I was surrounded by traitors! How dare this feeble little bastard raise an army of his own and instigate a revolt against me? Didn’t he cherish his dear life enough to mess with me? It was then, Anton and three more of my guards came to me in the courtyard with two hostages.

“Sire, these two belong to his army. We caught them lurking around and talking to the peasants,” and Anton threw one of them on his knees by my feet. I was so enraged I grabbed him by his hair pulling his head up to face me making him yelp in pain, and I didn’t get the frightened look I was expecting, what it made me even more ravenous for blood.

“What’s your pitiful master planning against me?” I yelled at him pulling harder on his hair almost ripping out of his skull.

“I don’t care what you do to me, I’m already dead. Do whatever you want, because you’re getting nothing out of me,” he spitted every word in defiance. I had to control myself not to break his neck right there.

“Maybe you'll think differently when sliding on a stake,” I threw him out of my way and I walked to the other one in custody.

“How do you want your death, sudden or excruciatingly painful?” I growled at him.

“I don’t wanna die, sir,” the man whined like a girl, as every army had its cowards, that was a real fact not even mine was spared from.

“But you will, and how it’s going to happen depends on if you will tell me what I want to know. I’m aware of that bastard is one of the stupid followers of the long dead Alexandru, and he has been conspiring to take me down. So… What’s your master planning against me? ” I repeated the question and I hated to repeat myself.

“I don’t know, sir. We just followed orders, but what I do know they are coming for you in the next few days,” the coward was trembling head to toe.

“I don’t follow orders, I follow my beliefs and I hope they get the world rid of you!” the braver one screamed at us, while the other recoiled and averted his gaze.

“Anton, take him and make it painful!” I said in a low, dark, barely controlled voice. “And for this one, make it quick. We have an ambush to prepare.”

It was then, watching the men being dragged away to their doom, I felt the hair on the back of my neck rise and a shiver run up my spine, slowly I turned to find two huge lavender orbs on me, and I didn’t like what I saw in them. I ran to her not breaking eye contact holding her glare at me.

“What are you doing here, Alizandra? You’re not supposed to be here!” I yelled at her. Bad mistake, the glare changed to hurt, and she averted her gaze shivering. I shouldn’t have done that, I know. It was a reflective act, I was pissed and she was just in the way. “I’m sorry, I snapped at you,” I apologized as soon as I reached her. That was not the way I wanted her to wake up to after what we shared, this was all wrong! Damn it!

“If I’m not a hostage why can’t I roam freely around the castle?” she hissed at me. “I heard screams and yells, I worried about you!” and she shied away going back inside, but I was on her before she knew it, grabbing her from behind and taking her to our room.

She stiffened in my arms and didn’t move. Her whole body trembled against mine and I came to realize I had frightened her, and I didn’t like it one bit.

“Liz, I’m sorry. This is all new. I’m not used to having someone caring about me.” I was being sincere and I hoped she understood. “Please, don’t be afraid of me,” her back was glued to my chest and I spread my fingers on top of her beating heart, and her body became pliant against mine. “I don’t want these erratic beats to be out of fear of me, I want them to be out of passion and love.” I whispered in her ear, and my warm breath on her neck caused her to shiver. I heard the intake of her breath and a moan slipped out of her mouth when I cupped her breast, and she surrendered herself to me.

“What’s going to happen to them?” she voiced her question in a low gasp.

“That’s not for you to worry, Liz.”

“Where are the people who worked here?” I picked up the concerned note in her voice. She cared about them, and she made no distinction whatsoever if they were enemies, traitors, assailants, she didn’t care, for her they were all people deserving a second chance, and I didn’t understand why God put her in the path of such a sinner like me, and God forgive my damned soul, but I would never have the courage to set her free.

“Everything is finished, so I let them go,” I deliberately lied to her. She didn’t need to know and see everything, was I wrong? Probably, but I didn’t want her upset, so yes, I lied. No, I didn’t feel comfortable doing it, but I didn’t know what else to do. I still held her against me and the only thing I craved for was to bury myself in her body and let her light bathe my darkened soul.

I startled her, when abruptly I turned her to face me. Her wide lavender eyes searching my semblance reading my emotions, and when she palmed my face I took her lips with the passion that was eating me alive, I kissed her with the same strength as the storm raging inside me, I broke from her and left a string of soft kisses from her mouth to her breasts on that delicate and enticing skin. We were breathless and her soft breathy sounds traveled through my veins and settled in my pulsing groin. I grabbed her buttocks pressing her to me, so she felt how hard I was for her and raising her from the ground she crossed her legs around my waist holding tight to me and that was my cue to take her back to bed.

Panting and sweating, we were entangled in each other’s arms, and I could feel her heart beating wild against mine exactly how it was supposed to do.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you. Please don’t ever fear me. I would never hurt you.”

“Maybe not physically, but you can’t promise you won’t break my heart.” she muttered hiding her face in my chest. I heard the hint of hurt in her tone, as the same time the acceptance in her voice scared me the most, like she knew it was going to happen in the future.

“What do I have to do for you to trust me?” she stared at me, her gaze on my eyes searching inside them for a soul I didn't dare to tell her it was gone, and I wasn’t prepared to hear what she confessed to me.

“Give yourself fully to me. Don’t hide yourself from me. If you want me to understand you, you have to let me into your world, even if it means to see all the violence you are capable of, but also all the cruelty you have to see or endure,” she cupped my face and tenderly kissed my strained lips. How? How could I let her have even a small peek inside the carnage of my world? It would break not only her heart, but also her soul. The silence became heavy and she waited for my answer.

“Vlad?” God! It was a tough call, I really felt cornered. For the first time in my life I didn’t know what to do. I wished I was in the field chopping off limbs far way easier.

“I don’t know, but one thing you must understand. What ever my means, I do to free my people from the sultan’s sovereignty, and I’m not going to lie to you, they killed my family and kidnapped Radu and I. We were raised by them and my youngest brother fell for their charms becoming one of them now, and for that I will never forgive those infidels. Never!”

“There must be other ways, because you’re destroying yourself in the process.”

“Liz, if I’m powerful and strong at my own home I’m able to do as I wish, but if I show weakness, another stronger than I will overpower me and do whatever he wishes. Do you understand now, why I have to do what I do?”