- X -

Amelia woke with a start, senses alert for any perceived danger before she forced herself to calm her racing emotions. She sat up and found herself on a sofa, in a dark, unknown room. The fire in the hearth had burned itself out, and no torch or rushlight gave any light to guide her way. Though she had no need of it.

Her new sight could pick out every detail of the ornately carved furniture and every thread of the tapestries hung on the walls. She could smell the faint odour of musty furs and the ancient carpets by the bedside. A lingering scent came from the drops of dried blood upon her throat. Her own blood…

She could hear footsteps, a man's, judging from the weight and tread, as they approached her room.

"Did you sleep well?" a familiar voice asked.

Her forgotten memories suddenly returned. Marcus Corvinus had kissed her and then bitten deep to make her like him, an immortal. The pain of the change had been agonizing, mercifully blotted out for a time. At least until Viktor's return. "Did I… faint?"

The thought shamed her, and she looked down the carpet. Fainting in the face of pain was a weakness. "I would not have been surprised if I had not awakened..."

"No." He remained by the door, still standing. "You are stronger than you believe. You will live."

Amelia looked up at Viktor, whose blue eyes only slightly glowed in the dark. She remembered him embracing her. He had comforted her, soothed her when she had thought she would die. Her throat ached and she swallowed.

"My senses... everything seems to be so..." she struggled to find the words she sought.

"Clear, loud, intrusive?" Viktor said. "All of your senses sharpen when you become an immortal. You will come to get used to it."

So Marcus's attempt had succeeded, then. She was immortal now. The warm feeling of triumph rose within her chest, driving away the last bits of disorientation.

"And what of strength?" Amelia asked.

He chuckled, then gestured for her to join him at the doorway. "Come, try it. Break my arm."

She stared at him, bewildered, uncomprehending as he rolled the sleeve of his shirt up. "Milord? I don't… but why?"

"You heard me." For a moment, his voice was that of the commander of old, a man who expected obedience from those under him. How he might have been as a younger man, not the immortal who requested such an… implausible thing of her. The impression was only broken by the slight, sly smile on his lips. "I want you to break my arm."

She hesitated as she put her hand on his forearm, waiting until he nodded in assent before jerking roughly at his wrist. The sound of snapping bone was hideous, and she started, flinching at her own violence. Viktor's wrist was twisted in an unnatural direction, but he seemed not to heed whatever pain the injury caused. The corner of his mouth twitched, but she could not tell whether it was approval or displeasure. When she dared look again, the broken wrist was straight, undamaged as if she had never made the attempt to begin with. In a few moments, there was no sign of the damage done.

"My God!" Amelia looked down at her hands, half in awe of her newfound strength and half made uneasy by it. Strength was one thing, but what she admired even more was Viktor's wondrous ability to recover from wounds that would have taken weeks or months to heal.

He smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Incredible, yes? The advantages of being an immortal?"

She could only nod, left speechless by the display of his – their power.

"But you must know that our immortality has its limits. We live on human blood, and we cannot consume mortal food or it will sicken us. And above all else…" Viktor trailed off, putting his hands on her shoulders. "We must not step into dawn's light or it will burn us. We may be immortal, but we are not truly eternal. Do you understand?"

"Of course, Viktor," Amelia said. She thought she understood the warning he gave her, but the loss of the morning's light, indeed any light at all, was tinged with a trace of regret.

Her understanding made him smile briefly, keeping his true expression hidden. Regret would fade with the years ahead of them. For now, she would be the perfect ally against the other in their little triad, a weapon in his hand against Marcus Corvinus.