Erinna’s heart was pounding and sweat was trickling down her face when she shot up from the bed. She looked at her side and breathed a sigh relief when she saw that Vlad was still sleeping beside her whole and in one piece. It calmed her frantic pulse but it did nothing to take away the growing fear and dread in her mind. The images of the dream were still blurry but the menace was the same as she had felt when she had felt when she had arrived at the barrier where her father had hurt Vlad.

The nightmares had started when Alexander had explained the exact state that he had found Vlad in. He hadn’t just been hurt or injured. His body had literally exploded into many infinite pieces that Alexander had had to scrape off the ground. The mental image was frightening and had been haunting her sleep for days. It unsettled her that someone who had not even taken the time to know Vlad could hate him so much as to do something like that.

He had his faults but didn’t they all? No one had the authority to lay down the final axe on someone’s neck, to decide that they had indeed run out of chances.

“Erinna?” Vlad stirred beside her.

It was still early in the day to be waking up, a few hours after noon. Vlad being a creature of the night, would be feeling drained and tired from the effects of the sun on his kind.

“Shh, go back to sleep.”

His eyelids fluttered open and she caught sight of jet back eyes looking at her. He was still rumbled from sleep and his hair was all over the place but he still made her heart beat pick up. On impulse, she leaned down and kissed him before getting out of bed.

“Where are you going?” He asked, his eyes following her.

“To do something I should have done a long time ago,” she answered, taking off her nightdress to wear something more decent.

She had just put on a beautiful black dress, one of Miya’s pieces when cold firm hands gripped her hips. She flushed as Vlad bent over, his cheek brushing hers and warm breath teasing her as he kissed her neck, just beside his mark. Erinna shivered, her tightly strung body feeling the effect a thousand times more. Vlad and her had not really explored the intimate side of their marriage ever since she had returned from Ellingsdale because something always interrupted or he came up with an excuse.

She missed the easy intimacy they had shared before she had left. There was a barrier between them and for the life of her, she couldn’t tell what it was. But that was a puzzle for another time, she would worry about Vlad’s feelings for her when she had eliminated the threat to his life.

“Talk to me,” he urged.

How he exactly expected her to give a coherent response when he arms were around her, drawing circles on her stomach and awakening every nerve ending in her body, she didn’t know. His back was a solid wall behind her, allowing no escape and she reveled in his strength and just being in his arms, if only for a few minutes.

“Erinna?”

He stepped but turned her around to face him.

Erinna looked away for a moment, allowing her hair to curtain her blushing face from his gaze. She look back at him when she was composed and sure enough that her face, traitorous thing it was, would not give away everything she was feeling.

“I keep thinking back to that day we went to the barrier.”

“You mean the day you wanted to kill your father,” Vlad smirked.

Erinna rolled her eyes, of course that was still his favorite day. Erinna could hardly think back to it without cringing. At least Vlad had been there to stop her, she didn’t want to think where she would be if she had indeed gone ahead and ended her father’s life in a fit of temper.

“Yes, that day. I was hesitant to blame Angelica for setting up that barrier because I wasn’t sure it was her,” she told him.

The energy had been so similar but there was something that Erinna couldn’t pinpoint that made her hesitate. Energy amongst elves was unique to each person and whatever magic work you performed, you always left a trace of yourself behind. The traces that she had seen there had not been from Angelica or Edward. Similar but not the same.

“It’s not her. I told you it was Edmund. He was there when I arrived.”

Erinna sighed, deciding not to correct him. Vlad was fully aware what her father’s name was, she was not going to humor him by engaging in his childish antics.

“It wasn’t him, Vlad.”

She had no particularly warm feelings for her father after what he had done but this had not been him. The pattern almost seemed like his but lacked the familiarity it would have had had if it had been him alone.

“He’s not the upstanding elf you want to believe he is, you know.”

All humor had gone from Vlad’s face and she could tell she finally had all his attention.

“Believe me, I no longer have any illusions. But someone hurt you, Vlad. I need to know who. We can blame my father to close the matter but that person will still be out there,” she pleaded with her eyes, hoping he would understand where she was coming from.

She was losing sleep over the matter. Every instinct in her was on high alert and since she no longer had her visions, her instincts were all she had. The least she could do was follow them.

Vlad sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“What are you going to do? See Armando? He has no second sight.”

“I’m not seeing Armando. I believe there’s someone who can give me answers.”

Vlad’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“If you say the ‘A’ name, I’m ordering an execution right now.”

As close minded as her guardians were, they were probably the last link that Erinna had with her people, severing that little strand would mean ending all her ties with the elves. A part of her was reluctant.

“You mean Alexander?” She teased Vlad.

His jaw ticked.

“Vlad relax. Angelica is actually going to help me. If anyone knows who put up that barrier, it’s her.”

She only hoped that the guardian was willing to tell her. It was no secret that Angelica could not care less whether Vlad lived or died. She would probably offer to help with the execution if she knew where it was happening. Not that he wouldn’t do the same for her.

“I’ll come with you.”

Not a request, merely a statement.

Erinna rolled her eyes and put her hands on his chest, walking him backwards towards the bed. When he was at the edge, she pushed him onto the soft mattress and followed him, straddling his waist. She moved up and kissed him long enough to shut down his protests. He bit her lip in retaliation but she didn’t stop. She kissed him until his irritation melted away and only heated hunger remained.

“I’m not leaving the castle. I’ll call you if I need you. Alright?”

He narrowed his eyes, “Erinna don’t even think about i-”

She teleported out of their chambers into the hallway before he could argue more. A soft giggle left her lips as she heard his curses from inside.

Alex who had been outside, peaked up when he saw her and followed as Erinna made her way towards the servant quarters, or at least where she believed them to be. Her knowledge of Vlad's castle was limited to the places the two of them frequented and the little that she had discovered whilst exploring with Alex but she had a general idea.

She knew that most human servants worked during the day and had their own wing. Married servants also had their own wing and then there were the lustrous quarters for all vampires who lived or chose to serve in the castle.

The hallways were mostly filled with human guards and they greeted Erinna as she passed but quickly made themselves scarce when they noticed Alex. It seemed Alexander was not the only one on less-than-friendly terms with their master's lion.

Erinna was glad when she finally came upon a familiar face in what one of the guards had told her was the wing for married couples.

"Good afternoon, Countess Dracula." The young, beautiful human girl who was part of the team that had been assigned by Alexander to clean their chambers curtsied respectfully.

"Hello Jade," Erinna smiled.

"Are you looking for someone?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. May you please take me to Angelica and Edward's rooms?"

Jade agreed and led Erinna down a few more winding hallways. They stopped before a sturdy brown door that was perhaps less glamorous than the shiny oak doors that graced the chambers she shared with Vlad. Jade knocked then excused herself just as the door opened to reveal a pale looking Angelica.

"Princess," Angelica acknowledged her with a curtsy.

"Hello Angelica, a word please."

Angelica looked surprised but allowed Erinna to come in. She noted Edward's absence from the room. Erinna did not take a seat on the bed as offered, but opted to stand, something which apparently made Angelica nervous because the woman started fumbling with her hands.

"Uhm, Edward and I have been thinking and we realized you were right. Count Dracula is your mate and I was wrong to insult your union with him."

"I appreciate the thought but you must realize your opinion on Vlad means nothing to me. I know who he is," Erinna answered without venom but clear enough so they would not have any misunderstandings.

Angelica frowned but did not argue.

"Of course," she said instead.

"But that is not the reason I am here. How old are you now, Angelica?"

She could see the woman's confusion deepen at the seemingly offside question. Angelica knew she was being baited but also couldn't see what the trap was or how to get out of it without further ensnaring herself.

"Eighty-four, Princess."

"And how many of those years have you spent as a guardian?"

"Sixty-nine."

"I'm right to assume that you're more versed with Elven law and history than anyone else, then?"

Angelica nodded unsurely. Sweat beaded her forehead despite her fight to maintain composure.

"Can you agree that aside from the king, the Pure Being and the guardians, no one else amongst our people can cast a barrier?"

The woman's face paled right before Erinna's eyes. She looked like she had swollen something unpleasant but she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin in defiance.

"Amongst our people yes, but there are several races that can cast a barrier."

"My mate was nearly killed by a barrier he believes was erected by my father. He came to Ellingsdale with the intention to help me with my transformation but was blasted into a million fragments the moment he tried to cross the border. My father is the only person he saw there before he got hurt so in his mind, my father did it."

Angelica shrugged, "The king has never hidden his dislike for the crea- Count Dracula."

"I am not asking for an opinion yet," Erinna halted her with a hand.

"Of course," Angelica said, a slight flush bringing a little life to her pale cheeks.

"Vlad was looking at this through the eyes of an outsider. He is not an elf and neither is he connected to our people. He can't see patterns of energy but I can and what I saw when I looked at that barrier was not my father's work. Neither was it yours."

At this point, Angelica looked like she wanted to vomit. Her teeth bit her bottom lip desperately, as if trying to stop it from trembling. The fragile handle she had had on her composure was slipping and Erinna could see every little fear playing in the woman’s eyes. At this point, Erinna was just following a hunch, a remote tangent of thought but her suspicions were getting confirmed even before any words were uttered.

If it was not Vlad's life concerned, Erinna might have felt sorry for leading Angelica to dig her own grave and have been sympathetic for her circumstances but a line had been crossed and someone was going to answer for it. So with her eyes still focused on Angelica to monitor her every reaction, she continued.

"Energy is subtle and intricate but it is also consistent. I have seen my father's work and I have seen yours which is why it confused me when the work at the boarder looked like a mixture of the two. At first, I thought it was because the two of you had worked together to knit the barrier but I realized that this energy was something new. A new entity...a new person..."

The way the energy had seemed so like Angelica had thrown her off. It had seemed like the guardian but not quite like her also and there had been segments of her father in it. The only likely explanation was if her father had had a child with her Angelica but Erinna had felt no familial connection to the person who had left the barrier.

"It was me, I did it. I only disguised it to fool you," Angelica said but the touch of desperation in her voice negated the confession.

Erinna continued as if the woman had not spoken.

"Aside from guardians, the king and the Pure Being, there is only one other creature that can have the power and ability to set up a detonating barrier.”

Angelica shook her head desperately, tears of denial falling down her eyes. Erinna had never seen Angelica anything but composed and defiant. Even in her vision when she had foreseen Vlad torturing her, the elf had borne her punishment with grace. To see her so undone and completely unraveled confirmed Erinna’s thoughts.

“Only one other creature can wield that much power and willfully use it to do harm- a Corrupted Being."

A ragged sob broke from Angelica's throat. Her face was now streaked with tears and loose tendrils of her hair were wet and stuck to her pale face. The only part of her that seemed to have color was her red nose and swollen eyes.

"Whilst I may not have met all of our people, every one of them and their gifts is accounted for except one. Angelica, where is your daughter?"

Tears filled Angelica's eyes and she shook her head, refusing to answer.

"You told me you were willing to die for me when we first met. I asked why and you said it's because my father did something for you that you would never forget. You said he saved your daughter. Where is she, Angelica?"

Angelica's face lost the broken look and she turned enraged eyes at Erinna, her claws breaking out of her knuckles and a feral look coming upon her features.

"How dare you stand there and judge me? What do you know about being a mother? What do you know about sacrifice? If you had the slightest clue then you would know you'd have done the same!"

The insult stabbed because more than anyone, Erinna knew what it was like to be willing to sacrifice everything for her baby. Angelica's baby had been condemned at birth but Erinna's had been sentenced even before it was born.

She forced herself to set her hurt feelings aside and actually let what Angelica had confirmed to sink in.

True to the law of the universe, everything came with its opposite and just as there were Pure Beings, there were Corrupted Beings. To avoid the mass catastrophe that could follow if a Corrupted Being was allowed to mature and reach fruition, they were always killed at birth by the king.

Where Pure Beings were inclined to save and protect, their darker counterparts were liable to punish and destroy. The books said they were lawless with no conscience, lacking the usual elven default of being disgusted by death and suffering. Yet even knowing all that, Erinna could not entirely be at peace with the idea of killing an infant.

"So my father allowed your baby to live in exchange of protecting me?" Erinna furrowed her eyebrows.

She could not see the council agreeing to that. Not after hearing their bloodthirsty cries against her own child.

"When Lierian presented as one of the dark ones at birth, her execution was scheduled. We requested a private affair and we thought the king did it but later he approached me to tell me the child was alive but would remain in his custody so he could keep an eye on her as well as avoid people finding out that her death had been faked."

Erinna was stunned. The idea that a fully aged Corrupted Being might exist had been horrific enough in her mind but to hear it confirmed…

What made it worse was that all that tainted, uncontrolled and malicious power was in the hands of someone who was willing to work with her father to kill her mate. She wanted to believe her father had saved Lierian from certain death out of the goodness of his heart but given the way he had been too eager to spill her child’s blood, she could not deceive herself.

"How old is she now?" Erinna asked.

"Twenty Elven years."

"And she has been living with my father all this time?"

"Yes. Her tower is in the Eastern wing of the castle and we are allowed annual visits."

A sick feeling grew in Erinna's stomach. Her father had already used Lierian and her powers to erect a barrier that had nearly killed Vlad, who knew what else he had used her for and would use her for in the future? If he had been the one to raise Lierian, then in all likelihood, she answered to him and him only.

The amount of power Lierian had was already scary, but in the hands of someone like her father?

"She's a good child. I won't let you do anything to her," Angelica vowed but Erinna was hardly listening, her mind whirling with the new information.

To punish Angelica for allowing the baby to live would be hypocritical but not doing anything when Lierian had almost killed Vlad went against her every instinct. Besides, Angelica was just a mother who had her baby’s interests at heart, if she was going to take up this issue, it would have to be with her father and somehow, that was even less desirable.

"Your daughter tried to kill someone without provocation, I think good is relative at this point."

Angelica’s eyes flashed with rage that Erinna felt physically.

"No disrespect, Princess but get off your high horse. How many times have you killed someone?"

And that was the truth wasn't it? They had all done wrong things, they had all killed people, innocent or otherwise. She for that matter had wiped out an entire tribe off the face of the earth. The old guilt slammed back into her system and Erinna closed her eyes, gasping as she tried to get her system under control.

'Erinna?' Vlad's voice sounded in her head and she breathed, grasping onto it like a life line.

He had no light to offer her but just his presence and love was enough to command the shadows and chase them away. She held onto it and allowed their bond to lend her the warmth that was quickly seeping out of her.

‘Vlad,’ she breathed out.

She was so out it that she was no longer sure if she was actually talking to him physically or telepathically.

‘What happened? What’s wrong? Where are you?’

‘Talk to me. Talk to me please,’ she begged him, her hands going to her temples to quiet the Silvercrest screams that she was suddenly hearing as if it was yesterday.

Mara had assured her that the cleansing ceremony that they had done together with Deacon had removed her victims auras from her system but it did not take away the memories and right then her own mind was working against her. She needed a distraction.

‘Can I describe Angelica’s coming death to you in great and excruciating detail?’ He asked.

It was the wrong to say but the morbid humor was so characteristic of Vlad that for a moment, Erinna was distracted from her head and laughed. When she stopped, the screams were gone.