Chapter 17
Gamal followed and asked, "Isn't it dark?"
"I know this path."
Suddenly Gamal took a step back. The unnatural movement made Doyoung instinctively turn around, catching her hiding something with her foot. He pretended not to notice but saw it clearly.
'Footprints.'
Bare human footprints, just like before. It was undeniable now—Gamal was hiding someone.
A man.
Both times, the size indicated male footprints. The realization it might be a man sparked anger.
A lover? Husband?
But if so, it made no sense for her to leave him unsupervised. Only a fool or someone extraordinarily open-minded would ignore their woman frolicking with another man.
Why hide him?
There was no need to conceal someone just for being a vampire. This secrecy had to stem from something beyond mere affairs.
Doyoung suddenly glanced back, raising one eyebrow.
"How far will you follow?"
"Ah, sorry."
Gamal stepped back. Doyoung entered the right thicket, deliberately pushing deeper. From afar, Gamal shouted:
"Where are you going?"
"Worried you'll follow?"
"I won't. It's dark. Don't go far."
Doyoung subtly scanned the surroundings but detected nothing. A nightjar's sharp cry pierced the air.
Beyond that darkness lay Gamal's secret. He could feel it.
"What are you doing?"
Gamal asked confusedly after breakfast. Doyoung packed items into his crossbody bag.
"Going again?"
He slung the bag over his shoulder. "Didn't finish yesterday."
Gamal mumbled while devising ways to stop him: "I'm tired..."
"Then I'll go alone. I know the path now."
As if horrified by the idea, Gamal blurted: "Doyoung alone is dangerous."
"I can handle animals."
He stared directly at her. "Unless a vampire attacks."
Gamal set down her basket. "I'm worried. Let's go together."
Doyoung shrugged. "Suit yourself."
They entered the forest again. Doyoung moved like a forager while searching for traces. Glancing back, he saw Gamal following quietly today—no trace of yesterday's panic.
She must've told him to erase his tracks.
After pushing through branches, a majestic view unfolded—a distant cliff with cascading waterfalls.
"That's where you first fell," said Gamal, pointing.
The falls dwarfed his expectations. Surviving that drop as a human seemed miraculous—likely because Gamal had thrown him skillfully.
"No further to go," she said, glancing hopefully at him.
Doyoung walked along the cliff edge instead, surveying the terrain like a strategist. Gamal peered over the edge behind him until he suddenly turned.
"Huh?"
"Gamal."
He took two steps closer. The waterfall's roar echoed as slanted sunlight reflected in his eyes.
"Why...?"
Overwhelmed by his gaze, she whispered. He placed hands on her shoulders—then kissed her. Their lips met softly. For a moment, the waterfall's thunderous noise both overwhelmed and faded into strange silence.
When they parted, his breath still warmed her skin.
"Gamal, I'm sorry."
Her dazed whisper came: "For what...?"
"I need to know what you're hiding."
Thud.
He pushed her with full force. Her eyes widened as she fell backward over the cliff's edge. Doyoung immediately spun around and ran. Guilt flickered, but this was his only chance—vampires could survive such falls.
Crack. Rustle. Snap.
He crashed through foliage at full speed, navigating the memorized path until a vast flower field appeared—the territory's boundary. Beyond lay Gamal's secret.
Passing through reeds, he nearly reached the end when—
Whoosh!
A man materialized beside him. Vampire—instantly recognizable when his kick whistled past Doyoung's head, obliterating a tree behind them.
"Tora!"
Gamal's distant shout echoed as Doyoung rolled upright. The vampire examined him—copper skin, waist-length black hair threaded with colored braids, tribal tattoos snaking up muscular arms. Had Doyoung been female, he might've lost his breath at this masculine masterpiece.
"Captain," Tora greeted with a British accent, bowing slightly. "You can't pass."
"So you're hiding something on the island's other side."
"Everyone deserves privacy. Marty's included."
Marty? Doyoung's eyes narrowed. "Speaking with you feels...liberating." He gestured at Tora's bare chest.
Tora chuckled. "Marty speaks Satadi, Latin, Ancient Greek, Aramaic—though she struggles with modern languages."
"Satadi?"
"Our tribe's tongue. Unrecorded in history."
Realization struck. "Gamal's one of you."
"Astute," Tora smiled—then vanished.
Too slow!
Doyoung swung his blade backward, but Tora effortlessly disarmed him. Sunset-red eyes flared like torches.
"No!"
Gamal tackled Tora mid-pounce, sending them tumbling. Doyoung fled through reeds until—
Splash!
The swamp swallowed him. Sinking rapidly, he glared at Tora's amused face on the bank.
"Behave, and I'll pull you out."
Doyoung sighed. "I'll behave."
Tora extended a reed. As Doyoung grabbed it, his free hand pressed a knife against Tora's ribs—aligned perfectly with the vampire's skin grain.
"Don't breathe."
"Impressive," Tora admitted.
"You should be terrified."
The blade pressed deeper—until Tora's whip-fast kick forced Doyoung to dodge.
"Not ordinary, are you?"
The next kick came faster than humanly possible. Doyoung realized—
He means to knock me out.
