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“That I won’t be killed! That I’ll be kept safe! And then freed!” she cried.

Grayson’s eyes narrowed, and in that moment, Ryder found himself leaning towards the “glass” because he thought that Grayson might just snap her neck.

“What you’ve given me is enough to keep you alive… for today,” Grayson answered finally after long, cold moments that had a trickle of sweat coursing down Jill’s temple.

“Ashyr is calling,” Elgar said. “He needs me to Whisper.”

He hurried from the room, pausing but half a moment in front of Demos, muttering something about “naughty big kitties” before hustling out into the hallway.

Ryder saw him open the door into Grayson and Jill’s room.

Jill was yelling that she had more to tell and that he better listen to her.

But after Elgar said something that Ryder couldn’t hear, her head slumped forward, her mouth open as she snored. Grayson set her down on the table.

“She should be put in a cell and guarded,” Grayson suggested, but somehow it was a command.

“Do you think she has more to tell?” Elgar asked the skull.

“No, even though she claimed that the student Gregory was replacing was part of all this.” Grayson tapped his chin speculatively. “I think we might learn more by who comes to kill her.”

“Very wise, Ashyr,” Elgar nodded.

Grayson turned to look at Elgar when he said the Immortal’s name. Ryder froze. He had no idea how Grayson would react. But the young man’s reaction was to smile affectionately at Elgar.

“You know I don’t mind you calling me whatever you like,” Grayson told Elgar. “But it might upset Dani if you call me Ashyr.”

“I don’t mind it, Grayson, not at all,” Dani whispered. She had her hands laced together under her chin, and there were some tears in her eyes. “That’s your name, Master. Don’t you remember?”

“He’s getting there, Dani,” Balthazar told her gently. “He’s getting there.”

Elgar said nothing in response to Grayson’s words, just swayed with his skull. Grayson smiled at him again and lightly touched Elgar’s shoulder. The Eyros Vampire stiffened slightly, but then relaxed.

“Well, we won’t worry about that unless she says something,” Grayson said. “You be careful with Jill, Elgar. Don’t touch her mind, okay?”

“I will not, Ashyr,” Elgar responded. “I will be careful.”

“Good.” Grayson squeezed Elgar’s shoulder. “I’m going to join the others now.”

Ryder found himself leaving his room as soon as Grayson left his. They saw one another the moment each of them entered the hallway. The way Grayson brightened, a smile blooming on his lips and color filling his cheeks had Ryder’s heart soaring.

Ashyr. Ashyr. Ashyr , Weryn chanted.

“Ryder! You’re here! Already ? I thought it would be ages before you settled things with your Bloodline!” Grayson said as he walked towards Ryder.

Ryder couldn’t help himself. He swept up Grayson into his arms and spun him.

Grayson let out a startled laugh, but his brighter smile told Ryder the affectionate act had been right to do.

When he set Grayson down on his feet in front of him, Grayson didn’t move away.

In fact, he leaned against Ryder’s broad chest and rubbed his cheek against Ryder’s shoulder.

The movement was something that Ashyr had done time and time again.

Ashry! Ashyr! Ashyr! Weryn continued to chant in an almost delirious happiness.

“You were incredible in there.” Ryder dipped his head back towards the interrogation room, not answering about the Bloodline quite yet.

“Oh, that .” Grayson rubbed a hand across the back of his neck and blushing. “You saw that, huh?”

“The end, but that was the most impressive part,” Ryder admitted.

Grayson nodded but seemed almost shy about it. “I knew she wouldn’t see me as a threat--despite what I’d done to her--and counted on her getting angry and stupid.”

“And she confessed all to you,” Ryder said.

“A lot. But I really want to know a whole lot more. Like who recruited her. How many people in her Sect? How did they receive orders? What does the Sect even stand for? All that jazz,” Grayson explained. Then with a sheepish expression added, “But I was starting to feel a little… ah, shaky again.”

“That was good you stopped it then,” Ryder said firmly. “Though she is not another Immortal, she is still dangerous.”

He realized at the last minute what he’d said about another Immortal but Grayson seemed to interpret it differently as he gazed up at Ryder with amusement.

“No, she’s way not as strong as you, my Immortal,” Grayson teased. “But she’s dangerous for sure.”

“You need food and rest,” Dani said from over Ryder’s shoulder.

Ryder turned so that both he and Grayson could see her. Dani was gazing at Grayson critically and clearly didn’t like what she saw. Ryder noticed that Grayson’s energy levels after the initial delight of seeing him had dropped. The young man was exhausted.

“I don’t think cookies are going to cut it this time,” Grayson admitted. “I want like a steak the size of my head! The bloodier the better and--” He stopped as he heard what he said.

Ryder chuckled. “I am certain that we can get you a beautifully done rare steak, Grayson.”

“And a baked potato with butter, cheddar cheese and chives? Oh, and sour cream? Like lots of sour cream?” Grayson was practically drooling, but there was an uncertain look in his eyes.

“Most definitely. Anything else?” Ryder asked.

Grayson suddenly blushed and lowered his head. “I’m sorry, guys. I shouldn’t be so specific and picky. Whatever you’ve got will be great. I just used to pass by this fancy steak place and watched people eat… Well, it doesn’t matter. Like I said, whatever you’ve got is great.”

“One fancy steak dinner coming up!” Balthazar promised. “Do you want to rest here or--”

“Back at the dorms, I think,” Grayson said. “That’s where Gregory--and the student he was replacing--were supposed to be. I don’t know if there’s some connection to the students I’m rooming with and the student who is supposed to die, but I think I want to keep an eye on them.”

Dani smiled awkwardly as Grayson had explained where he wanted to stay. Ryder knew she wanted her Immortal with her and the rest of the Ashyr. Hell, if he remembered who he was, he could likely open up the Ashyr Palace.

As can I , Ryder realized.

While he wanted to be wherever Grayson was, he needed to find a new place for Demos and Siban to stay.

“You’ll stay with me, won’t you, Ryder?’ Grayson asked him.

Ryder gazed down into Grayson’s green eyes, yet he saw them as silver. He cupped Grayson’s cheek. “Yes, of course.”

“I mean for a little while! I know you have things you must have to do with your Bloodline and all that,” Grayson said.

Ryder turned to Demos and Siban. “You two don’t mind if I stay with Grayson, do you?”

Demos chuckled. “No, brother. You go on and have fun.”

“We want for your happiness only, Master,” Siban added with a formal bow.

“Siban, yours and Demos’ happiness matters just as much as mine. I should actually open the Weryn Palace for you,” Ryder said.

The two of them stood up straighter. Both their eyes gleamed.

The excitement was like electricity running through them.

He wouldn’t have been surprised to see sparks flying out of their ears.

He felt a sudden excitement himself. The Weryn Palace!

His palace! It could be opened now. It might be a little lonely with three people--or four with Grayson--but it was a start.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Grayson tugged Ryder’s head to face him. “Why are you just asking the two of them? What about the rest of the Bloodline? You didn’t… I didn’t think you were going to--”

“I did not give them their Second Deaths, Grayson.” Ryder stroked his hair. “But they are not pack to me either.”

Grayson let out a breath of relief. “I’m glad that you didn’t, ah, well, I get it. They weren’t there for you when you needed them to be. You can’t trust them. Not yet.”

“Perhaps they could earn your trust, Master?” Siban softly suggested.

“Maybe, but how will I know if they are acting because I am now Weryn and all that benefits it brings them or if they truly wish to be pack?” Ryder asked.

It was a rhetorical question, but Balthazar answered it. He actually put up a hand. Meffy put up a paw…

“Oh, I can tell you! Because, unlike Jill--or whatever her name is--I can read their minds and report to you! That’s part of the joy of having Eyros as your friend,” Balthazar said brightly.

Ryder’s eyes flickered away from him. “You want to be friends after I, ah, I squeezed your neck?”

“You what?” Grayson asked, eyes widening.

“He was upset about you being alone with Jill,” Balthazar answered.

“Lots of people squeeze his neck like that. It doesn’t preclude friendship,” Caemorn drolled lightly.

“Master has a special way of getting friends,” Elgar agreed.

But Grayson was not so easily distracted by humor at Balthazar’s expense. “You hurt Balthazar because--”

“I didn’t hurt him,” Ryder protested. He looked over beseechingly at Balthazar who was fussing with his collar around his throat that happened to be ripped. “Tell him! I just squeezed… I mean… he’s very durable . We all are.”

“I was the one who planned this interrogation with Jill.” Grayson’s eyes sparked.

“I told him,” Dani said with a shake of her head.

“I was the one who convinced them that this was best,” Grayson continued.

“He didn’t listen at first,” Dani added. “Being all crazy and Weryn-like.”

“So you just attacked Balthazar without listening to what anyone had to say?” Grayson’s eyes were blazing now. He was also not leaning against Ryder’s chest anymore, but instead standing a foot away with his arms tightly crossed over his chest.

“I… I might have. Yes, I did. But you were alone in there and--”

“Ryder!” Grayson’s voice snapped through the air. “I had to watch you get your ass kicked by Lawson in the Ring!”

Ryder blinked. Had it looked that bad in the beginning?

“Would you have thanked me for stepping in and crushing him like the insect he was?” Grayson seethed.

“Daemon did have to hold you back a few times or you would have done just that,” Balthazar pointed out.

“Not helpful, Eyros!” Grayson growled.

“Yes, yes, well, yes… but poor Ryder is very sorry. He’s so so so so so so so sorry,” Balthazar explained. “You’ve no idea how sorry. He’s sort of bleeding out here invisibly because you’re not cuddling with him.”

Ryder flushed and looked down. “Not helpful, Eyros.”

“Actually, it is helpful. Grayson is sorry now, too,” Elgar murmured to the skull.

Grayson ripped a hand through his hair and let out a laugh. “Okay, okay, fair point. We both wanted to protect each other. But we’ve got to trust one another, too. If you had barged in there, I could have lost control of her! And she might have clammed up and--”

“I know.” Ryder grasped Grayson’s waist and rested his forehead against Grayson’s. “And I am sorry. Not just because I didn’t trust you knew what you were doing, but because…” His eyes flickered to Balthazar. “I shouldn’t have attacked Balthazar even if he is durable .”

“Apology accepted, but you did rip my shirt,” Balthazar mused.

“Do you want me to sew it?” Ryder deadpanned.

“Are you good with a needle?” Balthazar looked way too interested in that.

“No, he sucks, but I’m pretty damned excellent with one,” Demos said. “Father was a tailor back in the day.”

“You don’t have to fix this because of me,” Ryder said. “I’ll buy him a new shirt.”

“This one is a favorite ,” Balthazar sniffed.

“It’s okay, Ryder. I don’t mind,” Demos said with a shrug.

“Oh! How exciting! Well, Elgar and you can make a plan to meet up or something to get it fixed!” Balthazar suggested. “You don’t mind handling that, do you, Elgar?”

“No, Master.” Elgar stared at the skull as if he could bore a hole through it. His cheeks were flushed a hot pink.

“Excellent. We’ll plan a date,” Demos said with a shrug of massive shoulders.

“Yes,” Elgar whispered, pinking more.

“Balthazar has accepted my apology, Grayson. Will you?” Ryder asked, as he stroked Grayson’s arms.

Grayson slowly nodded. “I guess you’re not the only one with a temper.”

When we fought, we fought hot and hard, but then we made up and forgiveness was sweet, Ashyr , Weryn whispered.

“So we’re good?” Ryder asked.

Grayson grinned. “We’re good.”

“Now, we should get you back to the dorm and feed you that steak dinner,” Ryder suggested.

“Don’t you have to open the Weryn Palace?” Grayson asked. “I want to see you do that.”

“You need to rest, Grayson. You want to be on your feet to see it, don’t you?” Demos asked.

“I guess, but you guys want to get in there, don’t you?” Grayson asked.

“We do, but there are things we have to accomplish first,” Siban said. “Other Weryn Vampires will be arriving. News of our Immortal’s return has spread already. We need to meet them and see if they are pack.”

Ryder gave Siban a grateful look. Grayson needed to eat and rest. He needed to rest, too. There had been so many ups and downs that night. Siban and Demos handling the Weryn while Balthazar, Caemorn and Elgar would handle Jill.

Dani spoke for the first time in a while, “Grayson?”

“Yeah, Dani?” Grayson grinned at her as if just looking at her made him happy.

“There are some people who would like to meet you,” she said slowly.

Grayson looked confused, but kept smiling. “Okay, sure. Just maybe later?”

“Yes, yes, after you’re recovered,” she agreed with a happy nod. “Just don’t mind if you… uhm, well, if you see some people hanging out around the dorm.”

Grayson’s confusion grew. “Ah, okay.”

“They’re just excited , but they’ll leave you alone,” she assured him.

Grayson reached for her hand. “What about you? I’m going to see you soon, won’t I? I mean, we’re all in this thing with the Sect of Dawn together, right?”

Dani enclosed Grayson’s hand with both of hers. “Yes, of course, Grayson. I will be with you the entire time. Very close. As close as you’ll let me.”

Grayson laughed, but a little uncertainly. “Okay, very close sounds good. After I wake up from my nap.”

“Yes,” she said reluctantly, letting him go.

Grayson turned his head to look at Balthazar and Caemorn. “Guys, definitely don’t use your gifts on Jill. When I was holding her I could feel… I don’t know quite how to explain it, but structures inside her mind and her chest.”

“Physical structures?” Ryder asked.

“Maybe something physical, but more… spiritual? I don’t know. I could feel them though with my powers and I’ve never felt anything like that before,” Grayson explained and shook his head. He brought a hand up to his temple as if his head ached.

That was a sign it was time to get Grayson back to the dorm.

“We understand,” Caemorn assured him. “We will leave the interrogation to you, Grayson. Now go rest. We will have food sent.”

And coming from Kaly that meant something.