Rick slowly pulled his body up to the head of the bed and took a deep breath. His whole body was numb and numb after being in an uncomfortable position for so long.

- I didn’t expect to see you here. - He replied dryly, looking at Raphael.

- You don’t have to thank me. - he waved it away.

- I wasn’t going to. - Rick said.

- Is that so? You know, maybe I should have left you tied up and silent after all. - Raf pursed his lips, his eyes flashing coldly.

Derrick swallowed convulsively, licking his dry lips. His head was buzzing and splitting apart from dehydration.

- I need blood. – he said faintly. - And then we can talk.

- Well, there’s only one employee left on the estate. I heard his on the first floor. Will you go yourself or should I bring him here? - Raphael asked.

- I’ll do it myself.

Rick did not want to shift this responsibility, because he understood that Rafael would not stand on ceremony with his people. Therefore, with a weak, uncertain gait, he went in search of the only person who could compensate for his hunger.

After the hunger was satisfied, he felt an incredible surge of strength, it felt like he had just been born. And although he drank enough blood, he managed to restrain himself from killing his own servant.

When he returned to the room, Raphael was standing on the balcony, watching the sun set.

- What did she want from you? - Raphael immediately asked the question without beating around the bush.

- Since they know I’m a vampire, they expected me to be the one to start luring vampires to their side by my own example.

- I suppose you didn’t agree?

- You saw what she did to me.

- Why didn’t she kill you? - his brows were furrowed, waiting for Rick to decide to tell him everything.

- She gave me time to think.

- That is, she promised to come back... Well, an unpleasant surprise awaits her. - Raphael stated, nodding his head as if to his own thoughts.

- I’m not going to help you or her. This is your personal showdown. I heard what you did at the ball. You know, it’s time for you to stop coming to Riliya and killing members of the royal family.

- Oh, no, my friend. You have no way to refuse me. Unless you’re worried about one such little blonde girl, whose death Lillian wants so much.

Rick froze instantly.

- What do you mean? Why would she do that? She raised her as her own daughter for so long. - he shook his head.

- This little princess was ready to kill herself just to escape from this caring family. – smacking his lips, Raphael replied. – What a "good" family.

- Even if that’s the case, do you think she’ll listen to me if I just ask her not to? - he grinned ironically, combing his hair back.

- It is not required. But you have to turn Horel against Lillian. We need to deprive her of the opportunity to use magicians.

- It’s even funny to hear that the invincible Raphael began to be afraid of magicians. - he burst out laughing. – Are you getting old?

Raphael only chuckled at his remark, but it didn’t make him angry.

- Thea has awakened her magic. - his gaze was piercing and firm. – And what do you think, will she stay away when the war starts?

Rick thought even more. He saw with his own eyes how the girl grew up and, just like him once, she was considered an outcast due to the lack of magic. This made him even more sympathetic to her. So now he couldn’t figure out how she managed to learn how to use magic?

- I don’t promise that something will work out. Where is she now?

- Somewhere among the witches. - he winked, not giving him an exact answer. - If you know her well enough, it won’t be difficult for you to find her. Give it back to her.

Something tiny flashed in the air, which was immediately caught by Rick. When he opened his palm, he noticed a small gold ring there, the same one that Queen Catherine once wore. The ring of the guardian of magic.

- Where did you get it? – he couldn’t help but wonder.

- From the princess, of course. But since we didn’t find what we were looking for with it, now there is no need for it.

- Why don’t you bring him back yourself?

Raphael’s expression darkened, and the muscles on his cheekbones clearly began to play. He closed his eyes and with all his might suppressed the darkness that enveloped his heart, which whispered to him to drop everything and take Thea, putting her on a leash like a pet dog.

He tried with the last of his strength not to succumb to this inner voice. Although sometimes he caught himself thinking that he was lying... He wanted to bring her back until his body trembled, he wanted to touch her again, hug her, kiss her. The same way I did it before. And she would have modestly pursed her lips and was embarrassed, timid before his touch.

His fantasy played for two when it sent all these desirable pictures to his brain, tempting him to abandon his decision.

Deftly catching the changes in the atmosphere in the room, Rick decided not to aggravate the situation.

- Well, how’s my brother doing? – the distraction worked perfectly and Raphael’s face immediately brightened.

- You can ask Richard yourself when you get to the Marro Palace. He has been in Riliya for some time.

- And why am I not surprised? He was always too reckless. What it cost him to want to leave with you.

- What is it? Envy or pity? Come on... unlike you, he’s more organized and helpful.

- Well, of course. You don’t keep useless people with you.

- I would have kept you, but you refused to leave Raswell yourself.

- Stop lying. We both know that you need my knowledge, isn’t that what you’ve always come here for? - Rick snapped.

- Everyone needs your knowledge. If you already know everything yourself, then do what I asked you to do.

That was the end of their meeting.

Raphael went to the northlands that night, and Rochester walked through the streets of his native Raswell for the first time in several months, noting for himself the decadent state, silence and fear that was in the air.

He did not like what he saw at all, and he was even more convinced that he was not on the way with Lillian. He had to do everything in his power to return peaceful life to the residents of the city.

The only thing he couldn’t do now was to bring old Pitt back to life.

By the time he arrived at the tavern, Claire had already woken up and was mourning the man’s death. At the sight of the count, she immediately got up and began incoherently trying to explain that she did not kill him, but Rochester just waved him off.

- It doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s just bury him, and then I’ll need your help, Hara. - he looked at her pointedly.

Claire, though she looked very frivolous and rustic, but it was just a disguise for a quieter life. In fact, she was very smart, with an analytical mindset. She could correctly assess the situation and make the right decision when needed. But what no one knew, except Rick, was that a powerful witch was hiding behind this successful disguise.

Hara found the man very capable when she first saw him, but she was shocked when she found out that he was a vampire. Fortunately for her, the times when vampires kept witches at bay subsided a little and she was able to open up to Rochester. Although it took a long time for this.

Rick allowed Hara to live a quiet, serene life in Raswell, and she in turn helped him many times in his work. Most of the amulets were created by her hands, which significantly reduced the time for the production of traps for the royal family.

Their mutual friendships made her look at the essence of vampires differently. It was completely different from what the witches of the coven had been hammered into their heads since childhood. It turned out that even among their enemies there are good people, at the same time as among the witches there were those who made the hair on their arms stand on end.

And after Hara once accidentally met Brother Rick in a tavern, she realized that she had irrevocably and unconditionally fallen in love with a vampire, although she could not admit it to anyone. It was still shameful and shameful to talk about it out loud. And even more so, Richard himself did not show any feelings for her, after which she could be sure of mutual sympathy.

Richard was always a kind fellow, open and trouble-free, but when it came to work, everything changed overnight and this man could no longer be recognized as a simple Ricci. He was like a hound dog, going straight to his goal with complete seriousness and dedication. This made her heart melt even more.

It was the fact that she remembered Richard in the company of Raphael that time that made her condescend to his idiocy. Therefore, stepping on her pride, she tried to respect him, but in the end it led to unhappiness for Pitt, who was too expressive due to his age.

She felt partly to blame for his death, but now all she could offer him was a burial in the backyard of the tavern, in a place to which he had given half of his life.