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Penelope disappeared toward the front gate, and a few moments after that, I saw her return with a vampire in a dark suit. Not quite as fashionable as the citadel, with a trailing cape and large hat that hid his face. But I recognized him anyway. He jerked his head, cutting down a side street, and I followed after him.
“You’re sure?” Penelope asked as I passed her.
“I’ll be fine,” I said, squeezing her arm. She frowned, glaring after Augustine. She’d never forgiven him for his treatment of her family in Crollust. But I’d spent enough time with him. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, but that didn’t mean I shouldn’t be careful.
We stopped in some kind of outdoor workshop, with large chunks of marble, half-carved into the beginnings of arms, legs and faces like people had been trapped in ice. I shuddered, because it reminded me of Quandom. Augustine turned to face me, with an expression of concern and guilt.
“I hope this meeting isn’t too great of an annoyance,” he said. “You look a little nauseous.”
“It isn’t that,” I said. “When we first met, you said I didn’t have anything you wanted.”
“Ah, I see. And that’s changed?” He asked, scrutinizing my stomach.
“It has,” I said. The moonlight glinted off the metal chisels and hammers around us. A small part of me wanted to find a stake and drive it through this vampire’s heart, rather than give up another piece of me.
Augustine studied me carefully, from a few paces away.
“And you are prepared to honor our deal?” he murmured.
“I am,” I said, squeezing my hands into fists.
“In that case, I have a gift for you,” he said. He reached into his long coat and brought out a square package, wrapped in white paper and tied with red yarn.
He held it out for me, so I stepped closer. His eyes were warm as he smiled at me, so I let curiosity win and unwrapped my present. Inside was a long, green dress with shimmering fabric and sharp spikes that looked like leaves of grass.
I held it up in front of me, and he took my hand, guiding it to a bulge in a concealed space below the satin waistband.
“A dress with pockets,” he said.
“The winterfest gift you promised?”
“I saw it in a shop and thought of you. Thought you might want to wear it tonight.”
“You know about that?” I asked, lifting my eyebrows.
“I’m well-informed,” he smirked. “And it might surprise you to discover, but you’re not my own friend in the kingdom.”
“Are we friends, then?”
“More than that, I hope,” he said, leaning in closer. The elixir on his breath was intoxicating, but I stepped away.
“Have you never wondered,” he said. “Why of all the treasures in the kingdom, everything I could have asked for, there was only one thing I wanted?”
“Not really,” I said. “I just figured you were a sadistic asshole, trying to cause me as much pain as possible.”
“Check your pockets,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes at him, but reached into the deep pockets of my gifted dress until I felt my fingers connect with a bundle of envelopes. I pulled them out, studying the faded, handwritten papers.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Letters,” Augustine said. “From your father.”
I gasped, as the world seemed to go still around me.
“I don’t understand,” I said, my voice trembling.
“There’s one more truth I’d like to share with you. Something I omitted before, when we were strangers, but I’d like you to know going forward.”
