Lucas opened the door for me and I shivered as we exited into the cold night, all the incredible things I've just learned chasing each other in my mind. He fell into step next to me and I saw him observing me inconspicuously, a bemused smile playing on his lips, apparently expecting the avalanche of questions he was sure I had in store for him.

We nearly reached the open garden gate and I was about to start asking, when he put his hand on my arm and stilled at my side, making me stop too. I glanced up at him, starting to feel scared, but he wasn't looking at me. His eyes were fixed on the dark garden spreading across the road.

"Anaïs." Lucas whispered. "Here." He let go of me and crouched, and the next moment a tiny girl landed in his outstretched arms, giggling happily. She had run from the garden to us as fast, dark and silent as a shadow of a flying bird, and I did not notice her until her delicate arms were wrapped around Lucas' neck. She looked... out of this world.

I stared at the two of them, my heart beating crazily, as Lucas asked her, "Anaïs what are you doing here? Where's dad?"

"He went to park the car." The girl responded, her face pressed against his chest. "I missed you, Lucas."

The girl was... exquisite. Her long, curly, chocolate-brown hair was so similar to Lucas' that I wasn't sure where his ended and hers began, when she turned and peeked at me through the stray locks falling in her face.

Lucas pushed them behind her ear gently as she spoke to me, "You look like my favourite Disney princess, are you Lucas' new friend?"

Even her voice was compelling; sing-song and clear, each word filled with innocent wonder.

"Yes," I replied, feeling probably more shy of her than she was of me. She was the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen. A half-vampire.

"Samara, this is Anaïs, my sister..." Lucas managed to say before the girl interrupted him.

"Is her name Samara? Like the princess..." She spoke into her brother's ear in that kind of loud whisper which small children use when sharing their secrets.

"It is," he whispered back likewise, smiling at me.

Then the girl glanced at me again, her large eyes looking incredibly purple in the light reaching us from the street.

I smiled at her tentatively, as Lucas repeated his question, "What are you doing here, Anaïs?"

"We missed you. You did not come home for months and Uncle said you were very busy here and won't come..."

"It wasn't even four weeks, Anaïs."

"See, that's too long," she announced, cupping his face in both of her little hands and looking at him seriously. "So we came to see you. Uncle Bram will have us as long as we want to stay."

"Fine, fine. In you go then. Céline has just arrived, I'm sure she'll make you something to eat if you ask nicely." Lucas set her on her feet and she tugged at his scarf to pull him down, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she ran towards the door, the soft patter of her light feet echoing through the night like the sound of raindrops.

"May I see you again soon, Samara?" She asked, reaching for the door handle, then turning back to us.

"Of course you can, Anaïs. If your brother won't mind, of course." I agreed, glancing at Lucas, impatient to see her again. She was such an amazing creature.

"He won't, will you Lucas?" Anaïs looked at him seriously, her question coming out as a statement. It was obvious that she was used to her big brother complying with the majority of her demands and wishes.

"No, I won't. But I have to take Samara home now, it's too late. And we can't leave until you go in, so, please..."

"You are so bossy, Lucas. But I love you anyway." She giggled, then finally disappeared inside the house, closing the door behind her.

"Wow." I said to Lucas once we were alone again.

"I know, I know, we just have this effect on humans," he said smugly, making me giggle.

"She does." I told him, grinning teasingly. "Not you..."

"Ouch! Now you hurt my feelings," he laughed. "Come on, let me get you home before your friend Lia calls the police."

As we walked towards the tube station I started shooting questions at Lucas, whispering them once we were on the crowded train. By the time we reached Hammersmith I knew that Lucas's family lived in Brighton and he usually visited them at the weekends. He also told me a whole lot about half-vampire children. They were faster, had sharper senses and were more attractive than normal, human kids.

"Also, they are small for their age, but never mention this in front of Anaïs," he said, smiling. "It's a sensitive subject at the moment."

"How old is she?" I asked curiously.

"She is nearly six, but she doesn't look older than four. The half-vampires," he whispered, "look smaller than regular humans until they reach adulthood, when they are ready for the transition."

"Is it... dangerous for you?" I asked, intrigued by his words.

"No. Definitely not as much as for a human like you." He said, looking at me intently.

We walked out of the tube station and made our way down the silent and pleasantly deserted road. There were never many people out on Monday nights.

"See, our mum... she died during the transition." He continued, avoiding looking at me this time. "She insisted on our father changing her when Anaïs was three. Mum was nearly ten years older than Dad already, and she couldn't stand the idea of growing old while he, and later even me and Anaïs, would remain young. She... used to joke about it, you know... "

"Lucas, I'm... sorry." I said, putting my hand on his shoulder soothingly, making him stop walking and focus on me, as I tried to pull him back from the sad past he was reliving.

I remembered how many times did I ask Vlad to change me, and his constant refusal. And how I resented that decision, his not having changed me, when he sent me back here-- I was sure that if I wasn't just a useless, delicate human in need of constant protection, he would have let me stay and wait for him... Apparently, the transition wasn't as simple and easy as I had thought.

But Sorina survived, my subconscious reminded me as we started walking again and Lucas continued, "There were... complications. The venom that usually helps in the transition didn't seem to agree with her. She slipped into a coma that no doctor could explain and slowly... passed away."

"Lucas..." I whispered, at a loss for words.

He shrugged. "We pulled through. Céline and Uncle Bram helped us a lot."

"Do you all have to go through the transition?" I asked, suddenly not liking the idea of him or Anaïs risking their lives at all.

"We can choose, Samara. We can decide to ignore our vampire half completely. Those who do that, live as long as normal humans. But if we go through the transition, we become regular, blood-addicted vampires, and stop aging."

"And you...?"

"I want to do it." He shrugged again. "As a half-vampire I don't risk much, the transition is safe enough for us, and I'm curious. I've always been impressed by what dad and Uncle Bram can do."

We reached Lia's house and I unlocked the door. Lucas held it open for me, scanning the dark staircase as I entered and switched on the light.

He walked with me all the way to the flat but when I invited him in he refused, saying that Anaïs won't go to bed until he comes back.

"I'll speak to Bram and once we decide who'll pick you up tomorrow, one of us will let you know. Call if you need anything and remember not to go out alone." He said, already retreating back towards the staircase.

This situation was making me feel bad, guilty for all the inconvenience he was going through because of me.

"Lucas, this is not right. You can't..."

"Don't start again, Samara. Honestly, I do not mind. Sleep well."

"Thanks," I called, watching him melt into the dark, realising that he didn't need to switch on the lights to see. "Say hello to Anaïs!"

"I will." His voice reached me even as I heard the front door shut behind him.

Lia opened the door for me before I could turn the key in the lock.

"Have you been eavesdropping?" I joked.

"Not exactly," she said letting me enter, then locking the door again. "But I've been waiting for you for hours, you took your time. I'm so curious, how did it go? How's Abraham? Are you hungry, I have dinner ready for you..."

I've never seen her this flustered and excited. "Thanks, Lia." I said, pulling her into a hug. "I'll tell you everything. I'm starving, but I need a shower first, I'm tired."

Lia let me take a shower and eat, then interrogated me until midnight.

"Who is Céline?" She asked, frowning, when we finally decided to go to sleep.

It seemed to be the thing that interested her most of what I had decided to tell her. I couldn't tell her everything-- I was never going to recount her the dangers of the transition, which I was still hoping to undergo sooner or later, when I found my way back to Vlad. And I definitely could not tell her about Lucas' mum, or describe well enough what I saw in Anaïs, even though I tried.

"I'm sorry Lia, I have no idea, not really. I haven't even seen her yet, but she seems to be an important family friend." Maybe more. I thought,  remembering Stoker's delighted smile when she knocked the door.

Lia, apparently unsettled by the information, followed me into my room and sat on the edge of my bed. I took off my dressing gown and climbed under my quilt. You shouldn't have told her about Céline, I thought, yawning. But I did not think it would bother her this much. 

"Bram is coming here tomorrow, maybe you'll have a chance to talk to him." I suggested, on the verge of sleep.

"Ok," Lia sighed. She stood up and headed for the door, switching my lights off once she got there. "Sleep well."

"You, too." I mumbled, just before I was pulled under the surface of my dream.

I found myself in Vlad's cell again, standing silent and motionless by the massive wooden door.

Vlad was leaning against the damp wall on the other side of the room, his arms crossed over his chest, his face turned in my direction. But he did not see me.

His eyes were following a female figure shrouded in a long, dark, travelling cloak, pacing across the cell. She paused in front of me as if she suddenly made up her mind, then approached him tentatively, her back towards me, her head and face hidden by the large hood of her cloak. She stopped very close to him, tilting her head upwards to look in his face.

I didn't know who she was but I did not like her there, so close to him. This was my place, he belonged to me. I was supposed to be with him, not she.

"Will you finally tell me what you are doing here?" Vlad asked her, the sound of his voice scattering my despairing thoughts laced with jealousy.

"I... have written to you. Many times. Come back home, please. I'll make Rareş release you, even today, if you promise to come with me."

The woman's voice made me shiver, I recognized it immediately. Walking between the two of them, I looked in her face. Jusztyna.

I raised my hand swiftly in her direction, wanting to banish, to dispel her, and the hood covering her perfect blonde locks fell off her head, as if blown away by a sudden gust of wind.

Jusztyna looked around cautiously, but didn't move. She remained as if rooted to the spot, waiting for Vlad's reply, standing her ground bravely.

"My home is not with you, it has never been, Jusztyna." He told her, his words slow, clear and patient, as if he was talking to a stubborn child.

Vlad's voice expressed no emotions but when I looked at him, I saw a flicker of pity in his mesmerizing eyes.

"Why?" She whispered, looking at him imploringly.

As I saw her standing there in front of him, so... unhappy, some of the things that Radu had told me once came back. This woman had asked Vlad to marry her long before he married me. She... must have loved him, because she still accepted him when he finally consented, much later, once I, and even his second wife... were dead. This woman had given him three sons and let herself be changed by her brother, seeing that Vlad would not do it for her, only to become eternal like him. 

As I stood there in front of her, my eyes filling with tears of emotion I could not identify, I saw it clearly. She loved him still. And somehow I... could not hate her for it.

"You know why." Vlad replied. "I don't love you, I told you so from the beginning."

"But she is gone again, just as the legend said. You know well that this time she won't be back. You can as well come home, you have nothing to wait for anymore." Jusztyna said, her eyes locked on his.

"I don't have to believe it just because your legend says so. I refuse..."

"It's not my legend. Everybody knows it, ask your old witch if you don't believe me! You are so... delusional." She managed to force a laugh while Vlad closed his eyes, looking pained.

I turned to him and put my hand on his cheek. He couldn't see me tonight but he could still feel my touch, I realised as he put his hand over mine, holding it on his cheek for a long while, then brought it to his lips, keeping his eyes closed.

"Samara," he whispered tenderly and I jumped at hearing Jusztyna's gasp, as I saw her pulling her own hand from his lips and step away from him fast, exiting my body like a ghost.

However, it wasn't Justyna who did not belong in this place. I was the ghost in their reality, I understood, seeing that my body started to dissolve into nothingness with the rest of my dream, even as she told him haughtily, "I forgive you even this. Just... come back..."

He opened his eyes looking confused, surprised to find her there, in front of him instead of me. I saw his mouth open as he replied to her, but before his words could reach me I was back in my bed.

I opened my eyes, finding my room filled with the predawn darkness. Everything was black and silent, as if the whole world had ceased existing, dissolved into nothingness like my dream, while I was sleeping.

Maybe it would be better... I thought as I turned around, curled under my quilt and pulled a pillow over my head, trying to shut out my racing thoughts.

"It was just a dream." I whispered the words a few times like a mantra, until my subconscious hissed back at me impatiently, It's never just a dream... And you don't even know what he told her. What if...

I pressed my hands over my ears, shielding myself from the awful voice filling my head. Everything is fine. Nothing happened, nothing changed, you'll find your way back and he'll be waiting for you... Hopefully.

Luckily I was so exhausted that at some point I managed to go back to a dreamless sleep. I woke up again a few hours later to the sound of my alarm clock, remembering the dream well, but refusing to think about it.