Elder Luciano squinted his eyes at the Corvin, whose hand and leg revealed who he truly was. He watched the man from head to the branching toe. He couldn't believe his eyes that a Corvin could turn into a human, and suspicion entered his eyes. And at the same time, with Cillian's appearance, the Elder vampire momentarily forgot to find the whereabouts of where Griffin was.

  Elder Donovan couldn't believe that out of everyone, and this witch was the one who had turned out to be the Corvin. He had seen the witch a couple of times, glaring at him in the past, but at that time, he had brushed him to be one of Opaline La Fay's admirers.

  Cillian wasn't keen on vampires, and he despised their very existence. Because it wasn't once but more than twice, where the vampires had been why he had lost his family and friends. Vampires were cunning creatures who liked to use people around them. He stared back at them. He was here only because he knew they were Julie and Opaline's allies, at least to some extent.

  On the other hand, Castiel said, "I heard you were buried in Willow Creek. Did it take time for the spell to take effect?"

  "The spell from the forbidden door takes time to take effect and each of them varies from the other," replied Cillian, while he stood with his back straight and his posture proud but not in a conceited way like the other two bickering vampires.

  Castiel nodded and said, "I think my clothes should do. Nigel!" He called one of the servants who worked there. "Take Mr. Blackburn to one of the guest rooms and get him my clothes for now. Maybe you can go shopping tomorrow to get new clothes that fit you."

  The three Elders watched Cillian walk inside the corridor, following one of the mansion's servants. Donovan's eyes continued to stare at Cillian's head, and somewhere could see where the genes of seriousness had passed from his mother to Roman. It seemed like the entire Blackburn family had a similar expression, staring and cold eyes.

  "What the fuck are you doing?" demanded Luciano, and the other two Elder vampires turned to look at the blonde vampire. "You let a witch come in and sharing your clothes. Since when are we friends with him?!"

  "I think since my son started to date a witch?" questioned Donovan, and Luciano's expression turned sour. "What can I say? My son takes after me, dating a witch who seems to be running in the family."

  Luciano glared at Donovan, and he then shifted his glare in the direction the Corvin had walked in. He said, "How did he turn into a person in flesh?"

  "The witches have the ability to turn back time when it comes to the Corvin," answered Castiel, and he said, "What's important is to know that Cillian is on our side, and times have changed now Luciano. It isn't the time to sit and question a witch, but to have as many people as we can to fight and ally with us."

  A grim expression-filled Castiel's face, and he knew the upcoming war that was approaching in the land of Veteris, and no one could prevent it. It was an inevitable fight, and they would have to go through it. Only that they didn't know when it was going to take place, everyday of peace was a blessing in his mind.

  "Hmph," harrumphed Luciano, and he said, "I don't care about him either. Until and unless he doesn't cause any hindrance. What I am interested in is knowing where Griffin and the other guards are?"

  Donovan was getting bored, and he wondered if Luciano had purposefully decided to hide his little pet so that he could have something to point at him. He said, "Maybe they have gone out for some fresh air. You should stop being such a control freak and let the boy live his life."

  Luciano took a step forward, snapping his fingers, but Donovan and Castiel made no efforts to move from their position when it came to deflecting Luciano's ability.

  The Elder blonde vampire didn't have to wait for a couple of seconds to pass, as he was quick to realize that something was amiss in here.

  Castiel let out a tired sigh, noticing Donovan part his lips with a smile to speak, "I think some of us have missed the memo, but our ability isn't working anymore."

  "What?" Luciano asked in a shocked and low voice. "That's impossible," he sneered.

  "It is very possible. So while you are at it, I am going to take a look around the property," and Donovan stepped out of the mansion.

  Luciano snapped his fingers a few more times before a frustrated sigh escaped from his lips and a look of disbelief on his face.

  Castiel, who was walking by, said, "Every single person, who has the ability and has walked on these grounds, none of them have an ability. We should probably wait for Cillian or Julie to fix it, as they are the only ones with the ability of magic."

  In one of the rooms of the Elder's mansion, Cillian was given clothes by the servant, who looked at him with his eyes wide. It was because the vampire servant had never seen anyone have hands and feet made out of trees.

  Cillian turned to look at the servant and said, "You."

  The servant turned alert.

  Cillian's lips turned into a frown before he asked, "Do you have something to cut branches and stems?"

  "Ah-h, like gardening tools?" asked the servant in doubt, and Cillian gave it a thought before he gave him a nod.

  "Yes. That should do," replied Cillian, and the servant quickly darted out of the room.

  With his half human-like body, and the other half, which was the Corvin's body, he wasn't able to utilize the abilities of his Corvin. But then, at the same time, his abilities that belong to the witch side of him had returned. He was able to use spells, but he couldn't aparate to places as he pleased, nor did he share a bond any more with Julie, to know when she was in distress.

  Once the servant brought him gardening tools, he broke and filed his branches before wearing shoes and glove just on the hand that needed coverage.

  Staring into the mirror, he now looked like any other person of this time and age. He wore a coat that was given to him and looked at his reflection. For once, he now looked as if he belonged to the rich family, families of the vampires whom he very much despised.

  Cillian was never supposed to be in this period, he didn't belong here, yet he had been sent here out of purpose. That was what one would think, but then wasn't it his own choosing, where he had decided to follow the fate that led to many possibilities, even if it meant the time shared would be barely little. He was still content with it.

  It wasn't his intention to start a fight with Roman Moltenore.

  He had merely tried to test and understand the person, whom Julie was so in love with, and it seemed like the boy had shown enough proof and worth that he was worthy of staying beside the girl.

  Though he knew that the action had appeared to be simple, but in truth, Roman had taken a great deal of pain that could damage his heart. It was never his intention to fight with Roman for Julie because Cillian was a man with ideals, and he wasn't going to steal someone's heart which was already stolen.

  Hours passed in Veteris, and soon it was morning. But like many other days, where the sun had brightly shone with rays of sunlight hitting the leaves and the land of Veteris, it had turned cloudy and cold. It made the students stay in their warm beds a little longer than usual.

  Julie, who had fallen unconscious last night, slowly gained consciousness, and she woke up next to Roman. He was wide awake as if he hadn't slept the entire night, and she stared at him.

  "Good morning," Roman greeted her.

  "Good morning," Julie whispered to him. The last thing she remembered was her pain in the dorm, and then everything had turned blank. She softly gulped before asking him, "When did you come back here?"

  "Last night," replied Roman, staring right into her brown eyes and checking her pupils that appeared to be of the usual size. "How are you doing?"

  Julie could sense something to be very off with Roman, and she nodded, "Good. What about you?"

  "I am fine," replied Roman, his eyes red, and Julie frowned.

  "What happened last night, Rome?" she asked him.

  "Opening the forbidden door and walking through it, it caused some bad side effects on you," sighed Roman, and he brought his hand towards her face, pushing the strands of her hair behind her face and her ear. "The dark magic attached to you before you stepped out and it was what was going to deteriorate your health."

  Julie's eyes widened because she understood what Roman had done, and she quickly sat up on the bed in worry, and she placed her hand on his chest to make sure his heart was still beating.

  "You took away my pain and darkness," Julie's eyebrows furrowed, and Roman pushed himself from the bed to sit up like her. "You didn't have to do that."

  "If I didn't do it, it would eventually lead to your death, Winters. Unlike the other witches and your mother, you didn't learn magic gradually by exploring it yourself and taking time to perfect it. Instead, you took a crash course, and you will die sooner than the others if we let the darkness lurk around you for a longer time," explained Roman.

  Julie took a better look at Roman, noticing how he stared back at her in the eye. Even though he didn't look like he was in pain, she could tell he was hurting, and the obvious proof was the bloodstains on his T-shirt. She shook her head and put her arms around her. Out of habit, Roman wrapped his arms around her waist and said,

  "Don't feel guilt and regret for what I do. I do things because I want to keep you safe."

  "And I need you safe, Rome," replied Julie, she didn't know what she would do if she lost him too. They didn't even know if Roman would turn into a Corvin if he were to die after being a vampire…… And she wouldn't regret bringing him back to life, similar to the way her mother had brought her father, Knox to a human-like form.