Julie laid in the bed next to Roman, her fingers intertwined with his fingers while staring at the ceiling of their room. It had been almost three hours since they had gone to bed, and somewhere in between, she had woken up from her short sleep.

  Noticing Roman's eyes that were closed, she didn't want to wake him up. As much as vampires didn't fall asleep as the humans did, their bodies still needed rest, and Julie wanted him to have it.

  She quietly stared at the dark ceiling above them, somewhere glad that things hadn't turned as chaotic as she thought it would be. But most of the credits went to Uncle Thomas, who had become the pacifier and diffuser of the situation when it came to her aunt, who had been about to tell something.

  "Unable to sleep?" came Roman's voice from next to her, and Julie turned her head to look at him, where he had opened his eyes, and she noticed they weren't black but red.

  "I just woke up. You didn't sleep?" asked Julie in her soft voice.

  "Hard to sleep when you are awake. Is something bothering you?" Roman's fingers squeezed her own, and Julie felt her heart skip a beat.

  "No, nothing happened," replied Julie, and she moved closer to him, taking a closer look at his eyes, and she said, "Your eyes."

  "Are they red?" At Roman's question, Julie nodded.

  "Do you feel thirsty?"

  "I am okay, don't worry about me," said Roman, but his words only increased her worry. "I am just a little thirsty."

  "You can have my blood if you want. The Corvin did say that the Silverwater wouldn't cause much effect on me. It won't be that bad," offered Julie.

  Roman released her hand that he had been holding until now, "When it comes to you, I wouldn't take a risk. Never."

  But the more Roman kept himself away from drinking blood, keeping his thirst at bay, the worst it would turn out to be, thought Julie to herself. "How about if I pour some blood in the glass? Maybe we can add water to it and make you feel full?" she came up with the idea to see a broadened smile on his lips as if she was naive and innocent to say something like that.

  "Only if the vampire's body worked as such. It doesn't matter if our stomach becomes full, because all we see is how much the blood enters our very own system once it is consumed," said Roman, getting up from where he was lying down next to her in the bed. Julie pushed herself up, sitting upright on the bed with Roman.

  She saw him placing his hand on his chest and tapping on it with his hand that had turned into a fist.

  "But you had consumed too much Silverwater," Julie pointed out, "Did you and Donovan drink blood from someone?"

  "Yes, a little. Taking in too much blood and keeping a person for far too long will only bring unneeded attention to us," replied Roman, and Julie was somewhere glad that he had gotten the opportunity to drink blood. Was that why Donovan had earlier proposed to go and get ice cream?

  Roman then said, "But I don't think it was enough."

  He raked his hand through his hair as if something was bothering him.

  "Should I wake up Donovan?" asked Julie, and Roman shook his head.

  "Leave the old man out of this. I have had enough of his company for the next decade," muttered Roman under his breath before adding, "Only if I could put him back in his coffin. Things would have been much simpler."

  Julie was sure that most of the people troubled by the Elder's presence in Veteris held the same thought, but then it was Mr. Evans who had awakened the Elders from their chambers. Before leaving Veteris, she had spoken to Mr. Evans as her mother had turned the man into her guardian in her absence. And their conversation had gone somewhere like this,

  'Visiting your uncle and aunt?'

  Julie nodded her head, 'Yes. I didn't get to go and visit them last month and I thought I would find something about my father too. Just to be careful.'

  'Don't go looking for things that you don't want to see, Julianne. Things that you look for, sometimes come back to haunt you,' Mr. Evans had told her while sitting behind his desk. Compared to his usual smiling face, he had dropped it in front of her, making her realize he appeared much older with his expressionless and dull face. 'Is Moltenore accompanying you?'

  'He is. He will be there with me.'

  Mr. Evans, who was once scary and unnerving, had turned out to be someone she could now rely on.

  'Though I would strongly like to advise you to not go somewhere you aren't sure about, still you aren't a child anymore,' said Mr. Evans, and Julie was grateful that he was not trying to treat her like a child. 'Moreover, if there's Moltenore with you it should be fine. I believe you have bonded yourself with the Corvin?' On seeing her nod again, the counsellor continued, 'Then all you need to do is summon the creature when you feel you need it around. Even though the Corvin is young and isn't as efficient as your father or how the older Corvins used to be, it should be sufficient enough to keep trouble at bay.'

  'Yeah, I will keep that in my mind. Is there any news about my mother or father? Did you get a chance to take a look at Willow Creek?' she asked him.

  Mr. Evans gave her a slight nod, and he then said, 'I did go and take a look around the place. It looks just the same as when I had left the place before, except the place is now covered in snow. Heard from Ms. Dante that you didn't want anything to be moved from its place.'

  Julie stayed quiet for some time, her thoughts went back to the Gallows where her mother's body lay. She said,

  'I wanted to know more about how things were, or maybe how my mother lived her life. Just so that I could keep her closer in my memories.'

  'Don't you already do it? Keeping her in your heart and mind?' questioned Mr. Evans.

  'I have seen my mother only once, and that was when I had gone to Queenstorm. Somewhere… I regret not stepping inside the mirror, to follow her,' murmured Julie, and Mr. Evans slightly frowned at her words.

  'Mirrors… they are tricky objects. Not just in the ghost's world, but also for the witches. Sometimes people get inside but they never come back. Because they either lose their way or they don't want to come back. Not to mention, it creates parallel lines.'

  'Parallel lines?' questioned Julie, her brown eyes staring at Mr. Evans.

  'Parallel lines are nothing less to the next possible future because of people's effects on what they do by going back and trying to fix things. Sometimes it turns too messy. Lady Opaline once mentioned that… That's what happened when vampires came into existence," explained Mr. Evans, while Julie quietly listened to him. 'It was told that once upon a time the world was a peaceful one, but one day, someone lost someone very dear to them, and everything changed.'

  'Do you know who was that person?'

  'It was connected to a witch. The witches, vampires, and the humans have always been in a relationship with each other. Even though most of them didn't like each other, they have always been each other's reflections when it comes to their actions. The person, who was responsible for today, to keep a person alive and immortal, it led to creatures like me,' said the counsellor, and Julie tried to understand what he was meaning to tell. 'Anyway, your mother never mentioned what I could or couldn't tell you, so I believe I can tell you what I know, while making sure to see you stay safe.'

  'Thank you for your help,' Julie thanked him, and she got up from the seat where she had been sitting until then.

  When she reached near the closed door, Mr. Evans said, 'Try tapping into the mirror again, only if you are confident. If not, it is best to not touch it…'

  'How did you know that you have to stay here?' asked Julie, something that she had been curious about since she had come to know about his involvement with her mother.

  'It wasn't I who chose to come here, but it was your mother's decision to send me here. I believed Lady Opaline had done things because of certain reasons. She had been a woman that I came to respect and care, putting her before me,' said the counsellor with obvious devotion in his voice, and Julie could have never believed that Mr. Evans and her would somehow be tied to each other. 'You were meant to be here one day. Even if it meant it took decades or centuries, you were destined to step on these grounds.'

  Julie gave him a nod, and she had stepped out of the room.

  She would have been sure that his loyalty lay with the Elder vampire, but now that she knew the truth, Sullivan Evans' loyalty lay only with her mother.

  Her trail of thoughts were broken when she heard Roman cough, and she saw him placing his hand on his chest. And his other hand was quick to appear in front of his mouth.

  "Rome?" Julie turned utterly worried, noticing his face that quickly started to transform. The little roots like veins started to emerge on the surface of his skin, and when he dropped his hand to his side, his parted lips showed the fangs that had extended. She said, "I will go and get something quickly."

  But just when she was about to leave the bed, Roman's hand shot towards her, and he caught hold of her wrist.

  "Don't leave," he whispered, his voice sounding as if he was having trouble talking, and he heaved for air.

  His hand on her skin felt cold, where the usual warmth was missing. Her eyebrows furrowed deeply, and she brought her other hand to place it on his forehead.

  His forehead was covered in sweat, and she wondered if he was feeling sick.

  "I will be fine," said Roman, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of her hand.

  "But you are sweating, Rome. Give me two minutes, and I will be back," said Julie, and she pulled his hand towards her, kissing his hand back before she left the room.

  She slowly tiptoed towards the kitchen, making her way towards the shelves and cupboards to get the glass. Placing the glass on the island, she pulled out a bottle of liquor before pouring it into the glass.

  Suddenly the light turned on, and she heard, "Never thought you to be someone who likes to drink in the middle of the night."

  Julie spun on her heels, feeling startled by Donovan's sudden voice, and she let her back lean against the counter while taking deep breaths, "You haven't slept."

  "I didn't. I had unwanted company who made it impossible for me to get a decent amount of time to even close my eyes or meditate," replied Donovan, and his eyes fell on the bottle of liquor that Julie held. "Care to pour some for me?"

  Julie gave him a nod, and she offered the glass that she had earlier poured liquor. "Thanks," hummed Donovan, taking a sip, and his eyebrows slightly scrunched before he said, "Not so bad, but not good either."

  She wondered if there was anything that did please the Elder vampire where he didn't comment. But then the answer was quick to appear in her mind. Roman. To Donovan, his son was the apple of his eye where he didn't find any fault in him.

  "Is that for Rome?" Donovan questioned, and Julie nodded.

  "He's feeling sick," said Julie. "You don't seem to be doing well either," her eyes noted how his eyes had turned red too, but he seemed to be standing his ground.

  "I am always in a perfect condition. There's never a time where Azazel Donovan has difficulty after consuming Silverwater," Donovan raised the glass in his hand and gulped the entire liquor in one go.

  "Why did you make him drink the Silverwater? Aren't you worried that he might die?" asked Julie, her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Donovan.

  "He has you. I doubt there's anything about him that I need to worry about," replied Donovan in a nonchalant tone before he added, "He is stronger than any of us. Even if it looks worse now, eventually he will be able to come out of this phase and emerge into the highest vampire because of his heart condition."

  Julie didn't know what to reply to Donovan and knowing Roman was thirsty in the room. Picking another glass, she turned her back to the Elder vampire before pulling the knife into her hand.

  "What are you making him?" questioned Donovan, craning his neck to the side with curiosity in his eyes.

  "An alcoholic drink with my blood. I heard that liquor and smoking helps in curbing a vampire's thirst."

  "For vampires, these things work differently, my dear. He's not an average vampire who is thirsty but in his ripper form. What makes you think alcohol is enough to curb it with one drop of your blood?" Donovan's question had Julie pause her from cutting her palm. "Let him control his thirst. Let the night pass and both of you sleep."

  "I don't think I will be able to keep him here without him going to hunt me or my relatives or maybe the next door neighbors for some blood," evident worry in her eyes. She remembered the few hours she had spent with Roman's ripper side, where his words had sounded emotionless and empty. "Is there another way to put him to sleep, maybe."

  "You can sing him a lullaby and see if it works? Maybe I can sing a lullaby," offered Donovan, his eyes sparkling and Julie wished she could smack the Elder vampire for his terrible suggestion.

  She picked up the glass of alcohol that she had poured for Roman, ready to pour it back into the bottle, when a hand came in front of her face. Donovan said, "I will take it from here, you can tend to him."

  Julie passed the bottle and the glass to the Elder vampire.

  Somewhere on her way towards the room, Julie suddenly became worried that Roman might have left the room and stepped out of the house. But she was glad to see him. He had his back laid on the bed, and his hands stretched wide, with one of his knees pulled up, and he stared at the ceiling.

  Stepping inside the room, Julie closed the door before making her way around the bed. She saw him turning his gaze from the ceiling to her. He didn't speak a word, and neither did she. A few seconds passed when Roman stretched his hands towards her, and Julie placed her hand in his to feel him tug her to him.

  Julie was quick to fall on the bed, her knees on the surface of the bed, and her body coming to fall on top of him.

  "Rome?"

  "Yes?" Roman let his hand stroke Julie's back, soothing the tension. "I told you that you didn't have to worry about me. I am doing perfectly fine in your company."

  And even though Roman said it, Julie wasn't convinced, "I cannot help but worry about you. You are the only one I am left with."

  "And I have nowhere else to go but with you. Isn't that what makes things so beautiful," said Roman, and Julie pressed her forehead on his. "Donovan is right, alcohol won't be enough."

  "Are you telling me that you aren't thirsty?" asked Julie, and she saw the swirl of red in his eyes.

  "You want to know the truth?" asked Roman, and Julie pulled her head back a little before she nodded her head.

  "I don't like you hiding things from me. Even if it makes you think that it will hurt me," she let him know. "Things that you think that hurts me, I would still want you to tell me about it."

  Roman stared at Julie for two seconds before flipping her back on the surface of the bed, "The truth is that my jaws hurt, but more importantly, it is the thoughts where all I want to do is hurt you. I want to sink my fangs in your skin and drink every drop of blood that now runs through your veins. I want to feel alive, and I know it can be done only by drinking blood, but for some reason… yours taste sweeter, my love."

  "Then take it," challenged Julie, and the serious expression on his face slowly started to change where a subtle smile appeared on his lips.

  "I have come to believe that taking life is easier, but putting the pieces back together, it is the toughest one," Roman whispered to her, and he pressed both her hands on the bed. His hands slid from her forearms, moving up to reach her palms before he interlocks his fingers with hers. "But more than blood, I want to keep you alive and breathing."

  Julie stared into Roman's eyes, noticing how the black and the red kept swirling around.

  "So what do you propose?" asked Julie, not knowing what was going on in his mind right now.

  Somewhere, she was glad that he wasn't diving right in to bite her neck. Not that she would have minded if he took a bite from her right now.

  "Let us stay here, like this," said Roman, and Julie blinked before he finally let his body move to the side next to her. His fingers let go of her hands, and she turned around to see him take a deep breath.

  She wondered if he was trying to pull his ripper side, controlling it in his mind so that it would not overtake his senses. And she was proud of it. They hugged each other, where he had pulled her back in his arms, keeping her close to his beating heart.

  When morning arose, Julie woke up to see the bed empty.