Author's note: this is from Aldus's point of view

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I was in my study, going through the latest reports on Mona when I got a notice that Lazarus arrived.

I knew that he was eager to go on this date, but he came a few hours ahead of time. The guy is overdoing it. Well, at least he came to greet me first.

A low groan formed in my throat when I saw him with flowers and chocolates.

Is this how every father feels when suitors are buzzing around his daughter?

Lazarus, Fynn, Otto, Bert, those young men from the party in London. Did I miss any? Wherever we go, more and more men are sticking to Serina and I can't imagine how bad it would be if she didn't manage to control her pheromones.

"She is in the sunroom…", I grumbled and went back to the report.

It seems that Mona is reliable. We are monitoring her movements and electronic communication, and so far, she didn't contact any of the suspects. She sent a mail to Serina's parents and my men inspected it. It was full of some coupons for her spa, and nothing else.

Mona's personal file confirmed the story she told Serina. Maybe the girl is genuine in which case she can be useful. Unfortunately, Serina can't get too attached to mortals, but if Mona proves her worth, we can fix the mortality problem.

I liked the idea of Serina having her circle of friends and helpers. That would boost her confidence and assist her in establishing herself as an immortal.

There was still about one hour before lunchtime, and I decided to come up with a structured plan for Serina to learn manipulating the alchemic cauldron and fire. This is an important step and if it's done wrongly, it can slow down her progress. But those are basics which I forgot a long time ago, and books about it are in the lab's library and I got ready to head there when the whole villa shook.

What the…? An earthquake?

The second tremor was followed by the sound of glass breaking and I realized that it originated from within the villa. The sunroom! Serina!

It took me two seconds to reach there, and I stood at the edge of what used to be the sunroom as cold winds whipped my body.

Where did the room go? The walls around me were heavily damaged by the storm that raged in front of me.

We never had tornadoes in this area, and this was definitely one but it was odd.

Did my security barrier fail and someone managed to cast an elemental spell on my house?

In front of me was a gray funnel that extended into the heavens and rotated rapidly, its dark surface was flashing with electrical charges. The tornado didn't move from its place and it occupied more than half of the room. I could only assume that all plants and furniture as well as the glass were sucked into it. Where is Serina?

A low groan from left got my attention, and I saw Lazarus emerging from the room while holding onto his head.

He was disheveled and bleeding, but I didn't care about that. Part of my house was demolished, and my daughter was missing!

"What happened? Where is Serina?", I shouted. partially because of the deafening noise of the storm and partially due to my anger.

"She was on the phone…", Lazarus responded while frowning at the tornado in front of us. "I don't know what happened, but the glass shattered, and everything got attracted to Serina and then things turned eerily quiet, and things started floating around her. The explosion pushed me through the wall into the next room…"

I saw that the wall is busted. If he is not a werewolf, we would not be talking now.

Wait! Did Lazarus say that things were floating AROUND Serina? Does that mean she is in the center of that thing?

I focused on sensing lifeforms and my heart jolted when I confirmed that Serina was standing right in the middle of that mayhem.

What the hell is that? Is it another power? So much destruction! It's not that I disapprove, but why did it happen inside the villa?

The winds didn't subside. If anything, they were getting worse. Is Serina OK? Her life force was strong but flickering slightly and I was not sure if she is in danger, or the storm is messing with my readings.

I let out a long exhale and focused on Serina. I needed to do something I didn't do in a very long time as it's dangerous, but I can't stand here and do nothing while hoping she is OK, and things will get better.

I couldn't risk moving her out of there, so I did the next best thing.

When I opened my eyes, I was in front of Serina, inside the still heart of the tornado. Despite the mayhem all around us, it was quiet and there were no winds.

Serina stood motionlessly with tears streaking her cheeks.

"Serina?", I asked while looking into her vacant eyes. "Can you hear me?"

She didn't respond.

I touched her hand and jerked back on an instinct when an electric current ran through me. What the…? This hurt and if I'm not a vampire, I would probably end up in a hospital.

"Serina!", I exclaimed. "I need you to snap out of it!"

Still nothing. I was getting anxious.

I remembered that the garden shed is nearby and with a flick of my mind, a pair of rubber boots appeared in front of me. I hopped into them and carefully touched Serina's arm.

I felt my hairs rising from the electrical charge, but it was not painful. Definitely manageable.

"SERINA!", I shouted while holding onto her shoulders and I gave her a small shake. "SERINA! WAKE UP!"

Her eyes flickered toward me and in the next moment, her legs gave in.

Serina fell into my arms and at the same time, the tornado around us dispersed in a fierce gust of wind, as if an explosion happened from within.

The dust settled down, and the area around us was cataclysmic.

From where I was standing, I could see that the sunroom was gone, as well as the walls of the neighboring rooms and a part of the roof was also gone. I didn't need to look at the garden to confirm that it's ruined.

"Serina?", I heard Lazarus ask with concern in his voice as he approached us.

He reached to touch her forehead and just as I did a few minutes ago, he jerked his hand when a painful current ran through him.

"Is she OK?", Lazarus asked with a groan as he shook his arm violently.

I looked at the unmoving girl in my arms. Her eyes were closed and if not for her heartbeat and faint breathing, I would think that she is dead. I could see small zaps of electricity traveling over her body and I knew that if not for my rubber boots, I would be suffering painful muscle contractions.

Serina looked like she was sleeping.

"I don't know.", I admitted.

I need to examine her and see if she is stable but electric storms are beyond my area of expertise and I started thinking of who can help me here.

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