- XXVII -

Viktor's eyes widened in shock. Corvinus had just attacked his fellow Elder for the purpose of saving this werewolf's life! She wasn't moving anymore and with his blades still piercing William's paws, the warlord was unable to succour her. But before Viktor could call his soldiers for help, Marcus turned around and dashed towards him as well. In a reflex action, the warlord drew the swords from William's flesh, bringing them up in front of himself for protection. Marcus stopped only a few inches away from Viktor, both men hissing at each other in rage.

Meanwhile, William took the chance and performed a giant leap forward, over the vampires' heads and into the Danube. From there he half swam, half ran away, to the other side of the river. Thomas, still kneeling in the water and clutching the wound on his side, ordered the soldiers to shoot, but the few arrows that hit the wolf couldn't stop him anymore.

"To hell with you, Marcus Corvinus!" Viktor's harsh words echoed through the valley, and he irately bared his fangs. "How dare you raise your hand against Amelia! She is an Elder and your equal! And for what?! To save your rabid dog brother?!"

The warlord gestured for his men to line up.

"Arrest that dishonourable traitor!" he ordered, his voice oozing with disgust.

Marcus didn't do or say anything to defend himself, while the soldiers took hold of his arms. He had gone back to the passive and crestfallen state he had been in before.

With two steps, Viktor was at Amelia's side, gently turning her over. She didn't react, and the wound on her neck was deep, still bleeding. Deep worry lines appeared on the warlord's forehead. He removed his gauntlet and felt her pulse. It was weak, but still there. When he drew her to him and into a sitting position, she coughed, her eyes fluttering open.

"Is he...dead?" she asked in a raspy tone.

"No," Viktor hissed through clenched teeth. "Marcus helped him escape."

Amelia wasn't surprised to hear this. Over the decades, Marcus had tried hard to act less on impulse, to stay rational, but he had never managed to change his nature. She had known that it would be only a matter of time until the original vampire gave in to his feelings and betrayed them.

She just nodded as an answer, as she was too weak to talk. Reaching for Viktor's shoulder with a trembling hand, her vision started to blur again. The last thing she remembered was his worried voice ordering the soldiers to return to the castle. Then everything went black.

Her maidservants had helped her out of her armour and into the bath, then brought her goblets full of bull's blood, but she still didn't feel any better. After Istvan, the physician, had treated her wound, it had stopped bleeding, but it still didn't heal. A werewolf's bite, especially William's, seemed to cause a vampire much more trouble than they were used to.

Dressed in a dark green nightgown, Amelia sat on her bed, staring into the fire of the hearth, when a servant knocked and announced a visit from Viktor.

"How are you feeling, my dear?" her lover asked while sitting down next to her.

"Weak," she answered. "Almost like I was mortal again."

There was indeed weakness in her voice, but also an angry undertone. She hated feeling this way, not being her strong and independent self.

"What did you do with Marcus?" Amelia tried to change the subject. She had been too occupied with her treatment to take part in the decision on Corvinus's punishment.

"I had him arrested in his quarters until he comes back to his senses again. He soon will repent the sin he committed and apologise." Viktor sighed. After two nights of fretting about the original vampire, Marcus's foolish actions now tired him more than they made him furious.

"And what of William?"

"The scouts have found his track south from the Danube. Tomorrow night I will take my most loyal soldiers and hunt him down again."

Viktor let his gaze wander over the heavy, embroidered curtains of the four-poster bed, then looked Amelia deep in the eyes. They seemed to have lost a bit of their intense emerald colour, a dull sheen covering them.

He knitted his brows and rolled up the sleeve of his fur-trimmed robe. Blue veins shimmered through the white skin of his wrist, and Amelia swallowed involuntarily.

"Drink," he said. "Maybe my immortal blood will help you heal better than the blood of animals does."

She hesitated, stiffly sitting on the edge of the bed. They had often drunk each other's blood for pleasure, but this was different. Being in need of a share of his strength would make her even weaker, inferior to him. And inferiority to anyone was a state she swore to herself to never be in again.

"Come now," Viktor encouraged her, a faint smile playing at the corner of his lips despite the concerned look in his eyes. "Remember the day in that cave, when your blood healed my burns."

Amelia closed her eyes and nodded slightly. She couldn't get rid of the bad feeling in the back of her mind, preying on her pride, but she knew this wasn't a power-play – he genuinely wanted to help her. And so she took hold of his arm with trembling fingers, and her fangs pierced his dry, cold skin.