My Stepmom Is a Vampire
Copyright© 2025 by Vamp
Chapter 21: Fiery Moths
Viviane gritted her teeth, her mother’s words digging into the softest part of her heart, shaking her from the inside. Doubts she didn’t want to face began to crawl in.
Did Seamus even love her? Even after seeing her like this, after she tried to kill him?
She didn’t know...
Isolde saw it instantly. That crack. That hesitation. Her smile curved, mocking and cruel.
“Look at you, my daughter,” Isolde started to circle her again like a vulture. “My failure.”
“The only thing I see right now is a child still begging for scraps of affection. Still clinging to a boy who only sees you as a monster.”
Isolde reached out lazily and plucked one of Viviane’s threads. It snapped between her fingers like nothing.
“This,” Isolde held the broken thread up as if it were a trophy, “is exactly what your love is. Fragile. Delicate. One touch and it falls apart.”
“Seamus is ours now. Stop clinging to that childish dream. Learn how to share, or you’ll end up with nothing.”
Viviane snarled, “Share?! Don’t you dare call crumbs sharing! I’ve watched you take everything from me, and I’m supposed to be grateful for the scraps you throw my way?”
“Oh, please,” Isolde rolled her eyes as if seeing the most boring performance, “We have a deal and it’s not that hard to follow it if you have even an ounce of brain. These stupid things wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
“Our deal is just his blood! You had sex with Seamus! My love and my life!” Viviane struggled again, this time the threads in her body started to snap but her mother didn’t even flinch.
“Oh honey, I’m just doing what his body wanted.” Isolde gets close to her, her hand brushes against her cheek slowly, “And it seemed like he not only wanted you, but both of us, and more. I can see it in those greedy eyes.”
“Shut up! Shut up! You are always lying in my head. You tried to break me into pieces with your little mind game but it never works.”
She grinned, “That’s the reason why you always tried to destroy me, aren’t you? You can’t control me and you will never be!”
Viviane tore herself free from her own strings with a scream and leapt at Isolde. But her mother dissolved into petals of roses, scattering in the wind before reforming into burning red moths that swarmed Viviane.
The fire was everywhere, clinging to her like it wanted to devour her whole.
“Ahhhhh!!! Get it off! Get it off!”
Her screams split the air as the flames consumed her.
Isolde sighed in disappointment, “Don’t you learn anything from me in these hundreds of years? How could my daughter be this idiotic?”
She snapped her fingers and the butterflies disintegrated into glitter, leaving Viviane collapsed on the ground.
Viviane gasped for air, every breath scorching her lungs. Her body felt like it was still burning. She couldn’t even lift her head.
Isolde’s heels clicked softly as she approached. Her gaze was full of disdain.
“If you fight me with a cold head, this won’t happen ... This is what love does to someone Viviane. Blinding, exhilarating, addicting, and then it will pull you into the deepest of despair when it doesn’t reach your expectation.”
“You are just like I once was. Desperate. Willing to believe in beautiful lies because the truth is unbearable. But I learned. I let go of those illusions, and now nothing can hurt me.”
Viviane smirked instead. “And then, I will be like you?” She let out a laugh, bitter and sharp. “I’d rather die than become a miserable woman like you. Mistaking loneliness for salvation.”
Isolde’s left eye twitched. “You already are. You might not realize it, but you’re far more similar to me than you’ll ever admit. Blood is thicker than water, remember?”
She snapped her fingers, and tendrils lined with thorned roses erupted from the ground, coiling tightly around Viviane’s wrists and ankles. They lifted her into the air until she was at the same height as her mother.
“I’m not like you! I will never be like you!” Viviane gritted her teeth, struggling violently against the bindings.