Julie pondered over Knox's words about Roman and Donovan. The silence around them grew, and she felt a hand on her shoulder that Knox had placed now.

  He said to her, "As your father, I can only advise you. It is for you to decide, if you want to bring down others around you. If I am not wrong, death is already here."

  She pursed her lips and then said, "Every curse can be broken with the right presence and words, father. Rome and I are not parting away from each other," and she shook her head.

  There was a slight frown on her father's face, and a sigh escaped from his lips, "If that is what you want." It was quite apparent that Knox was unhappy, but she and Roman had decided that they would never split up and that they would stick to each other, no matter how harsh the situation would turn out to be.

  "Did mother ever try to break this curse?" asked Julie, and Knox shook his head.

  "No. I don't think she did. I would have known if she had tried to do it. Curses are never easy to break," said Knox, and he turned his head in the direction they had come. "You were able to break the curse here because it was your mother who placed it, and before her death… her heart must have yearned to see you once. All she wanted to do was protect you. Have you been well?"

  Julie nodded her head, "I wasn't in the beginning, but I am now. I have people who care for me, and love me."

  "I am glad to hear that," replied Knox, and he looked at the sky, where the snowflakes had started to fall from the sky. "Your mother was worried, also sad… that you had to go through hardship. She heard it from the girl, who carried you."

  "I see," replied Julie, realizing how her mother knew most of the things about her before she had even come to exist. Until now, she had only heard about Opaline La Fay, her mother. And she wished she had got to meet her.

  Both Julie and Knox returned to the centre of the town, and Julie, who had learned that Knox's time was scarce, tried to stay with him. Donovan was the first one to return, and he was speaking to Knox when Roman reached where she stood.

  "You okay?" questioned Roman.

  Julie nodded her head, a smile coming to form on her lips, and he stared at her before a small smile appeared on his lips. She asked him, "You?" Though Roman had smiled, Julie noticed there was something that seemed to be on his mind. But before he could speak, her eyes fell on his knuckles, and her eyebrows furrowed, "What happened to your hand?" her words came as a whisper.

  She quickly took his hand in hers, taking a look at his bruised knuckles.

  "It'll heal soon," said Roman, and Julie looked up at him.

  "Did you get into a fight with him?" her eyes shifted to look at where Donovan was, who was speaking to her father, and their eyes met each other. He offered her a polite smile, and Julie's eyes returned to Roman.

  Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around Roman's waist. He wrapped his arms around Julie, and he murmured, "Seems like we both had an eventful day today."

  And Julie couldn't agree more about it.

  Knox still looked unhappy, and he muttered, "I thought you hated witches and would keep her away from him."

  "I did… but I think I changed my mind. What better way to get back to you but get the girl on my side," Donovan smiled at the Corvin, who lightly glared at him.

  "Being related to you is the last thing I am looking forward to," Knox deadpanned, and Donovan chuckled.

  "Then it's good that we won't be seeing you around after a few hours and you can rest in peace," said the Elder vampire. The smile on his face evened, and he said, "Julie seems to be different from the other witches, and I think it's already proven, considering she's a baby of a witch and a Corvin. Why are you worried?"

  Knox didn't respond to Donovan's question, and he turned to look at Roman and Julie. He said, "His soul… it feels empty," the frown turning deeper. "Like an empty shell yet his heart beats only because your blood runs in his veins."

  The vampire named Enoch Mortimer walked away from Willow Creek as quickly as his feet could let him. But with the lack of blood in his body and his thirst for blood high. While he continued to look for a way out, his eyes fell on a human boy, and he seemed to be fresh. The vampire's fangs ached, and he made his way near the person, who was a student.

  Enoch's hand reached the boy's shoulder while the curly-haired boy turned his head in time. The student, on noticing the pale looking man asked,

  "Are you alright? You look sick."

  Dodging and escaping from that annoying Azazel had taken up all his energy, which was why he was now unable to stand still but stagger.

  "Come closer," whispered Enoch, feeling the rays of sunlight too harsh on his eyes.

  "What?" asked the student, who had come out in the woods to get some fresh air and away from people.

  The boy was none other than Conner, who had a bad dream and was here to clear his head. His eyebrows furrowed, and he stepped closer while trying to hold the man's arm. "Let me go and call one of the guards or the staff."

  Enoch shook his head, and when he got near Conner, he opened his mouth wide to show his fangs.

  For a moment, Conner went blank because he hadn't expected the fragile man to have fangs in his mouth before he turned shocked. The nightmare he had dreamt of was one where Reese's body had been dragged into the woods by a couple of people who didn't look human.

  Before Enoch could sink his teeth into Conner's neck and draw out blood to regain his energy, Conner used all his force to push the vampire away from him while his eyes had gone wide.

  Enoch turned feral, with the sight of blood right in front of him but unable to get a hold of it.

  "Holy crap this cannot be true," mumbled Conner, and he took a step away from the vampire, who was quick to follow him.

  The vampire tried to get a hold of him, but he dodged it, stumbling backwards on the ground before he quickly stood up.

  "Why is the sun not hurting you?!" questioned Conner, his eyes falling on the man's hands and the empty neck. Picking up the nearest stick, he threw it at the vampire before fleeing from there as quickly as he could.

  While Conner left Enoch in the woods, he sprinted towards the boy's Dormitorium but quickly turned around.

  "I have to find Mel and Julie," he said to himself and headed towards the girl's Dormitorium.