Black Blood - 20. Chapter 20

20

The sun still shone bright as it traveled west in the sky. They had left the deeper part of the forest behind. Now they walked on a dirt path through meadows and scarce woods. The little dragons had gone back to their father. It was probably safer that way. Somehow the air felt too quiet and empty without them flying around. Skylar was matching her steps to Mayrin. They were a bit isolated, with Pandra leading the way farther ahead, walking in her worn leather sandals with energy to spare. Behind them were Airi and Kalan, but they were out of hearing range, too.

“How can I convince you to give your blood to Micah? It could be just a little drop.”

She sighed. Stray locks of sleek hair had come out of her braid, framing her delicate features. Her hair was so pale that the thin strands were almost imperceptible. Mayrin was still clothed in the black shorts and violet top, now conveniently ripped in the back for when she wanted to summon wings, borrowed from Skylar’s wardrobe what seemed like a lifetime ago, in literally another world. Skylar hadn’t been getting enough sleep, and sometimes she felt like they had been walking for weeks, even though it had only been forty eight hours—more or less.

“I warned him not to come.”

“Yeah but he never listens. He just wants to help his friends. He doesn’t want to be left behind. What’s wrong with that?”

As they walked Skylar felt like she was getting sunburned on her face and arms. She had forgotten to pack sun block in her bag. At least, the refreshing wind rustled her hair and loose shirt nicely. Her sweater was in her backpack with a bottle of water she had refilled earlier with Pandra’s collected rain water, and her two last energy bars.

“My purpose here isn’t to use up all my energy to heal your friend all the time. It cost me to use that light summon last night. And before that I had to summon the portal and use extra strength to take Viko and Micah with me when I crossed it. I haven’t had a proper rest, either.”

“None of us have!” said Skylar. “You don’t hear us complaining. I’m sure it wouldn’t change anything if you gave him just a few drops of your blood.”

But Mayrin was shaking her head, unyielding.

“Come on don’t be a bitch. Just one drop. Or two.”

“I need to keep all of my strength to fight the vampires. I was talking with Airi earlier.” Mayrin glanced at her sideways through long eyelashes that seemed made of gold. “We will help you with your fire, to fend them off. When we’ve taken care of all the vampires, we can go after Charisma and Blake.”

“Just one drop though. I’m sure that would be fine.”

Mayrin didn’t reply. They walked quietly for a few moments, legs dragging along across a clearing. There was a sweet smell of flowers and wild berries in the wind, coming from the forest.

“What do you think of Kalan?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I just want to know what you think of him.” Mayrin gave a small shrug.

“He’s all right, why?”

“Skylar, I want to ask you something. When all this is over, would you like to come to Shisee with us?”

“You mean that place you always talk about, the capital with your academy and stuff?”

“Zarien, yes. You could learn and improve. You could be with Kalan. You could have a family—”

“Whoa, wait, wait, wait.” Skylar put a hand up and blinked a few times, as if there was dirt in her eye. “You playing matchmakers or something?”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Oh Mayrin don’t try,” Skylar rolled her eyes, “your English is perfect. You know what it means. Tell me. What are you up to?”

“I just had a feeling you guys would get along. You’re the same age, and you’re both part immortal.”

She wiped her forehead with a swift movement of her arm. “Phew, we just have everything in common, don’t we?”

“Skylar, try to understand. Fertile immortal girls are rare, and none of them are ever going to choose Kalan. My mother is growing very old and tired; she won’t have any more. At this rate, my family’s legacy is going to disappear.”

“Wait a minute,” Skylar stared, bewildered, “did you—did you plan this from the start? You want me to hook up with your brother and give him a baby? What did you think I would say? Whoa, that’s neat; let me give up my life and my world just so I can continue your family’s legacy?”

“If I heal Micah, will you—”

“You’re unbelievable!” Skylar threw her head back in annoyance. “You always expect something in return, don’t you? This is all so messed up. First Blake starts dating me because of some file that says I have powers, and then he asks Viko to start dating Micah just so he can have an ever better hold on me, and now you’re telling me Kalan was only being nice to me because he was hoping to hook up. Hell, you probably asked him to act this way with me.”

“You’re wrong, Kalan knows nothing of this.”

“How should I believe you? My sixth sense doesn’t work on you, so for all I know you’re lying.”

Skylar didn’t want to walk with her anymore. So she lunged forward, walking faster to catch up to Pandra.

“All right,” she said, “let’s pick up the pace. Are we getting to that stupid town or what? We don’t have all day. My best friend’s injured, and since no one seems to be willing to do anything about it, we have to find a place where we can take care of him.

Pandra didn’t understand a word she said, but actions speak louder than words, and she also started walking faster to match Skylar’s pace.

***

Payan was a town with stone and wooden houses lining roads of gravel and packed dirt. There was a castle in its center, with high stone turrets and surrounded by a fortress. Ravens flew around its pointed rooftops in the fading daylight. Market places were set up outside with people selling vegetables from their gardens, or other items such as clothes, tools or artisanal soap. People wore linen or cotton clothing with leather sandals and belts in shades of beige or tan. Men wore pants with suspenders and women wore simple skirts or dresses. Some fancier people wore more colorful clothes and the richer women had gold jewelry at their necks and wrists. Their more elaborate dresses bore intricate embroidery, flower patterns and lace. Most men had short cropped hair, but women kept their dark locks long, pinning it on their heads in braids.

Inside a restaurant someone was playing flute to entertain the guests. The square window was open and the joyous melody filled the neighborhood. There were carts pulled by oxen, but most people just walked around town as a means of transportation.

Everywhere they went, people stared. Mayrin and Airi had quite the unusual hair color, and Viko was still carrying an injured Micah on his back. They were bound to attract some attention. They were looking for an inn.

On almost every corner were large metallic bells hanging from a high pole, with a rope attached to the clappers so they could be rung.

“What are those for?” asked Skylar.

“To warn for dragons,” Viko answered. “The people hide in the fortress or underground when a dragon is seen. They are paranoid, really. Dragons will only attack a human for food if they are starved. Anyway, this town has an impressive underground structure where they can survive for a long time without coming out. That structure is probably one of the reasons my brother is coming here with his vampires. So they can have a place to sleep during the day instead of burying themselves in the woods.” He snorted.

The first inn they came across seemed good enough. It was made of stone with wooden floors and furniture inside. There was a fire place in the center of the common room, but it wasn’t currently being used due to the warm weather. The innkeeper was an old but sturdy man with narrow dark eyes. Viko told him they were merchants and would pay him for their stay after selling the goods they had stored in their backpacks. He remained vague so the innkeeper demanded some kind of security. Kalan had to leave his bow at the front desk and Airi his small sharp dagger. They were given the keys to their assigned rooms. Viko asked for buckets to go collect water. It was for a bath for Micah. Skylar went with him to help.

It was a bit awkward. Skylar and Viko stood in the backyard of the inn, collecting water from the well. The excavation was deep, and the water wasn’t pumped or anything—they had to attach the buckets to the rope, lower them and then raise them by hand. They didn’t exchange a word. Skylar glanced around the garden; in enclosed spaces were rows of herbs, as well as vegetables that grew through fall. There were chicken picking the ground here and there, and further back were some pigs inside a crisscrossed wooden fence. Skylar wasn’t too fond of the smell. She had never lived on a farm, so she wasn’t used to it.

The one thing she did enjoy from being in such an uncivilized place was the sky. She was a city girl, through and through, and Manhattan’s lights at night were an amazing sight. But the starry night sky in the middle of nowhere, unhindered by lamp posts or any other artificial light, was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Other than that though, she wasn’t enjoying her stay on Efreyse too much. Bathing in the cold river with Kalan had been fun, but she craved an actual shower. That rabbit meat had tasted weird, and she had decided that when she got back to her world, she would never eat energy bars again. She missed coffee, Chinese food, sushi, cheesecake. She had all sorts of weird cravings right now, like a pregnant woman. Not that she could be pregnant. She scoffed as she thought that Mayrin would really like that.

“What is it?” Viko looked at her.

“Nothing.”

They were done, so they each carried two full buckets of water back to the inn. Skylar pretended like it wasn’t too heavy for her. They carried the water through the corridor, their boots clapping the floor. Micah lay on the canvas bed in one of the rooms—the innkeeper had given them his cheapest ones. There was barely any furniture; only a worn wood desk and chair. The only decorations were some potted flowers on the windowsill. They looked like they hadn’t been watered in a while. In a small side room separated only by a linen curtain was the bathroom—if you could call that a bathroom. There was a metallic tub and a single shelf on the wall, holding some artisanal soap in white cubes with darker grains and lines in them and a small pile of cotton rags. They filled the tub for Micah, but it wasn’t enough. They needed to go back and get more water from the well. Skylar wasn’t confident she could use magic to fill it up. She had never made water appear before, that was Kalan’s thing. Even when they had drowned the fire together, that had been Kalan. Skylar had just lent him some power to make the magic stronger.

Just as she was thinking this, Kalan showed up in the small bland room, floor creaking as he stepped closer. He pulled the curtain.

“Let me take care of the rest.”

Skylar shot him a glare. “Aren’t you too busy saving your magic with your sister and her boyfriend?”

“Don’t be like that.” He looked hurt by her words. She could see it in his light eyes. Kalan was the opposite of his sister; emotion always showed on his face. “You know I’ll help if I can. You should’ve just asked me.”

He put his hand at the rim of the tub. Skylar thought she could feel his magic creating a disturbance in the air surrounding them. The water particles were gathering in the tub. Viko actually looked really grateful, which was a change from his usual impassive face. He pushed his messy brown hair out of his eyes and cleared his throat.

“Thank you for that. I’ll go get Micah. If either of you could ask the innkeeper for disinfectant and clean bandages…?”

“I’ll go,” said Skylar.

The old man couldn’t understand her, but he remembered seeing her injured friend earlier so when she mimicked the act of wrapping bandages around her arm, he nodded and went to get just what she needed.

Kalan was gone by the time she walked back to the room. Micah was already in the tub. The water wasn’t an ideal temperature so he was shivering a bit. His blue eyes were dazed and his face a bit greenish. He looked feverish. Skylar felt a wave of hatred for Mayrin and Airi. Pompous asses. Hadn’t they ever seen Spiderman? With great power comes great responsibility, damn it.

Skylar gave the glass jar holding alcohol based solution and roll of cotton bandages to Viko.

“Thank you for helping,” he said simply.

“You don’t have to thank me. He’s my friend too, remember? So how does it look?”

Viko was disinfecting Micah’s shoulder, making him wince as he held his knees close to his chest in the water filled tub.

“It’s not so bad. He was lucky. He just lost a lot of blood. Now we just have to hope it doesn’t get infected.”

When the wound was cleaned, he started wrapping the bandages tightly. He used half of the roll and cut it with his teeth. Micah was holding a bar of soap but he wasn’t doing much with it, like he was too weak for even the slightest effort. Viko insisted on helping him. Skylar realized she was intruding on something intimate, so she decided to find her way out.

“Just hang in there,” she said, pulling at the curtain, “I’ll convince Mayrin to stop being a heartless bitch.”

She found Mayrin with Airi and Pandra in the common room. They had each ordered a meal that consisted of ham in a sweet smelling sauce with some carrots, potatoes and beets on the side. Though with what money they were paying, Skylar didn’t know.

As though reading her mind—and maybe he was, after all she didn’t know much of his powers—Airi answered her question.

“While you were taking care of your friend I decided to sell the gems in the hilt of my dagger to the innkeeper. It only bought us three meals though. But I’m sure we can share.”

“Don’t try being nice to me Airi, it doesn’t suit you.” Skylar stared pointedly.

“You have to understand,” he sighed, lowering his pale blue eyes, “we can’t heal with our blood too often. It would become a burden for us if we started doing it every time someone got hurt.”

Well, weren’t Airi and Mayrin just the perfect match. Skylar was getting tired of their speeches. Pandra wasn’t paying attention. She just ate the food gratefully. In the small restaurant area, people sat around wooden tables, talking, drinking what looked like dark ale. Some played card and dice games. Most of them had gotten over it, but some were still staring at Mayrin and Airi. Outside the squared windows they could see an open market across the street. Skylar wondered where Kalan was.

“There is a limit,” Airi went on, putting his elbows on the table and steepling his fingers, “to how many times we can defy fate.”

“Are you saying Micah’s fate is to die at eighteen years old because of some idiotic dragon hater with a crossbow?”

Airi said nothing. In the common room, some people were smoking from what looked like tobacco pipes, and it filled the air with a screen of smoke. It was dim, with the sky darkening outside, and the only light coming from candles at the center of each round table. The atmosphere was relaxed. Skylar sighed. She didn’t sit, but she put her hands down loudly on the table, in between Mayrin and Pandra’s plates. The latter looked up at her with a start, as though noticing her for the first time. Her skin had a dark gold glow in the light of the candle. She pointed down at her meal and asked Skylar if she wanted some. She shook her head even though she was starving.

“So when are we telling these people that they’re about to be devoured by ravenous bloodsuckers?”

“They wouldn’t listen,” said Mayrin quietly.

“So what?” Skylar arched an eyebrow. People sitting nearby were staring but she didn’t care. “We just sit and relax until vampires show up? The sky is dark already. Shouldn’t we do something?”

“We’re planning on getting a map of this town and doing a locator spell to find Charisma later. You’re welcome to join us.”

“Why later? Why not now?”

Mayrin looked up at her like a mother who disliked her kid’s tone. “We’re still discussing our plans for when we do find her. Nothing is simple, Skylar.”

She shook her head in disbelief and walked away, storming out of the inn. She didn’t want to sit and wait. She calmed down a bit as she wandered aimlessly in the streets of Payan—well it wasn’t entirely aimless. She wanted to try to find one of Charisma’s minions or any vampire, so she could either kill them or ask them to lead her to Charisma. She wondered if Josh was in this town.

It turned out she was rather distracted from her quest as she discovered the town and its inhabitants in the evening. The wind was fresher now, and it felt nice in her hair and against her skin. She had some annoying bug bites on her arms, as well as some cuts and scrapes from all these branches slapping at her in the forest. Plus her feet were blistered. But it wasn’t so bad. When she thought of what Micah was enduring she couldn’t possibly complain.

The townspeople were still shopping at this hour. They seemed to be using copper coins for money. Some were just bartering, trading their goods for others. More than one family seemed to be living together in each modest house. On the front lawns were gardens of hydrangeas, rose bushes and lush greenery, mostly flowerless with white, green or dark red leaves. Everywhere was the sound of children playing. She saw some stray cats in the streets, and dogs playing with the kids. Since it was getting a bit late, some parents were calling their children to come back home. It smelled of roasted pork and beef as she passed restaurants, which were sometimes little stands in the streets with people cooking the meat for passersby, like a fast food.

There was a group of musicians at a crossroad, one playing flute, another playing a string instrument that looked like a small guitar, and a third one hitting tam tams. They all had long wavy dark hair like Pandra’s, even though they were men. Skylar was tempted to stop and listen for a bit, along with a growing crowd of smiling people tapping their feet. But she continued walking.

As dusk painted the sky a purplish dark blue, she passed a particularly wide stone construction with no windows. There were only arched heavy-looking double doors left open. Skylar stepped aside from the road so she could peek inside, the narrow gravel path leading to the doors crunching under her worn leather boots. There were some people inside the large empty space, kneeling on white carpets laid on the stone floor. There really wasn’t much inside, and it was very dark and shrouded in suffocating silence. It smelled of incense. Glimpsing at the walls, Skylar saw that the huge room was lit by torches in metallic holders placed at intervals. There were gigantic statues in each corner, representing what Skylar understood were their gods. They reminded her of the Egyptian gods; half-animal, half-human. One had wings and a beak, another had a furry head like a lion. They were made of gold, glowing in the faint light of the torches, and at their feet were platters where the incense was. There were also bowls full of metallic coins. While people prayed in silence, the person in charge of the temple walked around in a long robe sweeping the floor behind him, to collect the money from those bowls. His hair was tied in a sort of messy bun with feathers pinned in it.

She didn’t linger there too long. She didn’t want the man in the robe to notice her and start asking her to make an offering to his gods.

Walking away from the temple, she thought she could hear footsteps behind her, and she tensed. There weren’t as many people on the road beyond that weird religious place. She seemed to be walking away from the town center, in the opposite direction from that tall stone castle. In the distance, beyond the few houses still lining the gravel road, she could see some farms and crops.

She turned around, ready for anything. The steps stopped. It was just Viko, stomping the road loudly with his combat boots as always. His long legs were still clad in snake print pants, but now his top was a loose linen shirt with some unlaced strings hanging from the wide collar.

“Hey,” he said.

“Don’t hey me. Why are you following me?” She crossed her arms and stuck out a hip, standing in the middle of the road.

“Micah’s sleeping. But I can’t sleep. I want to find Charisma and kill her.”

Skylar arched an eyebrow. “We’re not going to kill her.”

“Why not? She killed my dragon,” he said with seething rage, “she turned my brother into a monster, because of her my parents are dead, because of her my entire people are no more. Why shouldn’t I kill her?”

Skylar didn’t have anything to reply to that. They started walking back toward the castle. Those musicians were still playing down the road. Viko had his hands in his tight jeans pockets, looking like he didn’t really belong here. Skylar found herself thinking that he didn’t seem to belong anywhere.

“Pandra didn’t follow you?”

Viko looked down at his boots, brown hair veiling his angular features. “I snuck out without her seeing me.” Skylar understood. He didn’t want her to get hurt.

“What about the dragons? Where are they now?”

“In the forests. They will come if we need them.”

“How will they know?” Skylar retorted. They walked along the wooden homes, markets and food stands. A man at a stand a little isolated from the others was selling weapons like spears and swords – ‘perfect to slay dragons,’ he was saying as a slogan. Viko cringed, but didn’t comment.

“They will know,” he said simply. “We are connected spiritually. Lord and Pandra are connected, anyway. He will sense it if she needs him. The other dragons should come, too. The dragons are supposed to be the most fearsome creatures in this world. Vampires shouldn’t exist, and dragons understand that. They’re on our side.”

“I believe you.”

Viko looked up at the dark blue sky with a dangerous glint in his feline-like eyes. He was thinking of the vampires rushing over to Payan, out there in the woods. The moon was rising.

“What about Pandra?”

“What about her?” Viko replied flatly.

“You guys seem close. You shouldn’t have hooked up with Micah if you had a girlfriend, even if Blake asked you to. I don’t care if Jesus himself asked you to. It’s still wrong, and unfair to him.”

“Pandra is not my girlfriend.”

“But, you said—”

“Just leave it, okay?”

Her eyes narrowed as she tucked her hair behind her ears in annoyance. “I’m not going to leave it. What else are we supposed to talk about?”

“Who said we had to talk?” he snapped.

“I don’t like awkward silence. And it’s your own damn fault for sneaking up on me like that.”

“You were going in the wrong direction anyway. We need to keep walking toward the castle.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“Pandra is like a little sister to me, all right? Are you satisfied?” he shook his head slightly, glancing away, clearly annoyed with her.

“Yes.”

“I tried being with her like that, but it felt wrong to me.” He sounded almost shy now. “I can’t believe I’m telling you all this.”

“Viko, listen. You’re gay. And it’s okay. It gets better.”

She laughed at her own silliness, but he didn’t. She was just tired.

“Anyway, you said we had to go to the castle? Why?”

“Have you met Charisma?” He glanced at her sideways. “Where else do you think she’d be staying in such a town? The castle is for the King and his family, as well as the rich folk.”

“She would be staying there,” Skylar observed.

As they got near the area surrounding said castle, the homes became more luxurious as they lined the road. The stone walls were of finer quality, and the front lawns were shaded by oaks and willow trees. One house had a veranda with a polished wood fence. A couple sat on a bench covered with fur blankets. They were talking quietly, drinking some warm beverage from clay mugs. A candle was set on the small table in front of them, its flickering flame casting a faint glow on their intimate evening. Skylar tore her gaze from them. Instead she looked up at the high gray towers of the castle. It reminded her of images from the medieval era. At night, the sight was rather gloomy.

Completely randomly, Viko tugged at his loose shirt and said, “Kalan got this for me.”

“Oh, okay.”

“He went to help out some lady with small repairs in her house near the inn, and in return she gave him some clothes. So he gave me a shirt because mine was covered in dirt and dried blood.”

“That’s nice of him.”

“Yeah. How come he’s such a good person, and the blonde ones are so…?”

“Bitchy?”

“Yeah. I mean, those three come from the same place, right?”

“Apparently. Maybe because he’s different. He’s an outsider, a half-human. I don’t know.”

They didn’t talk much after that. Viko seemed on edge, like he was thinking about a million things at once. Skylar didn’t even want to try reading what was in his mind. Instead she just kept walking. Her feet ached as she stepped on the gravel; they had been walking and running a while now.

Some kind of restaurant was located in the midst of all those fancier houses, built in stone like the rest, and with pointed rooftops. Skylar looked through the wide open windows. It looked like a buffet, where various dishes were set on platters, and people could help themselves. No one was talking much though. Rather, she could hear the loud dramatic voices of a few people from the back of the restaurant.

“I’ve heard about those stupid plays,” said Viko.

Ah, so it was some kind of theatre production; that explained the obnoxious voices. Skylar was intrigued, but still, they didn’t linger too long. Circling the establishment were high rose bushes, emanating a sweet smell in the evening air. It was dark, and she couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw a familiar silhouette standing next to those bushes, next to the establishment’s high stone wall. There was something about that tall figure, stance, and sleek dark hair merely touching thin but masculine shoulders.

“That’s Blake,” Viko whispered while she was just thinking it. “Go distract him. I’ll find Charisma.”

Who had made him the boss? He made to walk away quickly but she held his arm. She could feel his cool skin through the thin fabric of his pale sleeve.

“You can’t kill her,” Skylar hissed. “She’ll kill you.”

Viko ignored her and yanked his arm away before marching up the narrow road with long, rapid steps.

Skylar hesitated; she wanted to follow him, but she also wanted to know what Blake was doing here. With all that hesitation it was too late. Blake had seen her. His lips twitched in that smug, amused smile she hadn’t realized she had missed. She felt silly for being attracted to him. Why were girls always attracted to the bad guys? Was it something hormonal?

Blake had been smoking something with a small pipe, but now he just threw it away on the ground as he walked up to her. His dark glinting eyes looked her up and down in the dark.

“You look like you could use a drink.”

She was aware that she didn’t look so fabulous, with her short-sleeved top and jeans ripped all over. She wondered if she could still pull off the jeans once she got back home; perhaps people would think they were stylishly ripped and sold like that in the store. Blake looked like a rich Payan man, but with paler skin. He wore high black leather boots, tan pants and a long and slim black tunic. He dug his teeth in his bottom lip briefly and their eyes met.

“It wouldn’t hurt,” she admitted after this pointless staring contest.

He gave her a crooked smile and placed his hand on her back softly as they walked along the rose bushes, making their way to the restaurant’s entrance. Like the inn where Skylar was staying, this place was lit by torches in metal holders. Here though the walls were decorated with some floor to ceiling paintings in between the wide windows. They depicted pretty dark stuff; dragons being slain of course, but also bloody battlefields, girls being sacrificed and strange demons and fire. Skylar hardly repressed a shudder and looked away.

On the stage in the back, the theatre enthusiasts were playing some cliché story about a damsel in distress and a brave man saving her life by slaying a dragon. The effects were rather bad; the dragon was actually a drawing on the same linen canvas that seemed to be used for all the paintings in the room. It looked kind of silly to Skylar, considering she had seen real ones not very long ago.

Blake wasn’t even looking at the stage. Instead he eyed the buffet. Skylar was starving, so she didn’t say no to being treated to dinner, even if the enemy was buying. Somehow Blake had gotten himself some money. She wasn’t too surprised by this. He paid for the both of them and they picked up plates which they proceeded to fill with bread, cheese, slices of roasted pork, and some fruits like berries and apples. There were other dishes Skylar didn’t recognize, like a greenish substance that looked like a vegetable paté, and some fish that smelled a little weird. She decided she didn’t feel like trying out the local specialties.

They went to sit at a table with a gold and silver embroidered table cloth and several candles standing in a gold platter as a centerpiece. They sat next to a group of friends who were drinking beer while enthusiastically cheering for the actors. Skylar had no idea why they were cheering; that play was pretty bad. Blake talked to the dark-haired lady in a simple beige and blue dress that walked from table to table with her heeled sandals clicking on the floor, tending to the guests. He asked her to bring them their best wine.

She started eating with appetite. She was getting a lot of stares from the other patrons because of her unusual appearance, but she couldn’t care less. She was hungry and there was food in front of her. Blake started eating as well, more slowly and elegantly so. He ripped his bread in tiny pieces before chewing it. Skylar couldn’t be sure, but he seemed somewhat physically strained, from the way he sat with the shoulders slightly slouched, from the almost imperceptible dark circles under his eyes, and the hollow of his cheeks.

After a long silence he spoke. “So, miss vampire slayer, what have you been up to?”

She swallowed and put down her artisanal fork. She slowly looked up at his dark eyes, which gleamed in the candle light.

“Oh, you know. The usual. Chasing vampires, being chased by them. Hanging out with dragons. Romancing Mayrin’s brother.”

An eyebrow twitched. “What?”

“Nothing important, really. What have you been up to?”

He was clearly irked, but he was too arrogant to show it. “Ah, same. The usual. Taking over the one place in town with the best view. Watching Charisma order her minions around. Waiting for the vampire army to invade.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“It sure is.”

Their plates were unfinished, but they weren’t eating anymore. They were too busy analyzing each other.

“You knew I was in town?” asked Skylar.

He spread his arms, smiling. “News travel fast. Your little group isn’t exactly inconspicuous.”

“Why aren’t you enjoying the castle life?”

“It’s a little drab in there. I came to see the show,” he explained, gesturing toward the stage, where the hero was crying because the girl had been hurt. “Isn’t it lovely?”

“Oh, sure. Oscar worthy.”

“Wasn’t that your dream?” He tilted his head. “Making plays?”

“Movies,” she corrected. “And I dare say they’ll be much better than this.”

“Ambitious, I like that. Well, keep me posted. I shall ask Charisma to take me to Earth specifically so I can watch them.”

“What are we doing, Blake?”

“Having a nice chat over dinner.”

She got impatient and sighed. “What are we doing?”

His traits softened. His eyes were calculating. “Calling a truce. I think I’m reconsidering, Skylar.”

“Reconsidering?” she echoed.

He shrugged, like it was obvious. “Switching over to your side.”