started the car.
Darian turned his head and stared at the scenery through the window. His mind felt to him like a bog.
Rebekah turned, staring at the pensive figure of the child who had been surprising her time and again throughout this journey. Curiosity had brought her to his doorstep, and that same curiosity had driven her to accompany him. As she spoke to him, as she spent time with him, she couldn't help but feel as if she had found a missing piece of herself. Though he was a kid, her emotions went haywire around him, and she knew for a fact it was the same for him.
There wasn't any physical attraction; Darian was still much too young, even by ancient standards. When it was common for people to marry at the tender age of twelve or thirteen. But even then, she couldn't help but find his soul… beautiful. She couldn't keep herself from blushing like a teenager whenever he teased or complimented her. She kept wanting to be around him at all times. Everything seemed amplified when he was close by.
But now… seeing him stewing in his own anger and helplessness. She felt those emotions echoing back inside her own heart. And she herself felt helpless for not being able to calm him down, even more so, when she felt that he wanted to talk, that there were questions he needed to ask, but wouldn't, due to the three demigods beside him.
Rebekah grew angry, and the thought of tearing them apart suddenly came up. Especially the foul-mouthed punk girl.
Darian snapped to attention and looked straight at her. His eyes showed confusion. He tilted his head, still staring at her.
Then he smiled and shook his head.
Rebekah seemed to calm down when she peered into his eyes. She turned away as she chided herself for thinking about killing a bunch of children. Even if it was for but a brief moment.
She sighed and, much like Darian, leaned against the door and stared through the window with an unfocused gaze.
Everyone else inside the car seemed oblivious to the brief exchange between the vampires.
Though the three demigods had felt a sudden chill running across their backs. It felt like being targeted by a predator that they had no chance of escaping. They looked around, alarmed, wondering if they were about to be attacked by yet another group of monsters.
By their side, Darian still seemed gloomy and pensive. But the corner of his mouth twitched imperceptibly into a small smile. A brief thing, but it was there, nonetheless.
A single word echoed in his mind as he thought of Rebekah.
'Cute…'