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Faye made her way back to Sparrow, wondering what to do with her time. She could harvest from her garden and start her potions and ointments. He could find her if he wanted to poke through her head for a non-existent spell. Faye returned to her sister’s room and retrieved her basket and preening knife.
Her sister eyed her as she walked back into the room. “Shouldn’t you be making Rune’s life extra hard right now?”
“He’s not in his study.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
Faye collected her basket and preening knife. She never realized how much she looked forward to seeing him until he stood her up. “Gather my herbs to dry.”
Faye headed back to the great room to follow the pathway to the gardens. Faye sighed as she walked into the sunlight. The sweet floral scent of the black roses filled the air. She stepped through the second archway and stopped. Her vampire was in the hot spring, reclined against the stones. His white-blonde hair spread over the grass out of the water.
Faye didn’t move. Rune sat up, lifting one arm out of the steaming spring. Water fell from his pale, muscular shoulder as he laid his arm along its border. He turned in her direction, his other hand pulling his hair away from his face.
“We will pick up our meetings again tomorrow.” His deep voice sounded… tired.
Faye walked toward him. “Long night?”
He didn’t answer.
The man wasn’t wearing a shirt. She wondered if he wore anything at all while soaking. As she crossed in front of him, she saw he was nude. The water didn’t give her a good view, and he didn’t seem to be bothered by his state of undress.
His eyes were closed, with his chin tilted upward. Faye admired his too perfect face, her gaze lingering over his high cheekbones, the sharp line of his jaw. She watched a bead of water slide from under his chin, down the front of his neck to collect at the hollow at the base of his throat. He was always clean shaven; no hair covered his broad chest. The hard planes of his body rose and fell with his breaths.
“You know Sparrow or Vash could stumble in on your skinny dipping.”
He exhaled deeply. “I am in my realm, my home, and my pool. If my guests don’t appreciate my presence, they may find another location.” He rubbed his fingertips over his forehead and opened his eyes to squint at her.
“Does the sun bother you?” Faye asked as she took a seat at the edge of the pool. Setting her basket and pruning knife down beside her.
“The sun does not affect me in the same manner it does the others,” he said, closing his eyes once more.
“Why?”
“I inherited lineage from both of my parents.”
Faye leaned back on her hands and looked up at the clouds. “I’ve never seen you anywhere but your room and study.”
“My study is where I spend the majority of my time. Today I looked into The Crumbling. I stayed too long, tapped too far into my reserves.” He cracked his lids to peer at her.
Faye turned back toward him, crossing her legs. “What are you doing to The Crumbling?”
He gave her a curious glance before answering, “Unraveling it before it consumes the realms.”
He did that? “What’s unraveling?”
He closed his eyes again, leaning back on the smooth rocks. “You are full of questions this day.”
“I’m broadening my horizons,” Faye remarked.
He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Unraveling is what must be done if you are not strong enough to break magic with sheer force.”
“Is it hard?”
He sat up, running his hand over his face, before saying, “Spells are woven, constructed pieces of magic. Unraveling it is exactly as it sounds. I deconstruct the layers of magic that created the spell by pulling its threads in the correct order.”
The man sounded like he was reciting a lesson. Faye thought about his words, turning them over in her head. “So, it’s like a cat’s cradle game, layered on top of each other?”
His brow lowered. “I suppose that would be an accurate depiction, if the strings in the children’s game also moved.”
