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“You paint a lovely picture, Damyr.”

I poked him in the ribs, loving the bark of laughter that escaped him. “I thought I knew it all and then in walked Edwin. The first time I met him was at a ball his parents were hosting for his birthday. He was dressed in gold brocade with so much lace around his neck he looked more like a peacock than a man, but there was so much merriment in his eyes. As if he knew that he looked ridiculous but didn’t care. I was the mysterious visitor from the East, dressed in black and with a thick accent. I was paraded around parties as a prized jewel. Life back then was very different to what it is now, but Edwin and I struck up a friendship.”

“You became close?”

“Yes,” I said with a nod. “We were inseparable. I remember the first time he kissed me. It was so chaste, so pure, I felt unworthy of it. Nobody knew, and we made plans to go travelling the world. His parents didn’t approve of the idea, but I was wealthy. I’d keep him in comfort and they were hopeful that Edwin would find a bride with lots of money.” I paused, knowing that the worst of the story was coming.

“What happened?” Benjamin asked as he stroked a thumb across my cheek.

“I thought I was in love. I wanted to keep him with me, always and I promised him forever. We exchanged heaps of love letters. He agreed to be turned and then, the night before we were due to leave, he went drinking with his friends. They had a farewell gathering but he didn’t know that one of his party was with the Hunters. He told them what I was and what he was going to do, that he’d never be the same again and most of his friends brushed it off as drunken idiocy, but word got back to the Hunters.” I fixed Benjamin with a gaze full of sorrow. “I waited by the docks for him, but he never came and when I went searching for him…”

Words failed me, the horror of seeing him cut open and eviscerated, strung up in the town square like a common thief flashing before my eyes as the memory resurfaced.

“I’m sorry, Damyr.”

My brows knitted together as I looked up at him. “Why?”

“No one should have to go through something like that. No one deserves that.”

I had to look away, unable to bare seeing the sorrow in his eyes on my behalf.

“You wrote beautiful letters,” he said as he reread the page. “I would love to read the rest.”

“I don’t know where they are, or how Ronin even got hold of them. I didn’t think they existed anymore.”

I traced the printed script on the page with a bit of fondness. For all his foolishness, I still wish Edwin had had a better chance at life. He didn’t deserve the death he got at the hands of people that were only there because of me.

Huh. I leant closer. “That’s odd.”

“What is?”

“These words at the end… I didn’t write them.” They were in the same style of script and, had I not read them, I wouldn’t have noticed.

Benjamin peered over the last few lines of the letter. “Does love die when the object of thy heart is forgotten? I pose the question to thee, old friend, and wonder if new love trumps a love of old. Mayhap we should put it to the test.”

Oh, God. He meant Benjamin. Panic bloomed under my skin, and I dug my fingers into his hips on reflex.

“What is it?” he asked sharply.

“He’s coming after you.”

The realisation was a slap in the face. He’d been watching me, watching us. He must have if he knew about Benjamin.

“Okay… so what does that mean for me?” Benjamin asked cautiously.

“I need to get you somewhere safe.” I stood up, putting him down on the ground as I did and sped towards the door. I catalogued all the safe houses I knew about. Were any of them compromised? Ronin had everything. How was I going to keep Benjamin safe if I didn’t have anywhere safe to take him.

“Damyr, wait. Slow down.”

I stopped as I reached the door. “I can’t, Benjamin. I can’t risk him coming after you.”

He slotted his hands on his hips and scowled at me. “You can’t just move me around like some possession.”

Yes, I could. He was mine. I was going to do whatever I wanted. “This isn’t up for debate.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “Oh, really?”

We didn’t have time for this. “Benjamin.”