Weak sunlight greeted me as we stepped outside.

Around the fort lay a broad stone path, covered by a decorative, arched, stone patio. We had ended up on one of the sides of the fortress. In front of me, a lawn stretched out toward what seemed to be the training grounds behind the fort. Near the high outer wall, the lawn became a patch of dirt, planted with what might have been birch or aspen trees and willow bushes.

On the side of the fort entrance, another lawn had been planted. The path surrounded the lawn and led to two benches situated close to the wall. The thick, stone barrier between the fort and the city must have been at least four meters high.

Next to the benches, rose bushes were growing against the wall. Unlike the rest of the world, they were still in the prime of flowering, and white roses covered most of the stone.

As if someone had decided roses in autumn wasn’t unusual enough, there was another dirt patch in the middle of the corner lawn. On one side, a young larch was growing. Based on the symmetry of the rest of the garden, one would expect another tree on the other side of the patch, but it was empty.

Nikolai noticed my bewilderment. ‘It’s not a tree.’

I looked at him and back at what was obviously a tree.

He continued: ‘It’s actually a treant. It has a slight case of ADHD and was causing trouble by moving around so much. The owners of the houses around it were getting desperate from having to fix their homes, so we let it move in here. He can run around as much as he wants in here.’

The tree didn’t move.

I looked at Nikolai again, this time with a raised eyebrow.

‘Well, you know treants, they move so slowly we don’t really notice. But he’ll have moved considerably by tomorrow, you’ll see.’

He was dead serious.

I looked at the tree again. The wind ruffled its needles.

Nikolai continued walking around the lawn, towards one of the benches. He sat down, stretched his legs and took a deep breath.

I sat down next to him.

‘I gotta say, moonbeam, babysitting you isn’t too bad a job.’ He looked at the other end of the garden, where we could see some Guardsmen training in the distance.

I studied the roses. ‘How come these are still blooming? Actually, how come these grow here at all?’

‘That’s all Aoife. She’s a spring fey, and has green fingers in a slightly more literal sense. Speaking of the Vernals, did you notice Sasha’s eyes are the same green? His father is a spring faerie as well, not a vampire like his mother. He hasn’t inherited much of his father’s line, though.’

I looked at him again. He yawned.

‘What about you?’ I asked. He turned his head toward me.

‘Me? There’s not much to say. Both my parents are lower ranked Draugr. I was lucky to inherit the best of both of them, which made me eligible to become part of the Guard. They don’t accept weak-blooded, in order for everyone to have the opportunity to rise through the ranks. I’m my family’s pride and joy.’

He chuckled.

‘Oh, Draugr are vampires with limited magical capabilities. We make up for it with physical prowess, though.’ He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

‘And you, little one. What made you decide to dive through a portal in pursuit of a vampire?’

I looked to the ground. ‘I didn’t really… think it through.’

‘You don’t say,’ he said with a smile.

I was about to tell him to go suck on a lollipop, when he spoke again.

‘Sasha and I would appreciate it if we could take a look at your sword. If that’s alright with you.’

I grabbed the silver pendant that was hanging around my neck.

‘Sure, just give me a sec.’

Nikolai scratched the back of his neck. ‘Yeah, about that… we already tried to remove it, but there doesn’t seem to be a lock.’

I looked at him. ‘Weren’t you the ones that put it around my neck in the first place?’

He stared at me for a moment. ‘You were already wearing it when we found you. Aoife wanted to take it off to make it easier to treat your neck, but we couldn’t figure out how to do that without destroying the chain.’

I rotated the necklace all the way round, but Nikolai was right. There was no clasp.

‘How is your neck, by the way?’ he asked.

I moved my shoulders in a circle. The pain had decreased significantly compared to when I was just bitten, but the wound still hurt a little when I moved.

‘Better, thank you. I’m really grateful for how much care I’ve received.’

Nikolai put a hand on my head. ‘No need. We didn’t do much anyway. And we still have to find your friend, as promised.’

I remembered the incident with the glass.

‘I was wondering, didn’t you use magic to heal my face and hands? Was the wound on my neck too severe?’

Nikolai raised an eyebrow. ‘There was nothing wrong with your face when we found you. Or your hands. We cleaned your neck the moment we found you; most vampire’s saliva prevents clotting, so it was important to fix that before you bled out. You healed remarkably quickly after that, so we just covered the wound and had Aoife apply a fresh bandage after she washed you.’

I looked at him, dumbfounded. What had happened in that forest?

Before we could discuss the strange events further, we heard people arguing.

‘AUCH! I told you to open it inside the building, not here out on the street!’ The woman continued hissing for a little while.

‘Calm down.’ A man’s voice. ‘If you don’t keep quiet you’ll alarm them.’

‘Easy for you to say! Your hand didn’t get nearly burned off!’

The voices had come from outside the fortress.

I looked at Nikolai. He was looking in the direction of the sound with a frown on his face. The two either continued talking in hushed tones, or had moved away, because we no longer could discern what they were saying. Well, I couldn’t. Nikolai seemed more wary with each passing second.

He got up and moved towards the wall. Apparently he couldn’t hear clearly anymore either, because he cussed.

‘The wall is blocking their voices, but we don’t have time to get back to the entrance. They sound like they’re up to no good, but at this rate we won’t even get to see their faces.’ He cussed again.

I looked around for something that we could climb. There was only one option. The treant.

I ran the few paces towards the big conifer. Lucky for me, the young tree still had branches low enough for me to reach, and the late time of the year meant most needles had fallen off already. It took me a little while to get up there, but I managed to get high enough in time.

Nikolai tried to climb up as well, but for some reason kept falling down.

From the top of the treant, it was easy to look over the wall. And the rest of the city. I didn’t take the time to enjoy the view, though. I spotted a pale man and woman in an alleyway across the street. The woman was still rubbing her arm. That must be them.

‘They’re still quarreling.’

I also noticed a third person. He was wearing familiar armor. ‘I think there’s a Guardsman with them.’

The man didn’t seem very interested in trying to stop them. I could only see his back, but he didn’t seem to be moving much at all.

‘He’s standing awfully still.’

The pale man said something to the woman, and she turned her attention towards the guard. Some intense staring followed, before she opened her mouth as well.

‘The woman is staring at him. Now the man is handing him something. I think she just spoke to him.’

Suddenly, I lost my footing. Apparently, the treant had had enough.

Nikolai managed to catch me, although it wasn’t a very elegant save. He fell over, and we hit the ground.

Before I could say something, Nikolai ran inside the fortress.

I tried to follow after him, but it was impossible for me to keep up with the tall, well-trained warrior. I lost sight of him when he entered the Grand hall, but could see him leave the fortress entree through the windows of the hall.

He shouted something at the people guarding the gate. They opened it just in time. Nikolai shouted something else, went around the corner and disappeared. A few of the guards followed after him. He returned minutes later, not even breathing faster than normal.

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‘They’re gone. The rest has spread out to look for them, but it’s unlikely we’ll find them without as much as a description.’ He put his hand on neck. Does he do that when he’s unsure about something?

’Did you see what they look like?’ I shook my head.

‘They were too far away.’

He sighed.

‘Well, let’s hope that whatever they’re planning isn’t anything too serious. And I need Aoife to have a talk with that treant.’ He was about to start walking, when he seemed to remember something.

‘Oh, Lynn, thanks for the help. Are you alright?’

I hadn’t noticed it earlier, but the wound on my neck was hurting worse than before and I had several scratches on my hands, as well as some sticky tree sap.

’I’m fine, just need to wash my hands.’

Nikolai didn’t seem fully convinced, but told me to wait there and left to go find Alexander. I considered trying to find the nearest bathroom on my own. However, I didn’t know my way around and Nikolai had told me to wait here. I wasn’t sure it would be appreciated if I roamed around on my own. It’d sure be nice to clean my hands, though.

The doors in the direction of Alexander’s office opened. Instead of the two men I was expecting, Nadali slithered inside. She had gotten dressed and was wearing a dress similar to the one in my closet. She looked at me to give me a greeting. When she saw me, however, her face scrunched up.

‘What in the world did you do to yourself?’

I answered sheepishly: ‘I climbed a tree.’

She looked me over once more, then turned around and held the door open for me. ‘Come on, bathroom’s this way.’

I followed after her, grateful for the help..

As we went through the hall, she rotated her upper body. Her lower body kept slithering forward.

‘Why were you in that tree anyway?’

We went into the direction of the dining room, past the Captain’s office. It sounded like the two men were still discussing what to do.

‘Nikolai and I were trying to get a look at a suspicious couple outside the fort.’

On the other side, we passed an open door that led to what I presumed was the Secondary. From the look I got, it was an impressive room, with a large table covered by numerous maps. The walls were decorated with paintings and statues of people in heroic stances, probably displaying their greatest feats.

The bathroom was just a little further. Makes sense that you’d want a bathroom close by if you’re discussing how to save the world, I guess. Men and women had separate bathrooms, indicated by two wooden signs. How unexpectedly modern.

I washed my hands. And my face. And decided I’d definitely need to wash my hair later today. And put on some clean clothing.

Alright, I was a mess. But I was now a mess with clean hands, at least.

Nadali was leaning against the open door; there wasn’t enough room for her tail otherwise. The point was playfully moving around.

‘So, you and Nikolai up in a tree, huh,’ she said.

‘Actually, we only hit the ground together. The treant wouldn’t let him up.’

She snickered. ‘Classic.’

I turned to her. ‘Nikolai wanted me to wait in the Grand hall.’

‘Then let’s get you back there,’ she answered.

We went back the way we came. The captain’s office was quiet this time. When we entered the Grand hall, Alexander, Nikolai and some more higher ranked Guardsmen were standing there. They were neatly lined up, as if they were waiting for something. My eyes met Alexander’s. He nodded at me, but then turned his attention back to the doors. Nikolai did turn towards me.

‘Ah, Lynn, I was wondering where you went.’ He nodded at Nadali. She snickered again, and he raised an eyebrow.

She tried to hold back a smile. ‘I was on my way to the garden for some peace and quiet, so I’ll leave this lady in your care, Kolya.’

Nikolai nodded. ‘The royal emissary will arrive earlier than expected. We are expecting him to arrive any moment.’

I looked at him, then looked myself over, then looked at him again. He wasn’t expecting me to meet an important emissary while looking like this, right? Right?

He hesitated before opening his mouth. ‘Not exactly the best first impression… but he’s sure to understand that it was in the line of duty.’

That did not make me feel better in the slightest. I heard the doors to the entree open. Nikolai pulled me to his side.

The imposing doors opened. A man walked through them with more grace than I’d thought possible. His sharp features, curtained by voluminous, brown hair, made me weak in the knees and his golden eyes were so enthralling I had to stop myself from falling at his feet. His aura was overwhelming to the point that I had a hard time focusing, let alone stand upright. He looked at me, and for a moment I was willing to give my life for him. He looked away and the feeling disappeared.

He approached Alexander and I could finally let out the breath I had been holding. I hadn’t been able to notice earlier, but close behind him, a man and woman of comparable, albeit less oppressive, beauty followed. The two looked remarkably similar, with warm blonde hair and striking blue eyes; siblings perhaps?

Alexander bowed to whom I assumed to be the emissary. ‘Welcome, your lordship.’

The man gave a small bow back. ‘Captain. The royal family sends their regards.’ His voice felt like a smooth caress, sending a warm through me.

The emissary looked at me again. ‘Is this her?’

Alexander seemed a little tense. ‘Yes.’

The ridiculously handsome man looked me over. ‘She seems to be in discomfort.’

I blushed, but his eyes had an unexpectedly soft look to them, so I didn’t feel too embarrassed.

‘Shall we let the lady change, before we get to business?’

Nikolai and Alexander were a little surprised, but neither objected. Alexander looked at Nikolai, who nodded in return and then turned to me.

‘Let’s not make the emissary wait too long and get you cleaned up, little one.’ He grabbed me by the shoulders and started pushing me towards the door.

I was still too stunned to object. Behind me, I heard Alexander say: ‘I suggest we go upstairs and wait in the Primary, your lordship. Matvei, please take their coats.’

Nikolai let go of my shoulders and opened the door.

We entered the corridor. Through the window, I saw a guard enter through the gates. I stopped. The man reminded me of the dazed Guardsman from before; his gait was slow and unsteady and his eyes were glazed over. He was holding a ball with intricate markings.

A voice that was not my own sounded in my head: It’s a bomb. Lethal to vampires. Grab the curtain.

The guard entered the entree.

Something came over me and I exclaimed: ‘Nikolai! Get that curtain!’

Nikolai reacted immediately, his years of training probably taking over. He jumped up in the window sill, grabbed a hidden knife and cut the curtain.

The cloth fell down and I grabbed it at the bottom end. The material was heavier than I had expected, and it took me a moment to clutch the other end. Panic was coming over me.

I ran back to the large doors.

Nikolai passed me and opened them, so I didn’t have to stop moving.

I entered the Grand hall.

The emissary and his entourage were standing on the lower steps of the stairs. Alexander and the other Guardsmen were a little further up, almost on the balcony.

The doors to the entree opened, and the dazed man slowly walked through.

‘Get down!’ I yelled.

The emissary spun around. It took him less than a blink to take in the scene; he grabbed his entourage members by the neck and pulled them to the floor. He was so fast I worried for a moment they might have broken something.

The dazed man approached the middle of the room. The ball in his hand started to glow, and I smelled burned skin.

I held up the curtain behind me like a shield, getting close to the bottom of the stairs. Just a few more paces.

The bomb went off.

Light filled the room, blinding me. The blast was ear-splitting for a single moment, then all sound disappeared. The explosion threw me into the air. As I was flying, still holding the curtain, a single thought crossed my mind:

I could not catch a break.