I shook my head and tried hard to focus. As far as I was concerned, in these past few minutes Rafael had accomplished a lot more than Valerian had in all the months I’d spent with him. He had saved my life, but it seems that his efforts had only earned him heavier chains and subduing spells. I sighed. Too much had happened in just the span of a few hours and I didn’t know if I could bear it all.When Dragos summoned Valerian to his chambers, I had been so saddened at the thought of him leaving me. I remembered how his summons had made me feel, but I looked at him now and I couldn’t hide my disgust. He had just hurt me badly, physically and emotionally. What had he gained by lying to me about his past? This was not just about some girl he spent a few nights with. Valerian had deliberately withheld information from me about his wife. The claw marks on my arm were healed but the muscles underneath my arm still throbbed in pain. I didn’t care whether Ivan or any of the guards were within

I sighed, left the window, and began to prepare to visit Rafael down in the dungeons. My visits to his cell had helped me remain sane because he freely shared his thoughts and we talked about practically everything. I kept those visits hidden from Valerian and Ivan, but I wasn’t stupid. I had stolen enough blood bags from the kitchen downstairs to warrant a report to Valerian. I didn’t really care. I’d already decided to fess up whenever he confronted me about it, but not a moment before. I dressed quickly, went down to the refrigerator downstairs, and fetched some more blood for Rafael.Then I marched off in the direction of the dungeons. On getting there, I found Rafael to be good company as always. Talks of the day we had met and Valerian’s inadequacies both as a husband-to-be and as a host were no longer routinely discussed in these visits. I had made it clear that I was fed up with that line of questioning, and those days Rafael found new mind power challenges for me instead.I s

Valerian gently removed Ivan's palm from his forehead after coughing a few more times.He said weakly, "We would need to interrogate them to find out more if any of the rogue vampires survived."Go.Determine whether any of them survived.Ivan quickly objected to this new plan, still vehemently distrusting me, but Valerian insisted.Ivan, she won't hurt me,” he said over and over until Ivan reluctantly nodded.As Valerian's eyes closed, Ivan said to me, "I'll be back quickly."Don't act foolishly for your own sake.After that, he quickly got to his feet and stormed out of the room.I moved over and knelt next to Valerian after he left.What did I do outside to him?What was that voice inside of me?As I gently placed my right palm on his forehead, I reflected.He was badly burning.I quickly got up, dashed into the bathroom, grabbed a white towel, and filled a bowl with cool water.Valerian had coughed up a few lumps of blood when I returned to his side after being absent for less than a minute.

Catelyn gasped as I slowly brought us back to the present moment.Her lips were parted and her eyes were full of tears.As she swallowed the lump in her throat, she felt a heaving in her chest.She cautiously stepped away from me as I reached out to touch her face and caress her face.I felt my heart break and closed my eyes.Catelyn, I swear to you.I don't love you because you look like Maura; I love you for who you are.You are not viewed by me as a specter from my past.I consider you to be my accomplice for what's in store.I adore how disobedient you are and how you push me to be better.I adore your generous spirit and sharp wit.You and Maura are so different in so many ways.It means nothing to me that you look like her.Your heart contrasts from hers, and I need your heart and your spirit.Please have faith in me.I could see the conflict in Catelyn's face as she examined me.She had no idea how to feel or process the information I had provided.I hadn't told anyone about Maura or how I fel

We stared at each other for a few minutes while standing apart, panting from the run.Valerian was correct about him from the beginning," I thought.It became increasingly clear to me that Rafael was a perilously self-centered individual as I spent more time with him.He only cared about himself.He would go to absurd lengths to demonstrate that he could defeat Valerian, and once he had achieved his goal, he would come up with various justifications for his actions.While I foolishly smuggled him blood bags and thought of him as my friend, he probably had already planned the escape several weeks prior.When I asked, he played it as though he had been doing me a favor all along and took me hostage when it was convenient for him.I had considered leaving Valerian's home a huge amount in those most recent couple of days, yet when I was out I begun to believe that I hadn't exactly needed to leave.At least not yet, and certainly not in this manner.My hair was blown into my eyes as the wind sudde