Aleron: Book One of Strigoi Series (Stringoi Series) Read Online Free

instinct led you to the meal prepared for you in the dungeon. The first door you struggled to open was the same as the one you seemingly tossed off the hinges. The difference was in the hunger-induced strength,” Mynea explained. The taste of the blood rushed back into my mouth.
    “You drank the blood. It quenched and satisfied your hunger, but it made you weak. Pay close attention to what I’m about to tell you, for it can mean life or death to our kind if not abided by.”
    “What you are now is far more than you’ve ever been as a human. Inthe eyes of man, you’ll seem no different from them. No different from what you once were. However, you infinitely differ from your former self. I’m here to reveal what that difference is, starting with how we survive.” Mynea left my side and walked a few feet away, never taking her eyes off of me.
    “We are predators. We survive under the guise of our prey and the darkness that brings the shadows. Just like any other animal, we must know our food. Understanding their anatomy is essential for this most important lesson. The human blood system is simple. However, misunderstanding it can be fatal. The center of the blood system is the heart. It receives unclean blood from the veins and cleans it, then pushes the clean blood through the arteries to all the essential organs of the body. Though we can feed from any one of these organs or drink from any vein or artery, we must use caution in our choice. We can realize our true selves only with the consumption of clean blood. Unclean blood may quench the thirst, but it paralyzes our muscles and can render us vulnerable.”
    “I drank dirty blood.”
    “Yes, my love,” Mynea confirmed. “Dirty blood filled you and arrested your movements with warm, swift, blissful judgment. The forbidden nectar. You must now learn to feed properly.”
    She fixed her eyes on the girl Eliza had brought in. Her body jolted straight and stiff, her fingers and toes outstretched, with her eyes opened wide. Her feet were no longer touching the ground. Mynea had her under total control. Her pupils fixed on me once more. I could hear her thoughts, but they were all jumbled, incoherent. I only made out what seemed to be a prayer.
    “Look at her, my child.” I did Mynea’s bidding. I saw an ordinary female human. She was noticeably commonplace. There was nothing special about her, and just as I began to turn my attention back to Mynea, I began to see the girl’s blood. I saw a beating mass of red muscle depicting a young and healthy heart. From the heart I saw thousands of tiny glowing conduits. My eyes felt strange as the picture became more vivid. And from the heart I heard its symphony, low and distinct, hastened in its rhythm, feeding her body.
    “See the difference between the vein and artery, my love?” Mynea continued. I noticed a slight difference in the size of certain pathways and the direction of blood flow. Indeed, I now saw distinct differences between the arteries and veins.
    “Good. Now do what comes naturally to you. Feed and feel revived.”
    Yes, I could hear her heart quickening as I opened my mouth to kiss her neck just above the shoulder. Mynea watched with a mother’s grace and a father’s expectation. My lips were now on her neck. She was in my arms, completely frightened and overwhelmed in my grasp. I bit down and felt my teeth pierce the skin. The girl opened her lips but only a whimper escaped. Next, I heard the crackling sound of my jaw crushing the bone. She withdrew from the pain but never did she scream.
    “Gently, my love,” Mynea said. “You needn’t even try to break the skin. Simply kiss her with care, and you’ll draw out her blood.”
    It was entirely too late. The blood from the artery filled my mouth and throat. The first meal paled in comparison to this cuisine. I felt invigorated. Her blood tasted like liquid fire. I was completely and utterly hypnotized by the visions of her thoughts and memories. With