Nuri tilted her head to the side as she took in Shay’s expression... suspicious... judging.

“Since you’re from the Song family, you might already be in the know...”

“Ehehe...” Shay laughed nervously. “Wh... whaAt abOUt ❴The Kingdom❵?”

Was... Nuri going to ask them for help? Shay desperately hoped that was the case.

“They’re... a myth. The scary kind,” Nuri said. “Bogeyman and Baba Yaga kinds of spooky.” She paused to think... “Also-- and this is new to me... but they say that because of ❴The Kingdom❵... dragons don’t exist.”

“They don’t,” Shay said-- and with a dangerous amount of certainty, considering the situation. Why did she feel so strongly about that?

Thankfully, Nuri didn’t seem to acknowledge it. She did acknowledge the wine coolers, though, as she gestured to them on the desk. “Did you want one? They’re actually really tasty.”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“Mm. More for me~” Nuri hummed.

She cracked open yet another bottle and took a big glug before letting out a long, drawn-out sigh...

“My late sire told me... if anyone representing ❴The Kingdom❵ shows up to enforce a rule, no one-- not even the nobles are allowed to contest it. Apparently, it’s written down on a stone tablet, somewhere-- not like the nobles would let a youngblood like me have a look.”

Shay leaned over, eyeing Nuri suspiciously. “And how old are you, exactly?”

“FucK ofFff~” Nuri replied lazily. “I’m 19.”

“Don’t be like that,” Shay said with a smirk. “Korean calendar or regular?”

“The stories are brutal,” Nuri said, (completely ignoring the question). “I mean... all vampire stories are brutal. Each limp-dicked Ancient has a war crime count higher than my body count. But the myth that is ❴The Kingdom❵ supposedly wipes out whole fucking clans if one of their rules gets broken. The nobles, the servants, the hired help, their families... their crippled, three-legged dog, too.”

“Nuri... you probably don’t wanna hear this,” Shay said, “but myths are derived from facts. If ❴The Kingdom❵ is such a dangerous and scary thing, isn’t it... a huUge risk to take them on?”

“It’s all bullshit, though,” Nuri explained in a simple tone. “Vampire stories aren’t told for accuracy. They’re told to capture the feel of how awesome things were in the past. It’s hero worship! Vlad the Impaler. Cain the sinful son. Lilith, the shit-outta-luck. The older a story is, the higher the stack of shit, shined to a silver finish. See-- magic isn’t scary once you see a few neckbeards from ❴The Towers❵. And I’ve never once met a single fucking werewolf from ❴Sleeping Forest❵!”

Shay pursed her lips together. “Yeah, what’s up with that?”

“So when I take down ❴The Kingdom❵... anything I say-- anything my people say will finally have some real weight. And, from there, I promise you I won’t let dumb shit trickle down to the streets.”

“I have to pee,” Shay said. She stood up, hoping that Nuri’s vampire-senses couldn’t tell that her can of not-diet-cola wasn’t even half-empty.

“Just wait a second,” Nuri said. “So ❴The Kingdom❵ is real. They own land and shit. So if I start fucking with them, they’re gonna have to show themselves-- the respect thing again. And we don’t even have to fight. Once the old folks find out they’re not some super-powerful organization of god-like beings, that’ll still be our win!”

“That’s a lot to unpack,” Shay said. “I still have to pee, though. Like, right now. Oh, and I probably have to go home to do it. Public restrooms are gross.”

“Oh. Yeah. I get that.” Nuri pressed her two prominent fangs into her bottom lip. Could she make those show up just whenever?

“But seriously, Shay,” she said. “I have a lot of faith in you. And... I really hope you believe me when I say this, but... I trust you. You’re cool. You’re honest.”

She looked away. Was she blushing? She was a little drunk, but maybe her hair was making her cheeks look redder than they were.

“And... I really need someone like you,” she said-- “someone who still sees the beauty of human life and shit.”

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Shay’s expression softened. She was in the process of panicking and losing her mind about a whole lot of things-- but still. “Nuri... you’re really sweet and really amazing. And I really want to hug you but I obviously can’t be squeezed right now-- so I still have to go and uh... you know I have someone I like.”

Nuri started laughing to herself, shaking her head. “Fucking really? That’s what you got from that? Listen, Shay, I don’t fuck virgins, so don’t get it twisted.”

Shay immediately regretted having to be so short. Nuri’s eyes were painful to look at. They had that far-away look, like she was lost and didn’t know exactly what she was doing.

“But yeah, that’s cool,” she waved. “Go. Pee to your heart’s content.”

Shay wanted to stay... but she couldn’t... for a lot of reasons. She turned to leave, (making sure to take her soda can with her.)

“Think about it,” Nuri called after her. “This way, both my side and your humans will be better off.”

----------------------------------------

Shay went down the side staircase, two and three steps at a time.

She weaved through people blocking the hall and slipped into the ballroom.

Monty. Where was Monty?

“Excuse me? Hi. Have you seen a red-headed Chinese guy?”

--”You mean three-inch Thunder? Yeah, he’s over there.”

Shay thanked the random rich guy with a martial salute before half-sprinting over. (Why did she do that, though?)

Monty was sitting alone at a table, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, drinking wine or champagne straight out of a bottle. His red hair was swept back and he had a wrap around his forehead and he was scowling to himself-- maybe thinking about all the reasons he deserved what happened to him.

That ugly face of his got even uglier as Shay got closer. “The fuck do you want?”

“Monty, we gotta go.”

“And why the fuck do I gotta go with you?”

Shay gave him an intentful glare, conveying her steadily rising hosTiLiTy. “Rider.”

After a couple seconds of staring, he grunted and looked away. “Fuck... What’s this about?”

“Not heEere~” Shay said. “I’ll tell you. But we have to leave. Right. Now.”

Monty started grumbling... but he also started grabbing his things. Good enough.

A bunch of people approached them asking if he was leaving, but in proper Monty fashion, he ignored them all, walking past with Shay following close behind.

They took the side stairwell down to the underground parking garage. Monty hopped onto the handrail, sliding down with his dress shoes. Of course, he would. Shay stuck with her three-at-a-time method. There were other things more important than competing.

--”Hey!!! H-h-h-old up!”

An unfamiliar guy’s voice bounced off the walls. Monty looked like he didn’t hear it or didn’t care. Shay was going to do the same, but a shadowy blur wooshed past her and... stuck to the brick wall, blocking her way.

Short dark hair, swept to the side. Red eyes. Fuck. He had his hands and feet on the wall, sticking there like a gecko, but he was facing forward and smiling like that was a normal hang-out pose.

“M-monty, really? This? chick?” the guy said, “Is sh-sh-she-- your date?”

Monty was about to open the door to the garage, but he stopped and slowly turned his head. “Fuck no. Are you fucking stupid on top of your dumbass speech impediment? How fuckin’ dare you.”

He turned toward him, chin up as arrogant and ass-holey as he could be. “Clarence, right? If you’re not trying to introduce me to your friend, I’m tryin’a fuck outta this shitshow.”

Shay’s eyes widened. Why was Monty acting like there waSn’T a vampire sticking to the wall? And what fRiend? There was just--

Oh. Yeah. Yep. There was another one. A literal bat.

It fluttered in and poofed. And in its place was a plus-sized girl who was-- oh no.

Shay recognized her. And that meant the guy--

Clarence hopped off the wall, turning to face both Monty and her. He ripped off the off-center bandage on his forehead and pointed at the... bullet hole that was under it. Shay tried her best not to look directly at it.

“You-- you see this? M-monty Majestic?? I got tHIS because of... this. BITCH!”

“But did you die?” Monty shrugged. “Anyway, about your friend.”

Clarence rolled his eyes and turned to Shay to complain-- for whatever reason. Because of his stutter, it was really hard to listen to. But the gist was that he had to drive all around the county to book a plastic surgeon that worked with vampires.

Even if Shay felt sorry for him before, it was the kind of story that made people despise the entitled person who told it.

Then-- it was subtle, but Clarence changed his posture, widening his stance and leaning forward.

Shay immediately recognized that she was about to get accosted and maybe even killed by a vampire. Not great. But by all rights, her battle-buddy should have had something to say about that!

”Hi, my name’s Montgomery Jiang. Majestic Constructions. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Unfortunately, he was busy hitting on the first vampire’s girlfriend.