“Hard to be sympathetic for their deaths if I remember them as stupid,” I said dryly.
“Exactly. I knew you’d get it. Well, I must go weigh myself down with jewels and elevate my hair to fit in with the crowd. Bye-bye, Ilya.”
“Goodbye.” I stepped back to close the door.
She made to leave, then paused. “Oh! I am just one floor down. Room 236, if you want to visit.”
I nodded, like I was going to choose to call on her. Once I closed the door, I set to work writing my letter. I addressed it to Tahlia and made it sound innocent enough, just in case a vampire intercepted it before it reached its true destination. It was a written report in slayer’s code, to inform the temple I was in place and share everything I’d learned thus far.
This message remained the only contact they’d receive from me for the next seven days. I couldn’t jeopardize my cover with further correspondence. I would hold my report for Carlyle until I had to sneak out of the mansion for my next meeting with the witch.
A proper lady vampiress would have a house servant deliver this to a messenger, but I wanted to do it personally. I gathered up my skirts and walked out to the stables.
The ghosts of my past fell into step with meas I traveled. There was something about the sight and smell of my old home that brought back all the memories I’d rather forget. I pushed away the recollections before they could drown my awareness, all too wary of crossing this den of monsters on my own.
With dawn’s approach, my enemies big and small were retiring to their beds. The likes of Lady Lorelei and Lord Elliot, Bruvor, Steve, and so many more. If I weren’t so tired from the evening’s events, I’d sneak into their chambers today and pour consecrated water down their throats.
Focus, I reminded myself. Once Eoseph was gone, there would be no other souls in this wretched place that could be used against me, should I be caught. I’d be in my element, alone.
The scent hit before the scene fully registered—leather, sweat, and sweet hay mixed with damp earth and the sharp tang of iron. Eoseph was amongst a group of human servants working in the stables. The area bustled with motion where the mansion had been quiet; humans hitched horses to carriages or conversed with their vampire masters. I doubted I was the only competitor to “write home” after facing the Flask of Dominion.
“Come, Eoseph. It’s time you delivered my message,” I said imperiously.
The older man nodded to the group of servants he’d been helping before turning to me. “Right away, ma’am.”
He went to retrieve his choice of horse. At the temple, a pair of saddlebags waited with enough finery to finance the coachman as he started a new life. All he had to do was deliver this letter to the temple first. The good priests of Aetherius would undoubtedly offer him a place with us, even if he was well past vampire-slaying age. I wasn’t sure whether he’d accept or ride his new horse into the sunrise where no Lord Krudelbach would follow.
I shouldn’t care what he did from here. Ididn’t.
He returned, leading a saddled mare by her reins. “For Lady Tahlia’s eyes alone. Make haste so I may read her reply by moonrise tomorrow.” I extended the letter out to him.
Eoseph nodded and tucked it away. He took me in for a few moments, wetting his lips. After hesitating, he said, “Good luck, Lady Ilyana.” He then mounted the horse and spurred her into a trot, heading for his freedom with his head held high.
I watched him head toward the gates, lingering for several minutes to be sure he wasn’t about to be hassled. The horizon was lightening with tones of pink and orange when someone cleared their throat behind me. “Sun’s rising. It’s time to come inside, ma’am.” His enunciation was off, as if he’d never said the words aloud before.
I turned to face the stranger and gasped. My heart jumped, throbbing in my ears as I took him in. His champagne-toned eyes widened in return. He snuck a glance over his shoulder, like he was expecting my reaction to be for someone else.
No, I’d definitely recognized him, even if he’d shot up in height like a weed since I’d last seen him. His skin, already so pale as a redhead, was an icy white shade now, though still dotted with freckles. A stable hand, despite being a Turned vampire. He was dressed in plain leather. A gray mouse poked its head out of his pocket for a heartbeat, whiskers twitching, then disappeared.
It was like seeing a ghost, another vampiric shade of a person I’d once known. I crossed my arms, using the pose topinch myself and suppress the smile threatening my mouth at the sight of one of my oldest friends.
I’d left him behind, too. And look what they’d done to him.
His orange-red brows drew in confusion. “Ma’am?” he repeated, gesturing to the sky.
By Aetherius’s light, he probably thinks I’m stupid.
“I was just lost in thought,” I mumbled.
He narrowed his eyes, gaze focused on my face. My lips. He was still Deaf. Being afflicted with vampirism must not have mended his hearing.
“Sorry, ma’am. I’m Deaf,” he said as I came to this realization.
He didn’t speak clearly because he couldn’t hear himself. He’d been deafened a long time ago, when illness ravaged the human servants during a particularly brutal winter. Not that the bloodsuckers cared or sought medical treatment when he’d complained of lingering earaches.
I couldn’t help myself. My fingers moved in the language we’d learned together. I was admittedly rusty, though I’d continued to practice and later taught Zane the basics. Silent communication was always useful.Hello there. Walk with me.
The beginnings of a wary smile tugged at his lips.Yes, ma’am,he signed back.
