‘You have no reflection.’
‘Ah.You saw that, did you?’
‘You only come out at night,’ I continued.‘You drain the blood of your victims, and we burn their bodies so they can’t rise.You cannot cross running water, and above all else, you’ve been prince for three hundred years.’I met his eye, tilting my chin in defiance.‘I’ve seen your family line.Did it never occur to you someone in Orlfen might look into your history?’
‘How wise,’ he drawled, evading the question.‘Then why, pray tell, did you think your homespun trinkets would be enough to hold me back?Surely you didn’t really think that would be enough to kill me.’
‘I’d rather die nobly than live as your plaything.’
I struggled to read his reaction.His expression was cool, his amusement fading fast.
‘My dear, I hope you know I am fully committed to being a good and loyal husband.’
‘Good and loyal?’I stepped closer to the sofa, closer to him.This seemed to please him.His eyes raked over me, hand rising as if to cup my elbow, but I stepped around him, circling as I walked.‘Yann would have been good and loyal.’Closer again to the sofa.Ever intent towards the sofa.‘What could you possibly offer that he cannot?’
‘Nobility, perhaps?’He gestured around him.‘A castle?Food?’He paused.‘Eternal life?’
My fingers skimmed the velvet of the sofa cushions while I placed my other hand on his chest, dragging his attention away from my true purpose.It felt like putting my hand on a tailor’s doll.There was no warmth beneath my fingers, no heartbeat to suggest he might be alive at all.
‘What about love?’I asked.
‘I hope that too will come in time,’ Raleigh said, ‘given the chance.’He spoke with a softness I hadn’t expected, but he was mistaken if he thought I was innocent enough to believe he cared how I felt.
I rose to my toes, our faces now impossibly close.His eyes were on my lips and thankfully not on my fumbling fingers.‘Can a monster feel love?’
The question made him flinch.He pulled away, but not quickly enough.By then I’d found my grip on the stake I’d left on the sofa and before he could withdraw fully, I plunged it into his chest.
If you’ve ever tried to sharpen a piece of wood, you’ll know how difficult it is to refine the point sharp enough to pierce flesh, let alone sharp enough to pierce several thick layers of clothing.I’d laboured under the impression that Raleigh’s skin might have putrefied from years of walking the earth as a living corpse, that his flesh might melt away under the pressure and he would fall to dust in my hands.I miscalculated.
My aim struck true: the stake landed just over his heart.But there it stopped.The point crumpled under the pressure, and I was left with nothing more than a broken stick, not even sharp enough to work its way through the embroidery on Raleigh’s jacket.He stared at the stake in shock, then tore it from my grip and threw it to the other side of the room.The cold fury rippling over his face sent a new terror surging through me.
‘If I didn’t know any better I’d say that was a serious attempt on my life.’
‘You mustn’t know better, then.’
He stared at me a moment longer, then sighed and sidestepped around me, keeping his back to the wall as he made his way towards the door.‘I think I sense some animosity from you.’
‘Some?’I scoffed.‘Do I need to explain myself?Surely you’re not completely oblivious to everything you’ve done.’
Raleigh’s lips tightened.‘Not remotely.’
‘Good,’ I said.‘Then tell me what you did to Yann.Where is he?’
‘The baker?’Raleigh asked.He seemed surprised I would care.‘Nothing.’He paused, clearly remembering the events of last night, before correcting himself.‘You saw everything.I told you I’d spare him, and I’m a man of my word.Besides, I was too busy bringing you back here before sunrise to bother any more with him.’
This was of little comfort.‘You left him in the woods with a broken hand?’
‘Hand, not foot.He was quite capable of walking home – you didn’t exactly go very far.I’m sure he’s having supper as we speak.’
I didn’t believe him.‘Let me see him.’
Raleigh barked a laugh.‘Good God, no.Write to him if you don’t believe me, but you’re not going back to Orlfen in this state.’
I wasn’t deluded enough to think he’d let me back to Orlfen inanystate, but the idea that I could send a letter home stunned me into silence.Trapped as I was on this mountain, I might not have to be entirely alone.
He sighed.‘I can see we’re making no progress.I’ll give you some time to adjust to your new accommodations.Perhaps you’ll be more amiable tomorrow evening.’
I glared at him.How he expected me to have a moment’s rest with him prowling the halls I had no idea.But I wasn’t going to argue with him, not when he was finally moving to leave.As he reached the door, he stooped to pick up the stake and rolled it across his fingers, his hooded eyes giving nothing away.As if sensing my gaze upon him, he pointed the stake in my direction.
