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Ryder stared at him. That was a good point. He had nothing to answer with. There was the sound of trumpets. Both of them jerked and looked back towards the parade route.

“Looks like it’s staring,” Grayson said softly.

A shudder went through Ryder. Lawson was staring at Grayson with narrowed, silver eyes.

Does your blood run pure, Grayson?

“Yes,” Ryder said just as softly. “We need to get back to our places.”

THE PARADE

Ryder walked Grayson back to the main parade route. One of those big hands was on his lower back, possessive and protective, the whole time. Grayson was surprised by how much he liked it, how much he actually did feel safe, even though Ryder’s silver eyes flickered every which way, but mostly towards Lawson. His Master--and Grayson wanted to put that in quotes--was looking over at them just as much as Ryder was looking at him. Though Demos and a female Vampire kept Lawson from coming over to them again.

When they reached the main road, Ryder put his hands on top of Grayson’s shoulders. It was something that Grayson would have disliked if anyone else had done it. Too confining. Too potentially controlling. But his body didn’t tense up at all and his mind was perfectly calm. He rather liked the weight of those hands on his shoulders.

“I want you to go…” Ryder grimaced and his eyes cut to Lawson and then back to him. “Go have fun tonight.”

Grayson’s eyes narrowed. He felt a trace of surprising hurt. But Ryder’s hands on him told Grayson this was not a rejection of him. So it had to be something else. “But not with you?”

Ryder winced. “It’s not... safe.”

“Why?” Alarm caused him to straighten. “What’s wrong? Are you in trouble? With your--your Master? Because I’m pretty sure we can take him.”

At that last half-joking statement, Ryder let out a brief laugh, but then shook his head. “If only it were that easy.”

“So why isn’t it?”

Ryder’s gaze lowered. “There is politics at work here with the Weryn… Lawson won’t understand what I’m trying to do.”

“So he wants something different than you do?” Grayson’s forehead furrowed.

“No… yes.”

He smiled despite himself. “That makes things infinitely clearer.”

The right side of Ryder’s mouth curled upwards. “Doesn’t it?” He drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Lawson hates us even being here. Seeing me hanging around with a student--”

“Not a student. A fake student,” Grayson corrected.

“Yes, but he doesn’t know that and we’re not going to tell him.” Ryder’s gaze caught his and held it. There was a bone deep seriousness to his look and tone.

Grayson wondered why they weren’t going to tell Lawson, not that he wanted anyone more to know about him than already did, but it was curious that, of all people, Ryder didn’t want his Master to know about Grayson and the Sect. But he had a feeling that there was a ton of things here that he couldn’t see like icebergs.

“Okay,” Grayson said.

And his instinct not to fight this now proved the right thing as Ryder’s large, broad shoulders relaxed and he looked as if a weight had been lifted from him. “Good. It’s just for tonight. Lawson will be returning to our territory tomorrow. So we won’t have to worry about him.”

Again, that urge to ask what exactly they had to worry about raised its ugly head, but he bit his inner cheek. There would be time when Lawson was gone to figure out what was going on here.

If I want to do that. I mean what do I care if Ryder has issues with his Master? It doesn’t concern me. It’s safer not to get involved.

And yet though he told himself this, he maybe even believed it to be true, some part of Grayson rebelled at it.

It’s safer to be alone. What Seeyr was saying about belonging can’t be true. It doesn’t even make any sense. I wasn’t supposed to be here.

Yet, again, Grayson didn’t brush off Ryder’s hands and take a few steps back and tell him he didn’t give a shit. He stayed where he was.

And as if his mouth had a mind of its own said, “If you need me, I’ll be nearby.”