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Finn

Vampire sleep may cure hangovers, but it does absolutely sweet fuck all for heartbreak.

What in the actual fuck did I do last night?

I can't even act dumb, because I know the answer.

I blew up the best thing I ever had.

Just absolutely blasted it into the eternal fires of Astiano.

Gods I am a fucking idiot.

Curling into a ball, I ignore the hunger gnawing at my stomach. Why bother?

A knock on the door interrupts my self indulgence. The knocker doesn’t wait for me to call out before they open the door. Which while incredibly rude, is also fair, because I wasn’t going to call out.

“It’s just me,” Matteus whispers. Once again he doesn’t wait for a reply before coming in. “I thought I should come by and remind you of the blood in the fridge. It’ll be cold, but there is a blood warmer hidden in the drawers. It just takes a minute to heat, is all.”

Cold blood, warm blood. I don’t care. I shove the quilt down and watch him fuss around the room, straightening a vase of flowers, dusting a side table, fluffing the long, closed drapes.

Why is he here? To make sure I didn’t embrace the dawn in one of his rooms?

To make sure I don’t camp out here forever?

It’s a valid concern. I haven’t really seen the room, but I can guarantee it’s nicer than my place.

“You need to drink. Cold or heated?” He finally stops fussing and retrieves the blood from the fridge, holding it out to me and giving the bottle a little shake.

Despite him going well and truly above and beyond his job as the door host of Hearts Gate—surely he has other things to be doing?—I glare at him like a pouting child and take the bottle.

I know I’m giving him far more attitude than I should, but in the twisted pain of my mind, it feels good to be self destructive.

I have to sit up to crack the bottle and take a sip—very careful to not spill anything because I already don’t know how I’m going to pay for this room, let alone for any damages. Matteus keeps a stern eye, watching me until he thinks I’ve had enough.

Then he sits on the bed. I shuffle back to give him room, despite the bed being ginormous.

“So, Finn. That was quite the display you put on in my club last night.” It’s too early for me to hide my confusion.

His polite, nondescript mask isn’t there this morning and when he smiles at me, he actually looks incredibly handsome.

It completely transforms his face, like a secret.

“I am the manager here at Hearts Gate. I was on the entry last night due to a staffing situation.”

He’s the manager? Like, he runs this place? Well no wonder why he was so casual about putting me in a room, even after I mumbled some drunken nonsense about not being able to afford to stay.

Fuck. My cheeks burn with embarrassment over my behaviour last morning, but I’m too dehydrated to blush properly.

“Ugh, I’m so sorry about everything. About last night and—”

“Do not even think of it. You know what nosey beasts us beings are. Considering the usual dramatics stirred up, a lover’s quarrel is nothing but an appetiser.

” Matteus waves a hand, turning so one knee is resting on the bed.

“Now that’s out of the way, let’s talk of more important things.

I hope you don’t mind the intrusion, young Finn, but I took the liberty of looking into your situation. ”

Matteus is so effortlessly calm and casual about, well, everything, but I am still reeling and my stomach lurches horribly at the new direction of our conversation.

“What do you mean?” I ask hesitantly.

“We can discuss everything when you are feeling well. I just wanted to ensure you were alright.” He pats my leg again and I look at the spot.

This isn’t the most confused I’ve ever been in my life but it’s definitely in the top five.

“Finish your blood and freshen yourself up. I will meet you back here in fifteen minutes.”

And then he leaves.

I’m still in my clothes from last night, and sleep hasn't refreshed them, so I do the best that I can, cleaning myself up in the bathroom with the luxury toiletries provided.

Exactly fifteen minutes later there is another knock on the door. I actually open it this time, and I kind of regret it when I see his broad smile. It feels uncomfortable and wrong to be smiled at when I feel so thoroughly awful.

“Excellent, you’re ready. Come with me.”

Thank the Gods he doesn’t expect any small talk. I follow him numbly to the staircase. But instead of going down, we go up.

“I think this conversation may require more privacy than your presence in the common areas will allow," he says when I hesitate at the bottom step, ushering me on .

The magic of the ward protecting the entry into the private areas prickles as I pass.

At the top of the stairs is a hallway, completely bare except for the glowing sconces and matching doors at either end. Matteus heads left.

“Those are the owner's rooms,” he says simply when I stare too long at the other door.

I can only grunt in response. I’m too numb to care.

Matteus’s rooms are decorated in the same traditional style as downstairs, only more cosy.

Unlike the uncomfortable damask silk antique lounges and spindly furniture in the common areas, his furniture is chunky and sturdy.

His couches are over stuffed and soft looking with plenty of cushions and throws, in varying soft beiges and creams I could never keep clean.

Lamps, piles of books, and vases filled with cream flowers clutter every available surface.

We don’t stop though, walking through the living area to the double doors that open out onto the manager’s private rooftop garden.

Dimly, I wonder if he is responsible for the courtyard downstairs in the club, as the same fragrant night blooms are here. They probably have staff here for that, though.

“Please take a seat.” He waves to one of the wicker arm chairs at the small table.

With no other option, or care factor to think of one, I sit, folding my hands in my lap and staring blankly. Once I’m settled, Matteus hums his approval and disappears again, leaving me confused in his pretty garden for several minutes before he returns with more blood and a leather portfolio.

“My apologies, Finn. I know you had a rather upsetting morning, and I am truly sorry.” I don’t answer and he gives me a grim smile.

“Yes, well, as I said, I did have a look into you during the day. We examine all members, for many things like character and ability to pay fees, etcetera. But your application obviously had extra… flags we wished to address, and so I had my daytime assistants look into the matter.”

“Okay...” I draw the word out, not really sure where this is heading. I mean, I don’t even know if I can afford the membership yet. And honestly, after last night, I’m not even sure I want to come back.

Right now, all I want to do is go home and charge my phone and try to fix my monumental fuck up with Kai. He has—had?—feelings for me. Real feelings. And I threw them back in his face.

“I understand that you know nothing about your maker, except for their name. And I understand that at the present time, you may not wish to know anything further about them. But I feel like perhaps, without some context, everything I’m about to say may not make sense.”

His ‘customer service’ mask is entirely gone now, replaced with an aura of vulnerability that’s more than a little daunting considering what he’s just said. Despite his efforts to reassure me—well, I think he’s trying to reassure me—I’m feeling even more nervous.

“Um, okay. I guess?” I say again, even though I’m even less sure than I sound.

“You see, Finn, I believe I knew your maker.”

“I’m sorry, what ?”

Matteus takes pity on me, nudging one of the bottles on the small table towards me. I accept it gratefully, suddenly desperately in need of the blood. The glugging sound as I choke down half the bottle fills the garden, while Matteus waits patiently for me to recollect myself.

“I’m sorry, Finn. That must be shocking news.

And unfortunately, we have a few more shocks to weather before I’m through, so please bear with me,” Matteus says gently when I’m done wiping my bloodied mouth with the back of my hand.

“You see, my maker… he was the very worst of our kind; he was the kind of vampire for which the laws that govern our kind were written. Christoff—if your maker was the right Christoff, and I do not have any doubts that he was—was cut from the same cloth. They were exceptionally good friends. That was, they were , until Christoff had a change of heart about his misdeeds. That was about a century ago, and he left Ulydessia to travel the world. I’ve seen him in the years since, and I’d believed him a new vampire.

In the end, it seems, I overestimated how much he changed. ”

I don’t know what to say. My mouth hangs open, I’m not even sure I’m blinking. Only the blood I just drank surging through my veins is keeping me upright.

Matteus clears his throat. “I can see that you are overwhelmed, and understandably so. So I will leave the matter for now. Just know that, should you wish, I can answer any questions you have in regards to Christoff.”

Nodding gingerly, I pick at the label on the bottle with my thumbnail. “How do you know? How do you know you have the right guy?”

“Well…” Matteus tips his head from side to side, no doubt considering how much to tell me.

“To begin, I keep track of all my maker’s former acquaintances.

It’s for the best. Unfortunately, whilst I knew that Christoff was in the Whisper Woods, I missed the news of your change.

Usually, I would have heard about such an unusual occurrence, and interceded.

But there were other matters which distracted me at the time. ”

He would have interceded? What does that even mean? I wouldn’t have been all alone? The ground opens up below me, and everything goes dark, my vision tunneling into blackness.