“Do you want to go inside?” I ask softly. I wonder if the sun is becoming more biting with the curse’s progression on him. It’s yet another reminder that he’s fading from this world. Not meant for much longer with us.
“No, I want to see the sunset. I don’t know how many I have left to see.” It’s somehow worse hearing him voice my thoughts aloud.
“Do you need my blood?” I ask.
“Not here,” he murmurs, suddenly oozing discomfort. Does he not want Winny or Callos to see? They certainly are aware of us by now. “I shouldn’t—I’ve asked too much of you, Floriane. Today truly put everything into perspective.”
“Everything?” I echo.
“My history. What my forefathers did for their own sakes, ignorant or uncaring to the cost it carried. I wanted to be better than them. Even when I was a brute and took you, I vowed I wouldn’t be the monster you thought I was.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I had no intention of using you for your blood. My only goal was to get you to open the door.”
“Never?” Is he honestly trying to say the thought never once crossed his mind?
“Well, perhaps if you became a problem,” he confesses with a somewhat sheepish smile that’s quickly abandoned. “But never like what’s happened.”
So much has happened in so little time. It’s hard to decide what, exactly, he’s primarily focused on. “What’s happened” between us hardly seems bad. But this could be him needing his own space to process. Our discussion has no doubt dredged up the voices of his past, just like I had mine surface this morning.
“Sorry for not becoming a problem.” I try and keep the levity. I enjoyed myself today, despite all odds, I truly did. I don’t want things to turn sour at its end.
“I think you definitely did,” he murmurs.
“Then it’s mutual,” I agree softly.You should be trying to kill him!a part of me still nags.Keep your hand on his, another voice, soft, strong, and foreign to everything I thought I was whispers from the pit of my chest. It echoes up from a previously smothered and mostly ignored place.
Footsteps crunch in the snow and ice behind us. I slowly, subtly shift my hand off his.
“Are you two about ready to head back?” Callos asks. “It’s getting late.”
Ruvan pushes away from the railing. I expect him to say yes, but he surprises me instead when he says, “Not just yet.”
“Oh?” Winny tilts her head slightly.
“I’ve decided to take Floriane to the academy.”
Winny and Callos exchange a look, one that holds an unspoken conversation that only they seem to be able to discern. Callos finally speaks. “I think that’s a good idea.”
“Me too.” Winny sounds more reluctant, but her agreement seems sincere.
“You do? Both of you?” Ruvan is surprised.
“Floriane should keep learning about us. And beyond the blood lore, there’s nothing more important in our history than the long night,” Callos says.
“Shall we go ahead again?” Winny asks.
“I think I’d like to take Floriane alone.”
“It’s getting late, my lord.” She looks to the setting sun.
“We’ll only be a short while, back long before true nightfall.” Ruvan’s tone makes it clear he doesn’t want to be questioned again.
Callos seems to pick up on it. He rests a hand on Winny’s shoulder. “Our lord can take care of himself, however I could certainly use an escort back.”
“All right,” Winny relents. “Ventos keeps the academy well patrolled anyway. But if you’re not back within the hour, we’re all coming to look for you.”
“I would expect nothing less from my loyal vassals.” Ruvan smiles and holds his hand out to me. “Shall we?”
