Page 78 of Brimstone

“And apparently, you’re a vampire now, too. But you don’t see me trying to killyou.”

“Really? You’re holding me over a hundred-foot drop!” he cried.

“Ahh. Right.” The warrior snorted sheepishly, pulling in the other male and setting him back down onto his feet. “I’ll rectify that. But don’t think for a second that I won’t launch you back out of that hole if you try to pull anything,” he said.

Foley gave me a wary sidelong glance as he stepped back onto the library’s rug. Clearly, I still wasn’t to be trusted.

Well, the feeling was fucking mutual.

If Lorreth called this male brother, then he was closer than close. Somehow, he was family. But nothing about him made sense. For starters, he was a vampire who hated vampires. I had too many questions to count, and I wanted answers. “You look at me like I’m a monster, but I smell blood on you too, Foley. You’re just like me.”

His eyes glittered with malice as he stalked around the table. “Not so,” he whispered.

“No? Explain yourself, then. How do you know my mate? How is it that you live within this court and yet are not a part of it and not bound by its rules?”

Foley looked to Lorreth, a question on his face. “You’re telling me she is Fisher’s mate, and she doesn’t even know who I am?”

Apparently, Lorreth had decided that the danger had passed and his friend no longer posed a threat. He sat down heavily in a seat at the head of the reading table, holding out a hand and gesturing to me to hand over the book Algat had given to me. I gave it to him. “A lot’s been going on lately,” he said, cracking it open. Frowning down at the pages, he scanned the text on the front page and then began leafing through the book’s subsequent pages. “And I hate to break it to you, brother, but you’ve been gone a long time. We’ve written to you. Sent messengers. Tried to visit. And our attempts to make contact have been rebuffed at every turn. So, no. You haven’t been at the forefront of conversation lately.”

Foley stood at the end of the table, resting his splayed fingertips against its surface. He pondered his words for a long time before he spoke. Not to Lorreth, but to me. The ice had vanished from his tone, but it hadn’t been replaced by anything that resembled warmth. “I didn’t volunteer to become this. My death was taken from me. I’ve since tried to return the ‘gift’ that was given to me a number of times, though I have yet to be successful. I came to Ammontraíeth when I transitioned because there are no living creatures here for me to endanger. Or rather, far fewer warm-blooded folk who might tempt me to give in to my lesser instincts. In answer to your first question, I know yourmate”—he heaped emphasis onto the word, as if he still didn’t quite trust that the information Lorreth had given him was true—“because I once considered him family. He trained me to fight. He saved my life more times than I can count.”

“You saved his life once, too. Remember?” Lorreth interjected.

Foley bowed his head, waving the memory away as if it didn’t matter. “In answer to your second question, I’m not bound by the rules of this court because, as Lorreth said, I’m not a part of it. I’m permitted to exist here at Taladaius’s discretion, but I do not align myself with Sanasroth. If I had my way, I’d kill each and every one of the monsters housed in this black city and watch them turn to ash.”

“I’m honestly surprised that youhaven’tdone that,” Lorreth mused. He was still buried in the book, his eyes skipping over the text within. “But I’m also surprised that you still feel that way.” Gently, he closed the book and set it down, looking up at his friend. “You’ve been living among them—”

“I’ve been living here, among these books,” he said. “Not amongthem. I made a promise when I joined the Lupo Proelia. I swore to defend the living against these wretches. I might not have been able to uphold that oath of late. . . .” His cat eyes glowed unnaturally. “But I certainly haven’tbrokenit.”

Lorreth’s face was unreadable. He met Foley’s gaze, and a lot seemed to pass in the silence between them. It felt like a personal moment. The two males hadn’t seen each other in an age. They had plenty to catch up on, and I wasn’t particularly enjoying the way the vampire’s quick, odd eyes kept flitting to me, as if he were making sure to track my movements.

“I’m going to find somewhere else to be,” I told Lorreth. “I’m gonna be honest. This is pretty awkward. And I don’t feel like being here when they realize where all that debris came from and come to check on the tower.”

Lorreth chuckled, but he held up his hand. “Wait a minute, Saeris. Here. Take this.” He held out the book, its dusty, frayed cover displaying a foiled silver title that I hadn’t noticed before.

Elemental Runes and Their Purposes.

A Comprehensive Guide to Alchemy.

I took it—

“You heard Algat. She forbade you from removing that from the library,” Foley snapped.

I glanced down at the book, then back at the male, smiling coldly. “Just as you aren’t mine to command,Iam nothers. She is Keeper of Records.Iam queen of all Sanasroth. I’ll take this book and any other I see fit. If she has a problem with that, let her come and tell me so to my face.”

The arrogance didn’t come naturally. It was like new muscle, stubbornly refusing to bear weight, but I wouldn’t be chided by the likes of him. The male snorted, as if he pitied my naivety. He went to speak, but his eyes caught on the title of the book in my hand and flared.

“What do you need withthatbook?” he demanded.

His eyes simmered with intensity when I met them. Why I needed the book was none of his fucking business. The male had tried to kill me, and I was ninety-nine percent sure he’d still try again, even knowing what he knew about me now. Regardless, Lorreth looked at me like he hoped I would respond in a civil way, and I didn’t want to disappoint him.

I sighed heavily and explained. “I’m an Alchemist. I’m also God-Bound to Fisher. My hands are covered in runes, and I don’t know what they mean or how to control the magic they channel. My power is erratic, hence the giant hole that Lorreth just dangled you out of. So, yes. My life’s pretty complicated right now. And I’ve also been thrust into this world where everyone wants me dead, and—” I frowned, trying to analyze the vampire’s expression. “What? What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re an Alchemist.”

“I am.”

“The runes are real.”