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Ryder blinked as if taken aback by his disinterest in his life as Grayson. He stroked Ryder’s shin.

“This life has been one of pain, though instructive in some small way, but I am eagerly looking forward to remembering the life that mattered,” Grayson told him.

“Your life as Grayson mattered,” Ryder told him.

Grayson wondered if Ryder believed that because he was holding onto his Ryder life so hard.

He started the War, even if Kaly was the match. I know my Weryn. He gave no quarter. And what little I know of what happened during that War has scarred every single Vampire in existence. So can I blame him not wanting to remember that pain? No, not at all.

“My life as Grayson showed me what it’s like to be powerless and on the run.

Hiding who I was and trusting no one.” Grayson let out a breath.

“Maybe I simply want to forget it. But not the part with you in it. The part with you in it was the best. One more memory of my Weryn to add to my treasure hoard.”

Ryder’s smile returned.

Grayson looked back at Daemon. “So I cannot simply become an Immortal now without being turned?”

“Being reincarnated into a human form has changed things. You do not have enough energy to do what we did before. You must be turned,” Daemon explained quietly, but it was said with finality.

“So I have to have a Master then,” Grayson’s voice was glum. “And it has to be an Ashyr Vampire, right?”

He hoped that Daemon would finally answer forthrightly and tell him “yes” or “no”. Surely Daemon realized that if he must have a Master then he would choose Ryder.

If Ryder wants that…

But how would he not? If their positions were reversed, Grayson knew that he would wish it.

But he’s not saying anything.

Until Ryder suddenly did, “Balthazar was turned by Kaly, wasn’t he? So Grayson isn’t limited to an Ashyr Vampire.”

“Caemorn is Balthazar’s Master?” Grayson’s eyebrows rose. “That would explain some things! But how odd! The two of them--always at each other’s throats--and now… connected by the heart, head and blood.”

Grayson’s heart leapt at it, too. Both that Ryder was clearly thinking about this non-Ashyr option, but also that he might want the position. Grayson envisioned Ryder’s fangs at his throat and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Kaly can slice their soul into parts and those parts can inhabit other beings, including other Vampires with different gifts. Kaly inhabited Roan Tithe, a powerful, sadistic Eyros Vampire who was Balthazar’s Master,” Daemon elaborated.

Grayson’s shoulders slump. “So he was turned by an Eyros Vampire.”

“But Christian is a Speaker of the Dead, isn’t he?” Ryder interjected, leaning forward, elbow on knees in almost eagerness to make his point. “That shows that some of Kaly’s gift was passed down into Balthazar and then into Christian.”

“That’s true. And the others that have existed before him likely were the result of Kaly slicing himself and inhabiting other Vampires in the Eyros Bloodline,” Daemon stated. His expression was neutral. “But, again, Roan was an Eyros. His blood turned Balthazar, not Kaly’s own.”

Grayson swallowed the sudden bitter ball that formed in his throat even as his hand tightened on Ryder’s leg. “So you’re saying--”

“That we simply do not know if you were turned by someone not an Ashyr if you would still have that gift,” Daemon filled in. “And…”

“And?” Grayson asked, his shoulders really slumping now. While it would be incredible to turn into an animal, he didn’t want to lose his abilities. It would be like losing a part of himself.

I never wanted them before. I thought they ruined my life. But now I see the possibilities of them. Another reason to forget my life as Grayson.

“And while the gift does not make the Immortal, I would imagine there would be concerns if the Immortal leader of the Ashyr could not use that gift,” Daemon continued.

“ Concerns ?” Ryder’s voice was sharp. “What concerns? And what does it matter what anyone else thinks? Unless it’s you, of course, Daemon, that has a problem with this!”

“I don’t think he’s talking about himself exactly.

He’s worried about how others will take it.

Like would the Ashyr Vampires recognize me as Ashyr if I have another gift?

” Grayson grimaced as he guessed what was on their king’s mind.

“Not to mention that some would see the Ashyr Bloodline as subordinate to whatever Bloodline turned me, wouldn’t they? ”

“Those are all very valid suppositions, Ashyr,” Daemon said quietly.

“But that wouldn’t necessarily be true! This might not be bad!” Ryder cried, hectic color staining his cheeks. “You’re seeing it just from the possibility of what could go wrong , instead of what could go right !”

Grayson’s eyes widened. Ryder was not willing to let this go. That was good. But Grayson knew that their king would not be pointing all of these obstacles out if he did not feel they were important. Or insurmountable. Daemon simply sipped his wine and put another log on the fire.

Ryder put his wine glass down and scrubbed his hands over his face. “First, no matter what, Grayson deserves the Master he wants . He should have the experience we want for all our fledglings. A Master who loves him and cherishes him and honors him.”

Grayson’s throat felt tight as he heard the pain in Ryder’s voice. These were things that Ryder had wanted from Lawson and had not gotten. He hadn’t known he was Weryn when he was turned. He had needed a Master who loved him.

“Ashyr seems to want no Master, Weryn, which is about what I would expect from him,” Daemon chuckled.

“Right, which means he would need someone who would understand his independence and not try to break his spirit,” Ryder said.

“Dani could do that,” Daemon suggested. “She loves him beyond anything.”

But even as Daemon suggested her, Grayson knew that he didn’t want that relationship with Dani. He said as much, “It would confuse things between us if she was both fledgling and Master. She’s clearly been harmed by my passing. I would not put another burden on her.”

“Exactly!” Ryder nodded enthusiastically. “Any fledgling of Ashyr’s would have this conflict with turning him, and any lower Vampire wouldn’t be appropriate! Anyone who turns him will be seen in a highly respected light. They must be--be extraordinary. They can’t just be some Ashyr Vampire!”

“I see.” Daemon smiled softly but a little sadly too as if he had expected this argument, and understood where it came from. Maybe even agreed with it on some level.

But, on another, he fears where this will lead.i

“And Christian is proof that unique and unheard of gifts can occur when Bloodlines mix! We have this rare opportunity to join Ashyr with--with another Bloodline,” Ryder pointed out. “Who knows what a mixture of the Ashyr and this other Bloodline will do? It could be something wonderful.”

“But what about the Ashyr Bloodline feeling subjugated--lesser--than the other Bloodline that turns him?” Daemon suggested.

“Why subjugated or lesser and not a part ? Linking the two Bloodlines together. Making them stronger together. Pack,” Ryder said, and then quickly, “Or the equivalent of that. We are all Vampires. Don’t you want us to see each other as one instead of separate groups?”

“If we did see ourselves that way, it might stop another War,” Grayson pointed out.

“Or start one.” Daemon drained the rest of his wine and stood.

“King Daemon, I see that your eyes are shadowed, and that you fear something. Won’t you tell us what that is?” Grayson rose and lifted a hand toward Daemon.

The Vampire King took his hand and held it against his chest. “Your returns, Ashyr and Weryn, fill me with such joy. I have missed you terribly. And I need both of you focused on what is to come.”

“What is coming?” Ryder asked.

“So many things,” Daemon answered.

The Sect of Dawn. The humans. Maybe more. He needs his General and his best Soldier at his side.

Daemon squeezed Grayson’s hand. “But you need not make any decisions yet, Ashyr, about who you choose to turn you. Let things play out a bit, but not too long.”.

Daemon leaned in and kissed Grayson’s forehead. It felt like a benediction. Grayson’s eyes fluttered shut and he just breathed in as the kiss ended. But he still felt it.

Ryder was on the couch, looking down into his lap, his expression wretched. He acted as if he expected Daemon to ignore him, to not want him, to punish him.

For the War. Of course.

But Daemon reached down and squeezed Ryder’s shoulder, which had him looking up in surprise. “I understand regret. I know what it is to do something for love that causes damage. Great damage. We share that, Weryn. We will have to find a way to make it right, you and I.”

A final squeeze of Ryder’s shoulder and Daemon disappeared through a portal. That left them alone but for the crackle and snap of the fire and way too many questions.

“I’ll be back in a sec,” Grayson said.

He’d headed to the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror, trying to figure out what to do. Ryder appeared in the doorway. His hands on either side of the threshold. His silver eyes were shining. The “V” of skin at his throat was the most enticing thing that Grayson had ever seen.

“Are you okay?” Ryder asked. “A lot’s… happened in a few days.”

“I know, right?” Grayson looked at them both in the mirror. “I should be freaked out. But, for the first time in this life, I’m not afraid at all.”

He reached up and caressed the mirror image of Ryder.

Ryder came up behind him, those big hands encircled his waist, and he pulled Grayson to him.

Back to front. He was so much bigger than Grayson.

He thought that had always been the case.

Ryder kissed the side of his throat. His lips and breath were hot and they branded him in a different way than Daemon’s had.

“You should rest. Sleep for days after everything’s that happened,” Ryder said against his skin.

“Do you think the Ashyr Vampires will let me? The running along the rooftops thing makes a Hell of a lot more sense now,” Grayson chuckled as he reached back and ran his fingers through Ryder’s thick, black hair.

Ryder turned his head into that hand and kissed his palm. “They are a little eager .”

“And probably freaked out because I’m still human and fragile in their minds,” Grayson admitted with a sigh.

“They aren’t wrong.” Ryder kissed his palm again.

“No, I guess not, but me being human is actually a good thing,” Grayson said as his mind went back to “Jill” and the strange constructs in her mind.

“Oh? Why is that?” Ryder asked, kissing the pulse point in his wrist.

“Because the Sect is expecting to be hunted by Vampires. They expect you to be the danger, but not me. Not just some kid from the streets,” Grayson said a little bitterly. “They do not know that I am Daemon’s General.”

“No, they don’t. Well, not unless the Ashyr Vampires can’t keep a secret. And it’s a large one to be sure,” Ryder agreed.

“There could be traitors within my Bloodline, too,” Grayson said with a grimace.

“I can’t imagine that,” Ryder said. “They were all so loyal to you before you… went away.”

“But the Sect is going against Daemon. Some may blame him going to sleep for the War and all that happened,” Grayson pointed out. “People do things when they are grief stricken and lost.”

Their eyes met in the mirror. Ryder held him tighter.

“But I’m back now. I’m here,” Grayson said to both their reflections. “And I will defend us as I always have against all enemies, within or outside our ranks. Will you help me, Weryn? Will you be the Soldier again?”

“You do not even have to ask. I am at your command, Ashyr,” Ryder murmured, “Always.”