– Glossy is not the way… I prefer aesthetics. Maybe in the near future. – I stroked my chin thoughtfully with my fingers, already imagining my own exhibition in the best galleries in the world. But alas, in the present, I'm stuck on the glossy step. But it won't be for long. I promise. It's time to improve my skills and channel them into something truly worthy of a photographer, like reportage photography. Hmm, I'll do that right after I shoot that strangely beautiful Icelandic woman whose hair and eyebrows are so white they made even me marvel. I'll surround her with cold landscapes and icy beauty to emphasise her own. Most importantly, she's not a model at all, just a nurse in the hospital of her tiny village in the west of the island. She'll be the best thing I've ever done. And then I'm going to kill her. Her blood intrigues me. The wind of Iceland seems to be playing in her veins…

– Maria?

I woke up to hear Markus's rather loud voice calling me.

– Yes?" I asked with a smile, not looking at him.

He knew my secret. He had seen me. He could tell Mariszka.

I should ask him. I have to. Tonight. To find out how far the truth about my shitty life has spread.

– I'm going to the airport. Would you like to keep me company? – Markus asked.

I looked up at him in surprise.

He looked at me calmly.

"Obviously, he wants to talk to me about the same thing I want to talk to him about," I thought. There was a reason he'd asked me to ride with him to the airport.

– Yeah, I'd love to. – I got up from my chair. – But I hope we can make it before the gift-giving.

– Of course we will. My son wouldn't forgive me if I missed this momentous occasion. – Markus turned to his mother. – Tell Mariszka we'll be there in half an hour.

– Please don't be late," Mrs. Morgan said meekly.

Markus and I went down to the castle's huge garage. Silently. I waited for Markus to ask me the question, but he didn't say anything. It was only when we approached one of the cars, a luxurious black Jaguar, that Markus looked at me and smiled.

– What did Cedric say? – He asked, out of the blue.

Unexpected, because I was expecting a different question: "So you sleep with mortals?"

That deceived expectation, which I admit was only a relief, made me smile widely.

– You know your brother. He said he wanted to be alone," I said, sitting down in the car next to Markus, who was driving. – I wasn't surprised, though, and everyone should stop being surprised.

– I stopped doing that a long time ago. Cedric can't be changed, that's just the way he is. – Markus started the car engine and we drove slowly out of the garage into the dim light of day.

– And yet I'm surprised at how different you two are," I grinned. – Born into the same family, with only a tiny age difference.

– Yeah, just like you and Mariszka.

The phrase, which Markus said in a rather joking tone, made me fix my eyes on his face. It was like foreplay leading up to an inquisition.

But I wouldn't be myself if I let anyone throw it in my face like a dirty towel washing away my protective mask.

– You mean the fact that I sleep with mortals? – I asked bluntly, but with irony in my voice.

– No, I merely noticed that you and my wife quietly hate each other. – Markus smiled. – And don't worry about your sex life. I'm not interested.

– Cedric knows," I said quietly. – You told him.

– Yes. But only to him.

– Why?

– What?

– Why didn't you tell Mariszka? – That question really surprised me.

– I don't think she'd take it as well as Cedric.

– But why did you tell him? – I asked. I was irritated. – It's none of your business!

– Don't be nervous. Cedric wasn't even surprised. I was surprised to see you with that bartender in Toronto. – Markus's tone was so calm that I was suddenly ashamed of my temper. But I wasn't going to apologise: Markus really had no right to reveal what he'd seen. Not even to his brother. He didn't!

– I'm not nervous. It's just my own business, don't you think? – I responded to Markus's retort with the same calmness.

– I do. But you have to admit, it wasn't a pleasant discovery.

– I don't care.

– Neither do I.

– Well, that's perfect.

– You're being ironic. – Markus looked at me. – 'But I don't want Mariszka or my and your parents to find out about this. Please be more discreet.

– I wonder if you are lecturing your friend Brandon on this. – The irony never left my voice.

– He doesn't need them. He doesn't care what anyone else thinks.

– That's where we're alike.

– No. You love your family too much to do it out in the open like Brandon does. Frankly, I don't know why he's suddenly gone off the rails.

– Yeah, he used to be nothing but annihilating to mortals. – I shrugged. – But now his life seems to revolve around the skirts of mortals.

– I don't think so. Brandon… It's hard to understand his nature.

– Have you tried asking him the reasons for this sudden change?

Markus suddenly laughed briefly.

– Of course I have! – He answered my question and stopped talking.

– Do I have to get every word out of you? – I said jokingly and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. – What did he say?

– The same as you did.

– That it's none of your business?

– Yes.

There was silence. We drove in silence on the wide, flat road.

It's weird. Brandon and Markus were best friends. For years. Decades. Centuries. And suddenly this Englishman declares to Markus that taking an interest in his best friend's life is "none of his business"? What's happened to him? No-one can change so suddenly. 180 degrees.

But Brandon wasn't a doormat like the rest of the vampires. He didn't hide his passion for mortals from others. I do. He didn't. And that's what I admired about him. That openness. This insane disregard for others, their beliefs, their views. Our beliefs. I hope I'll be like that. One day.

– He is weirdo! – I said quietly, and then I stared at Markus's face again. – The woman he's in love with. Do you know her? Who is she?

– You won't believe this, but I have no idea. – Markus sighed heavily. For a moment his face became very serious. – I wish I knew…

– What the hell is going on with that bastard? – The mystery surrounding Brandon Grayson tugged at me like a Siren. Why would I want to know? What do I care?

Let it go, Maria. Let it go now.

– I'm not sure what I'm guessing, but I'm getting the idea that Brandon isn't in love with sex with mortals, but with his power over them," Markus suddenly changed the subject.

– Well, that sounds like the Brandon I know," I chuckled. – Still, I'd like to know which one of us was unlucky enough to be the object of his lust. No, wait… The object of his affection. Ha ha! That sounds so ridiculous, knowing we're talking about him!

I wanted it so badly. To the point of a mind spasm.

– He's not as bad as he seems," Markus said in a cool tone, as if defending his best friend's honour.

– I'm not saying he's bad. I'm saying it's hard to believe this amazing event. He's fallen in love! Ha! – I parried.

But I wasn't actually amused. I was sorry.

– Okay, let's leave the poor guy alone, okay? – Markus asked in a strained tone, turning his car sharply to the right. It was only now that I noticed that we were making our way through a dense line of cars, as if frozen in a traffic jam.

– Shit… Where do all these idiots go? – Markus cursed softly as he pulled up behind a large white SUV. – Stop honking, donkeys, it won't help!

But his words were said in vain: the other drivers, the mortals, honked as often and loudly as if they hoped to clear the traffic jam with their incredible inappropriate noise. Hoping that the traffic jam would dissipate on its own if they pressed the signal button every fraction of a second.