Knowledge Is Power: The Last Reader

Aria sat in the luminous glow of the cave, her body still healing from the vampire’s attack. The former vampire—Kelme, he’d called himself—sat across from her, his face wet with tears, his hands trembling in his lap.

She should have been afraid. She should have been wary. He’d been a monster moments ago, a creature of darkness and hunger who’d tried to turn her into one of his kind. But now, looking at him, she saw something else entirely.

She saw a broken man.

"My name is Kelme," he said, his voice raw and scratchy, like he hadn’t used it properly in centuries. "I was born with a passive talent. Charm. It made people... favorable to me. Some fell in love with me. Some became obsessed. Some just wanted to give me things." He laughed, a hollow, bitter sound. "I never abused it. I never used it to get anything I didn’t earn. I only ever fell in love with one woman, and I was loyal to her until the end."

His eyes grew distant, lost in memory.

"Her name was Elara. She was kind. Patient. She saw past the charm, past the easy smiles and the way people gravitated toward me. She saw me. The real me. The one who was just as scared and uncertain as everyone else." He paused, his voice cracking. "We had two children. A boy and a girl. They were beautiful. Perfect. They had her eyes."

Aria felt something twist in her chest. She knew where this story was going. She’d heard versions of it before, in the whispered confessions of broken people, in the desperate pleas of those who’d lost everything.

"The vampire," she said quietly. "She found you."

Kelme nodded, his jaw tight. "She was prideful. Ancient. Powerful. She saw me and decided she wanted me. I rejected her. Told her I had a family. Told her I was loyal to my wife. She didn’t like that." He smiled, a thin, bitter expression. "She didn’t want to force me, though. She wanted it to feel like my decision. Whatever the hell that meant."

Aria frowned. "What did she do?"

"She gave me three choices instead of death." He held up three fingers. "One: drink a glass of wine with her. Two: sleep with her. Three: let her kill my family." He lowered his hand, his expression bleak. "I was naive. Stupid. I thought I could handle the wine. I thought I could outdrink her, or pretend to pass out, or find some way to escape without making things worse."

He laughed, and there was no humor in it.

"I should have died with honor instead."

---

Aria leaned forward. "What happened?"

Kelme’s eyes went dark. "The wine had venom in it. Her venom. I turned almost immediately. And after I became a vampire, I did the other things as well—because I wasn’t in my right mind, because the hunger was too strong, because she’d made sure I had no choice." His voice cracked. "I killed my family. I don’t remember it clearly—the venom clouds memories—but I know I did it. I know I was the one who ended them."

He looked at her, and his eyes were full of a grief so old and so deep that it seemed to have become part of him.

"The worst part," he said, "is that I forgot. Over time, the memories faded. The guilt faded. I stopped caring. I became the monster she wanted me to be, and I didn’t even remember what I’d lost."

Aria was quiet for a long moment. She thought about everything he’d told her—the charm, the vampire, the impossible choice, the slow forgetting. She thought about what it would be like to wake up one day and realize you’d become something you’d always hated.

"Please," Kelme said, and his voice was barely above a whisper. "Would you help me avenge my family?"

Aria looked at him. Really looked. He was broken, shattered, a man who’d lost everything and had spent centuries trying to forget. But beneath the brokenness, there was something else. Something that looked almost like hope.

She felt something stir inside her—a warmth, a pull, a desire to help that seemed almost overwhelming.

Is this his charm? she wondered. Is this what it feels like to be caught in his passive talent?

She didn’t know. But at this moment, it didn’t matter.

"Tell me what you need," she said.

---

Kelme’s expression shifted—surprise, gratitude, and something that might have been wonder.

"You’ll help me? Even though—" He gestured at himself, at the body that was still adjusting to being human again. "Even though I tried to kill you?"

"Even though," Aria confirmed. "You’re not the same person who attacked me. And I don’t believe in punishing people for things they did when they weren’t in control of themselves as long as the find them self and balance their sin with good deeds."

Kelme stared at her for a long moment. Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face—the first real smile she’d seen from him.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you, Aria. I will teach you whatever skills I can. I will help you with anything you need. I will pay this back a hundredfold, I swear it."

Aria nodded, already planning. "Tell me about this vampire. The one who turned you. What do I need to know?"

Kelme’s expression darkened. "She’s ancient. Powerful. The kind of vampire that makes others tremble just by being near. It took all the kingdoms uniting to puch back Dracula, and even then, they barely managed it. She’s... not quite on that level, but she’s close. Close enough that fighting her alone is suicide."

He paused, his eyes searching hers.

"Aria, I have to be honest with you. This is a stupid, impossible thing I’m asking. There’s no way to stop her alone. You would need an army, a kingdom, centuries of preparation. And even then, there’s no guarantee."

Aria was quiet for a moment. Everything he said was true. Everything he said made sense. The logical part of her brain, the part that had kept her alive for so long, was screaming at her to walk away, to focus on her own survival, to leave this broken man to his grief.

But she couldn’t.

She thought about her own losses. The family she’d never known. The friends she’d left behind. The King, who’d given her a chance when no one else would. Sting, who’d shown her that hope was worth fighting for. Milo, who’d taught her that comfort was a slow surrender.

She thought about what it felt like to carry grief so heavy that it threatened to crush you.

And she thought about what it would mean to have someone stand beside you anyway.

"I don’t care if it’s impossible," she said. "I don’t care if it’s stupid. I don’t care if it takes years, or decades, or the rest of my life. I’m going to help you. Because you deserve justice. Because your family deserves justice. Because—" She paused, searching for the right words. "Because sometimes, the only thing that matters is that someone tried."

Kelme stared at her, his eyes wet with tears.

"You don’t know what this means to me," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You don’t know how long I’ve waited for someone to say that."

"I think I have some idea," Aria said quietly. "Now tell me everything. Tell me how we’re going to do this. Tell me what we need."

---

Kelme took a deep breath, steadying himself.

"The first thing we need is information. I know where she lairs—or at least, I knew where it was before I was turned. It’s been centuries, so it might have changed, but it’s a start."

"Where?"

"There’s a castle. In the heart of the Dead Man’s Wonderland. It’s called the Crimson Spire, and it’s been her home for as long as anyone can remember. It’s fortified, guarded, and filled with traps and minions. Getting in will be nearly impossible."

"Then we find another way."

Kelme blinked. "Another way?"

"There’s always another way. You just have to be creative." Aria smiled, and there was something fierce and determined in it. "I’ve broken into places that were supposed to be impossible. I’ve survived things that should have killed me. I’ve faced monsters that made grown men weep, and I’m still standing. We’ll find a way into that castle, Kelme. And when we do—"

She paused, her expression hardening.

"We’ll make her pay for everything she took from you."

---

Kelme was quiet for a long moment. Then, slowly, he nodded.

"Okay," he said. "Okay. I trust you." He paused, a small smile playing at his lips. "I think your charm is stronger than mine."

Aria laughed. "I don’t have a charm. I just have a lot of stubbornness and a complete inability to walk away from people who need help."

"That’s a charm in itself."

"Maybe. Or maybe I’m just an idiot."

"Maybe both."

They shared a look—two broken people, two survivors, two fools who’d decided to take on an impossible task.

"Let’s do this," Aria said.

"Let’s do this," Kelme agreed.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!