There were three members of the Council instead of the two Vlad had mentioned, I noticed as one of the Knights opened the massive wooden door of the Great Hall and Clara, Lucas and I walked in, even as he announced us.

Vlad was at my side then, taking me off Lucas' arm and leading me to the side of the table which was set with silver plates-- for me, him and Clara.

Lucas was seated opposite of me, at the side lined with golden cups only, next to the three grey-clad vampires and Junior, who smiled and waved at me from the other end of the long table, where he sat opposite Clara.

Even before I could question Vlad about this move, as Junior, like us, preferred solid food, I realised that it was most likely done to blur the otherwise too distinct line drawn here between those who favoured the humans, and the others.

Vlad kissed my hand as I sat down at his side, then kept it in his under the table, giving it a gentle, soothing squeeze as one of the Council members spoke to me.

"Welcome back, Lady Samara. We are all happy that you have finally returned, and in a new form..." he flashed me a brilliant, fake smile and I forced myself to return it.

I remembered him, and the other two well-- they were those who usually followed, or preceded Rareş wherever he went.

As I didn't know what to say to that I only nodded and remained silent, trying to follow the conversation between them and Vlad, until our food was served.

Then Vlad finally turned to me. "I'm sorry for making you come here, but I missed you," he whispered, bringing our still joined hands to his lips again.

"I missed you too," I said, smiling at him, forgiving him instantly for obliging me to meet the awful vampires I disliked so much.

"I've heard that you and your friend... practiced fighting with knives this morning..." He spoke softly, making it impossible for anyone to overhear us, when I started to eat, left-handed, as my right hand was still in his left, resting on his lap. "I've been worried..."

"Is that why you made us come here?" I asked, glancing at Lucas who was deep in conversation with the vampire sitting next to him.

"Partly." Vlad admitted, looking at me guiltily.

Instead of apologising for making him feel worried, I decided to ask about the swords, knowing that he would not give me a better occasion.

"Could you please tell me where we can find a couple of swords for tomorrow?"

He took a deep, exasperated breath. "Samara..."

"Please?"

"Fine, I'll have someone show Lucas where to find everything. But not for tomorrow, tomorrow we will stay the whole day together, you promised..."

I beamed at him, the idea of having him to myself the whole day made me forget all about the swords.

In the end, the lunch wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. The curious members of the Council tried to find out where I had been, attempting to catch me off guard with their cleverly phrased questions the entire time, but with Vlad's help I managed to deflect them all.

Once the meal was over Vlad accompanied me back into the kitchen, saying that he would take Clara and Junior to visit her father in the mill on his way to the village, where the Council members needed to speak to someone and insisted on his coming along.

"Clara, it's too cold to take him out," I said, watching the young woman wrapping the poor, protesting baby in layers of clothing. "I'll look after him for you today, I have nothing else to do anyway. Unless you want to take him to your father, of course."

"Thank you, Lady Samara." She said, first looking surprised by my offer, then smiling thankfully as she realised how much easier and faster going down to the mill over the heaps of snow would be without the little one.

I kissed Vlad, leaving him to wait for Clara by the door, then took little Ioan from her, settling on the bench placed by the large fireplace.

It was incredible how much he reminded me of Aurora, it felt like ages since I held her in my arms...

"Samara..." Vlad's questioning voice reached me from the door through which Clara had already walked out.

I smiled at him hoping he would not notice the tears pooling in my eyes and waved him off without words, not trusting my voice. As if he understood what I was feeling he rushed to me and hugged me tightly from behind, mindful of the baby in my arms. "I won't be long," he whispered in my hair before he vanished from the room quickly.

I stayed in the kitchen alone with little Ioan sleeping in my embrace for a long while before Lucas entered.

"Are you all right?" He asked from the door.

"I... miss her, Lucas." I said, staring at the baby.

"I miss her too." He smiled, approaching and sitting on the bench next to us. "But don't forget that for her, all these months feel like minutes. Isn't that a miracle, Samara?"

I had to smile when I saw just how much he was enjoying all this adventure.

"Not a miracle, Lucas. Plain old magic," I told him. "Which reminds me that I need to talk to Katerina some more."

"What did she tell you so far? Can you... take him home with you?" He asked.

"She said Vlad could come with me..."

"... but?" He looked at me expectantly. "Why do you look so downhearted, isn't it what you came back here for, to drag your Vlad through that passage with you?"

"I did not ask him if he wanted to, Lucas, I'm... scared." I admitted.

"You are scared..." he muttered incredulously. "You've been waiting for so long, risked so much... Finally you are here with him, and you are scared? Of what, exactly?"

"That he will refuse. That I'll have to go back to my baby without the father I had promised her. Vlad... belongs here, what if he will choose this place over us?" I whispered, my voice breaking.

Lucas wrapped his arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer.

"He loves you, Samara." He said after a while.

"I know that. He loves his son, this place and his people too."

There was nothing Lucas could say to that. We sat in silence until the kitchen started to fill with maids and servants in charge of preparing the dinner. When Cook arrived too, offering to take little Ioan from me, I gave him to her without objections. Suddenly I felt drained.

Lucas accompanied me to the door of my chamber where, refusing to enter, he remained in the corridor chatting to another one of the Guards.

I found Katerina inside, busy feeding wood to the always hungry flames dancing on the hearth.

When I saw the fire, burning so brightly in my already dark chamber, one of the things Vlad mentioned the night before popped up in my mind. I needed to be absolutely certain that taking Vlad into my world with me was possible, before I proposed the idea to him.

"Katerina, you said that my husband can leave this castle and come away with me."

"Yes, my lady. That's why I created this place, for you to find him once you are reborn." She said, straightening up and looking at me.

She was absolutely certain that I would be reborn at some point, I thought, adding the information to my mental list. That was another topic we needed to talk about later; I did not want it to distract me now.

"But you told him not to leave the castle on those days when he crossed the passage in the past. Why?"

"Because he wouldn't be able to do so without you, just like those in the Citadel. They can all walk through that passage when it's open, but they stay trapped within the boundaries of the building. Lord Vlad can only leave this place with you."

I nodded absently, distracted by something else she said.

"Why does the other passage even exist? Why in Poenari?" I asked, finally moving away from the door and walking across the room to the windows. It couldn't be very late but it was completely dark outside, and I was tired. I moved towards my basin and washed my face and teeth while she replied, making me regret my question.

"Because after Lord Vlad remarried, he lived there for a long time. When I created the passages I wasn't sure when you would come back, and where you would find him. And now, I cannot close one without the other, it's not that simple..."

Obviously. Why did I even ask, thoughts of Jusztyna, and Vlad's life with her, were the last thing I needed now.

I dried my face in a towel which Katerina passed me, then brushed my hair quickly.

"But won't you eat anything?" Katerina asked when I shed my dress and shoes at the foot of my bed and laid down, pulling the blankets under my chin.

I shook my head, thinking about Shadow. Now that he had his own family he wasn't much of a company.

"I'm not hungry. Just put a few blankets by the fireplace and tell my husband that I'm here when he comes back."

"As you like, my lady." She said, leaving me alone.

"Lady Samara! While it was just one wolf, I could tolerate it, but now they are too many," Katerina scolded me, her voice, together with a sound of many wolf paws running across the stone floor reaching me from the direction of the fireplace a while later, making me smile.

"They do no harm, Katerina, just let them be," I said, yawning, moving to the side of the bed, to leave enough space for Vlad.

Once she was gone I took off my shirt, the feeling of its linen on my still over-sensitive skin not letting me fall asleep.  The moment when nothing separated me from the much softer sheets, I was asleep.

I woke up much later, judging by the now weak light of the fire, when the mattress sank under Vlad's weight. I heard his breath catch as he pulled the sheets away, and smiled as I realised that he took his shirt off too before finally lying down next to me, pulling me close to him.

My heart started to race the moment he touched me, I wondered if he knew what he was doing to me.

"I'm sorry I'm late..." he managed to whisper before I turned around and kissed him, running my hands through his hair, melting under his touch. I... couldn't get enough of him.

"I... hope... this will never change... " I whispered later, still trembling like a leaf in a summer breeze as I lay in his arms.

He held me tight, encased in his embrace, giving the unimportant nothingness into which everything except the two of us had dissolved for a while, time to reshape and surround us again, while I slowly returned to him.

"I'll make sure it won't" he said smugly, but his lips smiled against my forehead, making me smile too.

"Vlad..." I whispered very softly after a long silence, suddenly unable not to talk about our future any longer, but at the same time hoping that he would be sleeping already, so I could postpone this conversation...

"What is it?" He asked immediately.

So it is now or never.

I pulled myself up and leaned on my elbow, looking down at him.

"You know that I cannot stay here forever. I can visit, but I cannot live here..." It was not a question but he closed his eyes and nodded anyway before I continued.

"But you could come home with me, if you want, of course..." I said, voice shaking, counting the endless seconds which passed before he finally spoke.