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He shook his head. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d set his gaze at a sunlit vista without cringing in pain. A lot of the vampires he knew, once well away from direct sunlight, could enjoy all kinds of scenery.

When he’d first become afflicted, he’d sought out a powerful fae healer. But all she could tell him was that it was part of his mastyr suffering, unique to him. And somehow, tapping into Regan’s vein, had corrected the problem.

He still couldn’t believe she was a blood rose.

He also felt the whole thing a cruel irony since the woman who’d cured him with her blood was someone he could never be truly connected to.

He knew he needed his bed. He was tired, not just from the night’s vigil, but from a month of stress, of worrying about Regan, of not knowing if she was even alive. But there were a couple of tasks he needed to get done before he could make his way to the master bedroom.

He pulled his cell from his pants pocket and called Ben.

“Ian. Been waiting for your call. Everything okay?”

For a moment, Ian didn’t know how to answer the question. Having fought with Regan before he’d been with her even half an hour, had left a sour taste in his mouth.

“I’ve got Regan with me. She escaped Margetta’s fortress and yes, she’s fine.”

“That’s great news. I’m relieved. Have you let Mastyr Zane know?”

“My next call.”

“Good. Good.”

“How’s Camberlaune?”

“The usual number of Invictus sightings through the night, but the Guard and the Shifter Brigade performed as expected. We only had one injury, with dozens of casualties on Margetta’s side. And we were able to send nine Invictus pairs to Ethan and Samantha for separation and rehab.”

Ian wanted to rejoice; this was all good news. But a stone sat on his heart. “Glad to hear it.”

Ben fell silent for a long moment. Ian’s gaze had settled on a chokeberry shrub twenty feet from the window. A red cardinal was flitting around like he was lost, then suddenly darted away.

“All right, mastyr, what’s going on?”

Ian shook his head. Ben could read him better than any of the Guardsmen or even any of the other ruling mastyrs. Of course, Ben was at mastyr level himself and not far behind Ian in power, which meant, yeah, he could read Ian. “I’ve just learned Regan’s a blood rose. And before you congratulate me, believe me, this sucks.”

Ben remained silent for several beats. “Are you kidding me? Why, Regan, of all women?”

Something inside Ian relaxed. Ben understood the nature of the dilemma.

Ben continued. “Oh, shit.”

“What?”

“I just realized I won’t be able to be around her.”

“Unless you’re interested in bonding with a blood rose.”

“Not funny, Ian.”

“No, it isn’t.”

Once more, Ben grew quiet. Ian knew his best friend needed to process the information as much as Ian did. The attack on Raven’s Overlook had taken the life of Ben’s older brother as well, a devoted Guardsman named Sean.

But Ben had never faulted Regan for the massacre. If anything, he’d taken responsibility for the disaster himself. He’d been on duty and somehow he’d misread the Invictus movement that night and an entire village had died.

But Ian had never thought for a moment Ben was to blame. And so help him, as long as he had breath, one day he’d make Regan see how she’d been in denial for five long centuries.

“Listen, Ian, get some rest. You’ve had a shitty month. And whatever you might think of Regan, she’s served the Nine Realms faithfully for a long time and I’m glad she’s okay. Call me later when you’re up for the night. I’ll be happy to take charge of the Guard and the Brigade for however long you need. My guess is Margetta will be on the hunt for Regan.”

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