Chapter 192: 192-Welcome back
"What about the numbness and the dreadful flower?"
Maisa rushed to ask to get a clear picture of the offer she was receiving.
"Sealed within you, where it belongs. Its power will no longer spill out of you uncontrollably."
Maisa closed her eyes. She thought of the four women who had become her home in a world that had otherwise rejected her. She imagined being able to feel Varitreya’s concern again, Addessa’s fierce affection, Lumi’s frustration, and Zolani’s playful joy. She imagined reaching for them and knowing they were there.
Then she thought of Evelyn opening her eyes, her aunt smiling at her, scolding her for not eating properly, embracing her and telling her that everything would be alright.
Maisa opened her eyes. "Yes," she whispered in agreement.
The white-haired girl waited patiently for her to come to a decision and affirm it clearly.
Maisa lifted her head, her cheeks wet with tears. "I agree to your condition."
The girl’s smile didn’t change. For a moment, it mirrored Vaki’s smile. "Say it clearly," she demanded for a clear line.
Maisa drew a trembling breath. "Yes, I agree. I’ll give you the right to my first child as long as you fulfill your part of the bargain."
"Thats good. And worry not, I will definitely fulfill my part of the bargain," the girl held out her hand. "Then the debt must be written in blood. We can have you backing out later, can we?"
Maisa looked at her palm. "Blood?"
"Your word is the beginning of a promise. Blood makes it binding and gives me confidence that you’ll keep your word and failure to do so, you’ll die of a broken heart," her smile faltered a little. "Literally, your heart will break to pieces and bring an end to your immortality and you’ll be... Dead, dead, dead!"
Maisa hesitated only briefly before taking a small blade from the belt of a fallen guard nearby. She pressed it against her fingertip and drew a thin line across the skin.
A bead of dark red blood appeared but before it could fall, it rose into the air.
Maisa stared as the droplet floated between them, trembling like a tiny ruby suspended by invisible threads. Then it stretched into a delicate ribbon, twisting and turning as though an unseen hand were writing with it.
The white-haired girl raised Taratoya’s hand. Her eyes turned completely white. Not pale or silver. White, from edge to edge, as though the light of an entire world had gathered behind them.
Maisa’s own eyes widened. The dark red ribbon of blood began to glow.
A strange symbol appeared within it, formed from delicate lines that resembled both a flower and a circle of interlocking roots. Maisa didn’t recognize the script, yet she felt the weight of it settling around her.
A promise had been made that was a debt yet to be repaid as something had accepted.
The blood vanished and at the same moment, Maisa’s eyes flickered. Her pupils seemed to dissolve into the light around her, and for one terrifying instant, her eyes disappeared entirely, leaving only pale emptiness where they had been. She gasped and reached for her face.
"What?"
The white-haired girl lowered her hand. "It’s done."
Maisa’s eyes returned. She stumbled backward, breathing hard. "What did you do to me?"
"Nothing that wasn’t part of our agreement."
"That doesn’t tell me anything!" she growled at the girl, hating being kept in the dark once again.
The girl laughed softly. "You have a great many questions, Maisa."
"You took my blood and my eyes disappeared!" Maisa pleaded her case. "Wouldn’t you have questions if you were in my shoes."
"It was temporary," she rolled her eyes. "Don’t be dramatic."
"Temporarily?"
"Yes."
Maisa stared at her, unable to decide whether to scream or cry. The girl reminded her of Vaki and Taratoya, all three of them seemed made from the same cloth and were annoying to deal with.
The girl merely smiled. "Now, let’s honor our agreement."
---
The white-haired girl rose to her feet. She turned toward Maisa and extended one hand.
"Come here."
Maisa obeyed slowly, her attention flickering between the stranger and Evelyn’s body.
The girl placed two fingers against Maisa’s chest. The instant they touched, Maisa felt a current of power spread through her.
She gasped. "Aah."
It was unlike the violent force of the flower’s awakening. There was no crushing pressure, no tearing sensation, no sense that something inside her was being dragged out against her will.
Instead, the power moved through her like warm sunlight filtering through a forest canopy. It was gentle, ancient and alive.
The white-haired girl’s magic spread beneath Maisa’s skin, winding through her veins and reaching into places she hadn’t even known were damaged.
For a moment, Maisa felt as though she were standing barefoot in a vast, untouched forest. Roots stretched beneath her feet, carrying the deep pulse of the earth. Leaves rustled overhead. Water moved through hidden streams, and flowers opened wherever the invisible current passed.
The entire world seemed to breathe. The magic was as though mother Nature herself appeared to be moving through the courtyard, reaching into Maisa’s body and carefully repairing what had been broken.
Maisa’s breath caught. The numbness inside her began to dissolve. First came a faint tingling beneath her fingertips and then the sensation of air brushing against her cheek.
She could feel it all: the gentle pressure of her own dress against her skin, the cool stone beneath her feet, the ache in her knees, and the warmth of blood moving through her veins.
She gasped again, overwhelmed by the sudden return of sensations she had forgotten how to experience.
"Oh..." her hands trembled.
She could feel. She could actually feel. And the bliss of the moment was out of this world.
The white-haired girl smiled at her. "Welcome back."
Something stirred beneath Maisa’s breastbone. It was a faint pulse, a familiar tug. Maisa’s eyes filled with tears.
She felt Varitreya. Not her thoughts, not her memories, but the unmistakable emotional presence that had been missing for so long. Concern rushed through the restored bond, followed by Addessa’s fierce determination and the bewildered distress of Lumi and Zolani.
The connection returned like a thread being drawn through a dark room, reconnecting Maisa to the four people she had feared losing. She pressed a hand against her chest.
"Vari..." she called.
Across the courtyard, Varitreya stirred. Her fingers twitched against Addessa’s arm.
Addessa froze. "Vari?"
The princess’s eyes fluttered open, and she drew a sharp breath. For a moment, she seemed confused by the bodies around her and the strange light that had filled the courtyard. Then she looked at Addessa.
"Addie?"
The blackblood nearly sobbed with relief. "I’m here."
Varitreya reached for her hand. The moment their fingers touched, both vampires felt the familiar bond settle back into place. The weakness that had threatened to consume them was gone, and their lifespans had returned to nor.
"Addie, Lumi, Zol..." Maisa cried tears of joy.