“The Lord of the Keep is supposed to have seven vassals, at least.”
“I don’t want to wake anyone else,” Ruvan insists. I wonder what he means by “awaken.” Perhaps it is another term for the rites they spoke of to make vampires. “And even if I did, we only took enough blood for ourselves and to sustain the long night. It’d be too much to support another’s magic.”
“Is this really a conversation we should be having in front of her?” Ventos jerks his head in my direction.
Fortunately, I’ve already pressed the fork and knife against the bottom of the plate. “Don’t mind me; I’ll take this upstairs.”
“No, you won’t.” Ruvan narrows his eyes at me. For a second, I’m worried my intentions have been uncovered. “We already have enough of a problem with vermin. I don’t want anything attracting them to my bedroom.” He turns back to Ventos. “She has made a blood oath with me. She isnotyour enemy.”
“And what about when the blood oath expires?” Ventos hums after his question. “Will she be our enemy then?”
“She will have secured safety for her people; she will not see us as an enemy any longer.” Ruvan’s words are pointed and we lock eyes as he speaks for me. I can feel him trying to probe for the malice I still hold toward him.
I keep my face as blank as a hunter’s mask. “Exactly as you say. Once this is over with, I’ve no reason to concern myself with you.”
“Once a hunter,alwaysa hunter.” Ventos is going to be a problem. He suspects my true intentions and could just as easily become suspicious that I’m not quite all I claim; I’m going to have to keep myself alert around him.
But for now I shrug and head to one of the far tables, putting my back toward them.
Lavenzia assumes her earlier line of questioning. “So we’re really going into the old castle, just the five of us?”
“We’ll have to be strategic,” Ruvan says gravely.
“Callos, you better consult all your books and records to come up with a good path,” she murmurs.
“Do you really doubt my abilities?” Callos asks incredulously.
As they speak, I force myself to eat. They’ve already dined of this food, so I don’t think it’s poisoned. Plus, I’m supposed to be safe as long as I have the blood oath.
The conversation carries on, oddly normal. The six of them sound like old friends—like humans, not monsters.
“Do you really think that we can put an end to this long night?” Ventos’s voice has gone softer, more thoughtful.
“I wouldn’t have bet my life on it if I didn’t. I wouldn’t have brought a hunter here if I didn’t.” I can almost feel Ruvan’s eyes on my back. I’m keenly aware of him, more than I’ve been of anyone before. I continue eating, ignoring the sensation. It abates when he begins speaking again. “The huntersareengaging in the blood lore, even still—we have confirmation of it at last. I’d bet they’re using it to fuel the curse year after year since they can no longer reach its anchor. With the right blood tools, we might be able to undo it entirely…or at least combat it more than just feeding the casings.”
Lavenzia laughs, but it is not a joyous sound. There is a twinge of sorrow running through it. Sadness and heartache. “An end to the long night,” she muses softly, her tone almost songlike. “I don’t even know what I would do first. No, I know. I would eat one of Lamir’s famous cakes. I would eatseven.”
“You would make yourself sick,” Ventos says.
“And what a delightful sickness it would be.” I can tell there’s a smile in her voice.
A vampire talking about cake… The world has flipped itself. Down is up. Blood is ink. I’m sitting on the wrong side of the Fade. Anda vampire is talking about cake.
“I would trade all the cakes in the world to have a city that Julia could return to.” Heavy silence fills the room behind Ventos’s words.
“Have you visited her since we came back?” Lavenzia asks softly.
The long pause draws my attention over my shoulder. Ventos stares at nothing. He doesn’t look sad, but he exudes sorrow. There’s a loss there that I know all too well from the hamlet. I want to revel in it. To think of how wonderful it is to see a vampire in even a fraction of the pain that they’ve caused us.
But…I see myself in that pained expression. I see Mother searching the flames of the forge. Staring at nothing as she sank further into her own void following the death of our father. I see my blank eyes in the mirror after Father died, after Drew left.
Ventos stands and the scraping sound of a chair over the stone floor fills the air. “It’s getting late, I’m going to bed,” he declares, firmly ending the conversation.
“You’re right, we should get some rest,” Lavenzia agrees.
As they are each departing for the night, I carefully wipe the knife I lifted with the rest of the cutlery and slide it into my sleeve. The flat of the blade is cool against my skin. Reassuring. I secure it into place by tightening the leather strap around my cuff with one hand. Hunters’ clothes and armor are designed to hide weapons wherever possible. Even though I’ve never worn the leathers before, I know their designs well enough from working with the tanner for clasps, light plate, and other modifications.
I take their cue and stand as well, wrapping up the other cutlery as I did when I carried my food over to the far table. I set the plate down with the rest of the remnants of dinner.
