Nothing at all. He could bow over her hand and greet her because he drank my blood, he slept curled around me, and he wrote me poems that made me want to giggle and blush like a girl. Everything would be fine. Perfectly all right.

I swallowed the nausea as Bane released her hand and strode to me, taking me in his arms.

“My lady, how I’ve missed you,” he murmured, for my ears only. His eyes were bright today, skin gleaming with health; I could see the difference in him now, the starvation Wyn had spoken of. He was sleek and vibrant, a predator at full power.

I touched the note tucked in my dress, smiling up at him as I slowly signed. You write the finest poetry I’ve had the pleasure of reading. 

He rubbed his snout, looking away. “I do believe I’ve fulfilled the requirements of my promise to embarrass myself before you. As it turns out, I’m no poet. Rhyming is… a struggle.”

No, I told him. It made me happier than you could ever imagine. 

Bane smiled tentatively, then took my hand and pressed it to his cheek. He turned his head, his warm lips pressing against my palm in a kiss.

He’d come to me. I saw him, and he heard me.

Everything would have to be all right.

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Chapter 24 Bane

There were many times when Wyn’s inexorable need to be in control of all things gave me a slight headache. No, that was a lie—a pounding headache, though I loved and appreciated her as the fine aunt and advisor she was.

“You, you, and you—” she snapped, pointing to three unfortunate maids. “Have the upper levels of the Tower of Summer made up for a Lord in residence immediately. No, don’t worry about the Silent Brother. He’ll stay in his current accommodations.”

I found the steward, instructing him to bring a message to Brother Glyn that he would soon be surrounded by vampires. It was unlikely that he would care—no Silent Brother old enough to have served in the war would be uncomfortable with our kind; we’d slept, eaten, and fought beside each other for ten years. Auré was already there, settling her retinue into their assigned quarters.

With that small duty done, I returned my attention to settling Wyn before she completely melted down, happily keeping Cirri clasped to my side.

Is he like you? she asked, looking up at me sidelong. I appreciated that she moved slower now, pausing when I was clearly puzzled over a word.

“In a manner of speaking. As ugly as I am? Absolutely. As sweet-natured and lovable?” I waved a hand, smiling a little. “Not in the slightest.”

She nodded, but for once she didn’t respond to my jokes in kind; there was a slight crease between her brows, a worried look in those green eyes. She held my arm tighter than usual.

Perhaps she was concerned about another fiend in residence. Ancestors knew it couldn’t be comfortable for a human still learning our ways.

“He wouldn’t dream of harming you,” I told her. “There’s no need to fear him. Wroth has always loved women and children. His mutation hasn’t changed that.”

She smiled at me, but it was a distracted smile, an uneasy one. I couldn’t be afraid of any brother of yours, she said, but the movements of her hands were lacking in her usual confidence; she almost seemed to be trying to shrink in on herself.

Now I felt my own worry arise; what bothered my Cirri, my rose, the lady of my heart?

The question was on my lips and remained unvoiced. One of the human scouts reported to Visca at a run, tracking dirt over the scarlet rugs, and Wyn stared at the tracks with the full fury of a bloodwitch about to explode.

Visca’s lips stretched wide in a gritted-teeth grin. “Here he comes. Why don’t you go greet your brother, Bane? We’ve got things well in hand here.” She tipped her head towards Wyn, the silent message loud and clear: I can’t leave my wife or she will reduce the inhabitants of this castle to puddles of gore.

“Trust me, you’ll like him,” I told Cirri, leading my own wife from the chaos of the ballroom.

Her shoulders relaxed as we left the madness. Perhaps it was just Wyn’s overbearing manner that was bothering her; she’d spent several hours in the bloodwitch’s grasp, being taught the basic rudiments of how to behave with nobility in residence, of what Bloodrain entailed for us.

“I apologize for Wyn.” Her silence was beginning to worry me now. “She makes things happen, but it comes at the cost of our peace of mind.”

Cirri smiled again, an edge to the expression. Believe me, I’ve learned that peace of mind is not her forte. 

I flexed a hand over her waist, cautious of my claws and the fine cloth she wore. “Is she telling you tales of fiends? Be assured, none of the vampires here will touch you. It is completely forbidden. All of them know this and none will break that decree.”

My wife shook her head as we stepped into the outer courtyard, where the paving stones had been scrubbed clean of lichen. I’m sure it’ll be fine, she said. I’m fine, Bane, really.

I didn’t believe her in the slightest, but perhaps meeting Wroth in person would help alleviate her worries.

“Open the gate,” I called up to the wall guard. Cirri was with me, and there was no greater protection against wargs; she had yet to step foot on wild Rift soil outside the keep.

“Come with me.” I took her hand, holding it gently, and led her outside the thick walls and off the road, into the forest proper, lifting my nose to breathe.

It was the clean scent of pine and mist that I loved, the faint mineral tang of the mines to the north. I breathed in deeply, tasting a hint of salt and leather: Wroth, approaching from upwind, letting me know of his presence.

Cirri craned her head to look up at the tall trees, walking over a carpet of moss and dry needles. It’s so much more peaceful out here. 

“Yes. Sometimes I love the hunt, not for its own sake, but to just be outside, away from it all.” I took another deep breath, clearing my head. “Sometimes the keep is too much.”

She was loose and relaxed again, a forest sprite with that red hair, walking between bars of golden light. Yes. It feels like it’s been so long since I’ve really been outside. I didn’t realize how… 

My wife trailed off, fisting her hands.

“How?” I prompted, curious as to her thoughts. Cirri’s cheeks reddened, her jaw tightening as she took several more steps into the forest.

She finally turned, that line between her brows back in place, but instead of signing she pulled her journal from her bag and quickly wrote. How trapped I felt. Please don’t be angry, or think that I’m complaining. Sometimes the walls feel like a giant cage. In Argent I could at least walk the city on my days off, and visit the parks. I would walk and think. Here, there are walls and guards around me everywhere I go. I don’t mean this as criticism towards you; I understand why. I just missed it—the quiet, the open space. 

“How could I be angry to hear that?” I asked her softly, stepping towards her with my arms open. She came to me, resting her head on my chest. “I feel the same.” I stroked her hair, letting my fingers trail over the smooth nape of her neck, where the bruise had faded to an ugly yellowish green. “One day, all the wargs will be dead, and you will be free to leave the keep whenever you wish. All the Rift will be yours to walk.”

Only if you’re walking with me, she said, and my chest ached at the thought of it; Cirri and I, for all eternity, walking together. No part of the forest untouched by our feet, complete freedom to go wherever we chose.

But… I still could not fathom trapping her forever. Not in the walls of the keep, and not with eternal life, to be forever tied to me, a thing of blood and darkness.