Ingrid leaned closer to the man in front of her. He was the only one had given her the time of the day in a while and she could not deny that he irritated her less than most people did. It was not so far off that she would want to kiss him, to feel his soft lips on her burnt and charred ones. After being alone for so long, she needed to feel wanted, to feel alive, if only from just a kiss but like the three times before, he turned his head away before their lips could touch.

"Ingrid, we can't," he groaned.

The tortured sound made it clear he wanted this as much as she did. Why was he fighting her so hard?

"Why am I even surprised?" She rolled her eyes, "I don't know who is more obsessed with her. You or him."

The expression on Alexander's face immediately changed. His eyes which had been filled with desire a few moments back hardened and chilled as if the waters of the ocean had been thrown over them.

"I appreciate your rougher edges and sadistic humor unlike most people but you will be respectful when you talk about Erinna if you want this to continue," he said firmly.

Jealousy and annoyance swept through Ingrid.

"Why do you defend her? You know she'll never look at you right?"

"Like he'll never look at you?" Alexander asked.

"Harsh, puppy. Who knew you had all these claws in you?" She leaned in and brushed her lips over his ear, biting into the ear lobe, "I like it."

"I want us to take things slow. I already told you that."

"Because you find me repulsive or because you're afraid you'll lose whatever chance you had with her when she finds out you're attracted to the woman who slept with her husband?" She asked.

"You didn't. Just because Diana made you think you did, doesn't mean you did."

"Technicalities, darling. He was mine before, anyway."

Alexander frowned.

"I would do everything, everything in my power to ensure The Count's happiness but you take every chance you get to slur his name and to ruin his relationship with his mate. Do you not care about him at all?"

"I'm not directly sired to him like you. I can make my own choices and decisions, I don't have to parrot everything he says," she shrugged.

Ingrid was glad that the man who Vlad had asked to turn her was dead. She saw every day what vampires did for their makers and she couldn't imagine herself that beholden to someone.

The inclination to obey one's maker was very strong, especially in new vampires, only fading with time. But the way Alexander acted, it was like he had been turned less than three hundred years back.

They all were grateful to Dracula at the end of the day for their immortality but the extent of the gratitude depended on how close one was to his bloodline and how long one had been a vampire.

It sometimes led to some foolish decisions like that dimwitted Derek who had caught wind of the vampire-elf union curse and tried to save Dracula from it by raping the elf.

He had gathered a whole posse of other equally obsessed fools so that they could take Dracula's safety into their own hands. All having been turned by Alexander, were not even directly bound to Dracula but they had felt the compulsion to protect him.

When Ingrid had stumbled them, they had been ripe for the picking. It had not been hard to convince them that the best way to save The Count was by defiling his so-called pure bride and stopping him from marking her.

"You think that's what I do? How about simple gratitude, Ingrid? You wouldn't be where you are without him."

"That's right. I would still have my life if not for him. I would be free to go where I want, play with who I want without this stupid bond but now because he wanted to be funny, he tricked me into showing him my real face now I can't get rid of this bond."

Vlad could not even look at her twice but every day she had to face the mirror, seeing what his wife had done to her for loving him.

A thoughtful look came upon Alexander's face. She did not know why she was pushing it with him. No man wanted to pursue a woman who was hung up on another man. Every thought inside her head said that she should hate Vlad for putting her in the position he had but she couldn't. The bond made it impossible. She was bound to him and would love him with or without her will.

"Have you ever tried breaking the bond?" Alexander asked, drawing a dry laugh out of her.

"A Liderc's bond is for life. There is no going back once people have seen your true face."

For her whole life, Ingrid had never been fully part of one group or the other. With a Fae mother and a Liderc father, the Fae had cast her out and her father had disappeared before she had even been born. She had been alone her whole life but it had not been bad because she had had the ability to pick a few lovers who fascinated her and play with them until her amusement with them waned and she killed them.

Whilst it had not been fulfilling, it had helped her pass the time. There had been no attachments, no longing, no soul-crushing desire or even bitter, possessive jealousy. Then Vlad had come along. Another outcast like her, he had made her feel like she was not alone for the first time. He had made her want to be normal, to feel all the emotions that made other creatures act stupid. When he had offered her immortality, for the price of seeing her face, Ingrid had been too glad to accept.

"What would happen if you were to love someone else?" Alexander asked.

Ingrid could see the empathy and the hope in his face and it made her long for things she couldn't have. She wanted to tell him it was impossible, that she could not just decide to love someone else when her heart was tied to one man but she also didn't want him to give up on her or to chase him away.

"I don't know," she shook her head.

"Nothing is impossible, Ingrid. Maybe if I talked to Erinna-"

"You have to be kidding me," she scoffed.

She had lost everything. Could she not at least keep her pride?

"I've watched her do incredible things with my own eyes. She could help you but for her to do that, you have to want to be helped first."

Jealousy, vile and corrosive rose up inside her.

"Why do you all rush to defend her? Has anyone ever mentioned that I had The Count before her? He was mine until she came along. Why doesn't anyone judge her for that?"

"Because they are mates. Besides, your relationship with him ended eighteen years ago. Use your head, Ingrid. You are reacting with your emotions right now, emotions driven by a bond out of your control. Are you going to cling to him after the way he has gone out of his way to show you he doesn't care about you?" Alexander asked.

Ingrid drew back in surprise.

"You're not defending him," she whispered.

"I will be the first to admit that our sire was wrong in the way he treated you. He toyed with you and I'm sorry about that. But his mistakes can't define you."

Suspicion crawled up her spine.

"Why are you saying these things? Why are you being nice to me?"

"I said I want us to be friends. Is that so hard to believe?"

Yes, it actually was. Alexander had been visiting her frequently and the fact that she looked like biltong and had nothing to offer him made it even stranger. What did he want from her?

"Did Erinna send you?" She asked, accusation in her face.

Alexander rolled his eyes.

"Erinna is actually a nice person, despite what you would like to think. Besides, she would not need to send me to know your thoughts. She could just read them herself."

And Erinna regretted that ability as she stood in Ingrid's chambers. She had teleported there from Miya's herb garden. The instability in her energy and control caused by teleportation had launched her straight into Ingrid's head the moment she had arrived and she had ended up reading what she was sure had been meant to be a private moment in the woman's head.

Whilst the event itself did not surprise her after what she had seen in Alexander's head, she was stunned by Ingrid's vulnerability. She had never considered that Ingrid might also not want to be tied to Vlad and that what had happened had happened without her will.

"Well, you're the last person I expected to see here," Ingrid drawled from the bed where she was lying back with a book in her hand, "Here to give me hell about Alexander? I suppose he finally worked up the guts and told you about us."

Erinna shook her head to detangle herself from Ingrid's memories.

"You and Alexander are adults."

Ingrid put her book aside.

"You know, that thing you do is really annoying."

"What thing?" Erinna asked in surprise.

"The benevolence. I can't even gloat properly because you won't even give me a good fight."

"You want me to fight you?"

Ingrid knew how Alexander was important to Erinna. He was her best friend so of course she would know that getting him on her side was a triumph over Erinna. But Erinna's love for Alexander wasn't selfish. She could love him and share him at the same time. If he had decided Ingrid was who he wanted, then it was his decision.

"Yes! I tried to sleep with your husband now I'm going after your little shadow. Shouldn't you be jealous at least?"

Erinna frowned then decided to ignore Ingrid because the woman was not making sense. Based on her thoughts, Erinna knew Ingrid cared about Alexander. Whatever this was, it was just a case of her insecurities manifesting. Ingrid felt she did not deserve Alexander and thought he could not truly love her, hence was trying to sabotage what they had before it began. Erinna would not be a part of that. Besides, she had teleported there for a reason.

She had been so excited at her discovery that she had not considered how rude it was to just teleport into someone's room without asking.

"I'm here to ask something, Ingrid. May we please talk?"

"It's your husband's castle. It's not like I can chase you away," Ingrid shrugged but she sat up and faced Erinna.

It felt strange for Erinna to talk to her whilst she was standing so she looked around for a place to sit. She spotted a couch and headed there.

"Uh uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ingrid said from behind her.

Erinna was confused until she was slammed by Ingrid's memory. Vlad sitting beside a mostly naked Ingrid. Anger and revulsion blinded her vision for a moment and her claws extended. With the way the memory had been forced upon her, Erinna knew she hadn't slipped and read Ingrid's mind by mistake. Ingrid had wanted her to see it. She had deliberately pushed it to the forefront of her mind for Erinna to see.

Only the mark on her neck and her increasing control made her take a deep breath so that when she faced Ingrid, her face was neutral.

"How does it feel looking like an elephant when you're married to a man who is basically perfect?" Ingrid smiled.

"I'm not here to have cat fights with you, Ingrid. We're both too mature for that so can you please rein it in?"

Ingrid rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. What do you want and what's in it for me?"

"I'll heal you."

"You already offered to do it for free before," Ingrid pointed out.

"But this time you won't have to grovel for it or feel like a charity case when you accept it."

"Why would you do that? It's quite stupid to make me beautiful so that your husband can be attracted to me."

"Stupid is thinking that Vlad sees anything in you. I'm secure enough in our marriage to know you are no threat."

"Grew some spine didn't you?" Ingrid grinned.

"I always had one. Perhaps your desperation clouded your vision."

Erinna regretted the words the moment they left her lips. How could she have allowed Ingrid to bait her when it was obvious that she was just lashing out because she was hurt? Ingrid could not attack Vlad, the person who had really hurt her and saw Erinna as the easy target. Erinna should not have entertained or allowed herself to be drawn into a verbal cat fight.

"It's not desperation when he wanted me back."

"But now he doesn't. May we please move on?"

"Fine, ask your questions and leave me alone."

"Alexander told me what you said about Ivana. Well, he didn't but I made a mistake and read it from his thoughts. Is it true?"

Erinna had not known that Ivana, or rather Vera acting though her daughter had threatened Vlad's life if Ingrid did not submit to her will. Erinna had thought Ingrid had gone along with the witch's power to make Vlad cheat on her because they had a common goal but if Ingrid had done it to protect Vlad, it put a new outlook on things. That Ingrid also remembered everything that had happened, confirmed the suspicions she had had when she had come to see her.

"Why don't you just read my thoughts as well?" Ingrid asked sarcastically.

"I'm sure you understand that there are things in your head that I would rather not see?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Curiosity. When did you start getting your memories back? You told Alexander you didn't realize she had manipulated you."

When she had given her confession before, Ingrid had said she had gone along with Ivana's plans to sleep with Vlad because she had wanted to get rid of Erinna. In her mind, she had truly believed Vlad had slept with her even though Diana had mentioned that Ingrid had reneged on their deal at the last minute. When Ingrid's conscience had struck, she had tried to back out which was when Ivana had chosen to manipulate both hers and Vlad's memories rather than let the whole plan fall apart.

"She used some witch necklace on me to make me forget," Ingrid explained.

"It's called a memory necklace. The witches thought if I was angry enough at Vlad I would kill him, which was why they tried to make you sleep with him. But you couldn't do it so Ivana had to manipulate your memories."

"I don't get the point of this conversation."

"Do you now remember everything that happened? How Ivana altered your memories?" Erinna insisted.

"Yes it started coming back to me a while ago," Ingrid shrugged.

"About seven weeks after we came back from Silvercrest?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Just answer, Ingrid," Erinna pressed.

"Yes, if must know. About that time," she rolled her eyes.

Inexplicable joy and wonder spread through Erinna and she impulsively hugged Ingrid.

"Ow, that hurts. Not to mention awkward. You and I are mortal enemies, Countess. We don't do hugs."

Erinna drew back, still unable to remove the smile from her face.

"I'm sorry, I was just so happy."

She took Ingrid's hand, closed her eyes and began drawing out the vile magic she had dumped on Ingrid the day she had dumped her. After having already done it with Vlad, she was not looking forward to the process but it had to be done. It was the right thing.

Sharp and scalding pain passed from Ingrid to Erinna, making her hiss as she tried to withstand it all. Vlad's presence filled her mind but she blocked him so that she could finish this. When all the burns had disappeared from Ingrid and she looked like her previous self, Erinna was shaking from the effort. She staggered back but Ingrid caught her before she fell.

"Are you okay?" She could tell the words had been difficult for Ingrid to utter but she appreciated them all the same.

Erinna nodded then regretted it because she still had a headache from the incited.

"I didn't know it would hurt you."

"It's my penance, I suppose. I should not have used my power in anger and certainly not to harm another."

"You were justly provoked, I'd say."

Erinna straightened then turned to leave but when she was at the door, Ingrid called her.

"Elf."

She turned around.

"I won't apologize for wanting him. But I'm sorry for tricking him. I thought I was helping him."

"I know. I forgive you."

*****

Erinna was so excited when she left Ingrid's chambers. The first person that she wanted to tell was Vlad but she didn't want to give him false hope, not until her theory was confirmed. Even though she hated teleporting, she teleported. She was in too much of a hurry to wait for guards to accompany her.

Armando was surprised when she showed up on his door.

"Countess? Is something wrong? I put up the alarm charms you requested and the extra protection barriers."

"I'm glad to hear that, Armando. But that's not why I'm here. May I please come in?"

"Yes of course, how rude of me."

The little sorcerer opened the door for her holding it back with all his weight so it would not slam back. He led her to a room that had chairs and a table. Erinna sat down but refused all his offers of coffee.

"I'm so sorry to impose on you so frequently. You are the only one I can think of who might give me answers."

"Count Dracula has my loyalty. My door is always open to any friend of his."

"I'm glad to hear that. I visited Miya's garden today. All her plants were dead," Erinna explained.

"Really?" Armando exclaimed, "I suppose that is to be expected. She was one of the good ones. She always had a chance at finding peace, something which cannot be said for all of us."

Erinna ignore the man's ramblings, choosing to focus on what had brought her there.

"Alice said the plants died because Miya's magic which used to keep them alive was no longer there."

"Yes, that's true," Armando nodded.

"Does that mean a witch's spells are undone when they die?"

Armando's eyes narrowed.

"I see where you want to go with this. When we die, our spirit lingers and when enough time has passed, we go to the Underworld and those of us who are lucky, find peace. There are those who do not move on however because they have unfinished business here on earth, those are the ones who usually end up haunting the living or stuck in Purgatory. For your question, a dead witch's spells can only be undone if they go to the Underworld or find peace. If they are still in Purgatory or haunting the living, then their spells will remain intact because their spirit will be close."

"Here's my theory. When Vera died, she had nothing to hold on for, she wanted to be with her daughter so she moved on and seven weeks after her death, her magic on Ingrid wore off and Ingrid's memories were restored. When Miya died, she had achieved all she wanted in life so she moved on and she found peace. Her magic that had kept the plants alive wore off and they died. What about Diana? Couldn't her magic have worn off as well?"

Armando scratched his neck, "Countess-"

"I was there with her at Silvercrest, Armando. She wanted to be with her mate, it's why I cleansed her soul and helped her let go of everything so she could move on. She's not in Purgatory or lingering on earth. She has moved on."

Erinna realized she was pleading but she needed this to be true. She needed Diana's magic on Vlad to have worn off. She needed to know she would not wake up one day and kill her mate even without meaning to.

"I believe you but a curse and a spell are different. Spells require magic but curses don't. Even humans can activate a curse if they something and mean it. They are not broken by death or the departure of a magical spirit because they never needed magic to hold them in the first place."

"But Vlad said Diana asked for help from the coven to curse him-"