"You… You can see it too, Aenoth."
Cecilia's voice trembled. All her companions had stepped back as the air around them crackled.
They sensed something was changing in the vampire woman they once knew.
Aenoth's face twisted into pain, then fury. A maniacal laugh escaped her mouth.
"Of course I do… 'Master.' I've been wanting to see you for a long time…"
Cecilia had also noticed the vampire's change, and the sarcasm in her pronunciation of the word 'master' didn't escape her. But she didn't back down.
Aenoth's delicate fingers morphed into claws, and the fangs were bared in her mouth. She looked like she was about to lash out an attack. Yet, she didn't move.
"I'm not here to fight you, Aennie. You are not to blame for what happened to you."
The sudden use of the pet name made the vampire gasp. The air around her returned to normality, and her claws became fingers again.
"You abandoned me, Morielen. You have no right to use that name anymore."
