I closed the newspaper, folding the ink-stained pages tightly and tossing them onto the light blue sofa beside me. I glanced toward the drawn curtains. The faint, muted glow filtering through the edges of the fabric told me it was officially early morning.
Right on cue, my stomach let out a sharp, demanding growl. Ever since discovering my pregnancy, my body's nutritional demands had been completely unpredictable, and right now, the cravings were kicking in with full force. My mutated, half-vampire senses didn't want standard tavern fare today; they were screaming for a highly specific, entirely bizarre combination of flavors.
I stood up, my massive crimson wings folding neatly behind my back, and walked over to my kitchen… or rather, my chemical meth lab. Navigating past the rows of glass distillation tubes, burners, and the half-covered tear gas equipment, I opened my storage shelf and began rummaging through my food supplies.
My eyes landed on three specific items: a jar of sweet strawberry jam, a fresh loaf of sliced bread, and a metal can of sour, briny pickles.
To any normal human, the combination would be absolutely nauseating. But to a pregnant Dhampir running on pure survival instincts, it looked like a Michelin-star delicacy.
I gathered the items, walked over to the dining room table, and cleared a small space right next to a cluster of newly filled, spherical tear gas bottles. I grabbed a spoon from the counter, popped the lid off the jar, and smoothly spread a thick, generous layer of the vibrant red strawberry jam across a slice of bread. Next, I dug into the can, pulled out a few thick, juicy pickle slices, and laid them right on top of the sweet spread.
The sharp, tangy scent of the vinegar mixed perfectly with the sugary aroma of the strawberries, sending a sudden rush of anticipation through my jaw. I didn't care how weird it looked… my body needed the fuel, and my appetite wasn't waiting for anyone.
I opened my jaws and shoved the entire jam-and-pickle toast into my mouth, chewing it down in one efficient, mechanical go. My vampiric jaw strength pulverized the strange combination instantly, and my heightened senses completely savored the bizarre burst of sweet, sour, and salty flavors. It was exactly what my pregnancy cravings had been demanding.
Just as I swallowed the last bite, the quiet creak of the wooden staircase drew my attention.
I turned my head toward the steps as Evelyn walked down into the living room. She was fully prepared for the day, dressed in her immaculate, S-rank standard Luminous Knight uniform. The vibrant white-and-scarlet fabric was perfectly tailored, and her light steel breastplate gleamed under the dim lantern light, ready for immediate deployment.
The moment her eyes landed on me, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her gaze locked onto my face, her jaw dropping slightly.
"Big sister... your wounds," Evelyn breathed, her voice filled with a mixture of absolute awe and disbelief.
I looked back at her, a rare, genuinely soft expression passing over my features.
"It's nice to see you, Evelyn."
Hearing the smooth, clear sound of my voice, Evelyn gasped. She quickly approached the dining table, her eyes darting frantically across my face and body. She reached out, her fingers trembling slightly as she looked me up and down.
"Your voice, Eirene... it's amazing! And your right eye... it's a deep crimson. It is absolutely marvelous. And your left hand... it's finally back!"
I gave a calm, reassuring nod, resting my newly restored left hand firmly on the edge of the dining table next to my tear gas bottles.
"Elicia and I met at the Northern borders, Our eldest sister is truly wonderful. Her high-tier Divine Regeneration magic completely rewrote my physical state. She fixed everything." I explained smoothly, watching the realization dawn on Evelyn's face.
I stood up from the chair, my massive crimson wings shifting slightly behind my back as I gestured toward the upstairs hallway.
"Your big sister is currently resting in my bedroom, She knows you're alive, and she's been waiting years for this. Come on, let's go up and meet her." I said, a wave of deep, long-awaited emotion settling into my chest.
Evelyn stood frozen for a second, her hands gripping the edges of her pristine white-and-scarlet knight uniform. A sudden, intense wave of anxiety crossed her face.
"She... she knows about me? Eirene, she probably thinks I'm a ghost. For all these years, everyone thought Mom and I were turned to ash."
"Don't worry, she missed you more than words can describe. She believed you were gone, but the moment I told her the truth, she didn't doubt it for a second." " I said softly, stepping closer and placing a reassuring hand on her armored shoulder.
Hearing those words broke whatever emotional dam Evelyn had been holding back. Suddenly, beautiful, bioluminescent tears began streaming down her cheeks, glowing with a soft, ethereal light in the dim room. Even the tips of her fingers and the ends of her hair began to faintly radiate that same otherworldly, glowing hue.
Seeing that reaction, there was absolutely no doubt left… this was the unique biological nature of my half-human, half-slime baby sister. When her emotions spiked, her core couldn't help but manifest its true form.
"Let's get going," I murmured, wiping a stray glowing tear from her cheek.
I stood up, my massive crimson wings fluttering with a rare, uncontrollable burst of excitement. The thrill of reuniting my broken family after a decade of blood and tragedy was making my own demonic core hum with anticipation.
We quietly walked up the wooden stairs, our boots making barely a sound against the steps. I reached the door to my bedroom, my heart racing slightly. I wrapped my fingers around the brass handle and slowly turned it, pushing the door open into the dim, quiet room.
As the door swung wide, I saw that the heavy curtains were tightly drawn, keeping the morning light at bay. There, nestled beneath the blankets of my bed, Elicia was still fast asleep, her breathing deep and rhythmic. She looked completely peaceful, entirely unaware that the miracle she had prayed for over the last ten years was standing right at the threshold.
My eyes widened in a sudden spike of panic. I had miscalculated… the heavy curtains on the far side of my bedroom weren't fully drawn, and a sharp, brilliant beam of morning sunlight was cutting directly across the floorboards right in front of the bed.
With my vampire biology, stepping into that light would violently burn my flesh to a crisp, and I couldn't risk making a scene that would disrupt this moment. I immediately halted at the edge of the shadows, my massive crimson wings flaring back into the darkness of the hallway.
"I can't go over there, Go on. Do the honors." I whispered to Evelyn, gesturing toward the bright sunbeam.
Evelyn gave me a understanding nod, her bioluminescent tears still softly glowing in the dim corners of the room. She stepped around the beam of light, her white-and-scarlet knight armor clinking softly as she approached the side of the bed.
She looked down at Elicia's sleeping face, her chest heaving with a decade's worth of buried longing. It was like she was looking at the older sister she had only ever known through hazy, fractured memories and the dark, suffocating history of the mines.
Slowly, carefully, Evelyn reached out a trembling hand and gently shook Elicia's shoulder.
"Big sister..." Evelyn whispered, her voice cracking with pure emotion.
Elicia stirred, her long eyelashes fluttering open as she drifted out of sleep. Her silver eyes focused slowly in the morning light, shifting from the ceiling directly onto the young woman standing over her. The moment she saw the striking features, the white-and-scarlet uniform, and the faint, unmistakable glowing hum of Evelyn's unique mana, Elicia froze completely, her breath hitching in her throat as the world around them seemed to stop.
Elicia's silver eyes widened to their absolute limits, staring at Evelyn as if a myth had just stepped directly into the waking world. For a long, agonizing second, the room was entirely silent except for the soft rustle of the bedsheets.
Then, a ragged, breathless gasp escaped Elicia's lips. She threw the blankets aside and scrambled upright, her hands instantly reaching out to cup Evelyn's face.
"Evelyn...? Is it really you? Oh gods, look at you... you're so beautiful. You're grown."
"It's me, big sister, I'm alive. I'm right here." Evelyn choked out, a fresh wave of bioluminescent tears spilling over her eyelids, their soft, ethereal glow intensifying as she leaned into Elicia's touch.
Without another word, Elicia pulled Evelyn down into a fiercely protective, desperate embrace. She buried her face into Evelyn's shoulder, her fingers gripping the fabric of the scarlet-and-white knight uniform as if letting go would cause her baby sister to vanish back into the ashes of the past. Heavy, unrestrained sobs racked Elicia's body… a profound release of the secret pain she had carried ever since that tragic day in the mines.
Standing safely back in the shadows near the doorway, well away from the burning morning sun, I watched them hold each other. My massive crimson wings gave a gentle, rhythmic flutter, a deep sense of warmth settling into my cold, half-vampiric heart. The Rynd family had been torn apart by tragedy, hunted by the kingdom, and forced into the darkest corners of the world… but right here, in the quiet of House 132, the first pieces of our broken world were finally fusing back together.
"I spent so many nights praying for this, I used to talk to you before you were even born... I never stopped thinking about you. Not for a single day." Elicia wept, her voice muffled against Evelyn's shoulder as she held her tighter, trying to make up for a decade of lost time in a single embrace.
Evelyn's arms wrapped firmly around Elicia's back, her S-rank knightly posture dissolving completely into the vulnerable embrace of a little sister. The bioluminescent glow radiating from her skin pulsed in a soft, soothing rhythm, a natural, instinctual manifestation of her half-slime biology reacting to the overwhelming wave of love and familial warmth flooding her core.
"Eirene told me everything, She found me. She kept me safe. We're a family again, Elicia."
Slowly, Elicia pulled back just far enough to look into Evelyn's face, her hands remaining firmly on her shoulders as if anchoring her to reality. Her sharp, analytical mind… the one that commanded elite paladins on frozen battlefields… finally started processing the details. She took in the impeccable white-and-scarlet armor, the light steel breastplate, and the sheer, undeniable density of the magical aura humming beneath Evelyn's skin.
"A Luminous Knight… And a powerful one at that. You really are a Rynd. Our mother would be so incredibly proud of the woman you've become." Elicia murmured, a bittersweet smile breaking through her tears as she wiped her eyes.
From my sanctuary in the shadows by the door, safely out of reach of the burning sunbeam cutting across the floorboards, I leaned against the doorframe. My single jade-green eye softened as I watched them, while my crimson wingtips twitched with a quiet, grounding rhythm against the wooden frame.
"She's an S-rank apex asset, big sister, Though her origin is... complicated. We have a lot to catch up on. But right now, we're running out of shadows, and the capital is looking for a ghost." I interjected smoothly, my restored voice drawing both of their attention to the doorway.
Elicia looked up at me, her tear-streaked face radiating a profound, absolute gratitude that words couldn't possibly capture. She reached out her hand toward me, bridging the gap between the bed and the dark hallway where I stood.
"Thank you, Ren, You brought her back to us. You did what none of us could." Elicia said, her voice thick with genuine emotion
"I just did what a big sister is supposed to do," I replied calmly, though a faint, rare smile touched my lips.
The immediate emotional storm had passed, leaving behind a profound, unbreakable bond in its wake. But as the morning light grew stronger outside, casting longer beams through the gaps in the curtains, the reality of our situation hovered over us. We had a legendary healer, an S-rank Luminous Knight, and a heavily bountied, pregnant Dhampir shapeshifter all under one roof. The pieces were on the board, and Elias was still out there hunting.