- And yet there is one nuance. She will die if she gets pregnant while being human. - She said seriously. – She doesn’t want to be a vampire. That’s the dilemma. But I think you’ll figure it out somehow without me.

She pushed his hands off her shoulders and, throwing her arm up, began to hum a spell, which, as Raphael realized only now, was an elven song.

The broken and mangled objects in the bar one by one began to restore their former appearance, smoothly levitating in the air and landing neatly in their original places. Almost everything turned out to be restored, except for the broken alcohol, the liquid of which has already fairly spilled over the floor.

- Next time, you’ll do it yourself. - She said irritably.

-No. I’d just leave. - He shrugged.

- And you probably wouldn’t even pay. - she mumbled. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

- And wouldn’t even pay. - he nodded.

- When did you become like this? - she abruptly turned sideways to him, continuing to conjure over the interior decoration.

- When one obnoxious woman decided to shake my mental state at once. So it’s your fault and it’s up to you to clean up here.

He made an attempt to take a step forward, but instead fell backwards like the most notorious alcoholic. Cognac did its insidious thing when, a couple of moments later, Raphael fell into a blissful sleep right on the floor of a deserted bar, and Artemis could only sigh weakly and roll her eyes.

Raphael didn’t wake up until the next morning, snorting at the annoyingly annoying bright sun that burned his eyes through his closed eyelids. He rolled over on her stomach, burying her face in the pleasant satin softness of the bed linen.

Then images and fragments of conversations began to pop up in his memory, which did not allow him to sleep longer.

He irritably rolled over on her back and stared at the multi-layered openwork coffered ceiling decorated with stucco with gilding and only a couple of moments later, his ear caught a quiet rustling and he noticed a slim girl curled up on a small sofa.

- What are you doing there? - he asked, arching his eyebrows gracefully. – Why didn’t you lie down on the bed?

- I’m sorry, I couldn’t put up with your killer alcoholic breath. It was beyond my strength. - she mumbled sleepily and pulled her stiff limbs. - I had to use Klaus and Sean’s help to get you out of the bar. You’re too problematic.

- Have you already given up fighting for me? – he teased her and immediately got a decorative pillow in her face.

- Fuck, just shut up. - she hissed.

- It seems we have lost a kind and sweet Girl, now she swears like an old cobbler. - he continued to tease her, taking great pleasure from it.

It was as if a rope had been removed from his neck, which was squeezing him to suffocation, and now he finally felt light after yesterday’s conversation with her. It put a lot of things in their place.

He threw the blanket aside, getting out of bed and walking towards the bathroom.

- I’ll take a shower. Will you join me?

- Are you kidding me? - her voice rose to a high pitch. – Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you that Thea will remember all this to you as soon as she gets her body back. Have you already prepared an apology?

Raphael froze like an idol, throwing away all playful mood.

- So what? Are we going to take a shower? – chuckled Temi and quickly blew up from the spot, slipping past him and closing the door with a lock

***

- Auriel is my wife. – Ivrim introduced to the audience a long-haired blonde with emerald eyes, which were so radically different from the color of the eyes of the elf king himself.

- I am glad to welcome you to the walls of Eriad. It is a great honor for us to receive our dear guests - representatives of the continent. – her voice was melodious and soft, like flowing silk sung in the chirping of birds. – Do you feel well here? Are you satisfied with everything?

- Thank you for the warm welcome, Your Majesty. - Artemis bowed her head as far as her position at the dinner table allowed her. – We couldn’t have dreamed of more.

- Oh, don’t say that. My husband told me about the importance of our guests. I can’t even think of making your stay here any less comfortable. - she smiled sweetly.

- So, today you look much fresher than yesterday. - Ivrim turned to Raphael. – You made a fuss.

- Aha. - the indifference in Raphael’s voice made Artemis squeeze his thigh hard, almost to the point of pain.

- In your absence, I found a lot from your peopleI found out from your people. I dare say that your journey will be dangerous and yet, as I have already told Artemis, the elves will not interfere in this.

The lightness at the table took on other shades when Sean exhaled loudly and sharply, playing with the muscles on his jaws.

Artemis could see that he was annoyed by these Ivrim`s words, as well as the others, and there were justifications for this. One of which is an invitation.

Why invite them and make them come all this way when you’re not going to help? But she was the only one who knew the reason, after she was able to talk to the elf king about it.

Initially, only she was supposed to come to Eriad, but it so happened that Thea decided to take Raphael with her, and then, like a snowball, the whole company tightened up. And although Ivrim did not express any indignation or discontent, he still preferred to conduct all communication exclusively with Artemis, not telling the others about the subtleties of their conversation, except for general phrases.

- We will help you by providing you with elven weapons capable of resisting even black magic, but you can’t count on more.

Loud claps rang out from Artemis’s side as Raphael theatrically portrayed praise for the words of the elf king.

- Oh, Ivrim, we didn’t expect more, honestly. - he licked his elongated fangs. – I remember that you and your people have always been cowards who ran to hide as soon as there was any more or less significant conflict. Don’t worry, I’m not judging you for that. It’s okay to be afraid.

- I can’t disagree. - Terrence supported him and Artemis Deadly chained him with a narrowed gaze, but this man just waved him off. – I’ve read so many books before and have always been in awe of your strength, and now all you say is "figure it out for yourself"? Why do we need your weapons? We can handle a bunch of rebellious witches ourselves.

He almost hissed the last words, hiding his seething anger.

Auriel tried not to show concern, as she trusted her husband completely. Before they were going to appear in the dining room, he assured her that everything would be fine, and yet Artemis’s nervousness was transmitted to her.