Page 56 of Vervain

Saya Claymore

Vines slip around my wrists. At first, like a lover’s hand, but then they tighten into my abuser’s. “In here again, unlocking doors sealed shut for a decade, my fragile, pathetic⁠—”

Sever it!

Before I’m lost in my mind with no one around to save me, I lean over and sink my teeth into the flesh of my arm. Pain surges, and the nothingness melts away, returning me to my room.

Sighing in exasperation, I sit up in bed and mutter a curse at the six bite marks now dotting my arm. Inflicting pain on myself seems to be the only way to bring me back when Serun isn’t here to help.

Earlier, Serun left a letter under my door that declared he would be out most of the night with Maeve as they gathered the materials required for Lucifer’s weapon. Disappointment stirred as we haven’t connected since the incident a few nights ago.

But maybe it’s what’s needed. Time to clear my head and figure out what I want. Cole is my priority. These swirling emotions are entertaining for now, but after this, I will need to do what’s best for my brother. Everything else is secondary.

Serun didn’t tell me to stay in my room, only that he wouldn’t be here tonight.

I step out into the office. It’s quiet, but it seems Serun’s manor is always like this. One candle burns away on the desk. Wax melts down like tears, and the flame flickers as if there is a draft in the still room. With a quick look at the door, I bite my lower lip, my fang sinking into flesh.

Screw it.

Making my way around the desk, I press my palms to the surface, and the wood groans as I lean over to inspect the map. There are areas crossed out within cities, and parts of islands scattered around Kepler.

They must be the areas Serun has already searched for the silver tear.

My fingers brush across the blue circle around Darkovish Feeding Ground. He must have been searching that area for it…

My ear flicks, and my brows furrow at the words written in Daryun across the page, when a sudden thud, thud, thud comes from out in the corridor. My muscles tense, and my ears prick up on high alert as I snap a look at the office door.

I ignore the book and leave the office to investigate the sound.

Sparks of magik coil around my fingertips, materialising into a dagger. It will probably shatter after impact, but it’s better than nothing.

Few candles burn in the corridor outside, leaving dark patches where Serun could be lurking.

A test?

I’m light on my feet. Keeping as silent as possible, I make my way down the corridor. After I round the bend, my focus lands on the stairs. Candles no longer burn. Darkness swallows every corner of the ground floor below, broken up by shards of silver light bleeding through the tall muntin windows.

With the dagger gripped in my hand, the only other light to guide me, I glance at the door to the room I was in with Serun last night. Heat prickles the hairs on my skin at the memory of his hand trailing down my chest and to my breast.

Thud, thud, thud! A loud knock echoes through the empty foyer.

I grip the dagger tighter as I make my way down the stairs and to the entrance, only to hesitate. This isn’t my human sanctuary. Anyone could enter—though I suppose if they wanted to, they would have already.

Sparks of light shudder across the blade as I pull the door inwards and peer out. Darkness blankets the garden, but a figure stands at the entrance, waiting.

The light from the dagger reveals that it’s Olivia, and I let out a relieved breath, releasing my magick and letting the blade vanish. She bows and says, “Evening, Lady Consort.” She steps closer, and I see tired, blackened circles underneath her eyes, and her body jolts awkwardly through the movement.

“Are you okay?”

She cracks a smile, eyes crinkling when she says, “You’re very human, you know that? Asking if a nightwalker is okay.”

Ironically, a human would still see me as a monster, no matter how much concern I showed.

I shake off the thought and ask again if she is okay. This time, vulnerability swirls in those wet, pearly red eyes of hers.

Olivia takes a deep breath, as though she is mustering up the courage to spill the words lumped in her throat. “I have not fed since leaving the Sunken City.” She quickly looks away, and if she weren’t dead, I believe tears would stream from her eyes. “My old master didn’t care to feed me, so…”

I swing the door open wider. “Did you want to come in? I’m sure we can find something…”