Author's note: There are expanded versions of this chapter, as well as chapter 1. If you'd like information on how to get those, please PM me (not beg for it in a review).

-Chapter Ten-

After a night spent soaring with Vlad, and running with him through the forests, Mina was exhausted but exhilarated.

She was less thrilled when she realised that she couldn't feed Luka 'til the three days were up, and she had to resort to bottled milk. Luka wasn't fond of the bottle, either. Vlad obviously thought of something crude to say, but refrained. Still, he smirked when their son initially pushed the bottle away.

"I want my ring," Mina said suddenly, as they were getting reading for bed near dawn.

Vlad's brows drew together. "Pardon?"

"My ring. I know you've got it in the pouch around your neck. I want it. I may not be able to wear it, but I want it."

Slowly, Vlad opened the tiny leather pouch and drew out the two rings, one nestled inside the other: his wedding ring to Mirena, and the one his first wife had worn. They matched, hers a dantier version of his. They were silver, and they burned his skin. He was loathe to burn Mina, but when she held out her hand for Mirena's ring, he had no choice.

He placed the ring in her palm, where it sizzled. She hissed a little, but didn't drop it.

"I remember when you gave this to me," she said softly. "So long ago. I never took it off."

He wondered if she knew she was speaking of Mirena as herself, but he didn't want to correct her. It didn't really matter; if she was Mirena reincarnated, they were one and the same.

"I considered burying . . . her . . . with it, but I needed it," he told her.

Mina looked up from the silver and garnet ring. "I'm glad you kept it. I need a pouch like yours. I want to wear this any way I can."

He caught her left hand, where she wore the gold ring he'd given her. "Mina."

"I mean it, Vlad. I . . . don't feel separate from her anymore. Whatever this did to me, I don't feel like we're two people, and my head doesn't feel like a tangle anymore."

"Really?"

"Really. For the first time in months, everything is so clear. And the memories don't feel alien like they did. They just feel like . . . mine."

She put the ring down and blew on her fingers, even though they were already healing. "That is so useful," she said. Then she tipped her head and looked at him from under her lashes. "Hmm."

"What?"

Mina pulled up her pant leg and looked at her leg. Then she grinned. "My scars are gone, too! I had one on my knee from when I tripped and fell when I was fifteen. Skinned it almost to the bone. But it's gone."

"I'll bet your appendix scar is gone, too."

"If my scars are gone, I wonder what else has healed?" She bit her lip. "I mean, it hasn't been six weeks yet, but . . ."

His dark green eyes lit with interest. "You think . . .?"

"Why don't we find out?"

Mina woke with sharp pains in her stomach and a seemingly parched throat, and she realised then just what Vlad had meant by "the thirst", and why Lucy had been so out of her mind as to attack her.

She drank three glasses of water before she admitted that nothing was going to sate her but blood, and if she gave in to that, she would be stuck a vampire forever. She wasn't ready for that just yet.

"Bloody awful, isn't it?" Lucy asked, when Mina put her glass in the sink with a look of disgust. "Always thirsty, always wanting blood."

Mina pulled a face and sighed. "Two more days. I can do this."

"If anyone can, it'll be you," Lucy agreed. "I-"

She stopped.

"What?"

"There's a strange light outside."

Mina went to the window. When she saw what the light was, she flew up the stairs to the bedroom, where Vlad was getting dressed after his shower.

"The orchard is on fire!" Mina exclaimed.

Vlad dashed out to the veranda that ran the length of the upper floor. "I need to put it out before it spreads to the vines," he said urgently.

He raised his hands to the sky, calling in clouds. Lightning crashed overhead as thunderclouds gathered.

Suddenly, there was a "thwack!" and Vlad gasped, dropping his arms. He stumbled back. Mina reached for him, and saw that a crossbow bolt stuck out of his shoulder. It had missed his heart by inches.

Using her new vampire senses, Mina looked out into the night and found a beating heart, human height. She yanked the bolt out of Vlad's chest then, snarling, launched herself in a flurry of bats off the balcony.

She slammed into the human and knocked him flat, completely unsurprised to find that it was Abraham Van Helsing.

"You-" he gasped. "You are vampire!"

"You're very observant," Mina growled. She bared her fangs.

"Mina, no!" Vlad shouted, as he, too, landed nearby.

"Right," she sighed. To Van Helsing, she said, "I did say that if you even thought of hurting Vlad, I'd kill you."

"Please, Ms. Mina-"

She grabbed his head in both hands. "My name," she hissed, "is Mirena Drăculești."

She gave a hard twist and snapped his neck. Then she let his limp body flop to the ground. Vlad helped her stand.

"Mirena?" he repeated.

"Well, it's partially true. And it seemed fitting." She looked to the burning orchard. "You put the fire out. I'm going to check on Luka. He's crying."

Vlad watched her fly back to the house, bemused. Deciding to think on it later, he returned his attention to putting out the fire.

Once Mina had Luka settled, she went back out to see how Vlad fared with the fire. He'd made it rain, and the trees were smoking, but there were no open fires.

"We need to get rid of Van Helsing," she said, nudging the body with a foot. She was more disturbed by her lack of remorse than she was at having killed the man.

"Leave that to me."

"Drive him up the mountains," she suggested. "Dump him off a cliff near the Borgo Pass. They'll never find him there."

"And his car? He left one about a quarter mile up the road."

"It, too. Hopefully it'll explode."

"You've turned bloodythirsty," he observed.

She flashed fangs at him. "Duh."

Lucy came out to have a look at the ruins of the orchard. "Mind telling me what just happened?"

"Van Helsing set the orchard on fire to draw us out. Or, specifically, Vlad." Mina shoved the body with her foot. "I took care of him."

"He shot me," Vlad put in.

Lucy looked at the corpse. "Huh. I wonder how he found you?"

"I have a very good idea of how he found us," Vlad said darkly.

It only took Lucy a moment before she figured out his line of thought. "Arthur," she hissed.

"I never told Van Helsing my assumed name," Vlad said, "and your husband is the only one who does know where the vineyard is."

"I should have asked before I killed him," Mina said with some remorse. "Oh, well."

"You two should go inside. I'll take care of Van Helsing."

"Be careful. We don't know that he didn't have someone with him."

Vlad nodded. Then he picked up the body and slung it over his shoulder.

"I need a drink," Lucy said. "You have any vodka?"

"No idea, but we can check."

While Vlad was gone, Mina locked the windows and doors against intruders.

"It's so strange," she told Lucy, "that first I was wary of vampires getting in. Now it's humans I'm worried about."

Lucy shook her head and leaned back in the armchair she'd taken over in the library. "I almost can't believe Arthur could betray us. I know we're assuming it was him, but . . . he turned on me so suddenly and completely. It's like . . . it was okay as long as it was your spouse who was the vampire. But as soon as it got personal for him, it was too much."

"Unfortunately, a lot of people do that with relatively mundane things, like sexuality. 'Oh, my cousin's gay, I'm cool with it. Oh, my son is gay? Out of the house, freak!'" Mina shook her head. "I can almost see his justification. Lady Godalming can't be a bloody vampire, can she? What would the ton think?"

"I don't think they've used 'ton' in about a century," Lucy observed.

Mina laughed. "You're a vampire and we were attacked by a vampire hunter tonight, and you're arguing about my use of 'ton'?"

"Got to keep something normal."

"True." Mina curled her legs under her on the sofa and leaned her head on the back. "He honestly didn't expect me to be a vampire. Van Helsing, I mean. He was completely surprised and horrified."

"Good. I still want to punch him for messing with your head the way he did."

"I got my own back," Mina pointed out. "He'll not be messing with anyone else's head. Or staking anymore vampires."

It bothered her that they had been so easily attacked. And with the three of them vulnerable during the day, it was just lucky that he'd attacked at night, when they could go out and fight the fire.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Lucy asked.

"We need daytime security. I'll be back to human in a few days-hopefully, if something doesn't go horribly wrong-but I'm not enough to hold off anyone determined to get to you or Vlad. And if Arthur was the one who pointed Van Helsing this way . . . He might try again."

"Doesn't Vlad have a personal assistant?"

"Yes. Renfield. Ah . . . Can't remember his first name. He's a little crazy, very devoted to Vlad's service. Treats me like a queen, which is a little unsettling. I may have been one in my past life, but I'm not now."

"Can you point him my way? I'd love to get the royal treatment."

Mina laughed. "That reminds me. I was thinking, when you go back to London eventually, you'll need someone to look after you during the day. Vlad and I were thinking you might hire Iulia."

"The pretty brunette teenager that stares at Vlad like he's God?" Lucy asked dryly. "I can't think of why you'd want her elsewhere."

"She's a good girl, she's just got a very big crush on Vlad and it makes things awkward. She's been raised knowing exactly what he is and knowing that she'll take over for her mother when Sveta's too old to be Vlad's housekeeper, so I think she had fantasies that she'd have a more, ah, active role later."

Lucy let out a huge guffaw and nearly dropped her wine glass. "Anyone with eyes can tell Vlad only has them for you."

"Which is why she glares at me all the time. She's eighteen. I think she'd love the chance to go to London and . . . Well, Târgoviște is a fairly small town, really."

"Tell me about it," Lucy muttered. "Nothing is open past, what, six in the evening? Vlad and I had to go hunting in Bucharest."

"That's generally safer, anyway," Mina put in. "Hunt away from where you live. Lessens suspicion."

"Let me ask you this: Why would Iulia want to be my assistant, if she's so devoted to Vlad?"

"Family honour, for one. It's big with them. For another, I think she'd do anything he asked her to."

Lucy snickered. "Ah, young love. Sure. If you think she'll go for it, I could use someone. Especially since I still need to go through Mum's stuff. How's her English?"

"Better than my Romanian."

"That's not saying much."

"Hey!"