I felt a hand cup my cheek and a thumb wipe my eye. When did I start crying? I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, trying to force them back. Stephanie wasn't dead. I haven't seen a body yet. She could have survived that fall. Hell, she might have even been able to heal herself and others. They could even be on their way here.

  “Just take a breath, carissimo,” Ippolita said softly. “Fiametta,” she called to the guard, still stroking my cheek, “How long ago did the scouts leave?”

  “About 30 minutes ago, your majesty.”

  “Go and grab two more of my guards. You'll be escorting…”

  “Sorry,” I choked out. “Jack. My name is Jack Wright.”

  Principessa Ippolita smirked at my introduction. “You'll be escorting Jack to the crash site and meeting up with the scouting party. The mission is still reconnaissance and rescue efforts, but Jack’s safety takes priority above everything.” She paused to stare me in the eye, then turned her head to do the same to Fiammeta. “Am I clear on that, Fiammeta? His life is my life. Do not let harm befall him.”

  “Of course, your majesty. It will be so.”

  “Go on, you're dismissed. I'll need to perform the citizenship ritual.”

  “Yes, your majesty,” Fiametta said as she clanged a quick salute against her chest, then left the room, closing the door behind her.

  “Jack.”

  I refocused my gaze back to her from the door. “Your majesty?”

  “What do you know of the city-states on the surface?”

  “Absolutely nothing, your majesty. In fact, we believed there was nothing down here except maybe monsters. Personally, I assumed there were maybe monsters, but with the permanent cloud cover, I just couldn't imagine life really surviving.”

  “Monsters, huh. Perhaps we are to some. Is that all you know? Do they not teach about the surface anymore? Of our connected history? The trade agreements? The sister cities and the Godsway?”

  “No, your majesty. None of that,” I said. After pausing, I continued, “All we are taught is that the Gates of the Gods, or Godsway, used to work and connect us to the surface.”

  “I see. You'll need a longer history lesson eventually, but I'll have Fiametta take care of that later. Suffice to say, we are different, very different. I'm sure you noticed when arriving that many of my people had animal ears?”

  I nodded.

  “What do you know of weres and vampires?”

  “Just legends in stories. Supposedly, some dungeons have feral weres deep in the lower levels, but I'm only at orange, so I've never encountered anything like that.”

  “Yes, your cultivation level is something we will need to improve swiftly before I feel comfortable letting you wander beyond the walls, carissimo.”

  There's that strange word again. It must be a local thing. Or maybe an Ippolita thing.

  Before I could respond to my apparent need for a history lesson, she continued as if I had no say in the matter. “I, and all of the nobles of every city-state on the surface, are vampires.”

  The moment the words left her mouth, I became hyperaware of how close she was to me. She was sitting on the bed with me. One of her hands was still cupping my cheek.

  How did I not notice her hand wasn't warm? Am I under compulsion? Did she slip into my mind while I was talking about Stephanie? Oh fuck, Stephanie. There's a rescue squad going after the crash site. Are they vampires, too? Will they really be rescued or fed upon?

  I was spiraling. I knew I was spiraling, but I couldn't stop. I was breathing too fast; I could hear my heart in my ears. I was hypersensitive to her immaculate nails, the color of blood, and her fingers on my cheek. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run away. Her mouth was moving. Was she casting a spell? What is that expression she's making?

  “---Jack. Jack, come back to me. Teroso mio, you are safe. I promise. No harm will come to you.”

  Her words finally pierced whatever fog of panic I'd been drowning in. I was exhausted. This was becoming too much.

  Breathe, Jack. You can rest later. Stephanie needs you. You're fine. These people seem genuine. Once you meet with survivors from the city, you can make a break for it. Maybe she lied about every city-state down here being run by vampires.

  I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

  “That's it, carissimo. You're okay. You're safe. And that is unfortunately not the only surprising thing I have to tell you.”

  Weres. It's going to be weres.

  “The rest of my people are either Dhampir, like Fiametta, or weres. Though the weres down here will be very different than the ones you're familiar with. None of them can go into their full animal form anymore, and most have lost access to their hybrid form. It's much more complicated than I’m making it, but that is why they have animal ears.”

  “Okay. But they collectively still identify as weres? I’m familiar with the faux pas of calling a particularly pale wood elf a high elf.”

  Ippolita giggled, and the musicality of it blended with the music of her magic. For the umpteenth time, the word “Stunning” popped into my head.

  “An appropriate comparison, if my memory of elves is correct. Yes, they still identify collectively as weres, but don't call a wolf a fox, and so on. It isn't rude to ask about their heritage either, though some may sass you for it.”

  I nodded at her. Her hand was still on my face, but her thumb had started tracing calming circles again. I felt the mana in the room emit calming fluctuations. She’s trying to soothe me, I thought. There must be more ‘bad’ news she has to tell me.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Jack, there’s one more big thing. I want you to let me finish explaining before you panic again, and remember, carissimo, this is for your protection.”

  I swallowed hard and nodded again. “Okay,” I said.

  “To become a citizen, a noble must drink your blood. It’s part of the covenant we, the other principesse and I, made to protect the mortals on the surface. There was another covenant with the cloud cities, but that’s been broken, so you aren’t protected by it anymore. I can’t tell you how much blood I need. This is part of the covenant: trust. You must trust me to take from you, and trust me that I’ll always protect you. Normally, if you’d grown up here, you’d be able to learn from context everything you needed to know. I’m sorry it has to be this way, Jack, but I cannot let you leave my palace without becoming a citizen. It just isn’t safe.”

  Fuck. Fuck. FUCK. It’s all I can do to keep myself grounded in the moment. Again, everything is red, too red. Her eyes, her painted nails, her dress—oh gods, the wine glass. That was probably blood. I’m drowning, and my thumb starts to twist my ring in a nervous pre-combat habit. The action makes me think of the engagement dagger, of Stephanie. I have to do this. I have to do this so I can find Stephanie. To save her or bury her. But I can do neither if I can’t leave.

  Swallowing, “Okay,” I said, finding the resolve buried within me. “I give you my blood freely, and in return I demand your protection.”

  As if I’d said some magic words, which upon reflection perhaps I did, her eyes flashed, and a hungry grin took shape on her mouth. “Oh, Jack mio, you will have it,” she said. Slowly, her hand fell from my face and gently took one of my hands: the one not fidgeting with my storage ring. She brought my index finger to her mouth, and when she opened her mouth, her canines quickly extended. She pressed my finger down on one of her fangs; as blood started to well, she closed her lips around my finger and swished her tongue over it, and applied a very gentle suction. Just as quickly as it began, she opened her mouth, took my finger out, and laid my hand back at my side. The whole experience felt too alien for me to truly process the danger I was in or the sexuality of it.

  As she swallowed, I felt something snap into place inside me, and all of the mana in the room thrummed gently. Looking down at my finger, I felt like I was part of something bigger, but it was too indistinguishable for me to pick out anything. I looked back up at her, and she had her eyes closed, head tilted back, and her mouth seemed to form a quiet expression of exultation, or arousal, I couldn’t be sure. The blood thing being tantamount to sex seems to track from what I remember from books, I thought. She lowered her head and opened her eyes; her gaze was softer now, like it was after I finished talking about Stephanie.

  “There is still some paperwork for the Hall of Records that you will need to fill out, but that can wait until you return. For now, there are a few other differences between our cultures that you should know,” she said and paused briefly. When she started speaking again, she was almost hesitant. “Doranna and the other cloud cities are all still patriarchal, correct?”

  I squint at her slightly, but relax my face again quickly. What an odd question, I thought. “Yes, your majesty, it’s patriarchal.”

  “Mhmm, and the gender ratio is roughly an even number of men and women?”

  What? “Yes, your majesty, as far as I know, that is the case. And while there isn’t an even distribution or representation in various jobs, adventurers are pretty evenly spread between men and women.”

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. That might be another difference, but it could just be indicative of our disparity. If it isn’t obvious by me mentioning the other Principessas and no mention of a Principe, our society is matriarchal. Further, we have a rather extreme shortage of men. Our ratio is about one man to every 5 women. Because of this disparity, you don’t see a lot of men in combat roles, though the ones that are tend to be quite ferocious. They’re also all weres. You won’t find a male Dhampir swinging a sword. They’d much rather have their tea parties and gossip over petty things.” She rolled her eyes at the last sentence.

  “Are there no male Vampires, your majesty?”

  She taps her lip in thought, the blood red paint catching the glow of the lamps. Why am I constantly noticing this now? It’s like I can’t get it out of my head.

  “There are a few. And I don’t just mean a few in this city. Unless my memory fails me, there are less than 100 between all of the surface city-states. The nobles don’t typically turn their husbands. For my part, I’ve considered it, but I’ve been waiting for the right one.” She winked at me after she finished her piece.

  “So, less than 100 male vampires on the entire surface of the planet? That seems—” I trailed off, trying to wrap my head around the absolute insane disparity between genders for the vampires.

  “Though I suspect there may be some feral males out in the wilds.”

  “Feral males? Like feral vampires,” I asked.

  “Yes, but that’s not important right now.” She took a breath. “Jack. Carissimo, you have a very high value down on the surface. You are not only a man, but a so far unmarried one. And while we would respect the marriage between you and Stephanie, it hasn’t happened yet. Combine that with you being a cultivator and a full-blooded human. Do not go anywhere alone.”

  She paused to see that I understood, so I gave her a nod.

  “I will assign Fiametta to be your personal bodyguard. I trust all of my guards; they are sworn in blood to me, but she is first among equals in that regard. Her family has served me for several generations. I even took one of their men as a husband 2,000 years ago. Don’t look at me like that. I’m still young in the ways it matters, “ she said with a wink.

  “She will go everywhere with you in my city, and if you ever go beyond the walls, she’ll make sure you bring a balanced team. She will also train you and help you to advance through the tiers. I know you crave power to be able to protect yourself and Stephanie from this new world you find yourself in. I’ll do my part to make sure you get it. Speaking of Fiametta.”

  As she finished, there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” she said and stood up from the bed. Fiametter and two other armed and armored Dhampir walk in. “Ah, you’ve chosen Orsa and Chiara. Good choices. Jack, are you ready to depart?”

  I swept my legs over the bed and onto the floor, and fully understood the height difference between the Principessa and me. She had to have been 7 feet tall, at least. I gently tested my legs to make sure they could hold my weight, and I wasn’t suffering anything major from my fall and eventual tumble in the street. Everything seemed fine, though, so I summoned my armor and longsword onto my body. This got a raised eyebrow from Principessa Ippolita and a look of envy from either Orsa or Chiara. I didn’t know which was which yet. I walked over to them and extended my hand first to Dama Fiametta. “Ladies, my name is Jack Wright. I’ll be in your care.”

  Dama Fiametta grabbed my hand, “Dama Fiametta d’Ippolita. Nothing will harm you under my watch, Signore.” Seeing her this close, I could tell she was taller than me by a couple of inches, maybe 6’2. She released my hand and stepped back to let the other two approach.

  The taller one—6’5?---who also wore full plate armor like Dama Fiametta, but had a bandolier of throwing knives trapped across her breastplate as well as a very unfeasible amount of weapons and sidearms strapped to her. Must be held together with magic, I mused. Also, like Dama Fiametta, she had chestnut hair and the same red eyes. She extended her hand to me, and I took it. “Dama Orsa d’Ippolita. It is entirely my pleasure to meet you, cucciolo, though it could be yours, too.” She twisted my hand and brought my gauntleted knuckles to her lips before releasing them.

  Finally, the shortest girl—a little taller than Stephanie at maybe 5’10—approached me. She wasn’t in full plate armor like the other two. Instead, she wore a cuirass with a brigandine beneath, vambraces on each arm, and cuisses on her thighs. She had a rapier hanging from her right side. She extended her hand to me, and I shook it. “I’m Dama Chiara d’Ippolita. Unlike the other two, I focus more on support and ranged magic, but I can fence if necessary. I know a couple of healing spells, but to be entirely honest, they were crafted with the Dhampir and Were constitution in mind. I’m not sure it’ll affect a human since your basal rate of regeneration is lower,” she said, letting my hand go.

  “That’s alright. My fiancée was the party’s healer. I never wanted to put her in a position of feeling responsible for my death, so I spent a lot of time learning to enhance my natural regeneration with my internal mana. Between the two of us, I’ll live.” She offered me a small smile and a shallow nod.

  “Fiametta,” Principessa Ippolita started, “you have my leave to use the stable’s speed enchantments and the enchanted tack and bridle. Get him to his love as swiftly as possible.” She turned to look at me, “Come back to me, carrisimo mio, and bring your fiancée to your new home.”

  That must have been a dismissal because the three knights filed out of the room. I spared a final glance at the principessa and gave her a nod, then left as well.

  ?