Page 103 of Vervain

“No one owns the building. If a human labels a room as theirs, or a house, for instance, we cannot enter without an invitation. If a human doesn’t live there, we can enter. It is a strange concept, and there are ways around this magik, but nightwalkers can enter apartments that a human hasn’t claimed. Compellingly frustrating magik.”

Serun shrugs on the spare shirt in his pack before resting above the covers. I place my arm on his chest, my fingers fiddling with the strings of his shirt. “You scared me when you didn’t wake. I didn’t realise the pull during the day was so…final. How did you wake up?”

“Something about being gutting if I didn’t.” Serun’s eyes crinkle when he smiles, only for it to drop. “And the scent of your blood.” I lay down beside him, and his arms move around me as he murmurs, “Come here. I’m jealous of the space between us.”

I end up lying on his chest, my legs sprawled on either side of him. Serun then plucks the blanket and drapes it over my body. I relax as his fingers draw designs up and down my spine in tranquil motions. A moan escapes me, and I stretch out, relishing the thickness of his cock between my legs, enjoying the pressure of it while I close my eyes and feel myself fall.

Serun’s mouth presses against my temple, and he whispers into my hair, “Iyunenyan kin u, Saya Claymore.”

“Iyunenyan kin u, Serun,” I mumble back.

He gasps as if surprised, only to breathe a laugh a moment later and return to tracing paths across my back, lulling me to sleep.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

VESSEL

Saya Claymore

Coven City lies beneath Sancliff, in a system of caves, far from sunlight. As we make our way down the hill and towards the beach, Olivia becomes more animated, strangely excited to be seeing the city she died in. I suppose I cannot judge. I want to return to Cherry Bloom.

When we arrive at the beach, Serun grunts, noting that all the boats have holes and damage.

“There are more inside the city,” Olivia says when Serun lowers the final boat he was inspecting into the water, only for it to tip and sink. “I know where they are. No one really uses them out of fear of the monster living in the sea, you know?”

I look out over the sea, wondering if the experiment we saw on the train is close by.

“Do you think the dog is okay?” I ask them, my mind going back to the animal that protected me.

“Sure!” Olivia says.

“Perhaps,” Serun says, not sugarcoating it. “Let’s find this boat, Saya’s servant.”

We move further away from the shore, my boots sinking into the dry sand there, and I find it hard to walk. It’s like there’s some sort of imbalance, and with each step, I sink and slip, my teeth gritting.

Serun and Olivia, however, seem to walk normally. I’m the only one struggling, clutching at my baldric for some semblance of balance while I lean further and further forward, almost on all fours.

“Shall I carry you?” Serun says, a few feet ahead of me. “I do not mind the honour of being your carriage.”

You know what…

I shake my head, straighten up, and say, “I’m fine, nightwalker.”

Olivia waits for us by the entrance, while Serun slows his pace and offers me his arm. I take hold, and he uses most of his weight to keep me from slipping on the dune, reaching the flat surface that leads down to Coven City.

Olivia’s ears pull back and her eyes narrow. “It’s so dark. I don’t remember it being this dark down here,” she murmurs. “And usually, nightwalkers guard this entrance, making it hard for humans to leave.”

Serun’s eyes narrow into half-slits, and the arm I hold onto moves lower, grabbing my hand and pulling me close to him. “I cannot sense a heartbeat.”

“No humans?” I ask.

“None,” Olivia says, her ears pricked. “Can we check it out?”

“We need to source a boat from the city to get to Pyra, do we not?” Serun says curtly, pulling me closer until our shoulders touch.

My throat tightens, and my heart splutters in my chest at what has gotten them both so worried. Serun’s hand tightens on mine, and his shadows become more agitated.

We make our way down the stairs, swallowed by darkness. I raise my arm and grip the hilt of my sword in case I need to defend myself.