Evelyn's revelation caused the calm atmosphere of the infirmary to disappear within minutes. Claire left the room to inform those in charge of the expedition and, less than half an hour later, an order was given forbidding anyone from entering the tower again until they better understood what Evelyn had activated.
The Eternal Bastion did not immediately resume its journey either. Evelyn was not particularly pleased about that, insisting that remaining near the ruins was dangerous, but she could not explain what had responded to the signal or how long it would take to arrive. Lilith understood the officers' concerns. Moving an entire city based solely on the warning of a stranger did not seem like an easy decision either. For now, they would increase surveillance and wait for the reports from the researchers who had already returned.
Evelyn was given permission to leave the infirmary that same afternoon on the condition that she did not leave the Eternal Bastion and returned if her wounds started bothering her again. The first thing she did was ask for her weapons. The second was discover that no one intended to give them back yet.
Lilith was present when a guard explained it to her and had to suppress a smile at Evelyn's expression. "I'm not a prisoner," she repeated for the third time. The guard maintained admirable patience. "No, miss. But you attacked a representative of the Bloodrose family." Evelyn pointed at Lilith. "She's perfectly fine." Lilith raised both hands. "Don't drag me into this."
The guard continued explaining that she would receive her belongings once the officers decided she no longer represented a risk. Evelyn eventually accepted it with the expression of someone who had just memorized the face of a future victim.
Lilith decided to accompany her during her first trip through the fortress. Part of the reason was simple curiosity. She wanted to see how someone who had grown up on the Demon Continent would react to finding herself inside a walking city. The other reason was far more practical: Evelyn still trusted almost no one, and strangely enough, Lilith was the person she had spoken with the most.
Claire had unfinished work with the explorers, so the two of them ended up walking through one of the commercial districts on their own. Evelyn tried to pretend she was indifferent, but her eyes constantly moved between the buildings, the elevated pipes, and the mechanical platforms connecting the different levels.
"You can admit you're impressed," Lilith commented as they walked down a street filled with shops.
Evelyn looked away from an enormous structure of gears turning behind a glass wall.
"I've seen more impressive things."
"Like what?"
Evelyn took far too long to answer.
"Mountains."
Lilith glanced at her. "Mountains don't walk."
"That doesn't mean this thing is pretty."
"Now you're changing the argument."
Evelyn kept walking without responding, although Lilith managed to catch a small smile before she turned her face away. That was already a considerable improvement compared to the girl who had tried to slit her throat the previous day.
The central market was less crowded than during the last stop, but there were still hundreds of people. Evelyn slowed slightly when she saw humans, elves, and beastmen sharing the same streets. Some recognized Lilith and gave small bows, while others simply continued with their business.
Every time someone greeted her as princess, Evelyn watched the interaction with an expression that was difficult to interpret. Finally, after a dwarven merchant offered Lilith a piece of fruit for free, she decided to ask. "Does everyone know who you are?" Lilith bit into the small yellow fruit before answering. It was so sour that she had to make a considerable effort to maintain a dignified expression.
"Apparently." Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "You don't sound very sure." Lilith managed to swallow the fruit. "I don't spend all day asking people whether they recognize me." The merchant offered her another one. Lilith immediately shook her head.
Evelyn waited until they had moved away from the stall. "You're not what I imagined." Lilith had already heard different versions of that sentence since waking up, although for completely different reasons. Claire compared her to the old Lilith.
Evelyn, on the other hand, compared her to the image she had of vampires. "Were you expecting me to walk around with a glass full of blood while ordering executions?" she asked. Evelyn looked at her with complete seriousness. "Something like that." Lilith stopped. "Really?"
"The stories don't describe the Bloodrose family as pleasant people." Lilith started walking again. "Then I'll have to disappoint you." Evelyn remained silent for a few steps before adding, "You still drink blood." Lilith pointed toward a nearby stall. "I also eat moon pie. One of those two tastes much better than it probably should." Evelyn seemed unsure whether that was a joke.
They ended up buying food at a small establishment. Lilith chose something she already knew, while Evelyn ordered bread, meat, and vegetables after rejecting several dishes she considered suspicious. They found a table on a terrace overlooking part of the city.
Evelyn ate quickly at first, like someone accustomed to never knowing when she would get another opportunity, but gradually slowed down once she realized no one was going to take the plate away from her. Lilith said nothing. She was beginning to understand that life outside the Eternal Bastion was very different from the relative safety its inhabitants enjoyed.
"Do you always have this much food?" Evelyn asked while watching the stalls.
"From what I've seen."
"That doesn't make sense. A city this size would need enormous fields."
Lilith almost answered that she had no idea how it worked either, but decided not to give her another reason to become suspicious. "There are farming areas inside the Bastion, and we purchase supplies during stops." She had learned that much by observing the city and listening to conversations over the past few days.
Evelyn slowly nodded. "Back home, a bad season can mean spending months rationing food." Lilith rested one arm on the table. "Do you grow crops there?" Evelyn immediately looked at her. "I'm not telling you where it is."
"I asked if you grow crops."
"You're trying to gather information little by little." Lilith smiled. "That would've been pretty clever." Evelyn narrowed her eyes, trying to decide whether Lilith had just admitted it.
A familiar voice appeared behind them. "I see you're already friends." Claire placed a tray on the table and sat beside Lilith without waiting for an invitation. Evelyn's expression hardened slightly, although she no longer reacted as if every armed person was an immediate threat.
Claire explained that the officers had finished reviewing the report. No one would touch the mechanism in the tower, and a surveillance team would remain alert for any movement coming from the north. "They also want to speak with you again tomorrow," she added while taking a piece of bread. Evelyn sighed. "I already told them everything I know." Claire shrugged. "Then it'll be a short conversation." Lilith watched the two of them and had to suppress a smile.
Evelyn seemed to have found another person capable of irritating her with surprising ease.
Claire began asking how her tour of the fortress had gone. Evelyn replied that it was too large, too noisy, and that the vibrations beneath the ground were annoying. Lilith pointed out that she had been inside for less than a day and was already complaining like a permanent resident.
Evelyn responded by throwing a small piece of bread at her, which Lilith caught before it hit her face. Claire stared at the scene. "Wow." Lilith placed the bread on the plate. "What?" Claire rested her chin on one hand.
"It took you years to start acting like that with me." Lilith felt a small internal alarm, but before she could respond, Evelyn interrupted. "Maybe you're more annoying." Claire slowly turned toward her. "I'm starting to understand why Lilith found you lying under a pile of rocks." Evelyn smiled for the first time without trying to hide it.
After eating, Claire had to return to her duties, and Evelyn insisted on continuing her tour of the Eternal Bastion. Lilith took her toward one of the upper gardens, deliberately avoiding the military sectors. Along the way, Evelyn asked more questions than she would probably have admitted. She wanted to know what powered the mechanisms, who ruled the city, and how long it had been traveling.
Lilith only answered what she knew and, whenever she did not know something, she began using a much safer strategy: admitting it. To her surprise, Evelyn seemed to find that even stranger. "You're a princess who lives here and you don't know how your own fortress works." Lilith shrugged. "I never said I was an engineer." Evelyn let out a small laugh. "You're the strangest vampire I've ever met." Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Yesterday you said I was the first."
"Exactly."
They finally reached a terrace from which the dead city could be seen in the distance. Evelyn stopped smiling. For a moment, she leaned against the railing, watching the ruins and the forest stretching beyond them. Lilith stood beside her without asking anything. The wind moved Evelyn's reddish-brown hair while her gaze remained fixed toward the north.
"My people can't survive many more nights," she finally said.
Lilith turned slightly toward her. Evelyn continued before she could respond. "The creatures attacking us are becoming more numerous. I went to the ruins because we needed something that could change that. I found the mechanism, activated it, and probably managed to make everything worse." She tightened her hands around the railing. "If I go back with nothing, I'll have done nothing but waste time."
Lilith looked toward the ruins.
"Then don't go back with nothing."
Evelyn looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
Lilith took a few seconds before answering. Until that moment, she had tried not to become too involved in a problem she barely understood, but simply watching while Evelyn returned alone to a settlement under attack did not seem acceptable either. Besides, there was something in the ruins, a signal coming from the north, and possibly a connection to the strange migrations of monsters. All of that also affected the Eternal Bastion.
"I mean maybe you don't have to solve it alone."
Evelyn watched her for a long moment. The distrust was still there, but now something else was mixed with it.
Hope.
Then an alarm bell rang from one of the watchtowers.
Both of them turned toward the forest.
A second ring followed the first.
Then a third.
In the distance, an enormous flock of creatures suddenly burst from the trees and began flying south.
Not toward the Eternal Bastion.
Away from it.
The color drained from Evelyn's face.
"It's getting closer."
Lilith stopped watching the creatures and turned her eyes toward the north.
For the first time since they had found Evelyn, she hoped she was wrong.