by Kayleigh Sky
“I served his family. He recommended me for the king’s household.”
“Keeping the truth from me is the same as lying.”
Anin’s chin hit his chest. “We were lovers once.”
“Hm. Not ‘once’, I think.”
“I am an enforcer, sire. Camiel’s family is royal.”
“Is that how Camiel put it to you? You quit too easy. If you wish to serve me, you must never quit.”
Anin’s chin lifted. “I will die first.”
A thin shiver ran down Rune’s spine, but he nodded. “That is a day we must postpone far into the future.”
“It is my honor to serve you, sire.”
“As it is my honor to serve the Ellowyn.”
He half turned before he stopped again. “Where is Uriah?”
“There is a town a few miles up the road. He wanted to gather some supplies he said we needed.”
After nodding again, Rune returned to the house. A platter of sandwiches sat on the table already, and something was cooking on a pot on the stove. Rune sniffed and peered in. It was brown with specks of orange, but his mouth watered at the spicy aroma. When he returned to the living room, Isaac was there, sitting on the couch with Camiel, who tossed his hypnotizing coin into the air. “Heads or tails.”
Isaac bit his thumb, frowning at Camiel’s loose fist. “Tails.”
Camiel grinned and uncurled his fingers. “Wrong.”
The vampire was graceful as fuck, Rune had to give him that. Not especially beautiful, but compelling anyway. He pushed the coin into his pocket, spread his long legs to make room for his arms, and grabbed his cards, flipping them one by one onto the table.
“When were you going to tell me about Anin?”
“Nothing to tell.”
“You’re a liar, Nezzarram.”
“Only about meaningless things. Why bother with the truth when it doesn’t matter? Lies are so much more colorful.”
“Like the one you’re telling now?”
Camiel smiled and held up a card, its face—a lake in a cave with a single stalactite dripping from its ceiling—pointing at Rune.
“An unexpected visitor, sire.”
28
A Sad Boy
The vampire cowered, doubled up on the living room rug. Isaac staggered to a stop inside the doorway with a soup-stained spoon in his fist, Camiel at his back, lips close to his ear.
“Do something.”
Do something?
His head swam, and he shivered in a cold sweat, but inside… Inside, he boiled like an empty pot warped and dry as though a furnace blazed under his ribs.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Startled eyes swung his way. The front door stood open, and a faint cool breeze teased his hot skin. Rune’s eyes narrowed, one twitching at the corner. It, whatever it was, was coming from him. A few minutes ago, Isaac had been stirring his soup, idly noting a vehicle—Uriah’s—pulling up outside. The rumble of its engine had floated through the half open window. A few minutes later, the front door had opened, and Isaac had staggered under a wave of heat. He’d gasped and clung to the stove’s edge. Then had come another wave, cold as ice, a second later. A body had hit him, and somebody had grabbed his arm. Camiel.
“Hurry.”
He’d let Camiel drag him away from his soup, and now he swayed in the doorway of the living room.
Rune?
Rune shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. “Why is he here?”
Uriah grunted. “I didn’t know what else to do with him.”
Bewilderment crossed Rune’s face. “Don’t you want him?”
Uriah’s mouth opened, closed, and opened again. “I have my duty.”
Isaac darted a stare from one to the other. They might as well be talking in Ellowyn for all the sense their words were making.
Rune shook his head and laughed. “And my duty?”
Uriah’s jaw bunched. “Yours is mine. I didn’t ask for a fated. I would never expect you to accept who it is.”
The hurt on Rune’s face passed in a split second, but it made its way into Isaac’s throat where an ache spread into his jaw and chest. What was going on?
Camiel leaned in again. “That. Is. Yair.”
Shit.
Isaac stiffened his wobbly knees and took a step into the room. Clara widened her gaze on him. She sat on the couch, fingertips pressed over her mouth. Mal eased closer to Rune from behind Uriah, while Rune stared at Yair, a frown screwing up his face. When he gazed back at Uriah, Isaac’s heart hurt and his head swelled with… fear? It was coming from Rune. What is it?
Rune twitched as though to flick Isaac off, but he answered. I made Zev what he is.
A king?
Isaac’s heart sped up, and he traced the feeling back to the day Jessa had gotten attacked in Comity House. It was like that, that was what Rune was feeling. A mix of adrenalin, relief, and panic. Is it because Yair tried to hurt Zev?
Hurt? Don’t you mean kill?
As though reading Isaac’s thoughts, Mal touched Rune’s arm and said, “Let this go, brother. He saved Moss Goran’s life.”
Rune shook his head. “What do you think I’m going to do?”
Uriah grunted again. “We’ll go.”
Rune glanced back and sneered. “It’s too dangerous now that you brought him here.”
“Moss asked me to. We have not… bonded.”
A stricken expression flashed in Rune’s eyes this time. He gazed down at Yair. “Get up.”
Isaac slid in farther, a whisper of fabric behind him as Camiel scurried to the couch. Cammy was a quiet, polite version of his usual self, and the room hummed with the strange buzz between Rune and Uriah, whose fingers fluttered every time he glanced at Yair. Isaac breathed in. Please don’t hurt him.
I won’t.
Uriah isn’t sure.
Rune shot a stare from Yair to Uriah and back again. “Qudim would have skinned you alive, but I’m not him.”
Uriah’s mouth opened on silence before his words came. “The king is your friend, and Yair attacked him. I was wrong to bring him here.”
Now it was Rune’s jaw that bunched. “Our friend. Zeveriah trusts freely, Yair Lotis, but I do not.”
Uriah spoke in a hush. “I serve you.”
Rune stared at him. “As a fallen king or a friend?”
“As the true king, and my friend.”
Rune waved his hand at Yair. “And him?”
“He’s my fated.”
Look at me. But Isaac didn’t bother to speak outside his own head because he was sure Rune would ignore him. Isaac wasn’t Uriah or Zev. He wasn’t Rune’s choice any more than Yair was Uriah’s. His nose burned, and he blinked to clear the sting from his eyes.
Rune stepped into Yair’s space, his stare boring into Yair’s. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-four, sire.”
“I fought a war at your age. I killed, and I won’t ever get the blood off my hands. The king saved my life many times, and you held a knife on him.”
“I… meant no harm.”
A smile drifted over Rune’s face. “That’s always how we do it.”
Isaac crossed the room and stood at Rune’s side. “It’s okay, Yair.”
Is it?
He brushed a finger against Rune’s palm. You don’t want to hurt him.
A laugh rolled through Isaac’s head. I never wanted to hurt any of the people I’ve killed.
“Why?” Rune asked.
Yair swallowed. “I wanted him. The king was kind.”
“Yes. He is kind. Some spirit is wiser than me, Yair, and that spirit picked you for something, though I have no idea for what. You are far from the vampire Uriah and Moss deserve.”
Yair lifted his chin. “I am now, sire, but I won’t always be.”
“I almost killed you.”
Uriah moved closer to Yair’s side. “I am in your debt, sire.”
Rune shook his head. “No. You’re
not.”
A vibration fine as a tuning fork hummed into Isaac’s chest, flowing through him with a wobbly weakness. You’re hungry.
Rune sighed, his tension bleeding away. He nodded. “Uriah.”
Uriah dipped his chin. “Sire.”
“We need Synelix.”
“I brought it. I got it in town when I picked up Yair. I went in one store, Yair another.”
Rune waved his hand again. “It doesn’t matter. They know we’re here.”
Mal spoke again from Rune’s other side. “I called in to cancel my Monday classes and was told my assistant quit. We have to assume the Adi had spies watching us. I didn’t say where I was going, but Ben knew my associates. Stefan might not be the only casualty. If we’re lucky that means they don’t know what we wanted.”
“We’ll need to stick together from now on,” said Rune. “They will strike anyone they find alone.”
Mal stroked Yair’s hair then turned to Rune. “Clara and I will start working with Stefan’s texts tonight. We’ll translate the map, Rune, and I’ll stay until it’s done, but we can’t leave her afterwards.”
He nodded. “We’ll get enforcers from Zev. But for now, let’s eat.” He looked at Uriah, and a small smile twisted his mouth. “Let us forget.”
Uriah dipped his chin. “Of course.” He put a hand on the back of Yair’s neck. “You honor us.”
Rune’s smile softened. “My honor.”
Uriah, Yair, Mal, and Clara left the room, and Camiel rose from his place on the couch and grinned as he passed. “Well, that was entertaining.”
The heat of Rune’s fingers stole up Isaac’s arm. He held his breath, half afraid the connection was a spell any move might shatter. But Rune tightened his grip, twined their fingers together, and let his gaze rest on their clasped hands. “You’d best give me the map. This isn’t going to be pleasant.”
Well, that burst the spell. “Losing your temper is just you being unpleasant, not anything else. Yair’s not that bad. He made a mistake.”
Rune’s eyes lifted and narrowed. “He was part of an assassination attempt that luckily failed. No one threatens me or mine, Isaac. Whether you understand this or not, you are now a target.”
Isaac pulled his hand away and bit a hangnail. “You know that spirit that’s smarter than you? You should listen to it.”
Leaving Rune with a stunned expression, he returned to the kitchen where Clara stirred his soup and cast him a smile when he came in. The big farmhouse table had dishes and glasses on it. Mal stood at a corner of the table, folding napkins that she passed to Camiel. Uriah leaned against the counter, head down, gaze on the floor. Beside him, Yair removed Synelix from a cardboard box on the counter. Isaac withdrew the platter of sandwiches from the refrigerator and set it on the table, getting a small smile from Mal.
“Is that normal?” he whispered.
Her smile widened. “That was nothing. Papa had a horrible temper, but Mama stayed quiet and watched for weak spots.”
“Know your enemy,” said Camiel.
“That was Papa.”
“It’s always who’s closest.”
Mal nodded. “Very.”
They sat, half done with their meal, before Rune entered, poured a glass of Synelix and took a slow swallow before sitting.
“They’re poisoning this stuff,” he said.
Camiel’s lips twisted. “Must we? I’d rather talk of happy things.”
“‘We’?” Rune turned a flat stare on him. “No. We are under no obligations. Are you bailing on us, Cammy?”
Camiel barked a laugh. “Good try.” After popping the rest of his sandwich into his mouth, he stood and grabbed another plate. “Taking some out to Anin.”
“You do that,” Rune murmured.
“Who is ‘they’?” Clara asked.
Mal shrugged. “The Adi ’el Lumi?”
“No,” said Rune. “I don’t think so. They’re just the smoke screen. Someone else is behind this.”
Mal’s expression turned exasperated. “How do you know that?”
“It’s true.” Yair cringed when Rune looked his way, but he stood his ground. “Uncle despised them.”
Isaac’s sandwich turned dry in his mouth. He thought again how he’d liked Justin. Being so wrong about somebody sent a shiver through him. The king had trusted him too, though. Anybody could be wrong.
“I don’t suppose he confided in you.” Rune finished his Synelix and smacked his lips, strangely unconcerned with whatever Yair’s answer might be. Did he already know the answer?
“He said they were an underground river, a fog, everywhere and nowhere.”
Rune chuckled. “Oh, they’re somewhere, and they’re real.” He stood, set his empty glass on the counter, and faced the window, the shape of his face white as a ghost’s against the dark.
“They are real, and I will kill them. And then I will tear the one who stands behind them into a thousand pieces.”
29
Rune the Artist
Isaac chafed at the walls of the house. He paced the living room while Camiel threw cards onto the coffee table.
“You are crawling underneath my skin, skinny little human.”
“I’m willowy.”
Camiel laughed. “Where did you get that word?”
“In a book. Which they don’t have in this house.”
“I beg to differ. I’ve seen rooms full of books.”
“Not the kind I read.”
It had been two days in the house. Two days of Rune’s sour mood. Jessa had told him that Rune would spend days locked up in his studio but was always restless outside of it.
Which wasn’t a good sign. Was running to something Rune’s way of running from something?
“I probably shouldn’t have come,” Isaac muttered, flopping into a chair. “I probably should’ve stayed at Comity House.”
Camiel squinted and raised his head. “I thought somebody was trying to kill you.”
“Not me.”
“So why’d you leave?”
He chewed on a hangnail for a minute. “I felt like it was a good idea.”
“Your gut doesn’t lie.” Camiel set down a card and looked up with a grin. “Though it can really fuck up the messages sometimes.”
Isaac snorted. “Great. Want to play a game?”
“All of life is a game.”
Isaac rolled his eyes and bounded onto his feet. “I’m going outside.”
Camiel’s head shot up. “Whoa.”
“Right there.” Isaac pointed to the front window. “With Anin.”
Camiel glanced over his shoulder. Pain twisted his face. Isaac sighed as he headed for the door. For all Camiel seemed to know about everyone else, he was completely clueless about himself.
Isaac hopped down the steps to the driveway and crossed to the lawn. Anin slowed and turned as he approached.
“Everything okay inside?”
“Yeah. I’m just bored.”
Anin nodded. “I like to have something to do too.”
“Does this count?”
Isaac was genuinely curious about that, because it seemed to him that Anin had a lot of time on his hands to stew about things if he wanted to. Like Camiel, who’d gone through his deck of cards about forty-five times.
Anin smiled. “Yes. I focus.”
“On what?”
Anin glanced at him, startled looking. “Well…” He pointed at the house. “The windows. I look for shadows, flashes of light. I know that Cammy’s in the front room, with you until a minute ago. The princess is in the study. Uriah and Yair are on the outer perimeter. I can hear Yair’s steps when we cross by each other. They are light and roll a little bit, which means he’s happy today. The—”
“Wait. You can tell his mood?
“By the way he walks? Yes. You shuffle when you’re nervous. You bounce when you’re happy.”
Isaac snorted. “I can’t tell your mood because I can’t hear you when you walk. That’s cheatin
g.”
Anin chuckled. “I’m working.”
“And if you weren’t working? Would you be happy?”
The vampire kept the house in his gaze. “Happy enough.”
“Does it bother you when I tell the prince you’re my boyfriend?”
“I know why you do it.”
“Does Camiel?”
Anin’s shrug came a breath after it should have. “I don’t know.”
“You love him.”
Anin didn’t deny it, but he gave a slight shake of his head. “We love many people in our lifetimes.”
“Oh god,” said Isaac. “You and Cammy with the like-hell-I’m-answering-this-question comments.”
Anin huffed. “I don’t know what you mean.”
They’d circled to the back of the house, rounding an old cracked pool and the garage where the dead professor lay. Isaac frowned at the stucco walls. One second and the next... Gone.
“I don’t want to regret things,” Isaac said. “I guess that’s why I do what I do.”
“Why you’re here, you mean?”
“Yeah.” He lifted his chin at the house. “Where is Rune?”
After a second of silence he turned his head to Anin. He frowned, and Anin pointed. “There. Upstairs in the corner room.”
Isaac wasn’t sure why his next question came to him, only that there was something pained in Anin’s expression.
“Is he alone?”
“Clara might be with him,” Anin said.
“Oh.”
Well, that sucked. Now he wanted to puke or burst into tears, but he made himself keep pace with Anin, rounding the corner of the house to the front yard again. Fuck. Would Rune do that to him? Dump him because Isaac refused to give him the map? His stomach clenched, but he made a whole other round of the immediate property with Anin, wondering how much of the woods the professor had owned. All this space. Quiet and trees and birds. His mind returned to the dark stone house in Pomariah. Picnic tables, couches, chairs, and dressers. The guide—Joy?—had raced over when they’d reappeared from the roped-off section, her mouth opening wide until Rune raised his palm, and then she’d stopped and smiled. “Oh, there you are.”