Constantine laughed out loud. “Consequence? As the descendant of the former Duke Firebury, I have the right to claim Helena.”
“What do you mean?” Ethan asked.
“What a pity that you don’t know the most important thing.” He laughed again. “But then the mighty duke may be too busy to know the tiny thing, though crucial.”
“What are you talking about?”
Meanwhile, Red entered the room. “Luna, let’s get out of here.”
“Red, you are here too. My head hurts, and I can’t see clearly.”
“Maybe Lord Constantine drugged you again.”
I gasped. The water that the maid sent me. “The maid,” I said, shaking my head. Then I suddenly remembered about my power. ‘Fog, heal me.’
In a second, the fog surrounded me, and then, in another second, my head was alright. Then, finally, my eyes could see clearly as before.
“Do you want a duel until death?” Now it was Constantine’s voice.
I shook my head. “He tricked me!”
“What happened?” Victoria asked me as she patted my hand.
“A maid came with mineral water. She helped me change my clothes to a nightdress, though I had worn pajamas. Then when she left, I drank the water since I suspected nothing. So, when he came, my head hurt, my eyes were blurry, and strangely, I heard his voice as Ethan’s.”
Victoria let out a sigh. “It must be Constantine who asked her to send the water to you. He may put something into the water.”
“Yes, I think so.”
Then, as Ethan and Constantine left the room, I stood. Then I offered my hand to Victoria. “Friends?”
She smiled and took my hand. “Yes, friends.”
We walked outside. Ethan and Constantine had shape-shifted into werewolves in the hall: Constantine as a brown wolf, while Ethan as a silver wolf. They stood and stared at each other. I held my breath. I believe Victoria was tense with the current situation.
“Why did you help me? You ignite Constantine’s anger to come here with Ethan and Red.”
Victoria bent her head forward. “He has lost his mind because of his ambition to gain power through you. He doesn’t mind doing everything for that, including discarding me.”
“He sent you away?”
Victoria nodded. “Yes.” Later, suddenly she bent her body backward and grimaced as her hands covered her stomach. Her face was as white as paper, and sweat appeared on her forehead.
“Victoria!”
“My stomach ….”
“What happened?”
She didn’t answer but rolled on the floor. She groaned, and then I saw something frightening, blood on the floor.
“Oh, no! Victoria!”
She held her stomach, clearly having extreme pain in her stomach.
“Are you in period? What should I do?” Then I said, “Fog, help heal Victoria.”
The fog immediately showed and wrapped around Victoria’s body. Then, when the mist was getting thin and vanished in the air, Victoria touched her stomach.
“No more pain. Wow!” She sat and stared at me. “Helena, you are truly a powerful witch!”
I smiled, but then I sat beside her. “What happened?”
Victoria shook her head. “I don’t know.” Then she gasped and cried in a heart-wrenching voice.
“Victoria?” I hugged her and patted her back.
After a while, she stopped crying. “I don’t know what happened, but I may have a miscarriage.”
“Oh, Victoria, I’m sorry.”
She sobbed again. “I want the baby since they may be the key for me to reconcile with Constantine. If they are gone ….”
I hugged her. “Who knows if the baby is still okay? Have you checked yourself to the doctor?”
“I’m a vampire, Helena. We have never visited any doctor.”
“Then what if you are ill?”
Victoria smiled thinly. “We drink human blood and get healthy in an instant.”
“Oh!”
“Don’t worry! I won’t drink your blood.”
“Thank you, though I can donate my blood if you need it.”
“You are too kind. Ethan is lucky to have you.” Then Victoria smiled. “By the way, you don’t need to worry anymore about your lousy ex-boyfriend.”
“Oh, Kenneth? Why?”
“I have killed him. He doesn’t deserve to live. It is better for him to die instead.”
I let out a long sigh. “Kenneth is a jerk indeed, though I have never expected him to die.”
“You are too kind, Helena. Being a kind person is good, but you can easily be manipulated and used when you are too kind. See what I have done to you.” Then Victoria squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry. Because of me, you are here right now.”
“I forgive you. If I weren’t here, we might not be friends.”
Then we said nothing and paid attention to the battle between Constantine and Ethan. They hit, bit, and pushed each other.
“Do you still love Constantine?” I muttered, knowing how badly he had treated Victoria.
“Yes. I’m a fool, aren’t I?”
“No.” I squeezed her hand. “You love him sincerely, so you still love him even when he treats you worse.”
“Constantine is not entirely bad, you know. He helped my relatives.”
“Oh?”
Victoria blushed. Her face was crimson, but she looked more gorgeous because of that. “I fell in love with him after knowing how kind he was to the street children. Two of them are still my family in the family tree though they don’t know me.” She shrugged. “If it is counted by human age, I have been 250 years old.”
I gaped since Victoria still looked so young. But then she is a vampire. “Oh, right.”
“I hope we can be real friends after this is over.” She smiled at me, then looked away. “It’s a lonely world I live in. I barely trust people, but I know you are a good person.”
“As you are too.”
We smiled at each other. It was strange that this situation could bring us together. Maybe it was fate. Even though we went through the worst, we could find good friends.
“Where will you stay after this?” I asked Victoria.
“I don’t know.” She let out a sigh. “Constantine bought me a house, the one you came first. He also provided for my life. But after what has happened, I’m not sure anymore.”
“You can stay in Ethan’s pack or at his villa. I will ask him about it.”
Victoria shook her head. “No, I don’t want to be your burden.”
“If you didn’t save me, you wouldn’t be in the worse situation like now. So, it’s not a burden for me, but my gratitude, as you care enough for me to save me.”
She bent her head. “You have saved me too when I am bleeding. We have been even.”
I held Victoria’s hand. “In friendship, we don’t count the scores. We will support each other whenever we can.”
“Helena …. Thank you.”