Page 49 of Vervain

I could be reacting to the forbidden lure of a nightwalker, but if I’m honest with myself, it’s his tender affection. The way he’s made me love myself.

I hint at a smile as we depart, only for it to drop as I glimpse the harp as Serun closes the door. “Whose room is that?”

“Mine,” he answers while I follow him down the corridor. “Though I don’t care to use it unless to listen.”

“Were you the one playing music while I was in the coffin?” Clasping my hands behind my back, my fingers tighten when he nods. “Why did you do it?”

Serun steps closer, deliberate but careful, those shadows of his keeping close to his body. “If I had it my way, I would have been in the coffin with you, but my family wanted you to do it alone. I was outvoted. So, I played music to help you figure out which way was up.”

My tongue flicks across my top teeth, relishing the feel of my fangs. “There is one more thing that has been bothering me.”

“Among a growing list.”

“Yes…” My eyes narrow, and my steps slow. “The letter you gave the Bleeder you killed in the feeding ground. What did it say?”

He clicks his tongue. I’m sure he was hoping I would forget about that night.

“If you want me to trust you, I need to understand you, nightwalker.”

With a deep chuckle, he tilts his head slightly to look at me. “You wanted to kiss me earlier. Am I really someone you don’t trust? Your arousal was potent.”

“And what do you want me to do about that, nightwalker?” I mutter.

Lifting a brow, he looks down at me from the corner of his eye. “Nothing. I’m merely observing your mating call.”

I stop walking. My what?

“And what would your mating call be, then?”

“Making you share our blood on the same night to claim you as my consort,” he says without batting a fucking eyelash.

“Well…Sadly, it’s working.”

He laughs. “Sadly.”

Rubbing my forehead, I say, “You’re distracting me, but I’m not going to let this go. I need an answer.”

His smile falters. “Very well, I wrote I wanted to meet Feeder zero-zero-eight, and for one of them to invite you to the private room within forty-eight hours, or else I will kill another Bleeder.”

A shaky breath escapes me. “That’s why they were so adamant in the blood bank. Usually, they would let us take triple, but they refused. It was because of your letter.”

He cocks his head to the side and narrows his eyes at me.

“Why didn’t you come earlier, then?” My hands move around my arms. “Did you let that nightwalker⁠—”

“No.” His voice is sharp and frustrated. “I went to your room first, and when you weren’t there, I headed to your not-lovers when I heard your scream. I got there as fast as I could.”

“But you knew⁠—”

“I didn’t. I wrote the letter but didn’t know if they would uphold it after my slaughter. Some Bleeders don’t work for me. They work to survive—and I suspect some may even be in communication with the slayers, but I don’t have a solid lead on that yet.”

My arms slacken and drop back to my sides. “You’re lucky you didn’t hold your liar’s tongue. I’m over secrecy.”

“Kamai still bothering you?” he says with a twitch of a smile.

“Enough,” I snap and walk away, only for him to effortlessly catch up.

As I glare ahead, my steps fall into stride with his—a magnet to his shadows, my light faltering in the presence of the Nightwalker Lord. Our knuckles brush, and the corridor blurs as I hyperfocus on the way he walks.