Page 77 of Vervain

“Then, if that is the case, why can’t I hear you?”

“I don’t know…This is unheard of with nightwalkers.”

“You are mine for this lifetime, Saya Claymore,” my Blessed whispers in my ear.

“I shall kill him. Torture would be preferable, but if he is obstructing you being mine, I will do it in a heartbeat.”

Sighing, I close the gap between us and rest my finger against his lips. “Don’t respond to my thoughts, please. I understand you can’t help hearing them, but I’d rather not engage unless I decide to talk about it, okay?”

He inclines his head in agreement.

I move to pull away, but he grabs my wrist, leans in, and kisses my knuckles. Intense red eyes pin me as he says, “I’m sorry for withholding this information from you. If you consider this a liar’s tongue transgression, I will understand your hesitation.”

As he lowers my hand and straightens, I cup his cheek. “We’ll call it even when I can do it too.”

He smiles.

I look to the doors, my mind flitting beyond the manor and back to Maeve’s cottage. “Recently, your family was prepared to go against you if you left the Undercity. Why the change of heart?”

“Since getting to know you, they have grown to understand your importance to our family. They are curious to learn more about your past, and the only way to do that is to…”

“Take me back to Cherry Bloom.”

“They want Reyes and Avianna to return with Cole, while I go with you to Cherry Bloom.” His eyes narrow. “I know you want to keep your brother close, but he could still be injured and in need of healing. It would be best for him to recover in the Undercity while I take you home.”

My hands ball into fists, harsh words eager to bite their way out of my mouth, but he’s right. I can’t go to Cherry Bloom with an injured Cole—especially if the slayers will be after us.

The best place for him is to be surrounded by nightwalkers.

“Okay,” I breathe, that word slipping past the hundreds filled with refusal. “We will bring him back here and get him settled, and then we will go to Cherry Bloom.”

With that, we make our way out of the studio. As Penumbra closes the doors behind us, I catch one last glimpse of a life I desperately want to grasp.

There will be time for dreams later.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

GHRELIN

Saya Claymore

“Where will we be going first?”

“The outskirts of Mire. I will track their scents from there.”

Serun takes my suitcase and lifts it easily, as if it doesn’t contain a mountain of clothes, shoes, hygiene products, and salves in case of injury.

We make our way downstairs, my hands staying firmly at my sides. As much as I want to reach out and hold his hand, my mind is on Cole. What if this is bait to lure out Serun? My Blessed did things like that. Lured me from my home with lies.

Serun steps closer, his clawed hand touching my fingertips. Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I quickly glance at him and interlace my fingers with his. Battling these dark thoughts, I might just need him more than I could ever have imagined.

This nightwalker complicates every feeling, clouding logic and reality with the fantasy of being his. It’s starting to feel essential that my brother accepts this life—one we could build far from my Blessed and the slayers who want me dead.

Most see the Vampire Lord as our oppressor. And he is, topside. Fear tugs at all our hearts at the mere mention of any nightwalker, but Serun’s words keep returning to me before I close my eyes to sleep. Why are the feeding grounds on the slayers’ side of the border?

The manor doors open to the majestic garden draped in night, where Olivia waits. She jumps, her eyes widening at the sight of Serun covered in shadows.

She quickly bows, but Serun ignores her, drops our suitcases by her feet, and guides me down the stairs. He unhooks the oil lantern hanging from the fence and hands it to me. Instead of following us, Olivia turns down the path to the servant’s dwelling with the suitcases while we enter the tunnel to the Undercity.