章 218: A toast

"I raise this cup for our esteemed guest," German declared, raising his cup, full of steaming Hill Mantichora blood.

That beast had strong venom in its stinger, but its blood was known for its attunement to fire that Hill Mantichoras breathed. It cost Cael quite a sum in the Riviera, but was worth it.

Every vampire who also got poured a bit of blood—although they mixed it with much less magical bloods, unlike German and Cael, who drank pure blood of mantichora—raised their cups as well in salute, then drank them down.

Cael took a big gulp as well. The taste burned his tongue, both spicy and bitter at once, but he stoically held himself back from wincing. He even fought against the desire to gulp the rest of the cup down at once and instead sipped it slowly, like the vampires, who clearly enjoyed the taste.