There's no point in crying. My subconscious scolded me some time later, after my sobs subsided gradually and I started to shiver.

It's the fever of course, I remembered, bringing my hand to the wound on the side of my neck. Unlike with Radu the other time, I wasn't bleeding, the wound was clean and already sealed. But from how weak I was feeling and the way my head spun, I knew that Andrei had taken enough blood and sent enough venom coursing through my veins to make it impossible for me to run away, even if the door was left unlocked and open wide.

Also, by having told me that Lucas was dead, he and Alina took away my hope, my only possibility of being rescued. Now, if Lucas... was no more... no one would ever know that I was here. Lucas! My eyes filled with fresh tears and I shuddered; the fever was rising fast.

Think, Samara. Don't give up. My subconscious urged.

I pulled myself to the edge of the bed and stood up on unsure legs. Dressed only in my undershirt I was freezing, the fire burning in the small fireplace was emitting enough light to make it possible for me to see around, but its heat was insufficient.

Looking at the bed and observing the cleanliness and the quantity of pillows and blankets covering it, I concluded that I was definitely not in a prison cell. I was in one of the guest chambers of the castle most likely, a... hostage of sorts rather than a prisoner.

Shivering again I reached for one of the blankets to wrap it around my trembling body but then I remembered my coat. Turning towards the only window of the room I saw it-- the coat was still there, lying in a heap on the floor. My book was there, not far from it, too.

Slowly, carefully, holding on to the bed's long curtains, I descended the three wooden steps of the dais where the bed stood and reaching the window I picked them both up. I wrapped the coat around me and holding the book tightly to my chest I looked out through the glass panes into the night. But it was too dark, all I could see of the world outside was pure blackness.

So I focused on the chamber. There was a small table with a jug and a washing basin nearby, and another one with a tray, a cup and a bottle. Seeing them I realised how thirsty I was, my throat was parched, and I had a headache, too. I remembered the wine, and the willow bark tea Vlad made me drink the other time, but here I did not have even water, all the receptacles were empty.

Swallowing with difficulty I moved towards a small door set into the stone wall to my right, my hopes of escape escalating one instant then plummeting the next, when, opening it, I found a small toilet.

I felt my legs give way as a wave of shivers ran through my body and leaned against the wall until they passed. Then I made my way back to the bed. There was nothing I could do, I had no strength left to move, or think.

Taking my shoes off I lay down, wrapped in my coat. I put my book under the pillows and pulled more blankets over myself, drawing my knees to my chest for warmth, but feeling cold despite.

As I lay in the semi darkness under the bed's dark curtains, my feverish mind kept drifting back to what had happened, making me feel desperate. I knew I couldn't afford to think about it now, I knew it would only make me feel worse, kill my last hope, and take away my remaining strength...

You must think of something to get you out of here... There is still a chance, maybe Alina was wrong, maybe she only said that to upset you... What if Lucas escaped... He might be injured but alive, he might need your help... My subconscious whispered.

Eventually, trembling under the blankets, I drifted off to sleep. Through a haze of fever I noticed someone taking the coat off me some time later, and forcing me to drink. Then I fell asleep again but this time I had a dream.

I saw confused glimpses, unclear snapshots of events I had not witnessed. The vision was similar, but less clear, than those I used to have when I visited this world before, whenever Vlad was in danger. I saw... people, and flames...

Then I was stirred to consciousness again by the insistent cup at my lips, and as I swallowed its contents I scrunched my face at the awful bitterness. Someone was forcing me to drink willow bark, I was sure...

I opened my eyes, hoping, praying, that somehow the one whose image that awful taste brought to the forefront of my mind had found me, and took me home. However, I did not find Vlad sitting on the bed next to me but Andrei, smiling at me as he said, "Drink, Samara, I don't want to lose you... Not just yet."

I tried to move away from him, from his arm supporting my back, keeping me upright so I could drink. But I didn't have the strength to push him away, all I managed was a faint, exhausted, "Go away," in response, before I closed my eyes not to see him.

In the morning I felt a little better and when I found the small table I had seen by the window the previous night, the tray now laden with food and the bottle full of wine, placed by my bed, I managed to eat and drink a little before I stood up.

There was a clean shirt and a new dress spread at the foot of the bed. Unless I wanted to walk around in my undershirt, I had to wear the gown even though I did not like it-- it was a bright green, soft, cloud-like creation full of frills and lace. But, clutching at the straws as I remembered what Andrei had said about the scent trapped in my clothes, I resolved to keep my shirt.

Making sure that my book was still under the pillows once I was dressed, I put on the pair of slippers which I found in place of my boots, and took the new undershirt to the fireplace. There I found the remnants of my coat, the heavy woollen fabric reduced nearly to nothing.

I watched the white linen shrivel and blacken as the fire licked and swallowed it loudly, then I made my way to the basin by the window. It was full of water this time, so I washed my hands and face quickly. Dampening one of the small towels piled next to the basin I brought it to the wound on my neck. It was burning, and painful to touch...

Just how long will they keep me here, drinking from me? How long will it take until I... start changing? I shook my head, trying to disperse these thoughts, but it wasn't easy... What if Andrei will let me die, then... And what if he won't, and will change me instead? What will Vlad do, and what about Aurora?

No, you mustn't cry. My subconscious hissed.

Dropping the towel in the basin I took a few deep breaths clutching at its sides, enjoying the feel of the cool, smooth ceramic against the palms of my hands. Then I reached the window, hoping to understand where I was, to see if there was any escape route for me, if I managed to leave this chamber somehow.

It was bright outside now, but all I could see beyond the glass was a small, empty courtyard several floors down, and three tall, stone walls dotted with a few windows, blocking my view on all sides. I probed my surroundings for the presence of wild animals but there were none close enough to connect with. Even if there were, it wouldn't really help me right now, anyway.

As the room wasn't warm enough to walk around just in the green dress Andrei chose for me, and I was still feeling weak and tired, I walked to the door to make sure that it was really locked, then went to bed again.

Sliding my hand under the pillow and resting my palm over my book I drifted off to restless sleep, getting more, and clearer glimpses of a castle... a room on fire... men, knights rushing in and out and... Vlad.

I saw him... walking out from the flames, face covered with soot as black as his hair, followed by Junior. I saw him giving orders I could not hear, watched as the Knights tamed and extinguished the fire, and finally recognized the large room as the Great Hall of our castle, the side where the door leading to the time passage was. I saw Vlad calling someone, and soon Katerina entered the room shaking her head in response to the questions I could not hear.

Vlad ran his hands through his hair sprinkled with ashes, in a familiar gesture of frustration and despair... He looked at Junior and after a few exchanged lines the younger man left the room immediately, followed by several Knights. Vlad then spoke to the Guards who rushed in after Katerina had appeared, and left the Great Hall too, trailed by them. Only Katerina remained, summoning maids to help her clean...

I startled back to consciousness when my mattress sank under an added weight.

Andrei was back, sitting on the bed unpleasantly close to me, his fingers caressing the lace bodice of my gown.

"Don't touch me!" I hissed, moving as far away from him as the bed permitted.

He laughed when he saw me scurry away only to remain cornered between the wall and him, my arms wrapped around my knees pulled tightly under my chin.

He was scaring me witless. I knew he came to drink from me again, and in a way it felt worse than anything else he could do to me.

"Don't... touch me." I repeated. My breath was rugged, I felt short of oxygen, and I was sure my eyes were dilated with the fear I could not suppress. And he was enjoying it.

"You are beautiful, Samara." He murmured. "I need you to relax, it will be much faster and less painful that way, I promise... Lay down, please..."

I shook my head, feeling hot tears running down my cheeks. I was trembling, I had never felt this scared before. I remembered the pain coursing through my body the moments his teeth cut my skin and wanted to run away...

But he saw through me. One of his icy hands disappeared under my gown, making its way up to my knee, pausing there, giving me a moment to... choose? as he said, voice low and husky, "I begged you to lay down. Don't make me force you."

I closed my eyes and laid down, inhaling deeply as I felt his weight on top of me, his hand nudging my head to the side. And then the pain, strong and burning, washed over me, making me forget everything else but the agony...

"Just a little drop more, see, for my sister..." he said, after several interminable minutes, smiling at seeing me curled up in a fetal position, observing him like a wounded animal.

A long thin knife with a silver handle inlaid with blue stones appeared in his hand. He reached for my arm and pulled it over his lap. Reaching for a small golden cup he must have placed on the table when he arrived and positioning my wrist over it he cut it-- a short, expert cut. I gasped with pain trying to pull my hand from his grasp unsuccessfully. I could only watch as my blood dropped into the cup, then closed my eyes as my vision started to blur.

"Thank you, Samara," his voice reached me sometime later as I felt his cold lips on my wrist, his teeth sealing the wound before he let go of me and stood up. "Rest now. I'll see you later."