Tomorrow they were heading back to their regular lives, not that there was anything regular about them. They had three interviews booked, one with a magazine and a photoshoot, one radio, and one filmed. They'd released updates throughout their recovery period, answered a few outlets' questions via email, and done short spots on social media, but these were going to be their first in person bookings.

It was going to be a big day, but they were all ready for it. Nothing would ever be the same, but Damiano thought maybe they could make it better. Yes they had the trauma to continue to deal with, you didn't get over having your throat ripped out or being kidnapped in a few weeks, but the possibilities now were endless, and they had each other.

They also had a large house in Rome, an even larger house and grounds in the country and investments, the bank account with lots of noughts on it was being held in trust for Tera's other vampire child, whose identity was confidential. If the mysterious vampire didn't reappear and claim it within fifty years it would go to them, not that they were worried about that part. They had given the accountants and their associated solicitors instructions to continue maintaining everything as they had been doing. The house and estate had tenants and the investments could keep ticking over as they had been. Everything had all of their names on it and that was as much as they wanted to deal with it at the moment. They had decided to keep the vampire side of things completely separate from their old lives for now.

Damiano left the others to head outside for a smoke and took his phone. He was considering quitting because nicotine didn't do anything for him anymore. Caffeine still worked a treat, but nicotine, not so much; vampire bodies were weird. However, the habit was kind of comforting, what with all the changes both physical and mental. As he checked his messages, he found a new one waiting from Sofia, and flicked it open. All it said was: "We should talk".

Somehow he wasn't surprised as several things jumped into his head all at the same time. They slotted together and he finally had to admit what events had been pointing him at, even if he had been ignoring them.

He sent back one word: "When?"

Two hours later, Sofia and he were sitting across from each other in the room usually used for their private therapy sessions.

"Is this where you tell me I'm psychic like you?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

Sofia smiled at that.

"Well, no two of us are ever the same," she replied, "but in principle, yes. When you did not ask why we needed to talk, I suspected you had worked it out."

"You covered well when we were looking for Victoria, but then there was what happened during the raid and the dreams," he revealed. "I thought it might be all of us together for a while because of the dreams, then I thought it was to do with her," he still had trouble saying Tera's name, "but there have been other small things, which seem to be just me. Was finding Victoria when you first suspected?"

"Well that definitely underlined my suspicions," Sofia told him, "but actually it was the way you reacted when Thomas woke up the first time."

That was news to him, but then he remembered the way she had been considering him.

"Oh," he said, "that was what the look was for."

"It could have been that you were simply hyper-aware of your friend's condition given the circumstances," she explained, "but you seemed very certain."

"Hmm," Damiano agreed, "I was," he admitted. "But how do I know if I'm having a psychic moment or just guessing?"

"Have you had any trouble telling the difference so far?" Sofia asked.

That seemed like circular logic, until Damiano thought about it. He went through what he was pretty sure were instances of whatever ability he had coming into play and he couldn't fault it.

"No," he said finally.

Sofia smiled a little.

"I am fully aware that saying 'you just will' is an unsatisfactory answer," she said, "but unfortunately, with us, it is an explanation which fits."

"Is this why she chose me, why she could get into my head?" he asked.

"Yes and no," Sofia replied. "Your reaching out to Victoria would have left you as more of an open conduit, hence the reason Tera reached for you and not Victoria who was physically closer when she died. However, it is also most likely why her efforts completely failed."

"I don't get it," he admitted at that.

"A psychic mind is a strong mind," Sofia told him.

"I'm sure my therapists would beg to disagree," he countered.

"Strength comes in different forms," Sofia said, perfectly seriously, "and I am speaking from a metaphysical point of view, not that I think you are giving yourself enough credit either way."

"So I left the door wide open, but tried to slam it in her face without even realising it?" he asked.

"And you almost succeeded," Sofia tried to assure him with a nod.

He was still having a little trouble with the urge to feel guilty.

"We've had more dreams too," Damiano said, changing tack because he was still processing.

"And it is not unsettling any of you?" Sofia asked.

"No," he said, shaking his head, "in fact I think it's helping. We don't have nightmares when we're together and the shared dreams are always energising."

He left out that the shared dreams also seemed to be seventy-five percent sexual. They hadn't had a huge number, but enough, and they were usually quite specific in nature.

"You have adapted so quickly," Sofia said and she sounded genuinely impressed. "Four fledgling vampires without a maker should not work this well, but I think your abilities may have slipped you into the maker role."

Damiano shook his head.

"Not maker," he said, because he didn't feel that, "the link, but not maker. We make ourselves."

"Do the others know?" Sofia asked.

He shrugged.

"They might have suspected something, but this is all so new and with everything that happened, well," he replied. "They probably definitely suspect something now we're shut in here though."

"Do you want them to know?" was Sofia's next question. "I can always make up another reason to be here."

"They have to know," he said.

There was no decision to be had there; he could not lie to them now.

"Leo suspects too, doesn't he?" he added.

Sofia nodded.

"We have spun it so that everything that happened can be explained by the extraordinary circumstances," she told him, "so the hierarchy have reasonable doubt, but Leo is no idiot."

"What happens if the hierarchy finds out?" he asked.

"There are those of our kind who believe those of us with extra gifts owe them to the community," Sofia said, "and they can be annoying, but we are drawn to where we are needed, so it is better to ignore them. They will find out about you sooner or later, but it's better to put it off as long as possible."

"Noted."

"There are also a few who will offer you large amounts of money to be their pet psychic," Sofia added with a small smile. "Up to you if you were to take any of them up on it of course, but some get petulant when told no, so also better dealt with only when necessary."

"Sounds boring," Damiano commented with a small smile.

"Very," she said.

"Speaking from experience?" he asked.

"I tried it for a while some years ago," she explained. "An easy life, but we are not meant for an easy life, or we would not be what and who we are."

He nodded with a shrug, she had a point.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked, after all it had been over three weeks.

"You needed time to settle in your new being," Sofia replied. "I knew you would call me if you needed to ask questions, and then there was the incident with Tera, so I waited until the last moment to come to you. Your recovery was far more important initially, and self-discovery is far better in this context than simply being told."

"I did almost call you a couple of times to ask about this," he waved in the general direction of his head, "but kept talking myself out of it," he admitted with a small laugh.

They were talking as if this was just another everyday thing, but really it was huge. It was only Sofia's calm and collected attitude to the whole situation that made it seem not overwhelming.

"What do I need to know?" he asked, deciding to be practical rather than listen to the part of his brain trying to freak out.

He could do that later, by himself if he found it necessary.

"Follow your heart," Sofia said simply and smiled again, "but I don't think I need to tell you that. I can give you some general techniques for difficult times, and I can teach you how to help others come closer to their inner selves as I was trying to do with you, Ethan and Thomas when we first met. And, of course, I can teach you how not to kill yourself if you decide to pull ricidulous stunts without backup," she added and he gave her a small grin in return, he deserved that. "Most of this is not a science and your own instincts will be the best guide. As long as you are aware, that is the best any of us can do."

"Do you ever get really strong hits off blood?" he asked, because that's what occurred to him next.

"You mean stored blood I assume?" Sofia asked and he nodded. "What do you mean by hits?"

"Like someone having a really good time barrelling into your head," he replied, for some ridiculous reason totally unwilling to just come out and be graphic about it.

"Ah," Sofia said, "yes, that does happen occasionally. Some donors enjoy the thought of their blood being consumed more than others."

"That's one way of putting it," Damiano commented.

"Only the strongest of emotions leaves an impression in the blood like that, even for those of us who are extra sensitive to such things," Sofia reassured him. "It is not something you will have to worry about often."

"Good," he replied, "because I like my own blood in my brain."

Sofia's laugh at that, made him smile. She was such an unusual person. Her face was young, late teens, early twenties at most if Damiano did not miss his guess, but her eyes and the way she carried herself spoke of a wisdom he could only dream of ever achieving. Sofia fitted her role. Damiano was pretty sure he was the farthest from being suitable to be the psychic one out of all of his friends.

"Why me?" he asked. "I've never had a supernatural or psychic experience in my entire life before all this."

"You're sure about that?" was Sofia's simple response.

"Okay," he said, "how about never knowingly then?"

"I wish there was a simple answer," Sofia replied, "but I am afraid sometimes there is no logical reason for certain things. True psychics among vampires are rare, among humans even rarer. You may have had a latent talent which was awoken by Tera's attack, or the metaphysical changes you have been through may have created this ability by themselves. There is no way to tell unless you remember any specific instances of psychic ability from before you became a vampire."

"Nothing is coming to me," he said and then grinned, because he liked to laugh at his own jokes.