- How long have you been showing this notorious female solidarity of yours? - he asked sarcastically, pulling away from her.

- I just understand her as a girl.

- Well, of course. Is it because Dexter is ignoring you? – the corners of his lips curled, slightly exposing the tips of his teeth.

- Shut up. – she hissed, frowning her elegant eyebrows so that a deep wrinkle lay between them.

- This is the second time when I give myself a slack and get attached to a person, and they slips away from me. – he replied.

Amanda noticed that his darkness had now completely dissipated, leaving his body defenseless, like a little boy who had lost his favorite toy.

- Artemis didn’t escape you. She would never have left you if... - she paused, afraid to say the next words out loud.

- If Lillian hadn’t killed her... Yes she wouldn’t have done it. But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s not with me now.

- How long have you been in the tomb? Maybe we can go there together to lay flowers? - She changed the subject, realizing that his pain had not disappeared despite the centuries that had passed.

But instead of aggravating this pain, she wanted to help him look at it more philosophically, because everyone sooner or later ends their life path, going to a better world for peace of mind.

Everyone except him.

This was the only moment because of which she could not voice her thoughts. After all, if Raphael could have died, he would have gone to his wife long ago. How many times he tried to commit suicide and how many times he failed.

- I’ll do it myself. - he replied calmly, taking another sip of alcohol. – You can hire workers.

Amanda did not expect these words from him, and therefore for some time she just silently batted her eyelashes realizing whether she had heard his answer correctly.

After her mind finally processed the information received, she could no longer restrain her joy and jumping on the spot like a small child, rushed with hugs to her brother, squeezing him to the bone crunch as a sign of gratitude.

- She loves you. I am sure that when you find her, you will be able to discuss all your misunderstandings.

- I’ve already found it. - Raphael grinned.

- What? Where? - There was complete disbelief on Amanda’s face, because he still hadn’t returned her to Abion.

- I can’t tell you more yet. This could put her at risk, so the fewer people who know, the better.

- It’s so weird, would you like to bring her back here?

- It’s absolutely pointless. - he hiccupped, sipping the burning contents of the bottle. – Where she is now, she does not catch anyone’s eye. This time I understand that keeping her away from me would be the best solution. For now.

- Very well, then. - Amanda replied thoughtfully. - Can I ask one more question? - she asked uncertainly, shifting from one foot to the other.

- Is this something I might not like? - his brow arched, waiting for an answer.

- Dex removed the bodies of Giselle, her mother, and their counselor from the castle gates at my insistence, but they were never buried. I would like to return their bodies to the King of Adaman, with your permission. She is just a simple human girl and whatever actions she has done in the past, this is not a reason to scatter the remains like garbage. Let me do it.

Raphael stood in silence for a minute, savoring the sharp aftertaste with berry notes on his tongue.

- There’s no need for that. Let’s take a walk, I’ll show you something.

He didn’t give Amanda a chance to ask another question that was hanging on her tongue, but instead squeezed her hand tightly and dragged her towards the door.

She was like a dog on a leash trailing behind him, barely keeping up. Of course, her vampire essence was hardy to this kind of physical exertion, but he was still faster, and her legs did not stop getting tangled in skirts.

Passing through another corridor, she noticed Mrs. Rose, who was dusting off heavy velvet curtains. She froze at the sight of the king and turned white as snow lying outside the window, but she was even more shocked by the ease with which Raphael passed by and did not pay any attention to her when pictures of how he would kill her were already being drawn in her head.

Amanda just rolled her eyes.

She didn’t know where he was taking her, bypassing the courtyard, until they were in front of Artemis’s tomb.

- So you’ve changed your mind after all? – she looked into his face, coming up behind him and touching his shoulder with her chin. – We should have brought a bouquet of flowers.

But Raphael ignored her words and creaked open the metal fence that served as a fence for a small tomb. His footsteps echoed loudly on the paved path. This place was additionally protected by magic, even more than Abion Castle itself. And there was a reason for that, because in this place was the ashes of his beloved wife, the most precious person in his life.

The ashes are the only thing left of her after she was burned by the witches.

But instead of entering the main door leading to the tomb, they walked around it from the end of the building until they stopped in front of a small thorn thicket.

Raphael conjured a small dagger straight out of the air and in one swift movement cut the palm of his right hand. Blood instantly seeped over the skin, flowing down in rapid rivulets and falling down to the ground. And then, as if by magic, the thorn bush came to life, fueled by the smell of blood and pulled its branches to the outstretched hand, entwining it and absorbing every drop, like a traveler in the desert, thirsting for a drop of water.

Having had enough, the stems of the bush acquired an obsidian-black color and crumbled into dust, and a small underground passage formed in place of the bush.

Raphael started walking forward again, dragging his sister with him, and she could only wonder what had happened to that bush.

- He will recover soon. – noticing her look, Raphael replied. – This is protective magic, and no one but me will be able to enter here, since my blood is needed to remove the thorn.

- You know, you never cease to amaze me. We’ve known each other for so long, but I’ve never seen the full power of your magic. – she chattered with enthusiasm.

- There is nothing surprising in this. - Raphael waved him off.

- Maybe so, but... it still haunts me... Why did you keep your wizard abilities when you turned into a vampire, while my abilities were completely gone.

He stopped abruptly and Amanda almost flew into his back.

- You were too weak at the moment of transition to the vampire essence. – he replied, assessing her lost face.

Flashbacks of that day appeared in his head in flashes of images.

After Artemis’s death, only his parents and sister remained, who kept him alive, who did not allow him to completely go crazy. It was they who brought him back from the darkness that consumed his mind after Artemis’ death.

Years passed and since his parents were already quite old, one by one he buried them after they died of their own death from old age. They were left alone with Amanda. She was still a very young girl, but she had truly magnificent makings of wizard.

She created a lot, loved to travel, loved nature and animals, was kind and responsive to other races, unlike her brother.

But at one point, after her next trip, she picked up a strange disease that did not succumb to healers. Her body was seized with fever, she could not eat or drink and began to disappear before her eyes.

When Raphael saw her in such a state, he immediately realized that there would be no way back, no one could help his sister. Except him.

He sat with her all night, holding her hand, trying to somehow ease her pain while she moaned and writhed in bed. And then he did something he didn’t ask her about and for which she couldn’t forgive him for too long afterwards.

At the moment when her heart practically slowed down to a couple of beats per minute, he forcibly forced her to drink his blood.

The agony and fever that followed were nothing compared to her illness. She felt like she had died millions of times without being able to be saved. But salvation came on the third day. She woke up in her room, still in the same bed, but she had changed. And her desires changed with her.

Now she wanted only one thing – to sink her fangs into someone, her gums itched and bled, and due to lack of blood, her salivation became excessive.

Her body was still weak and shaky, and she assumed that she could conjure a live rabbit to somehow satisfy this unbearable desire. It was that moment that became fatal for her, because she realized that there was no place for wizard in her anymore.

- Because you were on the verge of death and your body was exhausted, the vampire essence absorbed your sorceress abilities. No one could have predicted it, especially since you were the first one I turned. Even if I had known about it beforehand, I would have done it anyway. - Raphael said firmly.

- That’s right, because you’re still that selfish. - Amanda chuckled. – And yet I’m a little lacking in my strength, sometimes I miss this tickling feeling of overflowing energy.

- Despite that, you’re doing great without wizard. The plants in your greenhouse are growing by leaps and bounds.

- It’s all about secret feeding. – pleased with herself, Amanda lifted her chin, although she understood that her brother did not care about her herbs at all.

While talking, time flew by unnoticed and they finally reached the end of the stairs, which took them deep down. With a wave of her hand, the wall in front of their faces dissolved and they entered a small dark room, where, thanks to her vampire vision, Amanda saw Giselle alive and unharmed, curled up on the floor.

Not completely unscathed, to be truthful, but definitely alive.