"Elena, listen to me!" Adrian suddenly grabbed my shoulders. "You have to give up on that priest! Completely!"
I frowned at him.
"A vampire and a Holy Knight are natural enemies!" he said, his voice urgent. "Even if he doesn't kill you now, one day the Church will order him to purify you! What will you do then?"

"I know." I tried to pull away. "That's why I'm staying away from him."
"Staying away?" Adrian scoffed. "You were just crying your eyes out. That's not 'staying away.' You can't let him go!"
"So what if I can't?" I snapped, cornered and furious. "It's my business!"
"It's my business too!" Adrian's amber eyes burned with anger. "You're my master! I can't just watch you destroy yourself!"
"Destroy myself?" I laughed humorlessly. "Adrian, who do you think you are? You think you have the right to tell me who I can love?"
"I..." Adrian's face flushed crimson. "I'm your Blood Thrall! It's my duty to protect you!"

"Protect me?" I looked at him with scorn. "A useless prince who can't even claim his own throne dares to talk about protecting me?"
My words hit him like a physical blow. He trembled.
He took a deep breath, his voice low and dangerous.
"Elena, you listen to me. A vampire and a priest are fire and ice. Darkness and light. You can never be together! He is an agent of the Holy Light, and you are a creature of darkness. That is your fate!"

"Enough!" I was so sick of his lecturing that the words just flew out of my mouth. "Fine! I won't be with the priest! I'll be with you! Is that what you want to hear?!"
The moment I said it, I regretted it.
Adrian froze.
He stared at me, his eyes wide. A deep blush spread from his neck to the roots of his hair. He even started to stutter.
"You... you stupid vampire... you're just talking nonsense. I'm half-wolf, you're a vampire... how could we..."
Adrian took another deep breath, his mind clearly racing. "But, if you were to..."
Before he could finish, I flicked a pulse of mental energy at him, smacking him lightly.
I put my hands on my hips. "Smelly wolf whelp. Who are you calling stupid? When it comes to strategy, I am your teacher. Have you forgotten the meaning of respect?"
The blush vanished from Adrian's face. He got so angry his claws shot out. "You stupid vampire! One day I'm going to lock you up in chains!"
"Then do it."
I made a face at him and vanished into a blur of shadow.
Just outside the manor, I ran into my sister.
She wore a long white dress and stood in the afternoon sun without any discomfort.
Her purification was almost complete.
She looked at me, her smile a razor's edge.
"It seems your little wolf whelp has a temper. At this rate, sister, how will you ever earn his loyalty?"
"Don't trouble yourself, sister. You're here to kill him tonight, aren't you? The murderous intent is practically rolling off you in waves. Your fangs are barely hidden."
My sister retracted the fangs that had slipped out. "You jest, sister. I have no quarrel with this wolf. Why would I kill him? Besides, Father Cassian has told me time and again not to kill indiscriminately. I'm about to be fully purified. I can't break my vows now."
"If all goes well, in three days, I will become a Daywalker. You must be there to see it, sister."
Her false piety didn't surprise me. Judgment day would take care of her. The key now was Cassian. I couldn't let him die for her.
Three days later.
The sky above the old castle was ablaze with color.
A massive surge of energy made the very heavens tremble.
I stood on a distant hill, watching the castle bathed in light.
Lilith stood in the center of a giant ritual circle.
The circle was carved from pure silver and holy stones, its complex runes glowing brightly.
Countless followers knelt around it, praying for her.
They were the people she had "saved."
Their faith was being channeled into the core of the circle.
"It's starting," Adrian said, standing beside me. "Are you really not going to stop her?"
"Why should I?" My face was a blank mask. "This is her choice."
The light from the circle grew stronger and stronger. A pillar of light shot up from its center, piercing the clouds.
The words of an ancient covenant echoed in the air:
"Vampire Lilith, in recognition of your great merit and your good deeds, the Church grants you passage through the Gate of Rebirth."
"Ascend the steps of holy light, wash away the sins of your blood, and be reborn as a Daywalker."
A staircase of light slowly formed in the center of the circle, leading up into the glow.
Tears of joy streamed down Lilith's face.
She looked back at me on the hill, her eyes full of triumph and mockery.
"Sister!" Her voice carried across the valley. "Thank you for showing me this path! You can stay here, tangled up with your little wolf whelp. After today, I will be the only one of my kind in this world!"
She lifted her skirts, ready to step onto the staircase of light.
Just then, the sky suddenly filled with dark clouds.
A tidal wave of dark energy descended from above.
The figure of our Sire, Lylandra, slowly materialized above the circle.
She wore a blood-red gown, as regal and dangerous as a queen.
"Lilith. Becoming a Daywalker... and you didn't think to tell your mother?"