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nAfter everyone fell asleep at the time of midnight in the Delcrov mansion except for three people- Lord Alexander, who was out in the garden with a cigar lit in his hand, the butler, Martin who walked through the floors like a ghost, Nicholas walked across the grassy gardened floors with his hands in his trousers. Alexander had never been fond of Nicholas before not that he was now. The man was cunning in every possible way due to which he usually didn’t indulge in what the lord of Bonelake did. Lord Nicholas had not only helped him in the fight that took place in Mythweald against the witches but he had also made sure to keep tabs on his wife Katherine when she was sent to the South. He was grateful for it.

nAlexander offered a fresh cigar from his pocket to hand it over to Nicholas. Nicholas lit it with the already burning cigar in front of him, “How long did Heidi stay in the establishment?”

n“Close to an year in the beginning and a week later. Why do you ask?”

nAlexander blew out the smoke which he had dragged into his mouth, “I touched her soul when I was trying to remove the mark on her skin. I need to talk about it.”

n“I am aware. You wouldn’t have gone so quiet and cold suddenly. What about the soul?” Nicholas questioned calmly, waiting for the man to speak.

n“Nicholas, a soul is a very important essence and without them, the body is nothing but an empty vessel. Consider it like a beautiful vase. When it’s broken it is fixed. Some vases are sturdy but some are created fragile as a feather. If that fragile vase is broken and mended, repeating over and over, it doesn’t stay the same.” Nicholas frowned at Alexander’s words, “She is fine but her soul has been corrupted.”

n“Fix it then,” said Nicholas without any hesitation.

n“I cannot. Even if I did try, it might turn for the worse,” Alexander sighed with regret, “Her soul is corrupted. There are high chances of her not turning right. I am sorry, Nicholas but you cannot turn her to one of us.”

n“Find another way. There should be one. You want me to keep her human,” Nicholas murmured before a smile broke on his face, “Are you joking?” he faced Alexander.

n“I am not. If you want her alive and breathing where you don’t want killing her yourself then I request you not to do anything. I don’t think the soul bond will cause your death. because of your bloodline, you are a different kind that what we are or I am so you will survive.”

n“You are asking me to let her die,” Nicholas narrowed his eyes, dropping the cigar on the ground and putting it out.

n“I am asking you to let her live for some more time. There is a difference.”

n“What about what you did with Katherine? You never turned her.”

n“I am able to keep her as an immortal human because of who I am. I shared part of my soul with her using my own blood. Heidi’s soul right now isn’t the same,” Alexander explained looking at the moonless sky, “Mending souls have never been practiced. Not even by the black witches. If it was so easy, the council would never ask the deranged vampires which were turned to be killed. No one would have to kill their loved ones.”

nNicholas walked on the grass and bent down to pick a small flower which had fallen from the tree it was part. Neither of the men spoke until Nicholas decided to leave, “I am heading back,” letting the flower fall from his hand as he waslked, he went back to the guestroom where Heidi was fast asleep. After having breakfast with the Delcrov’s, Heidi and Nicholas headed back on their way to Bonelake in the Rune mansion. Both Nicholas and Heidi made small stops so that they could tour around the town before getting back home.

nThe dark clouds that had taken home above the lands of Bonelake time by time, now lit up with light growl of thunder and lighting inside them, awaiting the right time to pour down the burdens it had been carrying within itself. Heidi stood outside the balcony, she pulled her hair to one side as it flied in the direction of where the wind moved. She took in a deep breath of the fresh air, the smell of wet mud she had grown accustomed to.

nSince they had arrived back from Valeria, she sensed something bothering Nicholas. With years she had learnt to respect peoples space and it was one of the reason why she didn’t pester him on what was going inside his mind. Two pairs of muscular arms came on either side of her before she was pulled back carefully. Talk about the devil. Heidi smiled feeling Nicholas’ lips on her neck, one kiss following another like footsteps of a cat’s paws across the side of her neck.

n“What are you doing here? You will catch a cold,” softly swaying her in his arms as if the wind was a beautiful music.

n“You will nurse me back to health,” Heidi responded, confident that he would take care of her.

n“That I will. Stanley brought new equipment to his room, there might be needles we can use,” he teased her to see her shake her head, and she then heard him sigh as he buried his head in between the crook of her neck, “Stay just like this,” at his words, she tightened her arms on his so that it was locked securely.

n“It is going to rain heavily,”she commented, lightning in the clouds peeking out in the sky.

n“It’s Bonelake darling. This is just the beginning of the actual rain. Timothy gave us two tickets to the theater. Would you like to go?” he asked being considerate. Turning around while still in his arms, she looked up to gaze into his eyes. His maroon eyes reflected back her reflection.

n“You have been a little distant. Did something happen?”

nNicholas smiled, “Is it that evident?” She nodded, continuing to look at him, the smile turning smaller and smaller until it wasn’t there anymore. He closed his eyes for a second before opening it to speak,

n“Alexander is a dark witch come vampire, a rare one at it. He holds ability which are rare like mine,” he turned his face to look at the clouds, “When he touched your hand that day, he felt your soul has been damaged. People having those kind of souls don’t have the strength to handle the transition from human to half vampires because there are high chance of-”

n“Me turning to a bat crazy vampire,” completed Heidi.

nShe had read about souls during her studies with Stanley and she understood what he was talking about. If what Nicholas said to her was true, then that meant she had only human years to spend with him. Rain had begun to pour down from the sky, thunder and lightning striking down. If it was something they couldn’t do there was no point worrying about it because worrying would do no good to either of them. She wanted to spend all her waking and sleeping hours with him. Make enough memories so that she wouldn’t regret.

n“You will be married to a grandmother,” she frowned in worry. Nicholas chuckled softly, “Is that what worries you?”

n“Didn’t I swear that I will accept you however you are? In any and every form you can give yourself to me. I will continue loving you the same way I have since I fell in love with you. Even after death,” he whispered.

n“Then we shouldn’t be wasting time. Let’s make most of what we have,” she spoke cheerfully trying to cheer him up. Heidi stood on her toes, staring at him as she tried leveling to his height and touched her lips on his. His hand making way to her back, pressing her closer such that her body arched into him.

n“Hold me tonight,” the words she whispered was sweet on his lips. Nicholas ran his thumb over her bottom plum lip, a smile playing on his lips, “That was the plan. Today and every night,” until time stops, he said it to himself.

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