Better question: Why is everyone so tight and up-in-arms around here? I’m the one who just got unwillingly defiled, not you two.
“Where is Sephania?” I ask, ignoring his outburst.
“Sleeping. We wore her out.” He tosses a smart smile at me.
“Still? It’s been nighttime for hours.”
“No matter how long she acclimates, brother, she will always be a human. Being up all night and sleeping all day is unnatural to her.”
I rub the back of my neck. “Right.” My hand moves to the handle of my war-axe near my shoulder. “How are those spindly fingers of yours doing these days, cub?”
“Why?”
“I’d like the list her friend wrote, which I assume is in her room. Preferably, I’d like to obtain said list without waking her.”
“Sister Cyprilis’ list? All the humans on it are dead. We made sure of it. It was quite the bonding experience.”
I frown. “I know. I was there. I’m not talking about the humans.”
“You want to find the vampires on the list?”
I tap my axe again.Thisis my idea of getting my frustrations out. “Like I said, cub, I’m glad you’re keeping those blades sharp. Buckle up and let’s go.”
Chapter 33
Garroway
Vallan has more energy than usual. It’s a bit off-putting. The usually stoic, controlled giant has a twitchy eye and a tic in his jaw that makes me worried for his mental state.
After I easily pilfer the list from Sephania’s sleeping quarters, we leave the manor without Master Skar’s knowledge. I ask Vall, “Why the sudden need to slay monsters, brother? Is everything all right?”
“Why wouldn’t it be, cub?”
That. Right there. Typically, Vallan Stellos would simply grunt away my question. He answered, yet there’s some skepticism behind his words, like he doesn’t trust me.Or perhaps he doesn’t trust himself.
“You were gone from Manor Marquin when I woke up this evening,” I say, tossing a sidelong glance at him.
We make our way to the carriage tucked inside the barn at the eastern edge of the manse. An acolyte brings us the two-horse cart and we hop on the bench.
“As I told Skartovius,” Vallan says, gripping the reins, snapping them, and getting us going, “I was visiting the North Mines. Not that it’s any business of yours.”
“Sephania was dismayed you were the only one of us absent when she woke up. Perhaps you should apologize to her when you see her next. Little things like that are important to humans, I’ve learned.”
“I thought you said she was sleeping.” Now it’s his turn to study me with a sidelong glare, searching for any sign of suspicion.
“She is. She woke up in the middle of the morning, as humans sometimes do. She promptly fell right back asleep, tangled in mine and Master’s arms.”
Vallan frowns. “Perhaps she has night terrors. She wouldn’t be the first.”
I notice how he’s gently changing the subject, nudging away any questions of what he was getting up to when no one was watching. It puts me ill at ease, with a pit forming in my belly.Please don’t tell me you’ve become like that hound Glintov, who has oddly been missing from court ever since the Trithea raid, Vallan. A spy and traitor of the worst kind.
It would surely vex me and Skar if that were the case. Worse, it wouldruinSephania, because she treats the three of us as equal partners.
I bite back a retort, deciding to let my worries die. Whatever the reason for Vallan’s sudden need to kill, I’m all for it, since it will be doing Sephania a favor. I can revisit his odd ambiance later.
As Vallan leads our carriage westward, I ask, “Where to first?”
“Figure we’d ask Cyprilis for any extra information she might have about her vampiric slavers.”
