Page 56 of Of Shadows and Blood

“How do you know them?” a man next to me asks. Without looking over, I answer him. “We know their parents,” I lie. It rolls off my tongue as if it were the truth.

The man steps forward intentionally and bends to look at my face.

“Lee?”

“My lady!” he exclaims, nearly loud enough to draw attention. I duck my head and widen my eyes at him. I hush the driver, looking for Cedric. He seems to have disappeared until I catch him in conversation with the uncle.

“Why are you out of the castle grounds?” he demands, looking angry as ever. I grab his arm and drag him away from the crowd near the fence line. He’s out of his working clothes which, to be fair, are relatively fancy. Now he dons a proper outfit for dancing and taverns and family dinners. The fabric is slightly worn but has a warm quality to it.

“Is that not allowed?” I question.

Lee shakes his head and looks over to the party. Cedric is walking back towards where he left me.

“You’re with the king,” he realizes. I nod, watching Cedric look for me.

“Why are you here?” I ask, wanting to put the attention elsewhere. That uneasy feeling I had before we left has already dissipated, it would be a shame if it came back.

“I had to see their union.” He motions to two men leaning into each other before a fire. “Family friends, though it’s been years since I’ve been out of the castle lands by myself,” Lee admits. I study him. Out of the many servants I’ve encountered, Lee is by far the friendliest. He has an orange glow about him and acts genuinely. He’s only about twenty years my senior, I gather, but he is also a vampyr, so that skews things.

Cedric eventually finds us on the outskirts. His look of worry washes away as he strides over to us.

“Lee,” Cedric greets, bowing.

Lee bows back, nodding to each of us before rejoining the party. Cedric props an arm upon the wooden fence, leaning against it.

“Enjoying yourself?” Cedric asks, sipping what smells like ale.

“Very much so,” I answer, smiling tightly as the musicians take up the music again. It takes a lot to stifle the well of emotions within.

“Would you like to dance again?” Cedric proposes, setting his cup down on the dirt. I laugh, shaking my head. I truly couldn’t manage another song.

“Oh?” he questions, raising his eyebrows comically. “What does Lady Liv wish to do, then?” Cedric puts his hands on hips like a schoolgirl.

I bark out a laugh. “How much of that have you had?” I ask, pointing at the cup.

“Not enough apparently because I know I’m going to remember the way you just denied me.” He puts a hand over his heart. “I’m wounded. Dance with me?”

I shake my head again. “Not likely, I’m all danced out.”

Cedric studies me and I find it hard to not want to join the crowd. Dancing should be fun.

“Do you leave the castle often?” I ask him, instead of the latter.

Leaning back against the fence, Cedric folds his arms. “I leave almost daily. But I imagine you’re wondering how often I interact with my citizens.”

He bends down and picks up his cup, sipping from it. I swipe it from him before he can drink himself too deeply to get us back to the castle.

“I was finishing that,” Cedric quips. I raise my eyebrows, eyeing him as I bring the cup to my lips. The mead is pungent. How could someone make mead sour?

Stifling my gag, I take a courageous swig.

“We could have gotten you your own,” Cedric says, reaching to steal the cup back. I move it out of his reach, though he could easily use his vampyr abilities to grab it.

“Finish what you were saying,” I urge, drinking some more. Already, my chest is beginning to warm.

“Right, as I was saying, I don’t get many chances to be in normal society. But sometimes, when no one notices, I step out of court and into the real world.”

“Do you wish you were more involved, then?” I ask. Obviously, this must be important to him in some facet.