"And what if I was a mythical vampire, little one, holding you captive in my lair?" She smiled up at his serious face, absorbing the pain in his brooding eyes. "I would trust you with my life, Mikhail, vampire or not. And I would trust you with the life of my children. You're arrogant and sometimes overbearing, but you could never be evil. If you are a vampire, then a vampire is not the creature of the legends." He moved away from her, not wanting her to see how much her total, unconditional acceptance meant to him. It didn't matter to him that she didn't know what she was saying. He felt the truth of her words. "Most people have a dark side, Raven, I more than others. I am capable of extreme violence, cruelty even, but I am not a vampire. I am a predator, first and foremost, but I am not a vampire." His voice was husky, strangled. Raven moved to close the distance between them, to touch the edge of his mouth, smooth a deep line. "I never thought such a thing. You sound like you believe such a terrible being exists. Mikhail, if such a thing was true, I would know you could not be one of them. You always judge yourself so harshly. I can feel the good in you." "Can you?" he asked grimly. "Drink this." "It better not put me to sleep. I'm going back to the inn to my own bed sometime this night," she told him firmly as she took the glass from him. Her voice teased him, but her eyes were anxious. "I do feel the good in you, Mikhail. I see it in everything you do. You put everyone else first in your life." He closed his eyes in pain. "Is that what you think, Raven?" She studied the contents of the glass, wondering why her words were hurting him. "I know it. I have chased killers, yet I did not have to follow through and bring those killers to justice. That must eat away at you all the time." "You give me far too much credit, little one, but I thank you for your faith in me."