“When she’s set her sights on something, she charges at it with all the ferocity of a wild animal,” Drew says with a chuckle. He’s wearing a smile now too.
“I am not a wild animal,” I protest, giving my brother a glare.
“No, no, that seems about right.” Lavenzia smirks.
“Excuse me, I amnotan animal,” I repeat for emphasis. “I am a forge maiden. And, yes, that means I am quite accustomed to hammering at things until I get my way.”
“She’s always like this?” Ruvan asks Drew.
“Worse, usually.”
“And to think I was lamenting I couldn’t keep you around longer.” I tilt my head to the side and narrow my eyes at my brother.
“You’ll miss me and you know it.” The jest goes soft, genuine emotion creeping in.
“Terribly,” I admit. The mood sags slightly at my tone.
Ruvan clears his throat. “Well, now that we have our plan of attack, more or less, Drew, would you care to see the smithy of the vampir?”
“Depends on how much of a mess my sister has made of it.”
“Excuse me?” I exclaim.
Ruvan stands with a laugh. “I can’t tell if she makes more of a mess of the smithy or herself after a day of smithing.”
“Goodbye, I’m leaving, I shall take my chances with the walkway alone,” I declare, starting for the door. I never thought having Ruvan and Drew together would be dangerous for me. Dangerous to each other, but notme. Yet the two of them seem to be ready to tease me endlessly. How has my brother allied with my accidental husband before he even knows of the truth of the arrangement?
“Oh, has the new lady of the vampir given her orders and decreed we may now return to our business?” Lavenzia asks dramatically. I ignore her. But the words stick to me much like they did the first time she spoke them.
Lady of the vampir. Except I could never be, not really. I’m human through and through, of the soil of Hunter’s Hamlet. Daughter to a hunter.
My feet slow to a stop. I hear them behind me, but it hardly registers. Drew is right, I’ve never been very good at handling problems I couldn’t hit with a hammer. I’ve always known it, and I’ve never had to change. But this situation I’m in can’t be fixed with brute force and determination.
I am who I am. Ruvan is who he is. We’re meant for different worlds. Drew’s presence is fracturing whatever illusion I had been trying to craft. No amount of sheer willpower or bloodsworn oaths will ever change who we are in our hearts.
Someone bumps into me. I look over my shoulder and see Ruvan there, hovering too close. He leans down as the others pass us. Drew is talking with Lavenzia. The two seem to be arguing about how best to get him across the gap. Drew is insisting he will not be carried.
“Your thoughts are loud,” Ruvan whispers.
“Oh?” What does someone say to that?
“Usually you’re a quiet pulsing on the other side of my conscious—a gentle, but firm reminder of your presence. But your thoughts are pounding now.”
Like my heart when he stands that close to me. “I’m relieved to see my brother. Nervous about what must be done. Excited to end the curse.”
Before I can say anything else, Ruvan sweeps me into his arms. His movements are smooth, easy. He hoists me once more like I’m nothing. My hands go around his neck and in a breath, his face is terribly close to mine. I can feel his heart pounding, the blood in the veins of his throat. I’m reminded of how close we were earlier and how much we didn’t say, or do. I can’t stop myself from licking my lips. From wishing we might have been afforded just a bit more time alone.
“And here I thought it might have something to do with me.”
I arch my eyebrows. “Why would you ever think that?”
“Because that pounding gets worse whenever I draw near.” He stretches his neck slightly; our noses almost touch.
My worst fears incarnate. I have entangled myself with a man that I can seemingly hide nothing from.
“We’re being left behind,” I force myself to say. Just like last time, everyone else has moved ahead, and we’re frozen in place.
“So we are.” Ruvan moves, leaping into the open air and landing lightly on the beam that supports the other wing of the castle.
