Locket

After getting the bone dust from the catacombs, Eden said that she would do the ritual herself and left us walking in Carleone's streets.

Roman wasn't talking; it seems like taking the bone dust, even if it was from a vampire, had a toll on him. But I knew it was necessary. If this act could prevent a war between the great families, then it was a price worth paying.

We took our stuff and walked back to Andor's tavern. It was close to night, so nobody was around. When we opened the door, Andor, who was cleaning a glass, looked straight at us.

"Hello, you two! Didn't expect you to get back as fast as you did." He said with a smile on his face.

I went into my pockets and put a few coins on the counter. "Can I stay here for a few nights?"

The old man looked surprised by the offer but accepted the coins with a simple nod. I was too tired to talk, so I just walked up to my room.

Roman sat in one of the chairs and looked at his father cleaning.

"What happened? Your expression is grim."

Roman opened his mouth, but for a moment, no words came out. Roman didn't wait and explained everything to his father.

About Taro, Eden, Conall, and the mission he was given by Solfrid. As he spoke, Andor didn't say a word, his expression calm but serious.

Roman let out a heavy breath. "I don't know what Solfrid is expecting from me; I am basically trying to do three missions while also hiding it from my leaders."

Andor smiled, then put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Follow me for a second."

Roman looked at his father, then got up from the chair. He followed the muscular man into the storage room. Andor took an oil lamp and lit it up, making the place visible.

After a bit, he took an old-looking box that was hidden in the corner. Inside were multiple pictures and old emblems.

Roman noticed that the images were of his father when he was young, working as a knight for the Froste family. He and Roman looked similar, yet the aura they gave was completely different.

As Andor started looking through his stuff, he started talking. "As you know, when you work 10 years for the Froste family, you get a special magical item of your choosing. The truth clock is one of them; I got it from my father, and now it's in your possession."

Roman didn't say a word and let his father talk.

"I've been retired for years. I wanted to give you something to remember me by, a part of me to keep with you if I'm ever gone."

Roman laughed. "Don't say that; you are still strong and well."

Andor smiled, and then from the box, he retrieved a simple golden locket and offered it to Roman.

Roman took it, eyeing it. Then, as he opened it, he saw an image. It was of his young father and his mother smiling happily, holding a little boy in their arms.

"I requested this item to be made at the time of my marriage to your mother. I still remember it, a coincidence. I got the news that it was done the day you were born. So I put that image in there as a symbol of our family."

Roman stared at the image, speechless. Andor put a hand on his son's shoulder, guiding him out of the dusty storeroom and back into the warm light of the tavern.

The warm lights hit Roman's face.

Andor continued, "It's called 'Knight's Vow,' a charm forged with an oath to face the truth without breaking one's spirit. Designed to protect against despair and mental corruption."

Both sat down at a random table. Andor's smile was still written on his face, and then he took a light breath and said, "Forget the leaders and their grand plans for a moment. They see a tool, a knight. I look at you, and I still see the boy in that picture. Just be a good man, Roman. That's all I've ever asked, and it's the only mission that will ever truly matter."

Roman held the locket in his palm, feeling its weight. He didn't say anything but looked at his father and gave a single nod.

It was the middle of the night; I couldn't sleep. Closing my eyes and hoping to forget was a hope.

Then I heard taps on glass. I opened my eyes and looked at my room's window to see that Eden was there. I got up and opened the window.

"What happened? Why did you come from the window?"

Eden got inside my room, fixing her hair that got messy because of the entrance. "I don't trust the human that owns this place, so this is the only way. Here." She gave me a talisman, which had words from blood written on it. "I made three for each one of us. Where's Roman?"

"Okay, wait a bit here; I will go get him," I said, putting the talisman she gave me in my pocket.

Opening the door to my room, I walked to the hallway and then stood in front of Roman's room. I knocked a few times, but nobody answered.

So I opened the door slowly; looking inside, I saw that Roman was sleeping. So I called out to him to wake him up.

"Hey, Roman. Wake up."

"Huh?" In shock, Roman rolled his whole body and fell to the ground with a loud thud. He then jumped up, looking left and right. "Oh, Taro. What happened?"

"Eden's finished with the ritual."

Roman comprehended the words I said and nodded. "Where is she now?"

Then, after he regained his senses, we all went down to the dark, cold tavern. Lit one oil lamp in the middle of a table and sat around it.

Eden handed the talisman to Roman. As he took it, he looked at it for a few seconds before starting the conversation. "Thank you, Eden. For helping me, I know that you didn't need to."

Eden was a bit shocked but let out a small laugh.

"Why are you laughing?" Roman noticed it as well, and he started getting paranoid.

"I didn't expect you to apologize for nothing. We are helping each other here, aren't we?"

Roman took a deep breath. "I guess you are right."

I tapped the table a few times before putting my thoughts into words: "I think tomorrow we are going to go to the Cathedral. Hopefully, it will be the last mission we have to do."

Roman nodded. "Even so, I think we three make a great team. Or at least I think you two are more competent than my lazy teammates."

Eden and I exchanged a look before we both started laughing. I wasn't sure why, exactly, but in that moment, it felt good just to sit and talk like this.

"Since we are already here. How about we make a promise to each other?" I added.

The two looked at me slowly. "What promise?"

"Let's promise," I said, "that when this is all over, we'll go out for a proper meal. A real feast." I looked at Eden with a small smile. "You can order the whole menu this time. Roman's paying."

"Promise," Eden affirmed, without waiting.

"Hey, I didn't agree to this!" Roman called out.

Eden and I laughed. Roman then sat deep into his chair and smiled. "Okay then, just one meal. That's a promise."

Roman pushed his chair back, the legs scraping softly against the floorboards. "The air in here is thick," he said. He walked to a narrow door at the back of the tavern's second floor and unlatched it, revealing a set of steep stairs. "Come on."

He led us to the flat rooftop.

The cool night air was cleaner than ever. Below, the city was a mix of sleeping rooftops and the occasional pinprick of a distant light.

The moon was a sharp sliver in a sky full of stars. No one spoke. They just stood at the edge, breathing in the quiet expanse.

I was the first to move, leaning my back against the brick parapet and sliding down to sit, my gaze fixed on the cosmos.

Eden pulled her dress tighter around herself and sat a few feet away.

Roman remained standing, leaning on the ledge, his silhouette dark against the city glow.

"They say vampires can't see the same stars as humans," Eden said quietly, her voice blending with the night wind.

Roman didn't turn. "They are still stars, aren't they?"

Taro said nothing, simply tilting his head back further, as if trying to absorb the entire sky.