Chapter Eight

Dark Ages, 1457.

The movement in and out of the castle in the next few days had been harsh. Vlad didn’t stop for one minute and his men came and went at all times. I spent my days alone if it wasn’t for Liana. He would join me for dinner, and our nights were full of passion until the morning came, and I’d wake up alone. And he didn’t let me in fully into his world. He put me in some sort of limbo and it was maddening.

“Vlad? What’s going on?” I had to ask one night while we were having our dinner. “You seemed to prepare for a war.” I was already growing to know his ways, and when he got himself in a heavy silence he was pondering on what to say to me and I wouldn’t get the whole truth out of him. “Your left eye is twitching…” I said, my eyes in slits. “Watch it, Vlad. I want the truth!”

“Liz, I rebuilt this castle because as you can see, it’s not big and it’s on top of this precipice almost impossible to suffer an attack.” He stood up and extended his hand to me. “Come, I want to show