https://youtu.be/YqG-52brfjo

The next morning, I was woken up by the touch of a warm and soft hand. I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in my bedroom. Every moment from the last day rushed into my head and my eyes filled up slowly but I knew there was no point to think of Shandris. She's no more and I had to cope with that. 

'I shouldn't be weak, I have to take care of my mother. ' I exclaimed firmly in my head and wiped my tears before turning my head slightly to the right. Rosario and Zaphira stood next to the bed and I raised my eyebrow at Rosario.

"Where's mother?" 

"She's fine, she just needs to take some rest." He replied to which I nodded back.

"Did I hurt anybody?" I asked, slowly and he shook his head with a smile.

"Nobody except yourself." He exclaimed with a slight chuckle and I pouted slightly.

"Don't, seriously," I said and he hummed, still with the smile. 

I took both my hands from the sides and started playing with them while thinking about whether to ask him the most obvious question. 

'But I should, right?' I said to myself and took a deep breath before I began.

"Did you tell mother?" 

He sighed and shook his head again slowly, as a no.

"Aren't you gonna tell her?" I asked him and he shrugged his shoulder.

"I don't know." He told me and I hummed to his words. 

The atmosphere was getting a bit strange so I decided to change the topic and asked him, "How did you know I was here?" 

"I was going to come to your room yesterday night, and when I did, you weren't there. I asked Lucas and he told me that Zephyr was going to take you back. I asked help from the wood spirits to find you and as I got closer, I sensed strong magic. That's how I knew it was you." He explained.

"Zephyr...how is he?" I asked with closed eyes to remember his face.

"Terrible, though he's not showing that on the outside. Lucas told us all about his past and everyone, especially Edgar regretted a lot about his attitude towards Zephyr." He said and I hummed again in a low voice.

"I'm not one to talk, Irina...But for a guy who has a difficult personality like Zephyr, you 'ought to tell your true feelings straight to his face." He advised and I gave him a small smile.

"If I can get back," I exclaimed with a sigh and sniffed a tear, opening my eyes. He caressed my cheek softly and said, "You can and you will." 

"Huh?" I asked him in disbelief.

"How do you think I got here? I'm a wizard, Irina. I inherited our mother's and my father's powers. It's easy for me to cross Rosapast's barrier. You can too if you're with me." He told me and I stared at him.

"Oh." I thought for a moment about that but soon, I shook my head, slowly.

"No, I can't go back," I said and he tilted his face towards me, giving me a confused look. Then he pulled himself together after a while and nodded slightly.

"I understand and I thought about that too, Irina. It's too dangerous for our mother to come with us to the mansion now. So, I'm afraid we have no choice but to make her stay here with the wolf." He said and I clenched my fists.

"No! I'm not coming without her," I said, firmly and he took my hand in his.

"She's my mother too, Irina. You should know what the better option is. The wood spirits will protect her until we come back. But for now, we should get going."

"No...but..." I began and then sighed, nodding slowly.

"It'll be fine, trust me." He said and I nodded again.

"What will we tell her?" I asked, looking into his eyes.

"What you should be telling her... Although she did ask me where you were, I said nothing to that because I thought you should be the one to answer that." 

"Can you be there with me when I tell her?"

"Of course," He replied and I gave him a small smile as I tried to get up from the bed with his help. 

Mother was crying on the bed in Shandris's room as we were looking for her. She quickly wiped away her tears when she saw us coming inside. I glanced at Rosario and he gave me an assuring smile as I stepped forward towards mother.

"Mother..."

"Hmm? Ira, how are you?" She asked, trying her best to put on a small smile as she saw me.

"I'm fine mother." I sat on the bed next to her while Rosario stood on the wooden chair next to the bed that we were on.

 I thought for a moment about how to say that I was going back but I couldn't say it, seeing my mother's face. Rosario saw me hesitating so he knelt down from the chair in front of mother and held her hand.

"Lady Zahara, I need your permission for something." He said and mother looked at him, confused.

"What could I possibly do, child?" She asked and I looked at Rosario when she called him a child but he said nothing back. 

'Aren't you really not going to tell her, brother?' I thought, sadly.

"You asked me where Irina was earlier, yes?" He said and mother nodded, still trying to figure out what was happening while I stood next to her, staring down.

"I couldn't say this to you earlier and I'm sorry for that. But right now, you need to know this. These past weeks, She was living in the mansion on the further side of the woods nearby. And...right now, I need your permission to let her go back there with me." He said and she widened her eyes in shock.

"Mansion? You mean the mansion where the vampires live?" She asked and I noticed her eyes tearing up as he nodded slightly. I patted her back and looked into her eyes with a small smile.

"It's okay, mother. I know everything." I said and she broke down saying "Irina, I'm so sorry." I hugged her tight while she cried on my shoulders.

"Irina, I..." She began but then she stopped.

"It's okay, mother. I understand." I said and leaned back a little to wipe her tears.

"Lady Zahara...I'm sorry but we can only make it past the barriers if we go before evening. Will it be fine if she comes with me?" Rosario asked and mother looked at me before he looked back at him.

"Why?" She asked.

"Zephyr...He was an old acquaintance of fath- I mean of Harold. He loves Irina and so does she. He brought her back here as situations have got a bit complicated there since the Nightworth Coven got to know about her. And he has been terrible ever since. So if you may, I want you to understand that she's the only one who can fix him back." He said and smiled at me hopefully.

"Harold...I never thought I would hear his name again..." She slowly exclaimed, looking down and sniffing her tears. I saw Rosario looking down too, holding back his tears.

"Mother..." I said and she shook her head.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You should go now, Ira." She said and I nodded with a small smile.

"You'll come back, right?" She asked me.

"Of course mother, I promise," I hugged her. 

Then after a while, I got up with Rosario and walked out of the room to the front of the house. Zaphira came walking alongside mother with her tail down and whined at us. Rosario started chanting a portal spell and I looked at Zaphira.

"Sorry Zaph, but you should stay here with mother this time. Promise me that you'll protect her." I said and she quickly stood at ease, nodding her head confidently.

"Good girl, I love you." I smiled and patted her head, then turned to mother.

"Mother, I'll come back to you, okay? I love you." I kissed my mother's cheek and she did the same to me, nodding with a smile.

"I know...", She turned to Rosario, "You...take care of my daughter."

"Always." He replied back with a smile and gave forth his hand to walk me inside the portal circle.

"Wait, what's your name?" Mother asked Rosario and I looked at him with pleading eyes to give him a signal not to lie. He noticed that and squeezed my hand tight as he answered.

"Rosario." He said and Mother leaned back in shock. 

I slowly smiled to myself at the scene in front of me and wandered my eyes around both of them.

"Rosario..." She repeated as tears flooded her eyes. 

"Mother..." Rosario lost it and quickly left me to hug mother tight while she hugged him back, showering his cheek with her kisses.

"Why...my son, why didn't you tell me?" She asked and he hummed sadly to her words.

"I'm sorry, mother." 

 "Rosario!" I called out as the portal started shrinking and the circle started shining brightly, making him turn back to me.

"Mother, I should go." He exclaimed sadly and she nodded, wiping her tears.

"Yes, you should go in order to return." She declared as he stood inside the circle.

"We will come back, mother." He spoke firmly and held my hand again.

"Then go my children...Irina and Rosario... Protect each other until the end, with all your might and strength. Love each other and return back, for I'll be waiting. May God be with you both, farewell." She said before the portal started shining at its extreme. Our bodies floated into the air and before I could even blink, we were in front of the mansion's entrance.

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