Lucía took a deep breath as she walked back to her motorcycle, but the air felt thick, charged with electricity. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her pulse still racing, the metallic scent of blood a reminder of what she had done. And how much she had enjoyed it.
That forbidden pleasure, that pure sense of release that only violence could awaken in her. The blow, the impact, the certainty that the world still worked the way it always had for her. All those impulses, those unmet desires, turned into aggression, into something she could direct and wield.
But the euphoria didn't last, because behind every strike lay a truth she struggled to accept. Who she really was or what she was. That thing Luke had worked so hard to raise, train, and contain. A response to emotions she didn't even want to name.
Questions plagued her mind. What felt more real? The impact of the baton against the boy's forearm, or the relief she felt when she heard him scream? Was a life of penance and sacrifice protecting the innocent enough to atone for her nature? Or had Luke merely taught a beast to pretend to be human?
"No. Don't go there again, Lucía. We've been through this. You're human. Luke made you human," Lucía murmured, trying to pull her mind out of the depressive, self-flagellating spiral it was heading toward. Words spoken with practice. A mantra.
"I'm human. I make mistakes, and I lose control sometimes, but I'm human." The words left her lips as she looked at her reflection in the motorcycle's rearview mirror. To her relief, her eyes were normal, and aside from a couple of bruises, she looked just as she should.
Lucía exhaled sharply, shaking her hands as if the gesture could rid her of the weight of what had just happened. She sat on the motorcycle, trying to focus her mind on what came next. On Katherine. On Jonathan's corpse. On anything but that pleasurable echo of violence still pounding in her chest.
Lucía breathed deeply and concentrated. Inhale… exhale… and repeat. With each cycle, her mind felt calmer. The restraints on that side of her returned with force. Lucía took the reins firmly and refused to let go until she felt peace once more in her mind.
The pub's lights still glowed in the distance, the murmurs and laughter inside a jarring contrast to the scene she had just lived. And it was there, when the noise of the world wrapped around her again, that the conflict within her disguised itself as calm. Lucía relaxed her shoulders, straightened her back, and closed her eyes to wait as if nothing had happened.
Eventually, the moment of calm was interrupted. The uncomfortable squeak of a hinge in need of oil was followed by the unmistakable sound of an expensive pair of loafers striking the pavement. The steps were firm, well-coordinated—though far too confident, in Lucía's opinion and she already had a good idea of who they belonged to.
"Miss Lucía, I didn't expect you to still be here." The polite tone, the cordial language, and the confidence bordering on arrogance belonged to none other than Elijah.
Lucía looked at the man, finding his pretentious appearance even more irritating than it had seemed the day before. Still, she knew she had no real reason to hate him, that her feelings were nothing more than the unwanted result of irrational desires that could never be satisfied.
"I have matters to attend to, so I'm waiting for someone," Lucía replied after a moment's thought. There wasn't much point in being rude to the man or trying to hide her intentions; Hertford was too small for secrecy to be a viable option.
Elijah looked at Lucía for a second before nodding, wearing the expression of someone congratulating himself for solving a riddle. "Oh, you must be waiting for young Katherine."
Lucía nodded in response, not entirely willing to continue engaging in a pointless conversation with someone she could barely tolerate. Unfortunately, that didn't stop Elijah from continuing to speak.
"Well, I hope you and Katherine have a lovely evening. The girl could use more friends her age," he said while brushing off nonexistent dust from his coat lapel.
As if he loved the sound of his own voice too much, Elijah kept talking. "She's delightful, don't get me wrong, but she can be a bit too enthusiastic at times. And while I'm flattered, her attention is… uncomfortable."
Lucía truly wanted to beat the crap out of the idiot standing in front of her; every fiber of her being demanded it. But she had to restrain herself. It had already taken too much effort to rein in her darker side, and she couldn't afford to lose control again. Especially with the consequences of her recent confrontation with the sports team in the back parking lot still looming.
"On the contrary, I enjoy that enthusiasm," Lucía finally replied after taking a deep breath to control her temper. Then she forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes and suppressed a growl as she added, "As for monopolizing her attention, I'm sure there are those who would kill to be seen by her the way you are."
Elijah smirked at the comment, clearly entertained by Lucía's barely contained jealousy and growl. "It's all a matter of perspective, I suppose. You should be careful in that regard, Miss Lucía; focusing too much on the details can make you miss the bigger picture," he said with a chuckle under his breath.
Lucía felt her brow twitch, her smile so forced it was painful to hold. For a moment, her jaw clenched so tightly she could feel her fangs pressing against her skin from the inside. But she breathed. And let the fake smile do its job, finding the strength to respond. "I'll keep that in mind."
Elijah laughed, as if he were in on a joke only he understood. "Perfect. Now, if you'll excuse me, Miss Lucía, there's a puzzle waiting for me, and I've just found a few missing pieces, so I'm in a bit of a hurry to get to work."
With that, and a casual wave of his hand as a farewell, the man walked away, carelessly ignoring the dagger-like glare Lucía shot at him. His words lingered in Lucía's mind as she watched him leave. She found him irritatingly smug, a bastard who hid his pettiness behind a façade of politeness. But what truly infuriated her was that the man had the charisma and looks to back up his persona.
"It's better not to dwell on it. Only God knows what goes on in someone like that's mind."
With a shrug, Lucía pushed the thoughts aside. She had never been the type to overthink things, so there was no point in starting now. Lucía already had enough trouble dealing with her own emotional state to waste energy on a vain, self-centered man.
Normally, she didn't struggle this much in that department. God knew that if her life were always an emotional hurricane, she wouldn't have the strength left to deal with the supernatural on top of it.
"Luke… I wasn't ready to do this on my own," Lucía murmured, her voice heavy with unspoken grief.
Luke's death, this entire journey back to her homeland to bury him, and her growing loneliness had been wreaking havoc on the mental fortress she had built through sheer will and discipline. Her overwhelming infatuation with Katherine had only further weakened its foundations. And now, it was becoming harder and harder to defend that fortress and keep inside what she had locked away.
"Maybe all I need is closure." The thought surfaced suddenly, perhaps triggered by her visit to the morgue that morning. And with that idea came a realization. Whether it was her desire to get closer to the redhead or not, Lucía had just remembered that Katherine supposedly had experience with such matters, and maybe talking to her could help.
And as if she sensed someone needed her, Katherine stepped out of the pub. Her steps were light and enthusiastic, and her slightly tired smile seemed more genuine than it had been just a few hours earlier.
At the sight of her, Lucía let go of all other thoughts. She even chose not to dwell on the reason behind that smile. Instead, she allowed warmth to spill from her chest as she looked into those spring-green eyes now gazing back at her. That Katherine's eyes lit up upon seeing her made Lucía's heart skip a beat, but even then, her mind didn't wander. She simply savored the brief moment.