"Arslan is a moron. You said so yourself. He doesn't care about politics. All he sees is a powerful rival he has to neutralize. He has already lost a dozen of projects because of you in the last few years, and a shift in Praxian politics would ruin his business. He knows he does not have the brain to challenge you on the scientific field, which leaves him with only one option: trying to discredit you on moral grounds. You've never reacted to provocation. Why now?"

It was not Helen's voice which woke Sophie up. She had no need to raise her voice. The tone of her harangue was enough. And judging by said tone, Nikola had messed up big times.
She was eleven now, and quite used to hearing her parents arguing. There had been a time when she had been convinced that their sparring matches were a sure sign that they did not reallyloveeach other. But in time, and with Archibald's patient help, she had come to see their bickering as a proof they cared too much about each other to give up on communication when they did not see eye to eye. They never called each other names, never showed any disrespect. Their arguments were based on logic alone.

"You know that feeling you have when you build something and you realize there are faults in your schematics?"Archibald had asked her one day,"that's how they both feel when they spar.".

Frustrated but challenged, willing to do better. That's how they felt.

Although this time, with her ear to her bedroom door in the middle of the night, Sophie could not detect any good thrill in her mother's voice.

"He attacked my race, Helen!"

No teasing in her father's voice either. Whatever had happened at the Praxian political gala was bad.

"And you played right into his hands!'You shouldn't worry about me feeding on you, idiots give me gastric reflux', what were you thinking?"

By that point, Sophie was crouching next to the door. She silently thanked her mother for choosing good old-fashion wooden doors everywhere in her apartments while planning her Sanctorium. Indeed, it was far easier for a nosy prepubescent girl like her to spy on her parents with these doors that you could easily open just a crack to peek through with maximum discretion versus the omnipresent sliding doors Helen had crammed her designs with, presenting her daughter with the challenge to try and crack their mechanism into not opening more than a few centimeters. Which, admittedly, was not yet a success.
From the awkward angle her bedroom door was forcing her to adopt, she couldn't see her mother's face. What shecouldsee, was one of her hands threatening Nikola with a brandished stiletto, and her father, unable to hide a proud smile at his own witty comeback.

"Admit it, it was a smile. And she's been a killjoy since she was nominated by the senate." Nikola argued before he stopped for a second, pouting as he seemed to come to some kind of realization. "Although, come to think of it, she was kind of stuck-up even before that.".

The stiletto's heel came to crash against Nikola's night jacket furiously as Helen grunted.

"Oh sure, everyone had a jolly good time until youmorphed. You morphed in front of people whose ancestors were driven underground by vampires." She spat.

The amusement on Nikola's face abated, fading into dejection and Sophie shivered at seeing vulnerability in his eyes as he seemed to drown his gaze in Helen's.

"They think you are my personal canteen. Which is offensive to me, to common sense, to biologyandtoyou." He blurted out.

There was an awkward silence following his statement, and the sound of a shoe falling to the ground.

"What?" Helen finally let out, slightly out of breath.

Sophie's father opened is arms theatrically.

"There you go. It's out. What a… non-relief."

"What makes you think –"

Nikola cut her short.

"While you and your bookworm of a brother were having a little chat with sexy nerd-cyclop –"

"Hector"

"Whatever. I was having a courteous chat with Azra, congratulating her on her appointment by the senate, when Arslan and his minimoys interrupted to tell me he had noticed you had introduced me as your husband several times and asked me whether we had a mating ritual or if it was just something that happened naturally after feeding on the same person for so long."

Nikola took a break in his account, probably, as Sophie thought, to relish in the effect it had on his partner.

"Oh, and wait for it, he also asked if you tasted somewhat better than a mere mortal thanks to the source blood. And the best part, I quote 'does your offspring also feed on her?'."

If he had stayed relatively cool for the most of his speech, he spat the last part, and Sophie heard her mother sigh.

"I faced tons of xenophobia in Oxford, that was fine. I had to hide my true nature for all of my time on earth. Fine too, I guess. But then I came to Hollow Earth with some faith in the belief that maybe I'd start over with a chance of being accepted and… It's the same thing all over again. And now my own daughter will have to face the same hatred. So, yes, I'm slightly touchy when it comes to my family, and I won't apologize."

Sophie noticed that her father sounded slightly defeated, and her mother appeared in her field of vision as she got close to him, placing a hand on his chest softly, closing her eyes to inhale deeply.

"Dear God…" she sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Arslan is a moron, I stand by it."

Helen snorted.

"That he is." She assented, nodding. "But I'm still sorry. I feel like I've let you down somehow."

Nikola frowned but before he could open his mouth, Helen went on.

"No, let me speak. When you felt ostracized in Oxford, I was too, for being a woman. We got through it together. You had to hide and I helped you, and I know how hard it is to assume a new identity and keep a low profile. We, again, got through all of that together. We discovered Hollow Earth together and I shared your hopes. I've battled with the

Praxian senate for such a long time to find a middle-ground for the Sanctuary, it's frustrating. And you've seen me and Will and Declan tread on thin ice with Praxis times and times again professionally. Yet somehow, I've failed to show you how personally frustrating it is for me too. Not a day goes by without me worrying about Sophie's future. But we areparents. Worrying about our child is our full-time job, vampire or not. But you know what? When I worry, there's a little voice at the back of my mind that sounds like some snarky vampire I know which reminds me I have a brilliant husband by my side."

At that, Nikola grinned from ear to ear.

"We're in this together, Nikola. And additionally, we have the Sanctuary, where you and Sophie are loved for who you are. It might be… Small, compared to what the world has to offer, but it's a comfy start. And in time, if we sail this boat adroitly, the network might earn a less bumpy relationship with Praxis." Helen explained, taking his hands in hers.

"If I don't bite anyone." He answered flatly.

Sophie could only see her mother's back, but she could tell by how her shoulders moved that she chuckled under her breath at that.

"Yes. But you know, you're not the only one struggling with the Praxians. Their cultures are so different from ours that we've all made some mistakes."

Nikola shrugged.

"Anyway. Do I taste very different from other humans because of the source blood?" Helen asked, cocking her head to the side.

At that, Sophie's father looked mildly annoyed.

"How would I know? You're the only human I've tasted and I was not in the gourmet set of mind. Plus, drinking from a syringe lacks a certainje ne sais quoi." He answered.

"Although you do smell a bit different, to me anyway." He went on, wiggling his eyebrows.

Sophie slammed her door open, rolling her eyes.

"Ugh you two are disgusting!" She exclaimed, making her parents start and turn towards the commotion.

She took a second to appreciate the stunned look on their faces.

Helen raised an eyebrow at Nikola.

"Talking of smelling…" She let out between her teeth.

"I told you a thousand times: she smells too much like us for me to notice she's lurking."

Her mother turned back to her.

"Weren't you supposed to spend the night with Alice?" She asked.

Sophie shrugged.

"I was. But she's got a cold so she's kind of snoring and it's not cool. So, I left her a note and opted out." She explained "And before you ask, I heard everything. And you guys worry way too much about me. Which is very annoying andwhycan't we be a normal family like the Fosses?"

When both her parents raised an eyebrow at that, she tightened her lips.

"Yeeaah, bad example, I see that now." She said, scrunching up her face.

Helen walked around the sofa to get closer to her daughter, a fond smile on her face.

"Shall we all sit down and talk about what you would like us to be like?" She proposed.

Not waiting for an answer, she took her usual spot in the corner of the couch, folding her legs under her with a small sigh of contentment at the feeling of being back home after a long night.

Seeing her father towering over her mother, both of them staring intently at her, Sophie felt she couldn't stand it any longer. She slumped down wearily in the wing chair that was next to Helen's corner of the couch, sighing.

"I am not a vampire. I will never be a vampire." She blurted out.

The silence following her statement tasted weird on her tongue, so she went on:

"I hope…" she added, less forcibly.

"But being a vampire is cool!" Nikola exclaimed before Helen could chirp in.

Sensing his grip on the back of the sofa tighten, she placed a soothing hand on his.
Sophie rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't describe drinking plasma from Caprisun pouches and not being able to eat sugar as 'cool', Dad." She retorted.

While her father's face fell, Sophie detected a small glint of amusement in her mother's eyes, and she felt a knot loosen in her stomach. As much as she would have loved for Nikola to understand her worries and fears about their intrinsic nature, she knew he would most likely never put his ego aside to put himself in her shoes. Her mother, on the other hand, was her best chance at being heard and sympathized with. After all, her work was all about protecting people like her from others and from themselves.

Nikola's mouth was not yet fully opened when Helen turned to him.

"No niggling. Please."

For once, he chose to quietly retreat into silence.

"Sophie," Helen started, turning back to her daughter, "I wish I could tell you what you want to hear. I really do. But there's no way to tell for certain whether you'll remain mostly human or if you will develop some vampiric traits, or even, who knows, turn out to be somehow more of a vampire than your father."

Sophie tightened her lips, avoiding her mother's gaze to keep herself from crying.

Hiding her tears was pointless, it seemed, as Helen leant towards her and cradled both of her hands in hers, searching her gaze.

"It's alright to be scared. We are all scared of changing. Nikola may seem confident now but when he underwent his transformation? He was terrified."

At that, Nikola crossed his arms over his chest.

"I wasn't terrified." He protested.

Helen glared at him.

"Alright, maybe a bit." He admitted.

"Henry spent years worrying about being 'a monster' and he was a mess when his inhibitors stopped working. Erika and her pack spent their lives locked up in a complex drugging themselves, afraid of who they were. Everything new is scary."

Helen must have interpreted Sophie's pout for a sign she was not convinced, so she went on.

"What about your magnetism? Do you think it's frightening?" She asked with renewed intensity.

Sophie shrugged.

"No…" She answered, not sure where her mother was going.

"Good for you. I was horrified when I discovered I was turning into a magnet while pregnant. I'm sure your father told you about that time I almost put his eye out with a flying corkscrew?" She wondered, arching an eyebrow.

She nodded, catching up on her mother's train of thoughts.

"I would have been a very sexy vampire-pirate, thank you." Nikola interrupted, earning the same desperate stare from both of the women.

"I won't tell you I know how you feel, but I understand." Helen concluded. "Undergoing such deep changes is hard. For everyone."

Nikola came to stand next to Sophie, taking her by the shoulder.

"But not everyone is lucky enough to have a mentor. And a best-friend who's going to go through something similar." He concluded.

Sophie searched his face. She could see his confidence was shaken. He was not pushing her, only offering a loving hand to hold onto.
Tears forced their way up and fell freely from her eyes, and her parents exchanged a look, unsure of what exactly was going on.

"When I think of me becoming a vampire, I see myself in Ashley's body, trying to stop myself from killing you, mom." She sobbed.

Helen looked stunned. She obviously had never thought that she could have some residual memories of Ashleyaftershe had been brainwashed by the Cabal.

"Dear God…" She muttered, out of breath.

Nikola crouched next to his daughter, his hand firmly gripping her knee.

"Ashley was not a vampire, dove." He began.

"She had claws and – "

He cut her.

"Listen to me. Ashley was not like you, okay? Criminals injected her with vampire blood, but they also brainwashed her, made her forget who she really was, induced her with lies to get her to be a good little soldier with terrible powers to wreak havoc while they were safely watching from a comfortable office. Changing is hard. It's hard because you have to make sense of who you are and how changing affects that. It doesn't happen overnight. Your vampire DNA does not normally take over yourself, it's just an added bonus. In Ashley's case, they erased her personality, and made her an empty shell. Vampire is not a personality trait. She changed into an instrument because she wasn't there anymore to stop it from happening." He explained.

He dried a tear from Sophie's cheek with the palm of his hand and forced her to look at him, stopping her from observing Helen who was quietly listening, composing herself.

"Sophie… You know Ashley like no one else does. Do you really think she would have turned the same way if she had naturally evolved into a vampire, surrounded with her family and friends?"

The girl took a second to think. Ashley had been prone to some violence, but overall, Sophie had positive memories too. Secret crushes on boys, fits of giggles while playing videogames with Henry, helping Biggie with cooking, singing in the car with their mother, rescuing dogs, introducing James to new types of music and films over vacations…

"No." She answered truthfully. "She sacrificed herself to save mom, even as a vampire. And then she sacrificed herself again so save me."
Helen assented silently.

"I'll tell you something." Nikola said, "I don't know if you'll turn out to be a vampire. But we can prepare you just in case."

"How?"

"Archibald has a secret stash of books and archives about vampires. You might not be able to read Aramaic, Sumerian or vampiric dialects but some of those were translated or written in Praxian. I'm sure he will agree to show you everything there is to read about our kind."

"Sounds like more homework to me." Sophie noticed.

"Maybe, but with uncle Arch'." Nikola pointed out.

"I have something to offer too."

They both turned to Helen.

"We cannot really 'stop' your vampire genes from expressing themselves once you've reached your adult size, if they must. But I can devise an inhibitor. It's a lot of work, and it won't last forever, but it will give you time to adjust, get ready… I've done it for Henry. We can try for you as soon as you feel the changes arise. I would suggest you talk to him about it first though. Get his point of view on the matter." She explained. "Also," she went on, "we might try and decrypt your DNA, do some genetic sequencing, compare it to Nikola's. Although it will all be theoretic work. I won't risk transforming lab rats into vampires." She clarified.
Nikola pointed at her.

"I could devise a way to get rid of vampiric rats, combining the devamper and the super abnormal weapon and building up on that. It worked with the nubbin I tested on." He suggested.

Helen did not give her full assent to this, but the way she tilted her head to her shrugging shoulder was enough for Nikola and Sophie to consider she could be swayed, with a little convincing.

"We'll work on other ways to help you, should the need arise. Does it put your mind at rest?" Helen concluded.

Sophie took a moment to turn all of that in her mind, nervously rolling the fabric of her sleeve between her fingers.

"I still don't want to be a vampire." She asserted, "But I feel okay."

Helen smiled at her fondly before glancing at her watch, and rose from the sofa.

"Good. Now I believe we all need a few hours of sound sleep, don't you think?"

Sophie nodded. She felt empty and light-headed after letting out her tearful confession, and she couldn't wait to be reunited with her comfy bed.

She took her still-crouching father in her arms and kissed his cheek.

"Night Dad." She whispered. "I'm sorry I said you weren't cool. I think you are. Most of the time."

Nikola smiled, hugging his daughter tight to his chest.

"Goodnight, heiress to the cool throne." He joked.

Sophie then disengaged herself from his embrace to jump from her armchair and straight into her mother's arms.

Helen combed her fingers through the girl's hair, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Goodnight, honey."

When Sophie had disappeared into her room, leaving them both alone in the dim light of the living room, Nikola sighed.

"Remember when I played peek-a-boo with her and she'd laugh hysterically each time I'd morph?" He reminisced, throwing a longing glance at his daughter's bedroom door.

Helen huffed, cracking her neck to dissolve the tension that had settled there.

"I miss those days." He confessed.

They fell silent as she untied her hair, letting her curls fall around her face and down her shoulders, and their gazes met.

"Thank you, Nikola." She dropped in a whisper. "For the Ashley talk earlier." She clarified, noticing the subtle sign that he was unsure of what she was acknowledging.

"Anytime." He said, getting his face closer to hers with a side smile.

"You're still not off the hook for what happened in Praxis, just so you know." She answered in kind.

His smile grew wider.

"I bet I can find a way to make up for my poor behavior." He whispered confidently.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"Come on, let's go to bed. I'm beat."

She turned, showing him her back to let him lower the zipper of her dress.

She knew he was going to spend the night in her bed only to shelter her against the shadows lurking around in her head, but she kept her knowledge to herself. As always, she would fall asleep curled up, facing the wall, only to wake up clasped to his body, refreshed and ready for a new day.