Shaking his head, he drops a kiss to my forehead.
“More secrets.” I scowl, and his lips twitch.
“I need time, Arvelle.” He strokes my hair back from my face. “Tell me about your brothers.”
Gods, they’d adored Tiernon. Whenever he’d come watch me train, they’d come, too, eagerly following his instructions when he gave them drills. Evren, in particular, held a special kind of hero worship for Tiernon. For two boys without a father, he was everything to them.
When he left, they missed him almost as much as I did.
Swallowing down old bitterness—this time at the emperor, and not Tiernon himself—I attempt a smile.
“Ev is still so quick-witted. And Ger … he’ll do anything for his brother, even when he’s annoyed with him. They’re growing into goodpeople. The kind of people who make me proud to know them. To have—”
“Raised them,” Tiernon finishes as he nods. “If they’re good people, it’s because you showed them how to be good, despite how hard your life was. Youshouldbe proud, Velle.”
“It’s just … Not being able to speak to them …”
“That reminds me.” Tiernon peels me off him like I’m a kitten, rolling off the bed and leaning down to rummage in a drawer. The aether lamps reflect light off the mirror in his hand.
“The original couldn’t be fixed, but the mage was able to use its power signature. This mirror will be a match for your brothers’. So you can talk to them again.”
My eyes burn, and I suck in an unsteady breath. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Yes, I do.” He smiles that wide, beautiful smile I once adored.
I smile back. “Yes, I suppose you do.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
It’s late when I prepare to leave Tiernon’s quarters the next morning. Tiernon canceled the imperius training to allow the imperiums a few hours to grieve, and we spent the time in bed. I managed a quick conversation with Evren and Gerith, apologizing for “accidentally breaking” my mirror.
I won’t have them worrying more than they already do.
My new mirror is safely tucked in a drawer. I miss my brothers so much, it’s a constant ache inside me.
“I’ll have your things moved into the imperius quarters,” Tiernon murmurs as I leave.
I turn, leaning against the door. “Um.”
One dark eyebrow shoots up, and he folds his arms behind his head. “You wanted to be an imperium. Imperiums belong in the imperius quarters.”
I’m not going to win this one. “Fine.”
I hesitate, and Tiernon narrows his eyes. “What is it?”
“Neris told me that the sigilkeepers are blackmailing members of the Vampire Council with the sun.”
He sighs. “Neris has suddenly become incredibly chatty.”
I flick my eyes toward his private garden. “Did you ever go to them? I know you miss the sun.”
His words from last night echo through my head.I missed you more than I miss the sun.
“The sigilmarked can only ever give us temporary relief.” He swings his legs out of bed, crossing the room to me. “Those vampires are fighting for something even the most powerful sigilmarked can’t give them—full access to the sun for the rest of their lives.” He holds my gaze. “Obsessing over the things you can’t have will gradually eat away at everything you are and could be.”
His gaze is intent, and he reaches out for me, his hand brushing my cheek. My heart leaps into my throat, and I feel the strangest urge to … weep.
Tiernon sighs, tucking my hair behind my ear. “You need to get to training.”
