Donovan's eyes subtly narrowed while still holding a twinkle in them. Roman stared back at the Elder vampire with a look of indifference, but Donovan knew Roman well. It was the murderous look in his eyes as they smouldered in anger.

  "What do you want to know?" questioned Roman, his eyes slightly cautious, and Donovan started to tell……

  "How about you tell me if you know why the girl's cupboard smelt very similar to how this feather smells?" questioned Elder Donovan, his red eyes keenly looking at Julie, who seemed like she was fast asleep. Her heartbeat was calm and peaceful.

  The feather in Donovan's hand quickly turned itself into a cloud of smoke that dispersed into the air of where he sat. Roman's ability wasn't as same as his maker, but it was close as the ability was derived from him. Where Donovan could engulf things into smoke, Roman could burn things instead.

  Roman already knew that one day Donovan would get a whiff of who Julie was…… Because of the Corvin's carelessness of showing itself to Griffin in the dungeon.

  Roman cooly said, "You forget that before the dorm got assigned to her, it once belonged to me. I still have some things of mine in there that weren't shifted. Because I didn't know Dante was going to put a new student in there."

  Donovan's head tilted to the side, his eyes subtly narrowing at Roman, "Ironic that you fell for the same human who ended up there."

  "Must be fate," Roman remarked, and Donovan's lips twitched.

  "Fate can be bent and changed, Rome. I am sure you are already aware of it. Once upon a time, people of this very place thought they were going to continue living their human lives in peace, but instead, some died, while some live as vampires now," stated Donovan, his eyes narrowed, and he continued, "Don't play me for a fool. You might have done it once, but if you cannot tell me the truth, I don't think I can keep my word. Not to mention, I can tell that your body is still weak and it is trying to recover from all that harm from the gunshot."

  Roman glared at Donovan, "Julie has nothing to do with this or you."

  "Maybe," remarked Donovan, and then he said, "But she has something to do with you, and that concerns me. So what is going on? Because it wasn't just from her cupboard, I thought I smelt something very familiar, but it has been a while since I walked past the Willow Creek to understand it had the same smell. Something very earthy, like the smell of wet soil. Are you sure she's not hiding something from you?"

  "If you didn't find anything when you were at the dorm, probably not," responded Roman, and he could tell that Donovan's curiosity only piqued.

  When Donovan raised his hand, the black smoke appeared, and Roman stood up, ready to deflect it. But before he could do anything, the black-cloaked creature appeared in between them, the Corvin, held a bone-like staff in its hand.

  Donovan stared at the Corvin, and the corner of his lips pulled up, "My my. Look at what we have here," his eyes shone for a second before the expression on his face turned dangerous. "So it is true. The Corvin doesn't show up until its master is in danger," and his eyes fell on Julie, who was asleep.

  Roman got pissed both at Donovan as well as the Corvin for not knowing when to do what and doing whatever they pleased.

  "I thought I taught you better than this, Rome," said Donovan, his eyes turning darker, and so did Roman's eyes. "I would have considered her, if she was a human, but you picked someone far worse. A witch."

  Roman's eyes narrowed, and he said, "You are overreacting, Azazel."

  "I am overreacting?" questioned Donovan, raising his eyebrows at Roman. A scowl appeared on his face, and he said, "You chose to fall in love with a witch.? Do you think she won't hunt you down and kill you if you don't kill her first?"

  "We are no longer living in the period you once belonged to. Julie didn't have a clue until a few days ago, before this thing showed up," Roman jerked his head towards the Corvin,? who looked like it was ready to strike the Elder at any moment. Roman's hand moved as if he was ready to deflect Donovan's attack if he were to attack Julie.

  Donovan stared at Roman and then at Julie, "That cannot be."

  "It is what it is," stated Roman and a flame appeared in his hand when he had raised it. "We can do this two ways. Either we speak or fight, but that doesn't mean it will end well with the second option."

  "Isn't that wonderful," stated Donovan, "It looks like I have the perfect reason to kill her now. If there's one thing I despise, it's the witches, and they despise us, too. So it is equal."

  "I think you are forgetting something," Roman said, and Donovan's already narrowed eyes glared at the boy, who was supposed to be on his side. "And what is that?"

  "You aren't the person who was in love with her, but it was me. Which means I am the one who will be living with her, and your opinion holds no value in this matter," stated Roman, and he moved to Julie's side as if to protect her.

  "I am very much intrigued by it now," said Donovan, and he brought his hand forward for the smoke to increase in its density. The smoke looked nothing less than a dark cloud that would soon bring out lightning to electrocute someone.

  Roman's eyes turned serious, and he pointed out, "For someone who said you will keep your word, how disgraceful of you to change it."

  "Unfortunately, I turned into a vampire and my values went downhill," retorted Donovan, where his eyes fixed on the witch, who continued to lay unconscious. "Since I woke up, my word now comes with terms and conditions, especially when it involves a witch. Trust me, I am doing you a favor."

  "And I asked for none," stated Roman, the flame in his hand turned brighter, and it was enough to brighten the entire room where the lights had earlier been turned off. "You can take back that favour of yours and pour it on someone else. I have no interest in it."

  "What a rude brat you turned out to be, not to mention unfilial," commented Donovan.

  "I took it from my maker. Probably my terms and conditions changed too once I turned into a vampire," Roman threw back the same line, and he could tell it was nothing less than stepping on Donovan's nerve.

  And if it was someone else, Donovan would have killed the person right after torturing, but Roman had always occupied a soft corner because of his unfiltered behaviour.

  "Julie hasn't caused any harm," Roman didn't know if he would be able to talk sense to the Elder. "And if something happens, it is on me."

  Donovan quickly disappeared from the spot he was standing in, and he appeared near Julie's head. At the same speed, Roman's hand moved towards the Elder's chest, "Stay away from her. I won't say it again."

  The Elder's hand had already moved near Julie's neck as if he was ready to squeeze the very life of her, "I am only checking her pulse," said the vampire, and Roman's eyes narrowed at Donovan. "I might not kill her because of the word I gave you, but I will never accept the kind she is."

  "What doesn't seem precious to you, is precious to me. So you either accept it, or you can move to the side, because I don't care," came Roman's words.

  Donovan had killed many people in the past who had gone against him, far worse than one could imagine. And even though he did it, he was the Elder vampire with specific values, one of them was not going back on his word. Donovan gritted his teeth at the thought that he had thoughtlessly given his word to Roman. But that didn't mean there was no other way to fix it.

  "Do you want her to turn into someone without a family, Rome? No parents, no uncle, no aunt and no cousin," Donovan felt the pulse of the girl, and he stared at her. Who would have thought that a witch was living in Veteris.

  Donovan's threatening words caught Roman's attention. The Elder vampire continued, "She might be swayed by her feelings for you, because she's more humane than how you are. But you should already know how it feels, to lose your entire family and the pain that comes after it. Do you want her to suffer and go through the same fate as you did? How heartless."

  "Keep her family out of this," warned Roman, and the smile on Donovan's lips returned.

  "Precious to her, aren't they? Even if I don't do anything to her, do you think the others would be happy about her being here or even existing?" questioned Donovan and the smoke that had followed behind him disappeared.

  All this while, the Corvin stood nearby, with its staff pointed at the Elder vampire, and Donovan took a look at the Corvin's cloak, his face scrunching in pure distaste at the thought that he had earlier worn something that belonged to this.

  "Then you don't speak about it," Roman tried to bait Donovan, "Not everyone is as quick and smart as how you are, to catch up on something like this. They are usually wrapped up in their own conceited self to notice something as silly as this."

  "I am not sure if you are praising me or insulting the older vampires," Donovan passed a subtle glare to Roman before he smiled to say, "I knew there was something very funny with the way the cloak smelt when I was in the room. Break it off with the witch."

  "In your dreams," deadpanned Roman.

  "It is either you leave her, or you can keep her while she learns how you were the reason for her only family to be dead. She's not going to stay here, not when I am here," Donovan was firm with his words. "None of us likes the witches. We have been up against each other for years. Getting the abilities in the past was a way of keeping peace between the two, but that went downhill."

  Donovan's eyes then fell on Roman's hand, the golden flame holding a tint of blue outline to it, and it reflected the intense power the younger vampire held in his body.

  "That shouldn't be a problem, should it? I will take her away from here with me," replied Roman, the solution coming out to be simple.

  "Now that would be possible if you didn't make a deal with me, which you are yet to fulfil," there was a faint smile on Donovan's lips as if he was up to no good. "You cannot expect me to keep my word, when you don't keep yours."

  Roman's eyes shifted from Donovan to look at Julie, who still hadn't regained her consciousness. Maybe if his heart had not started to be affected by the silver that had been heavily running in his veins, Julie would have been able to face the Elder, depending on how strong or weak the vampire was, but right now, she wasn't in the condition to protect herself.

  "I never said I wouldn't complete it," said Roman, the flame extinguishing from his hand and by placing his hand on Julie's face, he caressed it.

  "Great!" Donovan clapped his hands together, excited about what they were going to do together. "We were planning to attack the hunters sooner, and now that I think about it, why not today? Let me tell the others about it, so that everyone's ready." His eyes then fell on Julie, and he said, "She will be alright, considering she has the creature with her."

  Roman clenched his fists. He didn't want Julie hurt, and to stop his heart from corrupting itself, she had tried to take it into her, which left her exhausted.

  "You won't bring up anything you know about her," said Roman, and Donovan nodded his head.

  "Sure. But if the others find it out by themselves…… The best advice I can give here is, break her heart and send her away from Veteris, and run as far as she can to stay away from the vampires. Because you never know who is going to hunt her down," Donovan's eyes sparkled.

  The deal with Donovan was nothing less than a double-edged sword, but Roman was willing to walk on it for Julie.

  "I will see you outside," Donovan then stepped outside the infirmary room, and the Corvin waited for a while before the staff from its wooden hand disappeared.

  "You really had to blow her cover, didn't you?" Roman glared at the Corvin, as its bad decision had dragged Julie into light.

  'Vampire hurt her. I kill,' replied the Corvin and Roman checked Julie's neck to make sure the Elder had made no marks on her skin.

  "You seriously think that you would be able to take him down? To think like that when your body is unstable," Roman turned back to look at it. "Donovan was only testing to see if you would show up or not and you did. Now Julie's under his radar thanks to you. I could have built a story around to divert him."

  The Corvin stayed quiet, staring at him and then it moved its bird head to look at Julie, whose consciousness had still not returned.

  "Julie said you were not going to lurk in the forest. What are you doing here?" Roman questioned the Corvin.

  'Felt danger. Came here,' said the Corvin. 'She hurt?'

  Roman pursed his lips, watching Julie rest, and he ran his fingers through his hair in slight frustration. "Do you know what happened to her?" he asked because he doubted a regular doctor could help Julie.

  The Corvin moved its body and came to stand next to Julie's bed. Bringing its bony hands, it swept it across Julie's head before settling it there. After a few seconds, it said,

  'Absorbed pain,' and the creature turned to look at Roman. It said, 'Your heart hollow and dark. Why?'

  Roman's jaw subtly clenched, but he didn't react more than that. He said, "Stay here with her."

  At the same time, Simon and Olivia came near the room's door, where Donovan had left it open. Olivia looked worried, and she quickly made her way to where Roman was, noticing Julie lying on the bed.

  "Did Donovan do something?" asked Simon, not knowing what had happened in the matter of a few minutes.

  "Almost," replied Roman, and he then looked at Olivia and said, "I want you to make sure no one comes here. Keep her safe for me, Liv. Can you do that?"

  Olivia stared at Roman, trying to find an answer before she nodded her head, "Okay. I will stay here. But where are you going?" she asked him with a frown on her forehead.

  "Donovan wants to attack the hunters who are nearby," said Roman with a straight face.

  "He must be joking," said Olivia, the frown on her face deepening. "You got shot with a different kind of bullet and Isolde would not recommend you going out in this state."

  "It's his word against Isolde," said Roman, and he pulled the blanket to put it over Julie. "Take care of her for me," he told her, as Simon would be put back under observation.

  Olivia was going to say something to him, but Roman had already left. She didn't know that a Corvin was staying in the room that both Olivia and Simon couldn't see.

  "This is not good," whispered Olivia, seeing Roman walk by the window and disappear from the corridor. "His heart is weak and the bullet has affected him too much. It's going to make things worse."

  "I don't think he cares about it, Liv," commented Simon, and his eyes shifted to look at the human who laid on the bed. "He cares only about one thing."

  "I know that. But he's badly injured as the bullet dissolved into his bloodstream more than it did in your body. Have you forgotten what Donovan is trying to make him do? He's pushing him to turn him into the worst vampire!" said Olivia, and Simon nodded his head. The smile that was often etched on his lips was not there. His face was serious.

  "You think Rome does not know about it. We can only hope there's not much damage caused to his body," said Simon. "And that he stays the same." While both of them knew that it would be hard to do, considering Roman's condition.

  The three Elders and their three younger vampires stood outside the mansion, away from the infirmary and near the Elders' mansion. Elder Remy had decided to stay back at Veteris instead of joining them. The headmistress and Mr. Borrell stood there, where Ms. Dante said,

  "As discussed, all of you will be splitting into three teams. From the information that was gathered, the hunters will be out in a few minutes, roaming near the edge of the forest to hunt down the vampires. Borrell will be leading you to the spot from where you can take your position."

  "Do you know how many hunters we are going to come across tonight?" questioned Castiel.

  "Around fifteen or twenty, Elder Castiel," answered Mr. Borrell, and then he said, "News is that they are trying to move into this side of the land to catch hold of the vampires, placing traps to catch the night creatures."

  "Twenty fragile humans will be easy to kill. We should be done in five minutes," harrumphed Luciano. "I don't see why there's a need for so many people to go in there."

  "Catching the hunters isn't as easy as it used to be, Elder Luciano," stated Ms. Dante, giving them the required knowledge as she wasn't going to go with them. "The kind of weapons they have—"

  "There's nothing that can stop the Elder vampires, Eloise," Luciano interrupted, moving his eyes to look at the headmistress, who stared back at him. "We aren't ordinary vampires and instead, we have abilities and strength that is greater than the rest. How about instead of wasting time, we go ahead and finish this?"

  Ms. Dante pursed her lips before she said, "The vehicles are waiting for everyone to take you out of here."

  "Good," Luciano started to walk away from there, and Griffin was quick to follow the Elder vampire.

  Dante stared at Luciano's back from behind. She pursed her lips, wondering if there would be a day when she would make the Elder vampire eat his words for being this arrogant. She turned to look at the others, where Castiel offered her a smile. She quickly looked away to meet Donovan's eyes.

  Donovan said, "Luciano is right, we have abilities and it won't be that difficult to catch those hunters and to bring them here to turn them into our own kind. What better punishment than turning them into the kind that they despise?" Even he started to walk, following the same path where Elder Luciano went with Griffin.

  At the same time, Ms. Piper appeared where they stood. Roman noticed her holding a gun.

  "You're coming too?" questioned Roman, staring at Ms. Piper, who smiled at him.

  "The more the merrier," said Ms. Piper, before turning her head to look at the headmistress. "I have made all the arrangements and the weapons have been loaded in the cupboard."

  "Thank you, Piper. At least we know if an attack does happen, we will be prepared with even less people in here," stated Ms. Dante.

  "What are you preparing the weapons for?" asked Maximus, raising his eyebrows.

  "It is only for precaution, Maxi," said Castiel, placing a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "For so long the hunters haven't found out about this place, and with the recent activities that took place tonight, whoever has sent that boy to study here, we don't know if someone will come looking for him. We are just being cautious."

  While Castiel and Maximus were speaking to each other about it, Ms. Dante turned her gaze to look at Roman, who had worn a clean shirt than the last time she had seen him. She asked him,

  "What are you doing here, instead of resting in bed, Roman?"

  "Donovan has a hard time parting with me," replied Roman with a dead tone.

  A grim expression appeared on the headmistress's face, and she said, "And he thinks you will be able to manage in this condition after being hit by a dissolving bullet?" Ms. Dante was baffled, wondering how many screws were loose in Donovan's head.

  "I will be fine," replied Roman, exhaling air through his lips before he started to walk away from there.

  "I will keep an eye on him and his back," said Ms. Piper, but Ms. Dante wasn't convinced that everything would go well.

  "Is there something else we need to keep a look at when we are there?" questioned Castiel looking at the headmistress and Mr. Borrell.

  "The weapons the hunters are using are advanced and it isn't like anything before. I would like to tell everyone to be careful. We have already seen how things turned with Roman and that morm," explained Ms. Dante.

  Castiel gave her a nod, "We should get going now. Remy will be here if you need any help."

  "It isn't the first time I have been here without the support of the Elders," stated Ms. Dante over Castiel's words, her features serious compared to Castiel, which was calmer, and he smiled at her.

  Giving a nod to her, everyone followed where the two Elders had disappeared to, getting into the vehicle and the vehicle left. Dante looked around the buildings and the trees where she stood, and she raised her hand for one of the nearby guards to appear. She ordered,

  "Tighten the security, and turn on the CCTVs that are placed everywhere. I want a complete report. Even if there's a slight movement from a bird. Do you get it?"

  "Yes, milady," the man bowed his head and went to inform the other guards about it.

  Back in the infirmary, Doctor Isolde visited Simon's room to see it was empty, and when she went to see Roman, he was missing. She found Olivia, Simon and a human girl in there. "Why do I get the vampires as my patients when they aren't even going to listen to me," muttered the vampiress under her breath.

  "Rome went with Donovan," informed Simon.

  "What happened to her?" questioned Isolde when she entered the room, and her eyes fell on Julie, who continued to stay unconscious.

  "She's probably tired. I will take care of things here, Isolde," replied Olivia.

  "Simon, I would prefer you to take a rest in your own room so that I can monitor what's going on in your body," said the older vampiress and Simon offered her a smile.

  "I think I'm doing pretty great and it's quite boring to stay in the room by myself," replied Simon in a relaxed tone.

  "Do you think I care if you are bored or not? Next time avoid getting shot," Isolde scolded him and jerked her head in the direction of the corridor, and the vampire sighed.

  "I guess I will have to leave Olivia here all by herself with the girl," said Simon, giving Olivia a look before following the doctor outside the room.

  While Olivia stayed in the room, she watched Julie's face, which was calm and relaxed. Her breathing was low, and to make sure she was fine, the vampiress placed her hand on Julie's neck. Her eyebrows furrowed.

  "Why is your body temperature cold?" asked Olivia. She tucked the girl properly with the blanket that was provided for the patients in the infirmary rooms.

  Walking towards the window, she drew the curtains closed, and when she turned, she saw Elder Remy walking in the corridor. Olivia quickly walked towards the door, and she met him there.

  "You haven't gone to the Dormitorium to sleep yet?" asked the Elder vampire, his expression holding slight boredom as if he didn't want to be bothered, as he was here making a quick round.

  "I am looking after one of the patients," replied Olivia, and the man gave her a nod. "Did you see the reports that Isolde got so far?"

  "I don't think I have. I was with Luciano to check something. Now that they are gone, finally there is peace around here," replied Remy, and he then asked her, "What is it?"

  Olivia looked a little worried, and she asked, "Roman didn't seem like himself. Is it because of the silver?"

  Elder Remy stared at her with his calm expression, and he said, "Silver often affects a vampire's body, but I will need to see what else is in there. Do you know where these reports are?"

  Olivia turned to look at Julie, where she was safely sleeping. And the room she had to lead the Elder was in the same corridor. She said, "Let me go and get them for you."

  "Mm, I will come with you," said the Elder vampire. Olivia pulled the door of the room and closed it so that no one by mistake would come to disturb Julie.

  A minute passed, and someone walked into the corridor, walking towards the room where Julie was resting. The uninvited person opened the door of the room, entered the room. Walking towards the bed where Julie laid.

  When the person approached closer, a bone-like staff came in between, stopping the person from getting near to where the girl lay.

  The person was none other than Veteris' Counsellor, Mr. Evans. His eyes moved up to look at the length of the boney staff. He saw the creature with its black robe and head, which was bird-like.

  'Evans,' the Corvin spoke in its raspy voice and put its staff down. 'Sullivan Evans.'