VLAD

Moscow fell. Vlad stared at the letter in his hands, clutching it tightly. All the outer parts of Europe lost their strongest defence, the Border. Even Erik Ulvsson, of Kalmar Union, sent a letter saying they will evacuate Stockholm, since the Border around it might be the next to fall. Vlad doubted, he was certain the Border around Bran would fall sooner. He looked through the window and smiled bitterly.

"I keep staring through this window like a damn pigeon will fly in with all the answers." He said and threw the letter out of the mentioned window.

"Whom are we waiting for, anyway?" Anton asked. Vlad turned around and looked at his loyal counsellors, he felt a sting in his heart remembering only a month ago Dinu was with them. Now, he was dead. Surely, he wouldn't be the last to die in this upcoming war.

Anton, Codrin, Andryj and Petre sat around the table with the world map on it, drinking from an essential flagon of mead. Sergey Durov was there, too, sitting on the lavish, red couch in the far corner of the room. Unlike Vlad's counsellors, all in brownish robes, Sergey had a black, silken one on. His neck, hands and fingers were decorated with onyx jewellery.

"Her Highness, Madame of the House De Noves." Lerra entered the room in her usual, attention consuming manner and Vlad couldn't help but smile. She scooped her red gown in her hands and joined the men at the table.

"And his chivalrous self, the wolf." Devan Roua came in right after her and sat back on the couch next to Sergey.

"I suppose introductions are in order." Vlad sighed and gestured towards Lerra first.

"Hello, I'm Lerra. I hate Englishmen and Christians. Give me a cup." Lerra spread her hand over the table and Codrin poured her a cup, utterly confused.

"Only a few months ago, you swore you wouldn't work with these people, Voivode." Petre commented.

"Yes, well, a few months ago I didn't have enemies on my doorstep and a dead counsellor. So there's that." Vlad wasn't in a good mood, especially since he knew what this meeting meant.

They had to come up with a plan and they had to do it now, otherwise the Unknowns would catch them unprepared and he knew how dangerous that was.

"If no one else has a smug comment, I suggest we take out the Bran Castle map." Vlad rubbed his eyes, so tired of pretending he had all the answers, that he knew what he was doing. Codrin listened and spread the map over the world map. They simultaneously leaned over it.

"We can expect the attack as soon as the Border falls, but we cannot predict when that will be." Andryj said and pointed towards the woods on the map. "We can assume they will come from the woods, because they did that the last time."

"We cannot be sure." Sergey jumped in, getting up and approaching the table. "If I were them, I wouldn't. It's the most obvious thing to do."

Vlad pondered over his words, unconsciously biting his lower lip. His beard itched, he shaved it yesterday to make himself seem put together.

"Sergey, how many men do you have?" Vlad asked.

"Five hundred." Sergey said and looked at Vlad apologetically.

"Five hundred," Vlad thought out loud, "with two thousand of my men and the disciples that are fit to fight, that makes it..."

"Not enough." Lerra interrupted.

"And where is your army?" Petre jumped in immediately.

"In Cardona, keeping my borders safe." She answered quickly.

"Well, then I suggest you..." Petre tried.

"Shut up. Both of you." Vlad said, trying to keep his voice calm. "We will not be able to pull this off if we fight amongst each other."

"We don't even have three thousand men." Andryj seemed hopeless.

"How many men can we expect on their side?" Vlad asked no one in particular.

"More." Codrin and Anton said in unison.

"We have absolutely no clue." Andryj added. Vlad opened his mouth to say something.

"There is," Devan began, interrupting him, "a lot of Unknowns. I have seen them, roaming around, robbing villages. And now they have a leader they can unite under, but they have no society, no military experience, no long-lasting loyalty. Which means, our main target shouldn't be defeating all of them, it should be defeating Lucien Walchelin. If their leader is dead, they will scatter."

Vlad looked at him curiously and nodded. He remembered what Devan was like when Vlad ruled the Monarchy, how insightful and useful he was. Perhaps he didn't change much.

"But they are highly motivated." Vlad countered.

"Yes, but they have no military victories. For all we know, some of them might have never been in a battle, except for sacking villages." Devan added.

"They're savages, we can defeat a bunch of savages." Lerra played with a strand of her hair.

"You believe we can demotivate them easily." Vlad concluded, not paying attention to Lerra. He focused solely on the wolf still lazily sitting on the couch.

"I believe we can make them think they're losing." Devan smiled.

"How?" Vlad asked.

"By bringing in some of my friends." Devan finally got up and approached the table, only to pour himself some mead. "I don't have a pack, so I can't promise a lot. But I have a few cousins, they might be interested in killing some vampires."

"This is not a bad idea." Andryj admitted. "Seeing werewolves on our side might make them think we have more aces up our sleeve."

"But we do, don't we?" Lerra said. "We have two witches."

Petre laughed out loud bitterly and everyone looked at him. There was usefulness in Petre's negativity, he always reminded them not to get too happy about something.

"This is all very cosy and nice, but you're forgetting something. The Unknowns won't attack while the Border is up, they will wait until it falls and that puts us in a very awkward position." Petre drank the mead and laughed at the cup.

The crowd died down and Vlad thought about all the options they had. Petre was right, if the Border fell, the Unknowns wouldn't be the only ones attacking them.

"Anton," Vlad called, "I need you to go to the village. I want this castle filled with blood by tonight. We need to prepare for the possibility of a siege." Anton simply nodded and left the room.

For a while after Anton left, they all sat in silence. Vlad was walking around the room, trying to come up with anything. He wasn't just afraid of the Unknowns, he was afraid of everyone else that might join the fight if the Border falls, such as the Ottomans. Or some other creatures he did not know how to defeat. If only he had more men, if only he hadn't focused all of his strength into leading the school and mourning Leona. God, what a man he used to be.

"If only we could manipulate them into attacking sooner, we might win. If the Border falls, we're screwed." Lerra said.

"Can we send false information somehow?" Codrin asked.

"We could, but that can be way too easily checked. And if they realise we've faked information, they would know we're desperate." Vlad murmured.

"What is our plan if the Border falls, anyway? Is Giselle ready to fix it?" Codrin asked. Vlad looked at him and felt something tug on his mind, an idea approaching.

"Luciana can do it if she channels Giselle's power" Lerra said.

"Are we certain it will work?" Codrin asked again.

"The only thing certain is death." Lerra waved away with her hand.

"Oh, don't be so glum, my dear. Do you think I would've lived this long if I thought like that?" Codrin smiled and surprisingly enough, Lerra smiled as well. Perhaps it was Codrin's grandpa like charm.

"So, Luciana knows how to fix the Border, right? But she hasn't got enough magic." Vlad began walking around again, trying to dig out this idea that swam somewhere in his brain.

"Why is it that vampires never know jack about magic?" Lerra sighed in frustration. "Magic course for idiots, then. We all know there are light and dark tricksters, right? Light ones have to drag magic out of things, water, earth, fire, plants, whatever. Dark ones are like a bottomless pool of magic. Luciana, with her magical experience and whatnot, knows the spell to rebuild the Border. But it would take a lot of magic. We are hoping she can drag the magic out of Giselle. Is it enough? I don't know." Lerra, to everyone's utter surprise, put her legs up on the table, her red gown spilling all over the floor, leaving her legs bare.

What an interesting creature, Vlad thought. Quickly, he focused on his idea again. He could feel his heart in his mouth as he tried to verbalise his thoughts. He was always the one to make the dangerous move and sometimes it paid off. Last time he did that, he invited the Unknowns to his home and they declared a war in return. No pain, no gain, he guessed.

"The Border is full of magic, right?" Vlad asked and Lerra nodded.

"The power of hundreds of witches, but they are weak, therefore, the Border if weak." She said nothing else, possibly realising Vlad was thinking through something.

"So, in theory, Luciana could channel that magic, too?" He asked again.

"Yes, in theory. But it means nothing if the Border falls, it has no magic then." Lerra frowned. Then, her eyes widened as she most likely realised what Vlad was thinking.

"What if," Vlad began slowly, "Luciana took down the Border?"

For the moment, all eyes were on Vlad, wide with shock.

"That," Devan said, "would be killing two birds with one stone."

"Luciana takes the Border down..." Vlad began.

"She could place the magic in something, like an artefact." Lerra interrupted excitingly.

"The Unknowns realise the Border is down. They attack right when we want them to. We wait for them to come, we wait for them to enter the Bran Castle territory." Vlad continued.

"Luciana rebuilds the Border. Not only channelling magic out of Giselle, but out of the previous Border itself." Lerra smiled widely.

"With the Border back up again and the Unknowns within our territory..." Vlad couldn't help but smile as well.

"We close them in." Lerra finished.

Vlad stared at Lerra for the longest of moments, not paying attention to anyone else in the room or their confused stares. For the first time in ages, Vlad finally felt like himself, like the man he was meant to be, strong, ruthless, confident.

"Everyone, out." He commanded, impossible strength in his voice. Like the good little soldiers they were, all of them quickly gathered their belongings and left the room, leaving him alone with Lerra. Finally, everything was quiet.

He came closer to her, slowly, like a predator nearing the prey. Except, he wasn't sure which one of them was the predator in this game.

"Not a bad plan, Voivode." She said, finishing her cup od mead.

"We are going to win this war." He said, knowing full well it was his confidence speaking, but he let himself enjoy the moment. Lerra got up and looked at Vlad, a seductive smile on her lips.

"We are going to rule the world." She said.

Vlad grabbed her by her waist and seated her on the table, pushing away all the mead cups, including the flagon. The cups rolled over to the floor, leaving nothing but the world map on the table. He pinned her to himself and she smiled to his lips. Vlad knew he was doing exactly what she wanted him to do, but he didn't want to stop. For once, he wanted to take what he deserved. So he kissed her roughly, wanting to destroy the softness of her lips.

Lerra kissed him back, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him closer. A moan escaped his lips as she bit down hard, but his desire was stronger than the pain he might feel. The simplest idea that this incredible woman was here for him tonight, was enough to get Vlad's heart racing, as certain nervousness washed over him. Her lips were so soft that Vlad imagined kissing her all night long might be his undoing.

Feeling like he was the one on the receiving end, Vlad took her hands and pinned them to the table, enjoying her surprised moan. Then he ripped her dress from the hem to the slit above her legs, leaving her completely naked in front of him.

He stared at her for a moment and then leaned over her, staring into her green eyes. Vlad leaned onto his hand and gently touched her lips with his finger. The nakedness of her own body might have even made her blush and Vlad couldn't help but imagine all the horrible lovers she might have had in the past. He trailed the shape of her face with his finger, all the way to her collarbone and Lerra opened her mouth slightly.

"It's alright to let go of control every once in a while." He whispered, teasing the upper parts of her body with his finger. Lerra laughed and it reverberated through her. Vlad tensed, every part of his body that collided with hers suddenly burning with desire.

"Says the man that probably had his entire life planned out." She said. They were so close, Vlad could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest and his own heart began mimicking the beating. He had had his share of lovers in his life, but he felt self-conscious nonetheless. Perhaps because he was turned into a vampire when he was thirty nine years old and the woman under him was most likely in her twenties. It didn't matter they were immortal vampires.

Vlad lowered his finger, tracing the lines of her breasts and kissed her again. Lerra moaned to his lips and tried to wiggle out from beneath him, but Vlad simply shook his head. He circled around her nipple and watched her smile in between moans.

"Let me touch you." She said and Vlad shook his head again. Her nipple hardened under his touch and he wanted nothing more than to claim her on that table. Vlad let go of her breasts and moved away just enough to make room for his hand to find her core. He teased and teased and Lerra twitched beneath him, trying to make his hand touch her right where it should at last. Vlad smiled at her and kissed her neck, biting her slightly.

"Vlad..." She whispered, but it sounded more like a warning. Finally, he slipped his finger inside of her and watched her face as she closed her eyes, a louder, more adamant moan escaping her lips. He felt his hard member press against his pants as an answer to her wet core. Vlad lowered his head and took her nipple in his mouth, playing with his tongue.

Lerra convulsed under his touch as he pressed her button with his thumb and the movement almost made him climax in his pants. He watched her face as she came to his touch and he couldn't suppress a smug smile forming on his lips.

There was nothing in this world as glorious as seeing a woman satisfied, especially a woman as powerful and cunning as Lerra De Noves.

He kissed her again as her breathing steadied and moved away from her. Once she realised he was about to leave, she looked at him confused.

"What about you?" She asked, her face flushed with the most beautiful shade of red. Vlad fixed his rustled clothes and smiled.

"Surely you didn't think I would take you on a table with the world map still on it." He said and turned away, ready to leave.

He didn't forget who she was and he knew this was most likely a part of her game, but he knew how to play, as well, and he wouldn't be so easily fooled by her willingness to sleep with him.

"You ruined my dress." Lerra gestured towards the ruined red gown, now on the floor.

"I'm sure you have plenty."

Vlad left her there, unable to explain his need to leave. As soon as he breathed the air that wasn't full of lust, he felt overwhelmingly guilty. He wanted to sleep with her, he wanted to take her as if there was no tomorrow, but he was the sort of a man that always thought about tomorrow. He rushed through the hallways of Bran Castle, needing a place where he could sit and think. So he found his way to the highest tower of Bran Castle, the one he hadn't entered since Leona Solberg jumped off it.

He tried to open the door, but he couldn't. Instead, he sat on the floor in front of it. He felt like he was cheating on Leona and he would have never cheated on Leona. Surely, she would want him to move on, to enjoy his life to the fullest, at least until they found their way back to each other again.

It wasn't just the fact that he wanted Lerra that bothered him. He had slept with Alina before, rarely, but he did. He felt guilty every time, but with Alina he was always balanced, always in control.

And this woman that he left naked and alone in his study made him want to let go. He felt guilty, because for the first time in his life, he wanted to forget Leona.