I still makeDrew uncomfortable with my gold-ringed eyes. But I suppose that much is to be expected since most days I experience some amount of my own discomfort when I pass by my reflection. It doesn’t come from the way I move, or learning how to deal with strange cravings, or sudden magical surges…just my eyes. They’re the only thing that serves as a physical reminder that I am different.
Fortunately for me, Ruvan seems to be much more adept at turning a human into a vampir than Tersius was. But the blood lore has evolved and become more sophisticated over time. Tersius was an initial attempt. I’m the process after much more practice.
Drew returned the three missing blood lore tomes, giving Ruvan the opportunity to continue ensuring my recovery went smoothly and Callos the opportunity to piece together most of the fraught history of the early humans and the vampir. Frankly, even if it’s not as bad as Jontun made it out to be, it’s still messy, ugly, and complicated in many ways. Most of the freshly awakened vampir seem to be glossing over the details.
They left a world dying. Governed only by chaos and constant squabbling. They left a world where answers were few and conflicts were plentiful. And they woke up to a place of hope, where those that made it through the long night can look toward a future.
So no one seems too keen on fussing over the details from thousands of years ago. Whose fault the curse was, why it happened,howit happened, none of that seems too important anymore to any of them. They’re ready to move on. Those finer details are important to the Vampir King, however. Ruvan has made it a point to make it clearwhobroke the curse. And that seems to keep most of the skeptics about me at bay.
For now.
“You seem to be doing well here,” Drew says. He’s perched on one of the tables of the smithy like usual, like he always was. He wears the robes of the master hunter again, even though it seems to be the consensus back in the hamlet, among those who have even a portion of the details of what’s transpired, that the Hunter’s Guild will dissolve sooner rather than later.
“I have few complaints.” I give him a knowing smile as I wipe my hands on a rag.
“Sister to the master hunter, queen of the vampir, and settling in quite well. No one would believe me if I told them the full truth.”
“Nothing is official yet on the queen front.” I tap my forehead. “Still lacking a crown.”
“Now tell me. Is that only because you haven’t got around to making one?”
I laugh and shake my head. “You’re unbearable. Remind me again why I should escort you across the Fade so often?”
“Because you would be heartbroken if you couldn’t see me whenever you wanted.”
“Would I be heartbroken, or would you?”
“Both?”
We share a smile. I put the rag down on the table and look out the windows. The glass was replaced a few months ago. It turns out that Callos and Ruvan weren’t exaggerating about the skill and craftsmanship of the vampir.
To think, we once hunted them, a people of scholars and artists. We have so much more to learn by working with each other. I can only hope to see such a day in my lifetime.
“Here.” I toss him the small, circular, steel pendant I was working on.
Drew turns it over in his palms. It’s smooth on the back and marked with five dots on the front. “What is it?”
“A good luck charm. Callos has been teaching me about them. The vampir catalogued the stars and I found out what shape we were born under.” I pull on a leather cord around my neck and show him a similar pendant. “I figured we needed a replacement for our rings. Apologies it’s not silver this time.”
Drew laughs. “No need to apologize. I wouldn’t want my vampir sister accidentally killing herself.” I smirk and begin cleaning up the smithy. “What does our star shape mean?”
“You’re not going to believe me if I tell you.”
“Tell me.” He hops off the table.
“Dagger—the shape of swift and irrevocable change.” We share a laugh. “Now, we should get you back. Dawn is breaking and we don’t want to raise too many questions.”
“No one will ask; I told them I was going to inspect the new gate and make sure the foundations were settling well.”
The secret pathway into Tempost is guarded once more, the final duty of the hunters. Drew has the young hunters working around the clock to build the walls and roof around that “mysterious place.” Mother was the one who forged the gate and lock. I was there to help her install it. Other than her and Drew, the rest of Hunter’s Hamlet thinks I’m dead and that Drew really did slay the lord of the vampir when he was kidnapped, which is why the attacks during the full moon have stopped.
Though, I suppose technically Ididdie. So they’re not wrong. I chuckle to myself.
“What is it?” Drew asks.
“Nothing.” I shake my head. “Nothing at all. Let’s go to the receiving hall and get you back.”
The armory is now orderly, even if most of the weapons are still unusable. Ruvan has been adamant that the rest of Midscape doesn’t need to know that the vampir have returned just yet. As long as we’re a secret, we don’t need to worry about weapons for protection, so he has me focusing on smithing tools to help us rebuild.
