“I know you are anxious to get well, Grayson, but that will only happen if you rest and rest well,” she told him.
Worry crossed her face as Dani came lightly to the bed. She ignored their nakedness, which was hidden under the covers, but still theywerein bed together. Ryder remembered that in his days as Weryn, making love in front of other Vampires in his Bloodline had been normal. It had often led to threesomes, foursomes, or simply orgies as everyone got in on the act. Lovemaking was not something hidden away and nakedness, especially among shifters, was not considered even sexy.
But he and Grayson–when they had been called Weryn and Ashyr anyways–had been carefulnotto display such overt attention to one another, even though their Bloodlines had known they were together. It was some kind of strange belief they’d both had that trouble could be avoided with the other Immortals about their relationship if they simply kept it on the down low. It hadn’t. It had all the sense of guilty children, which they were not. So it certainly didn’t make sense now. But still, Ryder was a bit taken aback when Dani perched on the edge of the bed and felt Grayson’s forehead. Her expression grew grimmer.
“You’re clammy and feverish,” she said, continuing to gently stroke Grayson’s hair. “While we have no idea what using your gift is doing to your body, I can tell it’s not good. And being here in the Ever Dark… your true nature is calling.”
“Yeah, I’ve had something like this happen in the past when I used my powers in this life. Not as bad, but I never did anything like the tidal wave when I was a human,” Grayson admitted.
“I wish I had seen that,” Ryder murmured.
Grayson grinned. “It was truly awesome though it took out a fair bit of the forest, which I regret.”
“You also took out two Kaly slices though, too, didn’t you?” Dani reminded him.
“I did. But that just means they’ll inhabit other bodies if these were destroyed, which I’m not sure about.
“So that means there are at least two more out there,” Ryder muttered.
“If not more. I wonder if they have Roan-bodies that they all move into when they’re not trying to pretend to be someone else,” Grayson mused.
“Probably. The one I met was as mad as a hatter so I wouldn’t presume anything less,” Ryder said.
“Maybethat’show they keep their sense of oneness going. They don’t recombine into one soul, but by having the same body or bodies, that’s their connection,” Grayson wondered. “Can you imagine a whole room full of them?”
Ryder shuddered. “I would rather not. But I can honestly say that there is not even the slightest connection between them and Caemorn or even the Kaly we knew.”
“I hope that comforts Caemorn,” Grayson offered.
“I hope so, too. But I think while the rest of us–excluding you, of course, Grayson–have been running away from our Immortal pasts, he’s been facing his head on,” Ryder said.
“To forget is to risk it happening again,” Grayson said. “I wonder what it must be like to have the power he has. To know death. To control souls.”
“It’s the antithesis of what I have,” Ryder admitted. “I’m connected to all the creatures, the living ones anyway.”
“I imagine that it must be hard,” Grayson said. “Othering and more.”
“Yes, not that Balthazar will allow him to separate himself.”
“Which is a good thing. A great thing. Chivvying each other. It would never have flown before, but now it is as natural as breathing to them” Grayson said with certainty. “They’re each so happy together. And I never thought that either of them could ever be truly happy.”
“They are,” Ryder agreed.
And perhaps that showed that two Immortals being Master and fledgling meant that it didn’t have to be a relationship where one was subservient to the other. In fact, Balthazar was the one who ran that show if either of them truly did. But that was often the case with fledglings.
It would be that way with us.
Dani’s eyes flickered to Ryder and then back down to Grayson. “Speaking of Masters and Children, perhaps this illness means it’s time to be turned, Grayson.”
Ryder’s heart twisted a little bit in his chest, but he was in agreement with Dani. He knew that Grayson wanted Ryder to turn him all things being equal, but that he was still deciding what was best for their king and their kind. What power combination would be the most advantageous for them and what Vampire or Immortal would be a good fit as a Master who wouldn’t really be a Master to Grayson at all. And there was the possibility, faint, but still there even after seeing the combination that Balthazar and Caemorn had created, that Grayson really needed an Ashyr Bloodlines member to turn him to make sure he kept that Bloodline’s powers.
The more complications that Ryder heaped upon this simple statement, the more he realized that while Grayon’shealthwould be improved by being turned, his health was also the same thing that should stop him from making that decisionnow. Grayson needed to be clear-headed and not hurting. His next words confirmed that for Ryder.
Grayson’s eyes closed. “I miss being an Immortal with all that strength and wellness.”
“And we miss you as well,” Dani said.
“I know. I feel like I’m keeping everyone waiting,” Grayson admitted. “But it’s not quite time yet.”
