Lilith woke up much later than usual, and for several seconds she did not understand why her body felt so heavy. The answer came when she tried to sit up and a slight weakness ran through her arms. She remembered the flying creatures, the wall covered in corpses, and the crimson spear she had created with her own blood.
After the attack, she had returned to her chambers convinced that sleeping would solve the exhaustion, but apparently her magic did not work in such a convenient way. Even so, she did not feel injured. It was more like waking up after exercising too much, something Ethan was far less familiar with than he would have liked to admit.
On the table beside the bed, she found a dark glass bottle accompanied by a note. She did not need to read it to recognize the scent escaping through the stopper. Blood. Lilith picked up the bottle and found a short sentence written in Claire's handwriting: Drink it before you try doing something stupid again. She smiled before removing the stopper. "How thoughtful." She drank slowly and felt the effect almost immediately.
The exhaustion did not disappear completely, but a pleasant warmth spread through her body and the weakness began to fade. That confirmed something important. Her blood magic did not simply consume some invisible reserve of energy. At least part of the cost seemed to be directly connected to her vampiric nature.
After breakfast, she decided she was not going to wait until the next attack to figure out how her powers worked. The old Lilith's memories were still too fragmented to rely on, so she needed to experiment. She found a training area on one of the Eternal Bastion's military levels and chose an outdoor section that was practically empty at that hour.
There were several reinforced training dummies, wooden targets, and an area protected by thick stone walls. Perfect for someone who still did not know exactly what might come out of her hands.
Lilith left her sword on a bench and extended her palm. The night before, she had needed to concentrate to create the spear, but now she knew what sensation she was looking for. She closed her eyes, breathed slowly, and tried to feel that energy inside her body. It was there. She could not see it or explain it with words, but it felt as natural as moving an arm. She called it toward her hand, and a small sphere of blood appeared above her palm.
"Much better."
The sphere floated without falling. Lilith moved one finger, and the blood responded, stretching into a small needle. She fired it at one of the targets. The projectile pierced through the wood and embedded itself in the wall several meters behind it.
Lilith blinked.
"Maybe I should've picked a stronger target."
The next test was different. Instead of launching the blood, she tried to keep it around her hand. The memories responded with a familiar sensation, and the liquid began covering her fingers until it formed something resembling a crimson glove. She clenched her fist and punched one of the dummies.
The upper half went flying.
Lilith remained there with her arm extended.
She looked at the broken dummy.
Then at her fist.
"That's going to be difficult to explain."
"You could start by saying it was an accident."
Lilith immediately turned around.
Claire was leaning against the entrance to the training area with her arms crossed.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to watch you destroy fortress equipment."
"I was testing its durability."
"And?"
Lilith looked at the broken dummy.
"Insufficient."
Claire burst out laughing and approached. She was wearing her usual uniform, although she had no armor on. Her gaze dropped toward the blood still covering Lilith's hand.
"Feeling better?"
"Much better. Thanks for the bottle."
"They told me you used too much blood last night. I figured you'd try practicing again as soon as you woke up."
Lilith raised an eyebrow. "You're starting to know me too well."
"That worries me."
Lilith dismissed the crimson glove. This time, she paid attention to the sensation afterward. The exhaustion was minimal, far less than after creating the spear. It was beginning to make sense. The more blood she used and the more complex the shape, the greater the cost seemed to be.
"Do you know much about blood magic?" she asked.
Claire looked at her strangely. "Less than you, I hope."
Another dangerous question.
Lilith quickly corrected herself. "I mean, what do you know about it?"
"That almost all vampires can manipulate blood to some extent. Nobles are usually better at it, and the royal family is on another level." Claire pointed toward her hand. "You can do things most vampires would need rituals just to attempt."
Lilith nodded slowly. Royal blood. For the first time, she understood that it was not merely a title.
"How strong are royal-blooded vampires?"
"Depends on the vampire."
"What a useful answer."
"What do you want me to say? There isn't a chart saying one princess equals twenty soldiers." Claire picked up a training sword from the bench. "Although we could always find out how much you forgot while you were sick."
Lilith looked at the weapon.
"You want to fight?"
"Train."
"Sounds less fun when you say it like that."
Claire tossed another wooden sword toward her. Lilith caught it easily.
The first attack came almost immediately.
Lilith blocked on reflex and felt the impact travel through her arms. Claire did not have the physical strength of a vampire, but she compensated by attacking from awkward angles and constantly changing her rhythm. Lilith stepped back twice before finding an opening. Her body reacted, turned the sword, and forced Claire to move away.
For the next several minutes, they exchanged increasingly faster blows. Lilith began to enjoy it. Her reflexes were clearly superior and she could move faster, but Claire anticipated many of her actions. Whenever Lilith tried to rely only on speed, the knight changed position before she could finish the attack.
Eventually, Lilith decided to experiment.
She concentrated the energy in her legs.
She did not use blood externally. She simply felt something inside her body respond.
The world seemed to slow down.
She moved forward.
Claire barely had time to raise her sword before Lilith appeared in front of her. The impact sent the wooden weapon flying, and both of them froze.
Lilith was breathing heavily.
Claire looked at her sword lying several meters away.
"You didn't normally do that either."
Lilith lowered her weapon. "I'm trying new things."
"I noticed."
The feeling of power disappeared quickly and left behind moderate exhaustion. Lilith was beginning to understand the logic. She could use her blood to create weapons, projectiles, or temporarily strengthen her body. The ability was powerful, but abusing it would eventually exhaust her.
She liked that.
She was not invincible.
But she was nowhere near weak either.
Claire picked up her sword and returned to the bench. "You should rest before you decide to destroy another part of the Bastion."
Lilith placed the weapon beside her own. "I only destroyed one dummy."
"And you pierced a wall."
Lilith looked toward the small hole the needle had left behind.
"That was probably already there."
Claire did not even respond.
As they left the training area, Lilith looked at her hand again. She was only beginning to understand the body she had inherited. Strength, speed, vampiric senses, regeneration, and blood magic that still held countless possibilities.
For the first time, she did not feel as though she were simply using someone else's body.
Little by little, it was beginning to feel like her own.
And she intended to learn how to use it completely.