▪︎ Chapter 66 ▪︎ “It did not create violence itself.”
───
Lavinia lounged in one of the manor’s high-backed chairs.
One leg crossed neatly over the other.
Her head rested against the cushion.
One hand lay loosely across her lap while the fingers of the other tapped the armrest from time to time.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Around her...
The others continued exploring.
Some moved between the shelves lining the walls.
Others opened drawers.
Rosaline had claimed a chaise near the fireplace despite there being no fire.
Gwendolyn and Evelyn stood near one of the paintings, quietly discussing whether the empty landscape depicted anywhere real.
Evangeline had disappeared behind a heavy curtain several minutes ago and had yet to explain why.
Lavinia watched all of it without truly seeing any of it.
Violetta had been right.
Humans could exist without vampires.
They already had.
For all of recorded human history...
Humanity had existed without them.
Thrived without them.
Built cities.
Crossed oceans.
Created governments.
Destroyed governments.
Fought wars.
Reached space.
All without a single vampire among them.
Vampires...
Could not say the same.
They needed humans.
More precisely...
They needed human blood.
Animal blood could sustain them.
Technically.
But none of them preferred it.
And Lavinia doubted that preference was merely indulgence.
Human blood did something animal blood did not.
It tasted right.
It satisfied something deeper.
Something instinctive.
Something she couldn’t properly explain.
Unless some alternative was eventually discovered...
Something grown in laboratories.
Something synthetic.
Something that provided the same nourishment without requiring a living donor...
Vampires would always remain connected to humanity.
Dependent on it.
Lavinia’s fingers tapped the armrest again.
Tap.
Tap.
Would humans even allow such an alternative?
The thought came unexpectedly.
She frowned.
If scientists discovered a substitute...
Would it be shared?
Would governments distribute it?
Would humans see it as a way to ensure peace?
Or...
Would someone decide keeping vampires dependent was useful?
She didn’t like that thought.
Not because she believed humanity as a whole would behave cruelly.
Humanity as a whole rarely behaved like anything.
Individual people did.
Governments did.
Organizations did.
Groups did.
Humanity simply carried the consequences.
She slowly tilted her head toward the ceiling.
She couldn’t imagine vampires meaningfully winning a war against humans.
Not truly.
There were too many humans.
Too many cities.
Too many weapons.
Too much industry.
Too much infrastructure.
Even with their speed...
Strength...
Regeneration...
And now flight...
Vampires were still vastly outnumbered.
They could not conquer humanity.
Could not occupy nations.
Could not replace governments.
Could not sustain battle lines.
But...
They could make a mess of the world.
A terrible one.
Lavinia’s fingers stopped tapping.
That was the uncomfortable part.
Winning and causing devastation were not the same thing.
Vampires might lose eventually.
But how many people would die first?
How many cities would become unsafe at night?
How many roads would be abandoned?
How many families would learn to sleep behind reinforced doors?
How much blood would vampires take before humanity found a reliable way to stop them?
She rested her head farther back against the chair.
A faint sense of strangeness settled over her.
The Second Divergence had occurred only ten days after the first.
Ten days.
That was all.
Ten days after vampires and werewolves appeared...
Reality changed again.
And it had changed in a way that almost perfectly disrupted the tensions rising since Day One.
No new species had appeared.
At least...
None had been discovered.
No third transformed population.
No new predators walking into cities.
No impossible people with impossible abilities.
Instead...
The world itself became larger.
Much larger.
The Earth had gone from a world dominated by humanity...
To a world with humanity living within it.
The distinction felt important.
Before the Second Divergence...
Civilization had stretched almost everywhere.
Not equally.
Not completely.
But roads connected cities.
Railways connected states.
Ships connected continents.
Aircraft crossed oceans.
Militaries could move equipment.
Governments could transport food.
Supplies.
Fuel.
People.
Now...
Civilization had been cut into sections.
Not entirely.
The cities still existed.
Air travel still existed, to an extent.
Sea travel remained possible.
But every route had become longer.
Land connections had shattered.
Roads ended at forests.
Railways disappeared into ravines.
Bridges no longer reached the other side.
Transporting troops or supplies in any meaningful volume had become vastly more difficult.
By land...
Near impossible in many places.
By sea...
Possible.
But much longer.
Much more expensive.
Much slower.
The world had not become empty.
It had become separated.
Fragmented.
Humanity still possessed civilization.
But no longer held the land between every civilized place.
Lavinia exhaled slowly.
A soft impact sounded beside her.
The chair next to hers creaked.
Valerie had dropped into it without warning.
She lounged immediately.
One arm draped over the back.
One leg crossing the other in a near imitation of Lavinia’s posture.
Then she turned her head.
“What’s wrong?”
Lavinia blinked.
“Nothing.”
Valerie stared.
Lavinia stared back.
Several seconds passed.
Valerie smiled.
“That means something is wrong.”
Lavinia laughed softly.
“No.”
She looked toward the dark window.
“I was just thinking.”
“That’s dangerous.”
“I know.”
Valerie’s smile widened.
“What about?”
Lavinia tapped the armrest once.
“The Second Divergence.”
Valerie waited.
Lavinia continued.
“I think it probably helped vampires in the long run.”
From the window seat...
Violetta looked over.
She had been sitting sideways against the cushioned ledge, one hand resting lightly near the glass.
A faint smile appeared.
“It did.”
Evangeline emerged from behind the curtain at precisely that moment.
No one asked what she had been doing.
She brushed one hand across the front of her dress as though nothing unusual had happened.
Violetta continued.
“Transporting troops or equipment is now exceptionally difficult.”
She glanced toward the distant darkness beyond the manor.
“Especially heavy equipment.”
“Armored vehicles.”
“Artillery.”
“Fuel.”
“Food.”
“Anything required to sustain large-scale movement.”
She looked back toward them.
“At meaningful scale...”
Her smile sharpened slightly.
“It is nearly impossible in many regions.”
Evangeline rolled her eyes.
“Even so.”
She walked over and sat on the arm of Rosaline’s chaise.
“We wouldn’t really win.”
Rosaline glanced up at her.
Evangeline spread her hands.
“There are what?”
“More than five thousand humans for every vampire?”
Valerie nodded.
“The ratio is too skewed.”
“Far too skewed.”
Evangeline leaned back slightly.
“Exactly.”
“Sure we could kill a lot of people.”
She said it casually.
Not coldly.
Simply as fact.
“But winning?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Gwendolyn laughed softly from near the painting.
“Things don’t have to end badly.”
Everyone looked toward her.
She smiled.
“The Second Divergence gave everyone some much-needed space.”
She pointed vaguely toward the manor walls.
“And these places are clearly designed for us.”
“Hardly any light gets inside.”
“The walls are thick.”
“The rooms are cold.”
“The beds are comfortable.”
Her smile brightened.
“Vampires could live in the Diverged Lands.”
Rosaline raised an eyebrow.
“That sounds simple when you say it.”
Gwendolyn tilted her head.
“Isn’t it?”
“No.”
Rosaline shifted against the chaise.
“You’re asking vampires to give up every convenience they had as humans.”
“Electricity.”
“Internet.”
“Running water.”
“Stores.”
“Restaurants.”
“Television.”
“Phones.”
She gestured around the room.
“This manor is lovely.”
“But lovely doesn’t mean practical.”
Adelaide, who had been inspecting a cabinet across the room, closed it quietly.
“Space isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
Rosaline looked toward her.
Adelaide leaned back against the cabinet.
“Vampires and werewolves can kill people.”
“That part is true.”
She folded her arms.
“But since the Divergence...”
“We’ve taken the spotlight.”
“Human crimes haven’t stopped.”
“They’ve simply been overshadowed by ours.”
Lavinia’s gaze shifted toward her.
Adelaide continued.
“Murders.”
“Assaults.”
“Disappearances.”
“Domestic violence.”
“Organized crime.”
“None of it vanished.”
“But now every attack involving a vampire or werewolf becomes international news.”
Violetta nodded.
“That creates the illusion that we are destabilizing society more than we actually are.”
She rose from the window seat.
Her movements were calm.
Measured.
“Put simply...”
“Humans have killed more humans than vampires and werewolves ever will.”
The room quieted.
Violetta glanced between them.
“That is not a defense of what either species could do in the future.”
“Nor is it an excuse.”
“But the scale matters.”
“Humanity survived its own violence for all of recorded history.”
“The emergence of two new species changed the pattern.”
“It did not create violence itself.”
She looked back toward the window.
“The Second Divergence gave everyone a chance to breathe.”
Evangeline smiled.
Then leaned forward with clear interest.
“Do you think we’d win?”
Violetta looked at her.
“In a fight against humans.”
Evangeline clarified.
Violetta’s head tilted subtly.
The movement was small.
Almost thoughtful.
“Winning wouldn’t really be the goal.”
Evangeline blinked.
“What would be?”
Violetta stepped away from the window.
“Military force assumes the existence of a sufficiently even opponent.”
“An army meets another army.”
“Territory is gained.”
“Territory is held.”
“Supply lines are established.”
“Command structures are targeted.”
“Equipment is moved.”
“Positions are defended.”
She slowly crossed the room.
“But remove the practical benefits of heavy vehicles and large-scale weapons...”
“Remove reliable roads.”
“Remove railways.”
“Remove the ability to move fuel and ammunition across long distances.”
Her empty crimson eyes moved across each face.
“And what remains?”
“Human soldiers.”
“Armed humans.”
Evangeline’s smile faded into consideration.
Violetta looked toward Lavinia.
“Do you think you would lose to armed humans?”
Lavinia shook her head almost immediately.
“No.”
The answer came easily.
She thought of the people she had encountered.
The attackers.
They had been armed.
Prepared.
Dangerous.
But probably not trained soldiers.
That distinction mattered.
Yet...
Not enough to change the foundation.
They had not possessed the same body she did.
The same speed.
The same senses.
The same regeneration.
The same ability to cross distance before a person finished reacting.
A soldier might be more disciplined.
More accurate.
Better coordinated.
But still human.
Still limited by human movement.
Human durability.
Human perception.
“No.”
Lavinia repeated.
“I don’t think I would.”
Violetta chuckled softly.
“Exactly.”
She folded her hands behind her back.
“A war between vampires and humans would not look like a conventional war.”
“It would not involve vampire battalions marching against armored divisions.”
“Nor would we attempt to conquer nations.”
She paused.
“It would be raids.”
The word settled heavily.
“Cities.”
“Towns.”
“Settlements.”
“Isolated homes.”
“Vampires would enter human population centers to secure blood.”
“Not necessarily to kill.”
“But to ensure a steady supply.”
Her voice remained even.
“Actual combat would be intermittent.”
“Humans would defend.”
“Vampires would infiltrate.”
“Humans would attempt to predict movement.”
“Vampires would avoid direct confrontation.”
“The conflict would become one of access.”
“Defense.”
“Fear.”
“And survival.”
Lavinia straightened in her chair.
“That’s what makes the Second Divergence almost perfect.”
Several eyes moved toward her.
She sat upright now.
The laziness gone from her posture.
“It lets vampires and werewolves fade into the background.”
“Humans have larger problems.”
“Broken infrastructure.”
“New territory.”
“Wildlife.”
“Resources.”
“Cities cut off from one another.”
She gestured toward the dark windows.
“But if there were a fight...”
“Humans couldn’t meaningfully pursue us into the Diverged Lands.”
“Not quickly.”
“Not in large numbers.”
“They’d have to build roads.”
“Bring supplies.”
“Move equipment.”
“Map everything.”
“And we could just leave.”
She smiled slightly.
“Meanwhile...”
“Vampires could still enter human cities.”
“So could werewolves.”
“We could cross forests.”
“Climb.”
“Run.”
“Fly.”
“We could attack civilization whenever we chose.”
Rosaline laughed.
“Lavinia.”
Lavinia looked toward her.
“Calm down.”
Rosaline smiled.
“We’re peaceful.”
“We don’t want any of that.”
“I know.”
Lavinia smiled back.
“Thinking about it won’t make it happen.”
Rosaline raised an eyebrow.
“It sounded like you were planning a campaign.”
“I was analyzing.”
“You sounded excited.”
“I was interested.”
“That’s not better.”
“It is to me.”
Rosaline laughed again.
Cordelia sat forward in her chair.
One elbow came to rest against her knee.
Her chin settled into her hand.
Blue hair framed her empty crimson eyes.
“I wouldn’t wait for death.”
The room quieted.
Cordelia’s voice remained soft.
Thoughtful.
“But I wouldn’t want a world where survival meant constantly depriving others of their lives.”
Her fingers curled slightly beneath her chin.
“Not once.”
“Not because of an accident.”
“Not because someone attacked me.”
“But every night.”
“Again and again.”
“Taking people.”
“Hurting them.”
“Leaving families afraid.”
She lowered her gaze.
“I wouldn’t enjoy that.”
A brief silence.
“Still...”
She looked up.
“I would do it.”
No one interrupted.
Cordelia’s expression did not harden.
If anything...
It became sadder.
“Because I don’t wish to die.”
The statement carried no pride.
No cruelty.
Only honesty.
Violetta studied her for several seconds.
Then nodded.
“Research conducted since the First Divergence found something similar.”
Cordelia looked toward her.
“Vampires appear to exhibit a baseline level of self-preservation exceeding anything normally observed in humans.”
Gwendolyn smiled.
“I just don’t want to die.”
Her tone was light.
Almost cheerful.
The simplicity of it made Valerie laugh softly.
Violetta smiled.
“That is one way to phrase it.”
Gwendolyn clasped her hands behind her back.
“I like living.”
“I like everyone.”
“I like trying new things.”
“I like blood.”
“I like sleeping in piles.”
Her smile widened.
“So dying sounds terrible.”
Evelyn, quiet near the painting, nodded.
“I feel the same.”
Her voice was soft.
Barely above the room’s silence.
Everyone looked toward her.
Evelyn lowered her gaze slightly.
“But...”
She continued.
“I don’t think I’d want to hurt people either.”
A pause.
“Unless I had to.”
Celestine stood beside her.
She said nothing.
But smiled faintly.
Then nodded once.
Agreement.
Simple and complete.
Lavinia looked around the room.
At all of them.
At their different expressions.
Rosaline’s amusement had softened.
Valerie’s smile had become thoughtful.
Cordelia still rested her chin against her hand.
Gwendolyn remained openly sincere.
Evangeline watched Violetta with quiet curiosity.
Adelaide leaned against the cabinet, arms folded.
Evelyn stood beside Celestine.
All vampires.
All alive.
All unwilling to surrender that life.
Perhaps that was the part humans would struggle to understand.
Or perhaps...
It was the one thing they would understand best.
Lavinia slowly leaned back into the chair.
Her fingers returned to the armrest.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
“We really are a problem.”
She murmured.
Valerie glanced toward her.
“A little.”
Lavinia smiled faintly.
“Not because we want to be.”
Violetta looked toward the dark world beyond the glass.
“No.”
She answered quietly.
“Because survival is simple when no one else pays the cost.”
Silence followed.
Not uncomfortable.
Not fearful.
Simply honest.
Beyond the manor...
The Diverged Lands stretched beneath the night.
Vast.
Dark.
Nearly empty.
A world large enough to give humans and vampires space from one another.
For now.
Lavinia watched the reflection of the room in the glass.
Then exhaled.
“The Second Divergence really did arrive at the perfect time.”
Violetta’s reflection smiled faintly.
“Perhaps.”
Lavinia looked toward her.
“You don’t believe that?”
“I believe it helped.”
Violetta said.
“But I’m cautious about calling anything that rewrites reality perfect.”
Evangeline nodded solemnly.
“Third Divergence.”
Several heads turned toward her.
She grinned.
Rosaline sighed.
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“You’re going to summon it.”
“I don’t think reality works like that.”
Evangeline paused.
Then glanced toward the ceiling.
“Probably.”
Lavinia laughed.
The tension in the room loosened.
Gwendolyn joined in.
Then Valerie.
Even Cordelia smiled.
For a little while...
The question of war receded.
The question of survival remained.
But it no longer sat quite so heavily between them.
They had space now.
Space to think. Space to settle.
Space to decide what kind of species they intended to become.