A/N: The end of this chapter was hard to write, so let me know how I did!

Our conversation rang in my ears as Cosette and I loaded our trunks onto the carriage. Cosette had changed and now wore black pants and a long black trench-coat. He was looking really good, but I was still too mad to forgive him.

"Cosette," I said, getting into the carriage with him. "What exactly did you do to make Ramind angry with you?" Cosette was a vampire, and almost eight-hundred years old. The older a vampire gets, the more he can resist. Cosette could stand in the light for a little while, but we still had the carriage windows painted black. As candle light up the inside.I had known Cosette since I became a Mage. He was the link Mages had against vampires.

Cosette rubbed his deep green eyes with his hand. He looked at me and sighed. "Would you believe me if I told you nothing?" He smiled. He was a beautiful man. Not handsome, but more of a feminine beautiful. Cosette was six feet and four inches of lean, muscular vampire with rich, deep red hair pulled back with a ribbon. Loose, it reached the small of his back. He had a strong nose, small but pouty lips, and two sharper teeth that grew and pointed when he was about to feed. I had the misfourtune of watching Cosette feed once. I had nightmares for weeks.

"I would not believe you, unless you told the truth, friend of my father and fathers before him." I said, laughter in my eyes. He took my hand and looked at me.

"I have only been with the mages for 600 of my 800 years. For 200 years I was a madman. I fed on anything that would give me it's blood. A woman I turned showed up last night and Ramind presented her to me." He stopped. A distant look came into his eyes. "She was my lover for a year before I left her. She said that she cried until her body could no longer stand. She tried to kill me for what I had done to her. The only way I could stop her was by hitting her." I gasped. Ramind did not tolerate any violence against women. For all his faults, he was truly a gentleman. "Ramind put me in the dungeon. He told me to be thankful that he didn't chain me to the wall and let the devilesses out." Cosette shuddered.

The devilesses were four women whom Ramind's uncle (Dracula) had turned and left to be mad. These were not the women of the story who were beheaded as the brides of Dracula. These are four different girls entirely. They are not insane, but very sadistic. Cosette was chained to their wall for a night as punishment for killing another vampire in a fight. He still has the scars from their attacks, and for a vampire who heals quickly and almost never scars, that is very bad.

"It's alright. You're here now, and those women are still in their cages." I said, stroking his hair. He buried his head in my hair and wrapped his arms around my waist. I could feel him sobbing. I stroked his head. "You're safe, Cosette." He looked up and our eyes met. He held me there, but I broke free. "Your skills grow weak my firen-" He silenced me with a long kiss. He teased, and I pulled him to me. I felt his mind surrender as his hands gripped my waist tighter. I could feel his hands coming forward. His nimble fingers began to untie the front of my dress. As he pulled the strings loose, his mouth pulled away from mine. He pushed the sleeves from my shoulders as he connected with me again.

"Orion." He whispered to my neck as his lips parted and his fangs brushed against my skin. His coat lined the bottom of the carriage as he pulled me atop his form and slid my dress off me in one motion. Vampires never ceased to amaze me. I heard his boots hit the floor as I unbuttoned his pants. "Orion." He said again. Without his pants to hinder him, he sat up and made the dance complete. I dug my fingernails into his wrists. With one hand on my back and the other cupping my cheek, he pressed his mouth to mine to stifle my scream.