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"A very peaceful outlook for a vampire."
Uthe touched the braid running from Keldwyn's temple, feeling the rough texture of the meadow grass amid the silk strands. "Whereas you question faith like the serpent in the desert."
Keldwyn's eyes morphed into a snake's, a slit pupil and vivid gold irises, the effect so real Uthe jerked back. The Fae blinked and the illusion disappeared. Keldwyn closed a hand on his wrist. "My apologies, Lord Uthe. It's a form of glamor that comes easily to me. I was teasing you, in perhaps a grim way, but teasing nonetheless."
Uthe nodded, but when he tried to ease himself out of Keldwyn's grip, the Fae turned Uthe's hand over to examine his palm. "How is it you have calluses?"
"The dagger, again. Because I practice with my sword regularly, then and now, the calluses remain." Uthe tugged on his hand, managing to free it this time. "Forgive me, my lord, but it is time for me to take some blood. You said there would be a source for my use?"
"Of course." Kel seemed to focus on something internally. A communication, for Della emerged from the wood, skipping along with the dragon floating above her.
"Della is of a sufficient size and age to give you nourishment. And yes, she is high functioning enough to make that decision. She donates her blood to the humans' Red Cross. When Catriona asked if she would give you a similar amount of blood, she was more than willing. She has a generous heart."
As she drew closer, Keldwyn waved a hand, drawing her attention the way he'd done to put Rand to sleep. When her eyes followed the graceful ripple of his fingertips, he spoke a word and the child came to a swaying stop, blinking dreamily. The dragon made a questioning noise, landing on a tree near her. "In this state, she will feel no pain," Keldwyn explained.
"I don't understand my lord." Though Keldwyn had made his intentions clear, the constriction in Uthe's gut refused to process it until Kel said it straight out.
"She will provide your meal, Lord Uthe."
Chapter Eleven
"She is a child," Uthe said woodenly.
"She is a teenager, and old enough to give you a cup of blood without it causing a problem."
Bring him to me, boy. Hold him down. Hate them grabbing onto me, their whiny little pleas. Shut him up. Now!
Uthe stood up and walked away. He faced a magnificent tree covered with purple blooms. While the trees in his world were alive, they didn't reach down with branches like questing fingers and brush them over his shoulders as this one did. Risking it taking offense, he moved closer and pressed his forehead against the rough bark. Sensation. In the end, it was best to focus on sensation alone. Thought was where true pain lay.
Keldwyn was behind him. "If you had specific menu requirements, it would have been good to know them ahead of time."
"She is a child. I cannot drink from a child."
"I told you, it will not--"
"You've been among us long enough to know this." Uthe turned on the Fae. "While sex is not required when taking blood, I cannot set my lips to her throat without getting sexually aroused. I can block that so she would be unaware of it, even if she were not enchanted, but it still feels unclean to me. Wrong."
"My lord." Keldwyn drew Uthe's attention to the empty mead goblet he held in one hand. Kel tapped the short dagger at his own belt with the other. "I am aware of that, which was why my intent was to do it this way, by drawing the blood and having you drink from the cup."
It made logical sense. It was all logical, but the things that had been loosed in Uthe were incapable of being called back to rationality.
"I will not touch a child's blood. You may make what you wish of that, play your mind games, but that is as it is, Lord Keldwyn. If you have nothing available, then I should be fine for the next couple days, or we can summon a second mark from the..."
Keldwyn reached toward him. "Varick, I--"
Uthe knocked his hand away. "How many fucking times must I tell you not to call me by that name? Do not speak it. Ever." No matter that it held no memory of Uthe's father when Keldwyn spoke it. Instead, the word possessed a seductive purr that made Uthe want him to say it over and over.
"There is more to this."
"This quest and the right to fuck me don't give you the right to every thought I have," Uthe snapped. "Let her go. Free her. I cannot look upon her until you do."
"All right. It is done. Will you look?"
"Not yet." Uthe turned away and stared into the forest again. "Leave me alone. I need several moments to myself." He should have said 'respectfully,' honoring the courtesies, but what had hold of him now was ugly, coarse. He prayed Keldwyn would heed him.
The Fae was a weighted force at his back, but at length, he withdrew. Uthe let out a breath as he heard him speak to Della in low tones. The girl giggled and chattered something at him. She ran off, her sneakered feet pattering over the grass. Uthe closed his eyes, seeing her precocious expression. But he couldn't hold onto it. He knelt, began the 23rd Psalm. It was an eternal comfort, though when he imagined lying down in green pastures, he saw bloody and torn sheep. Lambs. He'd wondered why they'd eventually called Jesus the Lamb of God, because nothing was as helpless as a lamb. But they'd crucified him, hadn't they? Sacrificed him, proving the fragility of the man.
His message had endured, no matter how much it had been warped and twisted. Kindness, compassion, justice, balance. Mercy. They were universal truths, spoken by myriad godheads and the enlightened. Noble ideals, worthy of protecting. Though sometimes how often they were violated could destroy the heart beyond repair.
He rose, turned. Keldwyn was sitting a few feet away. When he spoke, his tone was casual, as if there'd been no conflict between them.
"The vampire you sired, the artist. He is quite close to one of our portals right now. One of my favorites, in the Tennessee mountains. Would he lend you his third mark servant for a feeding?"
"Yes. That would be acceptable, if we can reach Evan without delay to our journey."
"It will cause no more delay than a feeding here, my lord. He is the one who hungers to visit the Fae world, is he not?"
"Yes. He has badgered me about my relationship with you, suggesting in not-so-subtle ways all the things I could do to get him a pass to see the Fae world. I told him it wasn't an amusement park."
Keldwyn's lips quirked. "Rhoswen does not yet see the benefit of vampire tourism."
Gratitude swept through Uthe at Kel's dry humor. He also felt shame at his anger. Della and Catriona were playing again, dancing in a clasped hand circle through the meadow grass. Della was visibly clear of any enchantment, beyond the natural magic spun by a child's happiness. The barbed feeling in his lower belly released, allowing him a deeper breath.
"I offended you, Lord Uthe," Keldwyn said quietly. "It was not my intent."
"I know. You are as clever as I am, my lord. There is no need to pretend ignorance out of courtesy. I struck out in anger at past demons. You have my apologies."
Keldwyn leaned back on his elbows once more, his attention returning to the two girls. They waded into the stream, the unicorn high stepping behind them, her tail trailing through the sparkling water. As she bent her head to drink, the dragon landed on her rump. The mare shot him a warning look, then returned to her drinking. Uthe propped against the tree a few feet behind Keldwyn, watching the wind ripple the grass around him.
During the time he'd been dealing with his reaction to Della providing his meal, Uthe realized Kel had changed what he was wearing. He remembered Keldwyn's reaction to seeing him in jeans, but Uthe couldn't imagine that he made the same impression in casual wear as Keldwyn did in a simple sleeveless jerkin, tight brown leggings and boots, a warrior's garb that matched his now plaited hair. The Fae Lord looked even more dangerously appealing, if that were possible. The jerkin drew the eye to the point of the Fae's shoulder, the smooth curve of his biceps. He tilted his head, the pointed ear dipping as he glanced back at Uthe, then he returned his dark gaze to the girls. Uthe swallowed.
"Do you h
ave children of your own, my lord?" he ventured. This pregnant silence wasn't something he wanted to prolong. Large things waited in such a silence, truths best not faced.
"Catriona is my child. Not by blood, but her father has ever been disinterested in her wellbeing. Her mother loved her, but died too young, only a few years after her birth. Her father pushed her out of the nest as soon as he felt she could fly on her own, which was according to his convenience, not her needs."
Uthe shifted his gaze to the Fae female. She was using her wings to lift herself over the water, flicking water at Della with her toes. Della was splashing back, calling "no fair." Catriona swooped, caught the teenager in her arms and spun the two of them in wild circles in the air. The dragon dove around them in excitement. The unicorn settled on the bank, legs folded beneath her, and dipped her head to scratch her horn on a rock.
