- Don’t say anything. - Dexter silenced him. – We need to get out of here immediately, before this shit spreads even more.

- In this state it will be problematic to do it. - Milos chuckled, paying attention to the state of the princess and himself.

- Where are the others?

- There’s no one left but the two of us.

Milos clenched his jaw tightly. It was the first time he had returned home so defeated and with such great losses. Moreover, these losses were an irreparable loss, since this time the princess was with them and he could not justify himself in any way.

- But I think I have a solution. - he waved his head in the direction of the forest, from where he had just come out.

Dexter listened, turning his head in the direction indicated and then slowly shifted his gaze to Nils before nodding.

- Are they unconscious? - he asked.

- Only a werewolf. He made me remember my former youth and dodging his teeth was too difficult, he is quite strong. The witch is conscious, but neutralized and bound.

- Why did you decide to let them live?

- I’ll tell you about it later. Believe me, you’ll like it. But first let’s get the fuck out of here.

Milos trudged back, dragging his feet and dragging the witch, who was too submissive.

- I’ll give you back your stick, and you open the portal. And let’s not have any surprises. - he warned her with hidden aggression in his voice.

Both vampires tensed when she took her magic wand from the vampire’s hands, but to everyone’s relief, she did not do anything that could provoke another massacre and opened a portal woven from tree roots, overgrown with greenery and moss.

She opened the portal to exactly the place they were originally heading to, obeying the orders of Ashley and Trish.

- You promised that you would help him, that you wouldn’t leave him here. - Nicole reminded the vampire, barely restraining herself from crying.

She was so worried about Urum that her heart was torn apart.

She cursed the moment when she disobeyed Urum and decided to face the witches. It was this moment that became a turning point, which led to a series of terrible events and multiple deaths. All she had to do was listen to him and run away then, but the past will not return, everything happens the way it happens and she just has to not screw up even more.

Nicole could not have imagined that she would come face to face with one of the vampire royals. Only when she heard how one of the vampires addressed her by title and she could no longer use attacking spells against them, only protecting herself and Urum, who was in the guise of a werewolf and did not hear her at all when she asked him to stop.

He was desperately fighting with the vampire, trying to protect her and she saw it, she was grateful for it, but if only he could hear her, then they could have prevented all this unnecessary slaughter. But no one heard her, and later the vampire disarmed and tied her up, although she didn’t resist much anyway.

- Don’t worry, your chain dog will come with us. - Count Milos said.

Dexter scooped the unconscious Amanda into his arms, letting her body rest gently in his arms before he used the portal conjured by Nicole.

Nils forcefully pushed Nicole into the portal, pushing her in the back and she barely kept on her feet so as not to stumble, but the next moment her hair was flying in the noisy flow of the portal passage and she found that her feet stepped on soft and fluffy grass.

A majestic castle of extraordinary beauty appeared before her eyes, which was as beautiful, and mystically intimidating.

High conical roofs with spires of a gloomy, almost black color, comfortably echoed the shades of blackness on the sandstone walls, giving a certain touch of Gothic, along with sculptural compositions decorating the facades.

Nicole was momentarily fascinated by what she saw, but immediately her thoughts and feelings returned to waiting for Urum, whom the vampire was supposed to pick up from the forest.

She was so worried about him, because he was too injured. And although werewolves, like vampires, had accelerated regeneration, there were extremely many wounds on his body so he could not heal in the blink of an eye., and there was no magic lake nearby.

Her heart ached with the desire to help him, because there were always potions in her purse that could speed up the healing process, but whether she would be allowed to use them, she did not know.

A sigh of relief caressed her swollen lips as the vampire crossed the border of the portal, carrying Urum’s unconscious body in his arms, covered with a vampire cloak. After Urum was knocked out, his human form returned again and he was lying there in the forest completely naked.

Nicole blamed herself for the fact that in such a situation she could not take her eyes off his body. She understood that he was injured, that he needed help, that he was bleeding, but her eyes kept treacherously returning to the same place, making her blush and ashamed of herself.

And now she was grateful to the vampire that he used his cloak to cover the nakedness of his enemy.

Needless to say, even in such minor details, Nicole began to realize that her attitude towards other races had previously been extremely biased, unforgivably biased. And only thanks to Thea, she was able to open her heart to new feelings and confessions, she became more sensitive and restrained, although the latter seemed to be given to her with difficulty and from time to time her hot-tempered and impudent character tried to hatch.

The passage through the portal in total took no more than a couple of minutes and Nicole did not even have time to think about it, as she was picked up under her arms and her hands were tied with tourniquets behind her back.

She involuntarily started up and screamed, but a blow to the head silenced her, going to conquer the unconscious space, following her partner.

- Throw them both in jail. - The count ordered the guards who arrived. – Do not give anyone any water or food, do not answer questions. All until further orders. Do it.

The guards picked up both prisoners and disappeared in an instant, leaving Milos alone to enjoy the pleasant sounds of piercing silence. He heaved a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground, succumbing to such a childish and ridiculous desire, but it was very necessary for him now. He wanted to feel his native land under him, inhale the aroma of fresh grass and calm his thoughts.