Page 14 of Ever Dark Academy, Vol. 3

He saw longing glances past him to the palace. He was certain that they had been hoping to retake their places as if nothing had changed. But hadn’t everything changed?

He supposed he should be glad that they wanted to come back and make believe.

He had, in some ways, not expected anyone to truly seek him out.

Not the strong. Not the pack. But here they were.

Yet he was not worried about insulting them and losing them.

If they could be so insulted, they were not worthy and it was better he began fresh. So they chips would fall as they might.

“As you say, Weryn. We are all eager to show you our mettle,” Amaris answered with another bow that others followed suit with.

Ryder turned his back on them and put a finger to his temple. That was not necessary to reach Balthazar, but he found himself doing it anyway. He needn’t have bothered as Balthazar was already there.

Been a bit of a crisis already. Jill is dead and we need to hurry things along , Balthazar began before filling him in on all that had happened and all that needed to happen.

I require accommodation for one-hundred Weryn Vampires or so. There may be more coming, Ryder said after listening to Balthazar’s explanation of the current crisis.

Old ones, yes! You can almost smell the dust of ages on them, can’t you? Elgar’s the oldest that I’ve seen of mine so far, but more are out there, more will come , Balthazar sighed, showing signs of eagerness and discontent at the same time.

More survived the War than I thought, Ryder said.

Indeed. But it makes one wonder what they want. Family? Or revenge?

Ryder’s eyes lifted to the window where Grayson had been watching them. He saw the young man there for a moment longer before Grayson turned and hurried away. His heart clenched in his chest. Grayson was going to leave the Weryn Palace.

Ashyr, Weryn whispered forlornly.

But they would see him soon. Grayson wasn’t going away forever.

He felt Dani’s presence, skimming along the edge of the Weryn Palace’s grounds.

Through his connection to Balthazar, he bade her welcome and gave her entrance onto the grounds.

He saw her practically flying down one of the tree lined lanes to get Grayson.

Now that made him feel better. If Grayson were to leave his lands then the young man should be with a strong and loyal Vampire at all times.

Her presence did not go unnoticed by his Bloodline.

“An Ashyr Vampire on your land… Dani!” Amaris’ voice held surprise. “I had not heard that Ashyr had returned. Or are you aligning with them even without their Immortal’s presence?”

This was, of course, a very intelligent question. They were hiding Grayson’s identity so the truth would have to be obscured.

Ryder turned to face her. “I ally myself with the worthy. Dani is most certainly that.”

Amaris nodded. There was a genuine smile on her lips. “It has been ages since I spoke with her! I look forward to renewing our acquaintance!”

“As we should start to renew ours.” Ryder gestured to all the other Vampires except for Amaris and Kayne.

Wyvern Vampires had appeared all around them, which had some of his people turning and showing teeth, but no one attacked the still, silent figures.

“The Wyvern will take you to your accommodations. Amaris, Kayne, I bid you welcome to my palace. I would speak with you first.”

Though he was anxious to follow after Grayson, he had to use this time wisely while his lover was greeting his own Bloodline. Grayson needed the time alone before they all met up with the other Immortals. So he needed to do the same.

Amaris and Kayne bowed before stepping onto the grounds.

Ryder merely turned and started striding back to the palace while the others followed after him, Demos and Siban flanking him with the other two in the rear.

Every single blade of grass, flower, tree, board and brick reached out to him in a mental embrace.

He felt his shoulders releasing their tension as he walked deeper towards the home he had built.

He wished that there had been more time for just the four of them to explore, but that time would come.

The doors to the palace opened without waiting for his hands to pull them asunder. The scent of his cologne--Demos was quite right about the palace smelling of him--wrapped them all in its woodsy presence. Now, where to have this first meeting?

He thought he would go into the front sitting room or the dining room he had seen already, but his booted feet led him deeper into the palace. He wasn’t actually sure where he was going, but his body seemed to know the way.

He took them to a closed room on the right about two doors down.

His hand was on the door knob, but it was already opening.

There was a whump as the wood, already stacked and prepared in the fireplace to his left, caught fire all on its own.

There was a large table made of a single plank of wood, four feet wide and six feet long.

A hide-backed back sat beyond it with two less opulent chairs in front.

The right wall was covered in worn leather-bound books that stacked up to the ceiling one and half stories over their heads.

There was a narrow arched window behind the desk with a window seat covered in furs.

A bear skin rug was thrown down before the fire, the bear’s teeth exposed in an eternal growl.

Ryder sat down on the chair behind the table.

Demos and Siban stood on either side of him.

One of their hands on the back of his chair as if sentries.

He gestured to Amaris and Kayne to sit opposite them.

Kayne pulled the chair out for his Mistress, and then only sat himself when she motioned for him to do so.

There was a decanter of blood and wine on the table with five goblets sitting around it. Ryder was rather amazed by the Ever Dark’s ability to anticipate his needs and provide them before he even thought of them himself. What human had given this blood? What wine had been used to mix with it?

“May I?” Siban asked to pour the blood wine.

He nodded. They did so with graceful efficiency and put a glass in front of him before serving their guests, then gave one to Demos before serving themselves last. They all sat and drank in silence for long moments.

The blood wine was uncommonly good. He pulled it back to look at it and puzzle out why it was so delicious.

Amaris had closed her eyes and rested the back of her head against the seat. She hummed happily and licked the remnants of crimson from her lips. “I never thought to drink this vintage again. I thought it would all be dust.”

Kayne said nothing, but he took large gulps of his, nearly finishing it in a long swallow. Ryder didn’t blame him. He finished his own glass and refilled it before offering Kayne some more as well. Kayne’s eyes widened but then the faintest smile appeared on his lips and he extended his glass.

Can’t quite dislike me when I’m giving you some of this ambrosia.

“The Ever Dark provides,” Ryder said as he lifted his refilled glass. “And our king has returned.”

He was pleased to see no hesitation to Amaris and Kayne lifting their glasses to Daemon.

“When our king did not invite you here to speak on behalf of the Weryn Bloodline, did you not wonder why?” Ryder asked quietly.

Amaris pursed her lips. “There was a general call. We all felt it. But we have learned, through harsh lessons, to keep our distance from other Bloodlines. We have earned their enmity, some would say.”

“But King Daemon called. Why did you not respond?” Siban sounded a little offended.

Amaris swallowed deeply. Her eyes flickered to him. “Because I was uncertain what kind of welcome we would receive.”

And Ryder felt that sick twist in his gut. To say that she had confirmed how badly he had acted would have been an overstatement, but there was a lot to unpack there in her words.

“Were you not worried when Lawson came that Daemon would recognize him as leader of the Weryn?” Ryder asked. “While you remained in… hiding?”

“The one that sticks their head up first often gets it lopped off,” Kayne said in a thick, viking-like accent.

“So you wanted to see what happened with Lawson and the rest of us?” Demos confirmed. “If Daemon didn’t lop our heads off then maybe the Weryn really were welcome back into the fold?”

Amaris nodded.

“Some would say that was cowardice,” Ryder told Amaris evenly. Her eyes lifted to his. “But you are a bird shifter and you want to view things from a distance, to make sure they’re safe, before you send the ones you care about in. I respect that.”

And he did. He knew the uncertainty of leadership. How everything hung on one’s shoulders. How he hadn’t wanted it for that very reason.

“Kaly came back, and surely they are far more to blame than Weryn,” Siban pointed out.

“The king has always had a soft spot for Kaly, despite their issues,” Amaris answered. “Maybe because of them.”

“Maybe.” Ryder shrugged. “But the king has no problem with me either.”

Or so it seems.

Amaris seemed to sit up straighter. Kayne hardly seemed to breathe.

Good gods, what did we do?

“And you, Weryn, what are your feelings on the others?” Amaris asked. “Have you forgiven them?”

Ryder opened his lips to say something along the lines of, “I intend to live in the present and the future, not the past.” Or something like, “There is plenty of blame to go around, we must all let it go to move forward.” But no words came out, not those words, not any words.

“Forgive me.” Amaris inclined her head. “You do not remember. You do not know all the wrongs they did to you and yours.” Her silver eyes were alight with lust for the hunt for a moment. “You are wise to wait until you know the whole truth.”