Raphael left Thea upstairs so that she could put herself in order again, because her whole disheveled and flushed appearance screamed that she was clearly not resting after a long stay in an unconscious state.

But if the hairstyle and clothes were easy, then the blush did not go away completely and was caused by the presence of Raphael nearby, who did not fail to flirt with Thea and tease her.

When she went downstairs, she noticed that he had already brewed her favorite green tea and put it on the coffee table near the sofa, and when Thea took her place, he carefully threw a fluffy blanket over her legs, which was lying on the chair.

- You look older now. - Raphael said, looking at her as she sipped tea from a mug.

- Are you saying I’ve aged? – she said jokingly and laughed.

- No way. You’re still charmingly beautiful and young, unlike me. - he grinned. – It’s just that now I don’t see childish maximalism in your eyes, you are more serious, you smile less. I don’t like it.

- Life makes us tougher. - Thea said, putting the mug back on the table.

- You may not believe it, but I’m really sorry.

- It’s not your fault, I just rethought a lot of things around me and there were moments when I realized that I needed to start growing up and becoming stronger. – the former playfulness gave way to melancholy.

- That’s right. But you’ve also become stronger. - he waved his hand in her direction, assessing her from head to toe in her sitting position. – You can even do magic in the northern lands. Still, you have remained a mysterious person for me, which I cannot solve in any way. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

- I do not know ... maybe something is wrong with me? - the question sounded as if she had asked it to herself. – Sometimes I feel this force too much, as if it bursts and tears me from the inside, wanting to get out, but I do not know how to open the door for her.

- How did you come to have these powers at all? – no matter how much Raphael thought about it, but he could not understand how a princess could not have a drop of magic all her life and suddenly awaken her in one moment. – What was the reason?

Thea took another sip of tea, feeling the warmth spread pleasantly down her throat, warming her stomach. She pulled her legs up from the floor, crossing them under her.

- I thought about it a lot, but the only thing that came to my mind was that magic was in me initially, but something blocked it. And it may sound absurd, but it seems to me that your blood has become the trigger. But, again, this is just an assumption, not a proven fact. By the way, why did you give me your blood?

- Because I wanted you to be safe. My blood has an increased regeneration of blood cells, in large quantities it will be fatal for an ordinary person, but in the dosages that I have given you and am giving you, it helps your wounds heal faster, plus your endurance increases.

- Oh, I see. Well, thank you. - She chuckled and then a grateful smile lingered on her lips, which was too charming in Raphael’s eyes. – Come to me.

She patted the seat next to her, inviting him to get under the blanket.

- This is a bad idea, you know? - his eyes flashed dangerously, but it was not an attempt to frighten, but an attempt to stop her.

- Promise me you’ll keep your hands to yourself. - Thea said.

- You’re asking the impossible of me. But more than that, there are other things that can be done without hands. – his words played with intrigue, and snow-white teeth bit his lower lip, which traitorously stretched out to smile.

Thea’s cheeks immediately flushed, but Raphael was too selfish to refuse such a tempting offer.

But instead of sitting next to her, he sat behind Thea, spreading his legs on either side of her and pulling her to him. Her sweet scent immediately hit him in the nose, awakening another stream of lustful thoughts.

- You really didn’t marry her? - she asked suddenly, as if the first answer wasn’t truthful enough for her.

- You’re asking that question again, even though you promised to trust me. Not everything that our eyes see is true in all instances. - Raphael said. – I did not kiss her and the marriage is not actually concluded. Moreover...

He stopped suddenly.

He wanted to say that chatty wedding witnesses were also absent, but he did not tell her about it, because a fleeting memory of how he personally tore off her friend’s head popped up in his head. It left a thorn in his chest. Not the death of that girl, but the fact that this is another moment for which Thea may hate him and not forgive him anymore.

- Moreover? - she asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

- The priest didn’t make any notes. – he lied to her.

Thea smiled and leaned her back against his chest. She missed this warmth so much, how many nights she spent remembering, crying and tearing apart from the pain, and in the end it turned out that there was no reason for that. She smiled sadly. How stupid she was.

- What amused you so much? - Raphael asked, hearing her grin.

- Nothing. - she shook her head. – I just thought that all our problems arose because of a simple misunderstanding, because I didn’t believe your words.

- Don’t blame yourself. - he kissed the top of her head. - I should have told you my plan in advance, too. Amanda has eaten up all my baldness about this.

Thea laughed, imagining how his sister treated him, and immediately thought, remembering his caring and kind younger sister.

- Tell me better about how you became immortal? Do you have an interesting fresco on the ceiling in your castle, does it have something to do with you?

He tilted his head slightly at the moment when she turned her head to him and that was enough for Thea to understand that this topic was difficult for him. His face at that moment was like a long–read book -clear and understandable.

She hit the nail on the head in her guesses. This mural was a story about him. But who was the girl in the picture?

She was bursting with curiosity, although it seemed that Rafael was too thoughtful and in no hurry to rush to tell her this story.

Seconds gave way to a minute... one, two... Raphael continued to frown and look distant. The corners of the lips were slightly lowered, and the face looked ... sad?

Thea was wary, thinking that maybe she had crossed the line and it was too personal? Something he can’t share with her because it hurts his feelings?

While her mother was alive, she always taught her to take care of other people’s feelings so as not to hurt them, this also applied to not meddling in other people’s personal lives, although with her friends she could still wash someone’s bones a little, because mom wouldn’t know if she didn’t to say.

But for the most part, she still tried to keep to personal boundaries and if a person needed to be alone to cry their grievances and sorrows, she could offer her support, but if she was refused the first time, then she left the person alone. Sometimes there comes a time when everyone needs to be alone with their own thoughts in order to sort them out.

- If you don’t want to answer, then just forget it. I don’t insist. – she hastened to say, and immediately he returned his calm and serene gaze, as if he had not just indulged in melancholy.

- This fresco is the only one that can be seen in the castle of Abion. I created it once when I had a difficult period in my life, as a reminder that should never be forgotten. - Raphael said.

- Can you draw? - Thea was surprised and he laughed softly.

It was nice to hear his carefree laugh, though deliberately restrained, but there was freedom and lightness in it, as if he was not afraid that someone else would notice this quality of his or his weaknesses, which men usually tried to hide.

- Yeah, with the help of wizadry. - his lips stretched into a smile and she admired the view for a couple of seconds, until she turned away again, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

Thea noted that in those rare moments when he allows himself to be distracted and relax, he looks very carefree and sweet. But such moments were rare, because he usually wore an impenetrable brick on his face.

- This is a wonderful work of art, worth noting. I liked it, although it was a sad picture. - Thea said, feeling his warm palm stroking her hair, slowly and steadily.

- The art is wonderful, but the tragedy is terrible. - his voice was again imbued with notes of sadness and nostalgia, and his eyebrows met on the bridge of his nose, creating a deep wrinkle. – I’ll tell you what happened...