THE VAMPIRES FAIRY

Erl's speed was unmatched by any vampire alive. He had been the fastest being on earth—his body powerful and perfectly honed, his presence commanding. His hair was long and black as midnight, and his eyes glowed a deep, blood-red. No man dared challenge his will. He was one of the last pure-blood vampires to walk the earth. After the first Moon-Blood War—a devastating conflict between vampires and werewolves—only two vampires survived: Erl and his younger brother, Lynn. Together, they had fought side by side until the werewolves were wiped from existence. Erl fell on the battlefield, and when the war ended, Lynn vanished without a trace. Erl's Legacy has always been my favorite documentary. Before the second Moon-Blood War, Erl and Lynn were said to be the only pure-blood vampires left in the world. The documentary tells the story of Erl's forbidden love for a human woman. Their relationship defied the natural laws that separated their kinds, yet they remained devoted to one another. After the war, they finally found peace together—until tragedy struck. Erl died while his beloved was carrying their child. To honor Erl's sacrifice, humanity forged an unprecedented alliance with vampires. Through his son, vampires were allowed to feed on willing human donors rather than hunt. That single act changed the world forever, creating the delicate balance in which humans and vampires now coexist. In today's world, when a woman gives birth to a vampire child, the government rewards the family with a substantial fortune. As a result, most vampire families are wealthier than ordinary humans. My name is Ayl, and I am eighteen years old. I love fantasy novels, documentaries, and podcasts—especially those about vampires and the history of how our world came to be filled with hybrid vampires. Their coexistence with humans has always fascinated me. But there is one thing that has always bothered me: so little is known about Lynn. "Why hasn't anyone uncovered more about him? He sounds far more interesting than Erl," I complained to my twin sister, frustration evident in my voice. No book, documentary, or podcast ever said much about Lynn. It was as though history had deliberately erased him, burying his story alongside Erl's body. My sister, Ariel, merely looked at me with the weary patience of someone who had heard the same complaint a hundred times before. Unlike me, Ariel was a hybrid vampire. For generations, my family had been blessed with vampire offspring. In fact, throughout our entire lineage, only two humans had ever been born: my father's great-great-great-aunt Melissa—and me. Aunt Melissa had died of old age, but I had been born frail. Illness clung to me like a shadow. Even a simple fever could leave me bedridden for weeks. Once, when I caught the flu, recovery took so long that my parents feared the worst. The doctors explained that my immune system wasn't entirely weak—it was simply unreliable, faltering at random times even when no illness threatened it. One doctor had once suggested that only the blood of a pure-blood vampire could cure me, though everyone knew that was little more than a myth. Pure-blood vampires no longer existed. At least, that's what the world believed. Unlike the rest of my family, I would age. While vampires remained forever frozen at twenty-five, I would grow older year by year. Someday, I might even look older than my own parents. That thought haunted me more than I liked to admit. My twin sister and our triplet brothers were fiercely protective of me. I was never allowed to go out alone. Not because they were overbearing—well, perhaps a little—but because being human in a world dominated by vampires made me vulnerable. Some vampires could be cruel, especially toward someone as fragile as I was. "I heard Lynn was like a hidden treasure," Ariel said absentmindedly, her eyes still fixed on her phone. "Someone the world was never meant to fully know." I frowned. "And where exactly did you hear that? There isn't a single reliable record about him." Ariel shifted closer, finally setting her phone aside. "Remember when you got sick before our trip to the World Library?" I nodded. Missing that trip had devastated me. "Well, while I was there, I... sort of got lost." She gave me a sheepish smile. "I ended up in a dimly lit room I'd never seen before. There was this ancient book covered in dust. The title was Fragments of Erl's History." Now she had my full attention. "I started reading it, and one chapter was entirely about Lynn." "What did it say?" I asked, leaning so close I was practically in her lap. She laughed. "Patience." "I am patient." "No, you're not." "Fine. Just tell me." Ariel grinned before continuing. "Most of the text had faded with age, but I could still make out some details. It said Lynn's life was shrouded in secrecy—that was why so little was known about him." She paused dramatically. "Ariel." "All right, all right. It also described his appearance. One eye was red, like Erl's. The other..." She lowered her voice. "Purple." I stared at her. "And that's not even the strangest part. According to the book, Lynn had wings. Wings like an eagle." "Eagle?" I repeated. "What's that?" She shrugged. "I think it's some kind of bird. Probably extinct, like werewolves." I had never heard of such a creature before, and I had read nearly everything there was to know about vampire history. Yet the image refused to leave my mind: a vampire with mismatched eyes and enormous wings. That night, thoughts of Lynn consumed me. Sleep was impossible. Long after midnight, I stepped onto my bedroom balcony. Winter had only just begun, and the night air was sharp and cold against my skin. I closed my eyes, letting the breeze brush across my face. When I opened them, something moved across the sky. I froze. A massive silhouette glided through the darkness, its wings stretching wider than anything I had ever seen. For a moment, it blotted out the stars. My heart hammered. I blinked several times, certain my imagination was playing tricks on me. After all, I'd spent the entire evening thinking about Lynn. When I looked again, the figure was gone. I stood there for a long moment, staring at the empty sky. Perhaps I had imagined it. Perhaps I hadn't. Eventually, I returned to bed, but sleep came slowly. And when it finally did, my dreams were filled with crimson eyes, violet shadows, and wings vast enough to cover the moon.