Lyra snuggled into Sav’s warm body, readying herself for sleep. She could hear Sav’s soft snoring as she started to drift off. But then there was another sound. Several soft footsteps, coming down the hall. And they belonged to other vampires, Lyra could feel that. She sat up in the bed and watched in horror as the door opened and five vampires entered the room. Sav woke up and looked around, feeling their presence as well.

They stared down at her and asked quietly, “Alyria?”

“Who wants to know?” Lyra asked cautiously. The oldest of the group crossed the room and backhanded her, hissing, “You will answer them!”

Sav jumped up to defend her as she sprawled across the bed, but was caught in the grip of a large male vampire. He looked to the oldest, a female, and asked, “Can I have this one? His blood smells so sweet!”

Sav trembled, fear taking him over as the female said, “No, he said we were to take any mortals with her along, but they are not to be harmed. He plans on using them to keep her in line.”

Lyra leaned up on the bed and looked at the others. Then she said evenly, “Let him go or I’ll kill as many of you as I can.”

“We won’t hurt him unless you fight us, Alyria,” the eldest said quietly. “Now, come along so we can make it to our destination before daybreak.”

Handing Sav his robe, Lyra slipped into hers and took Sav’s hand. She ran a hand over his face and said quietly, “I’ll make sure you’re okay, luv. Just do whatever they say.”

Sav nodded. Then the vampires led them out into the night. The largest of them grabbed Sav and they took to the skies. Lyra stayed close to the vampire holding Sav, flying just underneath him in case the vampire got careless and dropped him. She was so worried about Sav she couldn’t watch where they were headed.

They landed on the rooftop of an old warehouse and the vampire carrying Sav drug him into the building. Lyra had no choice but to follow to make sure they kept their word regarding him. When they reached the inside, Sav was pushed into a cage and the door slammed shut on him. Then Lyra was shown into a cage next to his, just far apart enough that they couldn’t touch each other. One of the vampires stepped into Lyra’s cage and produced a needle while another walked over to the door of Sav’s.

“If you don’t let me give you this shot, he’ll pay for it,” the eldest said quietly. Lyra’s liquid brown eyes studied Sav quietly, then rolled up her sleeve as Sav screamed, “LYRA, DON’T!”

“Shh, Sav,” Lyra said quickly. “There’s no other way right now.”

He grabbed the bars of his cage as tears rolled down his face. He was terrified what they might do to her. And she wouldn’t try to defend herself as long as they held him. They were trapped, good and proper. He watched as the shot had its affect on her and she slumped down onto the hard cot that did her for a bed. He could see the dazed look on Lyra’s face and could only wonder what they’d done to her. The feeling of her in his mind was dimmed. He finally turned to the vampire who’d just given her the shot and asked quietly, “What did you do to her?”

“It’s just something to tame the vampire in her. Takes away the strength, her bonds are weakened. It makes her even easier to control,” the eldest answered. “The real fun won’t start til tomorrow at nightfall.”

“What fun?” Sav asked suspiciously.

“You’ll see, little one,” she said slowly, then turned and left the room. Sav tried to talk to Lyra, but she was incoherent. Anger surged through him, but there was nothing he could do for her. He couldn’t even hold her and help her through it. He finally laid down on his cot and watched her, hoping against all hope she was going to be okay.

Hours later, as Lyra still sat in a daze, Sav fell asleep. The tension of their capture had finally worn him out and he couldn’t take any more, he had to sleep. He woke hours later to the sound of Lyra’s cage door being opened. The vampires gave her another shot, then drug her out of the cage and chained her against the wall. Then he saw a young man walk into the room and backhand Lyra as hard as he could. When she looked up in a daze, Sav heard her whisper uncertainly, “Dovic?”

Joe tossed and turned in bed next to Bobbi. Nightmares chased through his sleep. Lyra was hurt, chained and beaten by someone who Joe thought he remembered from somewhere. He watched in horror as the man hit her again and again. He could see bars from the cage where she’d been held. And he heard Sav screaming in the background for the man to stop. Once in a while, the man would stop and stare at her, letting other vampires feed from her limp form.

Joe screamed in his sleep as he saw hot brands being pressed into her flesh. She was so weak, she barely whimpered at the pain. Then the young man returned with a dagger. He inserted it slowly into the soft skin of her stomach and Lyra managed a soft scream at that. Sav was raging, banging against the bars as he tried to get to her.

Joe woke with a start as Bobbi shook him. The haunted look in his eyes terrified her as she whispered, “Joe, wake up! It’s just a bad dream!”

Joe looked at her without really seeing her. Lyra was almost gone from his mind. Something had muted her, keeping him from feeling her. He whispered, “You’re right, luv. You go back to sleep. I’ve got a phone call to make.”

Bobbi watched as he walked out of the room. The worry was plain to see in her eyes. She turned over and tried to get back to sleep, letting Joe deal with whatever this latest crisis was.

As soon as Joe got out the door, he took off running for the phone in his studio. He dialed Sav’s number quickly, knowing that Lyra was staying with him almost constantly at the moment. There was no answer and Joe started to panic. He paced the room until he decided to call Rick’s place, looking for Cyra.

It was late evening in California when Rick picked up the phone. He heard Joe’s voice asking for Cyra and said, “I’m sorry, Joe. She’s not here. Said she had some research to do on a new artifact she’d found, but she won’t let me come near it this time.”

“Rick, there’s something wrong with Lyra! I can’t feel her very well anymore and she and Sav aren’t at his place like they’re supposed to be,” Joe said worriedly.

“Not again!” Rick said in frustration. “What the hell’s going on now?”

“I don’t know!” Joe said and Rick could feel his panic coming through the phone lines. He tried to calm Joe down and said, “I’ll call Cyra.”

“Thanks, mate,” Joe whispered. They rang off and Joe started to pace again. He didn’t have anyway to contact the other vampires and for once regretted only sharing his blood with Lyra. He went into the studio and pounded on his keyboard, trying to put his fear and worry to the back of his mind.

Steve and Leesha could feel the problems with Lyra, but didn’t know what was going on. After much discussion, Phil and Lisel decided to fly to Ireland with Steve and Leesha. They landed outside Joe’s place a while later and hurried inside, only to find Joe still working at the keyboard. They looked at him and Steve said, “Where’s Lyra, Joe?”

“I don’t know!” Joe said and they could see a desperate look come into his eyes. “I can barely feel her and I just had the most awful dream about her!”

Just then, the phone rang. Joe almost tripped over Phil to get to it and said hurriedly, “Hello?”

“Joe, it’s Cyra. What’s going on?” Cyra asked quickly.

“She’s gone, Cyra! I can barely feel her and I think Steve and Leesha are having the same problem!” Cyra could hear the tears in his voice as he spoke. “And I’ve had a horrible dream about her!”

“Tell me about the dream, Joe,” she said calmly. He went into detail with her, telling her everything he could remember about the dream. By the time he was finished, Cyra was certain he’d seen a real event but didn’t tell him that. All she said was, “I’ll be on the next flight out.”

Lyra hung limply in her bonds, unaware of her surroundings. She was only half conscious and the vampires that surrounded her kept her heavily drugged when the young looking man wasn’t there. The only thought that crossed her mind was that her son was there and he was the one doing this to her. Something told her that couldn’t be what was happening, yet it was.

The vampire came in and crossed over to Sav’s cage. He looked down at Sav and said hatefully, “My name is Dovic. I’m sure you’ve heard it before.”

“That was Lyra’s mortal son’s name, wasn’t it,” Sav answered, tempering his voice so that Lyra wouldn’t take any more punishment on his behalf.

“Now her immortal son,” Dovic hissed. “She left me to die on that battlefield and now she’s going to pay for it.”

“She couldn’t have done anything to stop it! You’ve got to know that!” Sav replied, his voice getting louder as he saw the mad light in Dovic’s eyes.

“She could have taken me with her, like she did for my father. But she chose to live me behind,” Dovic said quickly. “Of course, you probably already know that, don’t you, Father?”

Sav slumped down on the bed and looked up at Dovic’s hate filled face. Then he asked, “So what’s going to happen to us?”

“You’ll be safe, so long as she doesn’t make any trouble for me. But, once she’s done for, I may have a little fun teaching my father what I’ve been through,” he said quietly. Sav heard the door unlock and saw Dovic come inside his cage. Dovic grabbed him roughly and said, “Here’s a sample of what the last nine hundred fifty years have been for me!”

He sank his fangs into Sav’s throat and flooded his mind with images. The boy had been used and beaten and even raped by his coven master, who liked Dovic’s young looks. Then Sav caught site of the coven master’s face and hissed, “MICHAEL!”

Dovic threw him down onto the bed and turned away, heading for the door. Sav stood up and grabbed the bars of his cage, yelling, “But she killed him!”

“And I owe her for that as well. Her coven will learn that no one can kill my master and get away with it!” Dovic answered, then slammed the door behind him. Sav sat back down, lost in confusion as he tried to figure out Dovic’s reasoning for hating Lyra. She’d killed the man who’d tortured him for centuries. How could he not be happy about that?

Cyra and Rick landed at the airport the next day and headed straight to Joe’s house. After an hour of listening to Joe and the others describe what they were feeling from her, Cyra figured out her only course of action. “Joe, I’m going to need to take a bit of your blood. Maybe that way I can follow your link with Lyra and find her.”

“Sure thing, Cyra,” Joe said quietly. Cyra pulled Joe down to her mouth and sank her fangs gently into his throat. She could see the dreams now clearly and knew for sure they were real. And she could get a direction on Lyra’s location. Joe sat down as she turned to Steve and said, “Now, I’ll need yours and Leesha’s as well, luv.”

She took blood from each of them, the bond to Lyra getting stronger with each taste of linked blood. Then she walked slowly outside and turned around in a circle to pinpoint Lyra’s direction. The others followed her outside just as she jumped up into the sky. Phil turned to Joe and said quietly, “We’ll bring her back, mate. Just try to rest for now.”

Then the other four vampires followed Cyra into the air. Just before daybreak, they found themselves outside a chateau in France. Rather than chance a meeting with vampires of unknown strength, Cyra agreed to hole up with the others until the following night. They headed into a cemetery and broke into a crypt, sealing the door tightly behind them to keep out the deadly rays of the sun.

Cyra sat on a coffin as each vampire rose from their day long slumber. As soon as the youngest among them, Phil, woke up they headed for the chateau.

Dovic was ready to end Lyra’s torment, but he had a plan to make sure that she would destroy herself in the end. He couldn’t actually bring himself to kill his own mother, but his father was a different story. If not for Ronan, Dovic would never have been on that battlefield in the first place. And, by killing his father, he knew that his mother would never be the same again.

He walked slowly over to Lyra and said, “I’m about to set you free, Mother. There’s only one more shot you need to take, then when it’s through you’ll be free to go.”

Looking at her son with pain filled eyes, she whispered, “You’ll let him go as well?”

“He leaves that cage tonight, Mother,” Dovic said sincerely.

He reached for the needle and pulled off the cap then stuck it into Lyra’s arm. He opened the chains holding her to the wall and led her to Sav’s cage. When he’d thrown her into the cage and slammed the door, he looked down at her and asked, “Have you ever heard of Vampril, Mother?”

Her eyes went wide as she said, “It’s an aphrodisiac for vampires, but deadly to any human.”

Waving the needle in front of her eyes, Dovic said in a menacing tone, “I think my father will find out the full effect of Vampril on you in, oh, say twenty minutes. Have a nice life, Mother, knowing you weren’t able to keep yourself from killing the man you love most.” Then Dovic sat back to watch as Lyra tore at the bars of the cage with renewed strength and begged Dovic to get Sav out of there.

Sav put his hand on Lyra’s arm and said, “Luv, what’s going on?”

“Vampril,” Lyra hissed. “It intensifies the need for blood. And only the blood of the ones you love will satisfy it. If two vampires take it together, they can end up locked in a blood kiss for hours, so many see it as an aphrodisiac. But if a mortal is present, they will die. The vampire won’t be able to stop herself.” She put her face into her hands and started to weep. “Sav, if I can’t get you out of here, I’m going to kill you.”

Sobs tore through her as she tried to fight against the drug. Sav could see her fangs and knew then he was doomed. Even Lyra couldn’t fight against something like this. His fearful blue eyes look up at her as he said, “I love you, Lyra. I’ll die still loving you. And I don’t blame you for this. Don’t tear yourself up over this, luv, it’s not your fault.”

“Oh, how sweet. Forgiven by the man you’re about to murder,” Dovic hissed sarcastically. “Just do it and get it over with, Mother. Then you’ll be free to go on with your life.”

“NOOOOOOOO!” she roared, throwing herself away from Sav. “I WON’T DO THIS, DOVIC!”

“You can’t stop it, Alyria!” Dovic said with a humorless howl of a laugh. “He’ll die at your hands and you’ll get to live with that forever!” Bloody tears ran down her face as she struggled against the Vampril. She couldn’t do this, WOULDN’T do this. But the only thing she could smell at that moment was Sav’s blood. Her fangs ached, wanting it so badly it was painful. Sav crossed over to her and said, “Let’s do this while you’re still in control. It’ll be less painful that way.”

“Yes, Mother, you don’t want to hurt him any more than you must, now do you?” Dovic laughed. “Do it, Mother. END THIS NOW!”

The smell of Sav filled Lyra’s nostrils. She looked up at him with regretful eyes, knowing he was resigned to his fate now. She fought hard, not wanting to give in to Dovic’s hate. But then drug was so strong and she was already weakened. Sav looked into her golden eyes and knew he was lost already. He saw those deadly fangs as she whispered, “I’m sorry, Sav.”

Dovic’s head snapped up as he heard the sounds of a struggle outside the door. He headed for it, only to have the door splinter apart in his face. Cyra and Steve burst into the room and looked around. They watched in horror as Lyra’s fangs sunk into Sav’s tan throat and he leaned into her body. Cyra grabbed Dovic by the neck and hissed, “Get them out of there.”

“Not yet, bitch,” Dovic laughed. “Not til she’s finished with him!”

“I’ll finish you if you don’t open that cage door!” Cyra screamed. “Are you ready to die, puppy?”

Steve found the keys and ran to the cage door. He threw it open and rushed over to Lyra, using all his strength to try to break them apart. But he couldn’t. “CYRA! SHE’S KILLING HIM!”

Cyra threw Dovic into the wall and ran for Lyra. She pried Lyra’s jaws open and said, “Steve, hold on to her!” Then she turned to Sav and said, “What happened?”

“He gave her a drug, something called Vampril,” Sav gasped as he fell back onto the cot.

“FUCK!” Cyra said quickly. “Steve, get him out of here or she’ll go after him again.” Steve picked up Sav and carried him out, then Cyra followed him and slammed the door shut as Lyra lay whimpering in the corner. She cried for Sav, needing him so badly at that moment that she was in real pain. And Sav tried weakly to get back to her, but Cyra wouldn’t let him back into her prison.

Dovic tried to escape, but Phil and Lisel ran into the room and cornered him. Cyra stood over him, ready to kill him. But then she heard Lyra scream, “NO, CYRA, HE’S MY SON!”

“Your son?” Cyra said as she turned around. Lyra nodded through her pain, saying softly, “I left him to die, but I didn’t know it. Michael found him...” Then she couldn’t speak any longer as pain shredded her nerves. Sav looked up weakly and said, “He bit me, showed me what Michael did to him. He’s lived through nine hundred years of hell. He’d have my pity if I hadn’t seen what he’d done to Lyra.”

“I DON’T WANT YOUR PITY, FATHER! I WANT TO SEE YOU DIE!” Dovic screamed as he lunged for Sav himself. “I’ve killed you a dozen times over the years and I’ll do it again!”

“You’ve killed him before?” Cyra asked through narrowed eyes.

“Every time he’s been reborn,” Dovic hissed. “But he just won’t stay DEAD!”

“You can’t fight reincarnation and win, Dovic,” Cyra said with a sad shake of her head. “Don’t you realize Ronan is dead? And has been for hundreds of years? The base soul is the same, but you’ve killed a dozen innocent men.”

“Michael told me different!” Dovic yelled. “He said it was the same man in a different body! That he would do the exact same thing every time if given the same choices!”

“He lied to you, young one,” Cyra said patiently. “Every reincarnation is different. With each birth, you become a new person with new ideas. Sav would never take a sixteen year old boy to war!”

Dovic looked at Sav thoughtfully. Michael wouldn’t have lied to him, would he? Then Sav looked up and felt Dovic’s confusion. He said softly, “Think about it, mate. After all the evil things Michael did to you, can you really think he wouldn’t lie to you as well?”

Sitting there, Dovic put his hands over his face and cried. Then hate returned as he said, “You left me to die, Father. Why?”

“That wasn’t Lyra or Ronan’s fault. I didn’t know you existed and Lyra thought you were dead already,” Cyra said softly. “If there’s any blame there, it’s mine, not Lyra’s or Ronan’s.”

Dovic turned to her and she said, “You don’t believe me? Taste my blood and you’ll know the truth.”

Unconvinced, Dovic walked slowly over to Cyra and bit into her throat. As soon as her blood hit his tongue, Dovic reeled back. His mind was flooded with images of that fateful day, of what Cyra had seen. Then he looked up at her and whispered, “Michael said she’d abandoned me!”

“Another lie, mate,” Sav answered softly. Torn by uncertainty, Dovic didn’t know who or what to believe. Michael had never shared blood with Dovic, only taken it, so the boy had never had the chance to find out the truth for himself. He walked slowly over to Lyra’s cage and said, “I’m sorry, Mother. I know you’ll never forgive me, but I was wrong.”

Lyra couldn’t move or speak. Her body was paralyzed by pain. Dovic turned to Cyra and said in a panic, “What have I done?”

“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “There’s nothing to counteract Vampril, so there’s nothing we can do for her at the moment. If she gets hold of Sav, she’ll probably kill him before she takes enough blood to satisfy herself. She might be able to take some of it from Steve, cuz I know she’s close to him...”

Without another word, Steve slipped into Lyra’s cage. Her eyes never left Sav as Steve gashed his own wrist open and put it to her lips. She fed slowly, but continued to stare at Sav the whole while. Steve eventually pulled away, leaving her still hungry. He shook his head to Cyra, who said, “Damn it! I was afraid this would happen!”

“It needs to be from someone she loves?” Phil asked quietly. Cyra nodded and Phil said, “What about Joe? Can it only be from one person?”

“It depends on her attachment to him. Vampril is, um, well, it affects your mind. If you know what it does, it just makes it stronger. I could give it to Vivian, since he’s never heard of it and the effects wouldn’t be quite so bad. It’s a psychological thing that vampires fall prey to,” Cyra explained. “Problem is, Joe’s in Ireland!”

“Put her in the coffin,” Dovic said quietly. “Over there. It locks from the outside, so she won’t be able to escape. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

Cyra looked at the younger vampire with pity in her eyes. Michael really had done a number on this child, hadn’t he? Then she pulled the heavy coffin over to the door of Lyra’s cage and said, “Careful, she may try to bolt for Sav.”

Lyra lay on the cot, panting. Her fangs were down and her eyes glowed as she continued to stare at Sav. He was recovering from her bite, gaining strength again. Cyra had gotten her off before she’d truly endangered his life. Behind Cyra’s back, Sav stepped closer to the doorway and said, “Lyra, I’ll help you. Please, don’t fight them right now.”

She started to fly out of the cage, then caught the bars before she cleared the doorway and hung on. Stronger than before because of the blood she’d drank, she gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, willing away the smell of Sav. But it wasn’t working. She threw herself into the coffin at lightning speed. Before they could close the lid, Sav ran his hand over her face and she sunk her teeth into it. Sav yelped in pain, but didn’t try to pull away. After a moment, Lyra slammed her head back into the floor of the coffin and screamed, “CLOSE THE FUCKING LID!”

But no one moved fast enough. Lyra couldn’t take anymore and leapt back out of the coffin. Before anyone could stop her, and with a heated glance at Sav, Lyra jumped for the window and shot off into the sky. She took off and just flew, trying to get as far from Sav as she could. Cyra and the others took off after her, with Steve carrying Sav. Dovic follow along, wondering why he was and what he could do.

Lyra flew as hard and fast as she could, but she knew the others were right behind her. She could feel Sav as well as Steve and Leesha. She screamed in frustration, wondering why they couldn’t just let her try to get away from him. But she started to feel another pull, right in the direction she was flying. Within moments, she found herself over Joe’s house. Her fangs were still aching, needing the blood of her lovers. And now, a possibly fatal error. She landed in Joe’s yard and headed into the house, looking all over for him. He woke with a start as Lyra burst into his mind. Sitting up, he looked around and found Lyra standing in the doorway looking like a hungry wolf. She was gripping the door’s frame with both hands, trying to hold herself back.

“Lyra, luv, what’s wrong?” Joe asked quietly. He got up and crossed the room. But he wasn’t prepared for what happened next. She launched herself at him and pinned him to the wall with her far smaller body. Joe tried to break her grip when he saw the glow in her eyes and the fangs hanging down. But Lyra was far too strong to get away from. She was panting, trying desperately not to attack Joe, but it was in vain. He could see bloody tears trailing down her face as she said, “I love you, Joseph.” Then she bit into his throat.

Joe realized she was out for keeps this time and tried to break free from her. He could feel her distress through their bond, the need for blood, her love for him, all mingled together. After a few moments of struggling, he let go. If he was going to die, let it be to quench whatever had brought this thirst on Lyra. His last conscious thought was, “Sav, take care of her for me.” Then he collapsed into her arms.

Steve and Sav crashed into the room, followed by the other vampires. Phil was the first to make it to Lyra and Joe, prying at her locked jaw. Then Cyra grabbed her and broke Joe out of her embrace. Sav caught Joe’s body as it fell to the floor. He cradled Joe against him, tears flowing down his face as he wondered if Joe was dying in his place. Holding Joe tightly to his chest, Sav looked up and said, though no one heard him, “Is he going to be okay?”

Cyra and Lyra locked in a deadly staring contest until Lyra broke away and shot over towards Sav. Anticipating her move, Cyra got between them and backhanded her across the room. She hit the far wall and charged at Cyra, trying to go through the older vampire to get at Sav again. But Cyra slammed her against the wall and screamed, “Lyra! COME OUT OF THIS!”

But Lyra kicked her in the midsection, sending her reeling away. Cyra stumbled and fell, leaving Sav and Joe vulnerable to Lyra’s attack. Steve jumped in between them, trying to block her away from them. She stopped and looked at Steve slowly, her eyes traveling over his body. Moving into him seductively, she waited until Steve was lost in her eyes. Then she grabbed him and tossed him across the room.

Phil launched himself at Lyra, flying them both against the wall. She merely looked at Phil and laughed, knowing the younger vampire was no match for her strength. But Phil was well aware of the differences between them and grabbed her around the legs instead of attacking straight on. He held on to her legs as tight as he could, keeping her tangled up in his body. Tripping over him, unable to move her legs, Lyra turned around and slammed her fist into Phil’s jaw. He fell away from her, unconscious, as she headed for Sav and Joe once more.

But Lyra stopped cold when Dovic stepped between her and the men on the floor. He just looked at her and said, “Mother, there’s no one closer to a woman than a child born of her body. Take me in their place.”

Her eyes locked with Dovic’s as that realization hit her. She glanced at Sav and Joe, then closed her eyes. Moving closer to her son, she bit into his throat and pulled deeply on his vein. She could finally feel the hunger dim as his blood flowed into her body. Moments later, she pulled away from him finally satisfied. Then she looked around herself in horror. Cyra, Steve and Phil were still trying to pick themselves up off the floor and Lisel and Leesha were just staring at her. Then her eyes fell on Sav and Joe and she rushed to their side.

“Oh, God, what have I done!” she cried as she wrapped Joe in her arms. She could hear his heart still beating faintly in his chest, but it was so weak! Her head lay on Joe’s chest as Sav ran his fingers through her long dark locks, trying to calm her down. Cyra grabbed Joe’s wrist, checking his pulse. Then she looked down at Lyra and said as gently as she could, “I’m not sure if he’s going to pull through this, Lyra.”

“Oh, fuck!” Sav exclaimed, holding the both of them tighter.

“The only thing you can do for him is keep him warm and try to make sure he drinks a lot of fluids,” Cyra said quietly. “And watch to make sure he doesn’t run into problems. He could die in the next couple of days of any number of things.”

Lyra was crying against him, but finally pulled away and said, “Let’s get him into bed and bundle him up. I don’t want to take any chances with him, because I know he’s not ready to cross yet.” She picked him up carefully and carried him into the bedroom with Sav following close on her heals. Stripping him down to his underwear, she crawled into bed with him and motioned for Sav to get on his other side. “You heard Cyra, we have to keep him warm.”

Sav nodded and wrapped his arms around Joe, laying close to his body. Lyra did the same, then said, “He’s going to hate me when he wakes up, isn’t he?”

“No, luv, I don’t think he could ever hate you,” Sav said softly. “I didn’t, even though I was sure you were going to kill me.” She reached over Joe’s body and put a gentle hand to his face, saying, “Dovic would have gotten what he wanted at that point. I would have ended up in the fire if I’d have killed you.”

“No, you wouldn’t have,” Sav answered quietly. “You still had Joe to live for and I knew that when I offered myself to you. You would have found me again some day...”

“I don’t want to wait for that day, Sav,” she said urgently. “I wouldn’t have made it long without you. And I won’t make it if Joe doesn’t.”

“Bring him over if you have to, luv,” Sav said softly. “But keep it as a last resort. I know he wants to cross someday, just like I do now that I have you. I love you, Lyra.”

“I love you, too, Sav,” she said as she laid her head down on Joe’s chest, just over his heart. That way she could listen to it even as she rested and watch for any changes. Then she whispered, “And I love you, too, Joseph, so don’t get any ideas on me!” And with Lyra on one side and Sav resting his head on Joe’s other shoulder, they let themselves drift off to sleep.

Several hours later, Lyra got up to get a glass of water in case Joe woke up. She found Dovic sitting in the living room, staring out over the ocean. Hesitating, she finally walked over and sat down across from her son. At first, he wouldn’t even look at her, but he finally turned his head towards her and said, “I’m sorry, Mum.”

“I don’t understand what happened, Dov,” she said softly. “Why did you do this to me?”

“When Cyra and the others took you away, another group of vampires found me on that field,” he said slowly. “The coven master was Michael and I know you’ve met him. He was an unspeakable bastard who taught the coven members to do whatever he said and never question him. And he said he would always tell us the truth we needed to know, but I’ve found out he was nothing but a liar since I met Cyra. He told me you chose to leave me behind, for instance. But I know Cyra was telling the truth when she said you thought I was already beyond help. I hated you for nearly a millennium for that, but now I know I was wrong.”

“Losing you was the only thing I ever regretted when I crossed over, but I thought I’d lost you when I made that choice,” Lyra said softly. Seeing his tears, Lyra crossed to him and wrapped him in her arms. “I still love you, Dov.”

“I love you too, Mum,” Dovic said as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“I’ve got to get back to Joe for now, but we’ll talk more later, okay?” she said quietly. He simply nodded and stared back out the window, lost in thought. Lyra got the water and headed back into Joe’s bedroom, thanking God Bobbi was in the States at the moment. When she got back into the bed, she ran her hands over Joe’s bare chest. He was so cold! But she checked his heart and found it beating slightly stronger than before. She snuggled back against him and let herself sleep again.

When she woke again, Sav was just crawling back into bed beside Joe. He gave her a smile, then said, “Dovic and I had a talk. I think we understand each other a bit better now. But he told me to tell you he was leaving. Said he had a lot of thinking to do.”

Nodding, Lyra said, “Somehow, I imagined that would happen. But I’m sure we’ll see him again sometime. The world isn’t that big.” She laid her head against Joe’s chest and felt his heart throbbing in his chest. Her hand laid across his body and Sav took it. He kissed it gently before putting his arms back around Joe and laying down again.

Joe’s shivering woke Lyra as dawn of the second day came. She and Sav had been exhausted from their captivity, so they’d slept far longer than usual. They each been awake at different times for short periods, then returned to bed. Lyra looked Joe over and saw that the blue tint to his fingernails was gone now. She ran her hand over his cheek and his eyes fluttered open. For a moment, he didn’t seem to recognize her. Then his green eyes cleared and he whispered hoarsely, “Lyra, my love.”

“Joe, God, baby, you had me so scared!” she gasped.

“You were pretty scary,” he rasped.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” she explained. “But it won’t ever happen again. If I hadn’t been drugged, it wouldn’t have happened at all.”

“Thirsty,” he whispered. Reaching for the water, she held his head up and gave him a long drink. Sav woke up and looked over at him with a smile. Then he said, “Glad you’re back, mate.”

“Me too,” he said softly. Lyra laid him gently back on the pillow and said, “Sleep now, Joe. You need the rest.” They got comfortable and Sav and Joe went back to sleep quickly, though Lyra lay lost in thought for a long while before she was able to sleep again.

Joe recovered quicker than Lyra thought he would, thankfully being completely on his feet the day Bobbi was to return. Sav and Lyra said a quick farewell, then headed off to Sav’s house just as Bobbi pulled into the drive. Joe went out and met her with a hug, asking about her trip. When she was done telling him about how things had gone in the States, she asked how his time alone had been.

“Oh, rather uneventful,” he lied with a small smile. “Nothing more than usually happens in my life nowadays.” Then he chuckled as he thought, “No, nothing more than usually happens with Lyra around. Nothing unusual at all.”