Page 123 of Of Shadows and Blood

“You can experience plenty at the manor. Anything you need, a needle and thread or paints, just ask,” Sawyer says, steepling his hands in front of his face. “Next week will come and you will be free.”

“And freedom comes with a price,” Killian speaks up, winking at me. A chill runs down my spine because he is watching me like a hawk.

“Well, I am willing to pay.”

Sawyer dips his quill into ink. “I ask that you please stay here. The village is dull and the humans are antsy with too many vampyr nearby. Killian and I were just finishing up. Perhaps after we can spend some time in the library.”

I’m trying not to lose my patience but he’s evading the issue by making me complacent. No, I do not want to read or talk or walk.

Standing beside Sawyer, I touch his shoulder in the hopes I can try to reason with him, to connect with him again on a personal level, like before. His body is cold, which will always catch me off guard. Being a hybrid, I am lukewarm, as Cedric liked to call it.

“Please, Sawyer,” I beg, whispering. He stays silent and I press my eyes closed, wishing his agreement.

“No, that’s the answer. Always will be,” he says, shrugging me off him. “You are safe here.”

“No? Send a guard with me then. Or Killian.” I throw the latter in with a wince because Killian seems… off in our brief interaction. The walls feel extremely close now.

Stuck.

My body was stuck, I was stuck in my mind, stuck at the castle and now I’m stuck here.

All the air has left my body as emotion wells inside me. This isn’t Sawyer. Surely this isn’t Sawyer who has always pressed for my independence. The Sawyer who released me from my dream state, the prison world I lived in for two years.

“No. Liv, do not ask again, please,” he breathes, running a hand through his hair. He has the audacity to look stressed. “You must stay here. Just a little longer while I figure it all out.”

Pacing, I rub my hands up and down my arms, sparks from my uncontrolled magic sending shocks through my body. The building anger and panic fills every fiber of my being.

“You should go rest,” Sawyer drawls, picking up a cup and emptying it. “You’re panicking.”

“Am I?” I laugh and head for the doors, mind racing a million miles an hour. With little thought, I take my leave. My feet fly as I stride down the hall and past a couple of servant women as I head back for my room.

Sliding the door shut, I rest my head in my hands as I try to make sense of what just happened.

A faint knock sounds on the door of my room, so soft I think I imagined it yet my stomach drops. Sawyer could have been here in an instant but he did not follow. My message was loud and clear.

“Lady Liv?”

“Yes?” I whisper to the door, noting the dagger firmly gripped and hidden under my sleeve. Sparks of magic fly down the metal, eager to be released.

The door opens more fully now and my driver, Lee, steps inside shutting the door quietly behind him.

“Lee?” I can barely hold back the volume of my voice. “How— Why are you here?”

“Seeing as I wasn’t aware you had… departed, I was shocked that one of the aviary hands told me you were here. Orvynn had an order of hawks that I just delivered,” Lee says. I immediately embrace him, thankful for a familiar face. He drops his arms around me too, squeezing me.

“Are you going to Duresden by any chance?”

“No, why would I?” His face twists. “Are you well?”

I laugh at that. “I’m fine. But…” I look up to him. “How is he?”

Lee walks over and observes the room, lit by the daylight now the curtains have been drawn. I am so thankful for familiar company.

“The king? No one can tell. That’s just how he is. When you were –” he tilts his head – “ill, no one suspected your state. Our king is skilled at controlling his emotions,” Lee explains.

“I had to leave, Lee,” I barely whisper. My mind jumps to the way Cedric looked at me when he begged for me to stay.

Lee stands up and goes to the fireplace, organizing the logs. “You must be happier here, then.”