Crina didn't know if she had slept, or if any time had passed at all. She was lying on the bed, her head on Vlad's chest, noticing that it did not rise and fall. There was something strangely right about this situation, lying in his arms, sharing blissful silence.

"Are you awake, Crina?" His voice was soft. For a moment she did not reply, her mind numb. It was as though all things normal and expected in the world had vanished. Vlad was a vampire, he was Dracula, and she was in love with him. She swallowed. It was hard to take in, impossible to understand.

"I'm awake." She raised her dark eyes to look at him, the calm impassive face of her love. He smiled a little.

"It is morning, beautiful one," he purred. He toyed with a strand of her hair that had fallen loose, tucking it behind her ear. He cupped her cheek with his hand.

She sighed, and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Dracula," she murmured.

"Yes?" he asked, squatting behind her, his hands on her shoulders. He was close; his hair tickled her bare skin, and his intoxicating scent filled her nostrils.

"Are you going to bite me?"

He sighed himself, and she felt him lower his head. Then, he climbed out from behind her onto the floor, crouching before her, taking her hands in his soft ones. He held her gaze with a troubled expression. "I do not know, Crina."

She smiled bitterly. "You know I would not stop you."

"I know."

She reached out to touch his cool cheek. "I love you. God, how I love you..." She hesitated, then asked, "Do you love me, Vladislaus?"

To her surprise, Dracula laughed. He pushed himself to his feet, arms spread wide, head tilted back. "I am empty, Crina! I feel no sorrow, no pain... no love... I am hollow, and I will live..." His entire body appeared to sag, and he lowered his head, whispering the final word, "... forever."

Crina felt her heart ache. "Tell me, is there no way, Vlad?"

"There is one way," he said quietly. "But it will not happen. If a mortal spills their blood for me, I can love them... it is a funny old thing."

Crina sighed, and lay back down. Vlad would never love her back. It made her feel hopeless.

"I would love you if I could," Vlad whispered. "I promise you that. I feel nothing for my wives, but for you... I can feel something. It is strange..."

She closed her eyes as the strangeness of the situation washed over her again. This was proving hard to take in. She covered her face with her hands. "This is so wrong..."

Vlad sat down beside her. "Please explain."

"Ioan," she said quietly, and she remembered her first love with a painful jolt. "I mean, Ioan spent his life fighting people like you. He... he taught me to fight evil, to hate evil. But look at me... he'd kill himself if he saw me now..." Crina fought down tears.

Vlad touched her arm. "I knew of Ioan," he said quietly. "Not well, but I know he was a good man."

Crina nodded, sadly. "A very good man. He was a brave man, a kind man."

"I agree. Ioan Valerious did not deserve to die."

To be continued.