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    I cast onest look at his face, a bit confused by his attitude. Before, he seemed ready to contradict me at the slightest opportunity, but now he appears almost docile. Still, I don’t fully trust it. It could all be cheap theater. I leave the room, Drystan close behind, though he hasn’t said a word–I know he will as soon as we’re alone. I’m about to leave the mansion when I catch a silhouette out of the corner of my eye. I focus, and see Walter half–hidden behind a curtain.

    “Hope you didn’t wish to go unseen, because–breaking news–I saw you.”

    “Is ra alright?” he asks, not stepping fully out of his hiding spot. At least I’ll admit, he has some nerve.

    “Should I be offended that you all ask me the same thing? Do you think I’ve harmed her?”

    “I’ve heard some rumors… about what she did.”

    “Then you know she wasn’t the one injured–she was the one who inflicted it,” I answer with a wicked smile.

    “ra doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d feel good about doing that.i” /iAtst he lets go of the curtain, exposing the rest of his body and not just his ughteredmb face. “I’m worried she’s not well.”

    I take a few steps toward him, closing the distance. I sense his body shrink, frightened. I’m not a good person, so I won’t deny the small wave of satisfaction that runs through me.

    “Are you worried enough about her to abandon all this if I asked you to? For her?”

    “What? Right now?”

    “No, not right now.” I nce over my shoulder at an uneasy Drystan. “But maybe one of these days, I’ll require you to take a trip.”

    “A trip?”

    ! hear footsteps and catch Aeron’s scent growing closer.

    “Not a word of this, or you’ll learn why they say I’m insatiable.”

    I leave the mansion without looking back, putting as much distance as possible between us so we can speak freely. We run, snapping small branches and dried leaves, scaring little creatures disturbed by our speed. When I’m satisfied with the distance we’ve created, I stop.

    “What was that about?”

    We resume walking at a normal pace.

    “I don’t trust Aeron. I don’t believe his obsession dissipated so easily.” I clench my fists. “You saw with your own eyes some of the creatures he created, searching for a way to replicate a Pure. And now, just because I say ra is untouchable, he epts it without question? Hard to believe.”

    “She’s your mate–acting against her is one of the worst sins one of us couldmit.” He nces at me. “Does she know? Does she understand the magnitude of being a vampire’s mate?”

    “I don’t know.”

    “It’s not the same for humans.”

    10:48 Sun, 24 Aug

    “She isn’t human,” I snap.

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    “She was raised as one. She has their customs, their way of thinking.” When I don’t answer, he sighs dramatically and returns to the earlier topic. “So, you n to bring Walter to the camp?”

    “He could keep rapany,” I exin. “I don’t trust that witch, she’s already lied to us once. Besides, Aeron won’t know where Walter is–it will drive him mad, and I’ll be free to do as I please with him.”

    “I don’t know if that’s wise.”

    “It’s a measure I’ll only take if I isee /ithe slightest sign of a threat.” I bump my shoulder against his. “There’s nothing one won’t do for their mate, right?”

    Drystan gives me one of those serious looks I’vee to learn are more worry than anger. It doesn’t take long before we pick up our pace again, and for a second I wonder if I’ll find the castle just as I left it, or if it’s suffered some change in my absence. Strange how a single person can make a ce into a home with nothing more than their presence. Now that she isn’t there, this ce means nothing to me. I only need to be where she is–that will be my home.

    “In your absence, I took the liberty of giving your prisoner paper and pencil.”

    “He’d better still be in his cell.”

    “Of course.” detect a faint mocking tone. “And in all his spare time, he drew some rather abstract ns. I left them on your desk.”

    The guards straighten and puff out their chests as soon as I enter their line of sight. They open the doors, and we walk shoulder to shoulder until we reach the stairs inside, where we part ways. When I reach my room, the first thing I do is copse onto the bed, exhausted physically, but even more so mentally. For the first time in days, I am alone, forced to face all the changes, to chew them, to digest them.

    I turn over on the bed, searching for the exact spot on the pillow where ra’s head once rested. I breathe in her scent, and for a moment, I smile at the new fragrance that has entered the scene: daffodils.

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