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He speared Sheena with a hard stare. “Don’t you think I’ve contemplated that—every single nuance of this implication? I’ve just spent the better part of an evening and the morning taking out my anger on a patch of forest so I didn’t do anything foolish. I’m mad as hell, but…” He heaved a shallow breath. “She’s not normal, Sheena. In a lot of ways. And perhaps it’s time I fully accept that.”
The vampire collapsed into the chair with a dire expression on her face. “In order to become a slayer, my Lord, she has to know how to kill demons.”
He nodded. “She’s learning.”
Sheena was even more deeply stricken. “But we’re demons!”
Davian sat forward, clasping his hands and resting them on top of his desk. “Isn’t this an interesting twist of fate?” he mused in a tight voice.
She imitated his pose, the tension radiating from her. “What I know of Jade is that she’s spent most of her life living in fear of us because of the war and because of what happened to her parents. But she let us help her. She allowed us into her life.”
“And you’re afraid she’s going to consider you the enemy now that she’s a slayer?”
Sheena’s gaze dropped.
Davian said, “You haven’t been to see her since you received the paperwork for the registry, have you?”
“No,” Sheena told him, softly—a decibel he’d never heard from the outspoken vampire. “I thought we were friends. But how can we be, really?”
Jade’s parting shot from last night echoed in Davian’s head.
This is why we could never be married!
He mulled over the comment for a few minutes, but another thought came into play.
“Perhaps she was meant to be more than a slayer. She wants to protect her neighbors, but she’s also challenged me on occasion to help broaden their horizons. Make life for the humans more comfortable and less Dark Ages. She advocates for justice and she understands politics on both sides of the border. In fact, she’s more…ambassador…than slayer. Although I wouldn’t discount her fighting skills against anyone other than a fire wraith. Even I encountered complications with that species.”
Sheena seemed to like the direction in which his speculation had run. “If you were to make Jade a diplomat, my Lord, an official conduit between us and them, the demons under your command would be less threatened by her. More accepting of her.”
“Yes. And she might be less inclined to jump into life-threatening situations.”
His ulterior motives cropped up without surprise. He loved her, after all. He’d do anything to help keep her out of harm’s way. Appointing Jade as an ambassador would mean she could come and go from the castle under the protection of his governing laws.
And within the village, she could serve as a leader, but would have much to do, thereby leaving Toran to the majority of patrols. Davian would supplement the deficiency of a second full-time slayer by assigning two of his men to guard the outer forest on the demon side of the perimeter.
“If Jade wants to be a representative for her villagers,” he said, “I’ll support that. I want to strengthen relations between humans and demons. We all live on the same continent. And while we’ll never experience true unity, at least we can try to get along.”
He thought of the story she’d told him from the North and South novel. Some differences couldn’t be overcome, naturally.
But some could…
Standing, he continued, saying, “I need a shower, then I’m going back to the cottage. Maybe in a couple of days, you’ll visit Jade?”
“Yes, my Lord.” She left his study.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jade arrived at her house around seven a.m. She’d taken Toran’s patrol because she’d been too charged from her confrontation with Davian to sleep. Now she was exhausted. She crawled into bed and was out within minutes.
She awoke around noon and shuffled into the living room to put some wood on the fire, but there was already a nice blaze burning. Davian sat at her table, sifting through correspondence and other items while consulting a map. She’d had too many things on her mind to remember to latch the door. Or perhaps, she’d subconsciously left it unsecured, hoping he’d return.
“How long have you been here?” she asked as she took the chair next to him.
“A couple hours. Catching up on business.” He slid a sheet of paper her way. “This is your copy.”
She stared at the approved document that officially made her a demon slayer. Her gaze lifted and locked with his. “You signed this.”
“I realized you’d continue down this path regardless. And I don’t want you creating more trouble for yourself.” He reached for her hand and raised it to his lips. “There’s something I want to ask of you, though.”
