“For protection.”
“You need protection from vampires?” I arch my brows in disbelief.
“Vampir, and contrary to what you might believe, there are monsters far worse than us lurking in the darkness.” He motions back to the salt. “The salt helps.”
“I see.” Something is not adding up. He says the salt dilutes a vampire’s senses, but that doesn’t explain how the vampire sensed me when I was within a well-salted home; it hadn’t seen me. He wants me to think of him and his allies as weak, or sympathize with them. I resolve again that I won’t fall prey to his mind games.
“You have more questions,” he says softly as Quinn passes.
“Things I doubt you’ll tell me,” I retort.
We regard each other warily as Quinn opens a second set of doors that lead out of this sparse antechamber. I wonder if Ruvan is engaging in the same calculus as I am. The bloodsworn oath prevents us from lying, allegedly, but I don’t know if it would prevent half-truths. And Quinn has already proved that the vampires can be good at dodging questions.
“Come, hunter.” Ruvan breezes past me and through the door Quinn has opened.
He leads me onto a mezzanine that overlooks a gathering hall below. A few vampire are gathered, but they don’t notice us. Or, if they do, they don’t look our way. Ruvan quickly ushers me through another door that Quinn holds open. But the servant doesn’t follow behind. He instead remains on the other side as it closes.
“These are my chambers,” Ruvan explains, leading me through another set of doors and into a sitting room. “You will stay here.”
“Here?”
“Yes, where I can keep an eye on you personally. Do you really think I’d let you out of my sight?”
“Oh? Worried about me attacking your minions? Don’t have faith in your bloodsworn oath?” I jut my chin out at him, hoping he’ll rise to the bait and tell me if there’s a way I could harm these vampires.
“I have faith in the oath staying your blade. But it won’t do much to your tongue, and I don’t care to deal with the tensions a brute like you could create.” He frowns slightly. I choose to ignore the insult.
“Why don’t you lock me up in a room somewhere, then? I would be happier not to spend time withanyof your kind.”
“Too bad, hunter. You’re going to have to manage working with all of us if you want to see that hovel you call a home again.” He sneers slightly. It is far less fearsome now with his fresh, handsome face. When his skin was leathered, and his fangs bared, he looked like an ancient beast. Now, he looks like any other human would.
No…that’s not quite true. He still moves with the impossible grace of the vampire. His hair is moonlight and his eyes are molten gold. And his fangs are still present, though not as pronounced. Even the subtle things about his appearance aren’t quite human; he’s like a living portrait, too fine to be completely real. Too enchanting to be normal.
“Or…” Ruvan continues. “Is your protesting because these accommodations aren’t comfortable enough for adelicatehunter?”
“Truthfully everything about this arrangement is uncomfortable,” I say outright.
“Excellent. Wouldn’t want you to get comfortable and stay too long.”
“No chance of that,” I assure him with a tone that I hope conveys how obvious it is. I gather my height. Which isn’t much. I’m somewhat stocky in stature and the muscles the forge has hammered into me emphasize the physique. “But what about you? Will it be uncomfortable to have a human in your midst?”
He doesn’t back away; instead, he puffs his chest slightly. “You could never do anything that would make me uncomfortable.”
“Is that a challenge?” My lips split as I bare my teeth at him, trying to speak to him in a language he understands—threats. He mirrors the expression. His fangs are easily far more fearsome to behold.
“By all means,” he invites, holding out his arms. “Make me uncomfortable. I welcome you.” He takes a half step forward. I blink quickly and lean away.I didn’t expect him to actually… He laughs. At me. “I didn’t think so.”
I attempt to salvage my composure. “I’ve no interest in playing games. I’m here to kill.”
“Good.” Ruvan dips his chin slightly. A shadow falls over his eyes and his expression darkens, growing in intensity. We’re a breath from each other. He’s so close that I can see the streaks of gold so bright they’re nearly platinum, star-bursting around the black of his irises. He’s close enough that I could reach up and strangle him. But the mere thought sets my hands to shaking. “I know you will spend every day of this arrangement plotting my death.” His words are slow. Voice low with what sounds like an earth-shattering sorrow, so deep it rumbles my ribs. “Recognize I made this vow with you, knowing the dangers, knowing what you are—that I will hold the leash of a very dangerous creature, one that will bite my throat the first moment I slip.”
What I am... A very dangerous creature,he says, as if I’m the monster here. “I have already beheld your true form. I know the monster you are as well, vampire.”
He scoffs and pulls away. The tension that ignites the air between us is alleviated some. Though the promise of death is still whispered, just waiting for one of us to make good on it.
“What I am…” the vampire lord murmurs, stalking over to the wall. He grabs a blanket that has been thrown over a frame, yanking it to reveal a mirror. The beautiful lie that is his face stares back at him, myself in the background.
My gaze shifts.
