Page 37

Vine opened his eyes lazily, grinned, and stretched, splattering more blood on the bedcovers. “Good morning, my dear. I guess I am an imposing sight, aren’t I?”

“What…why are you here? What are you doing? How did you get past the salt? And do something” ?Nerys flicked her wrists and squirmed? “about that .”

“About what?” Vine looked down and realized what had Nerys so upset.

“Oh.” He reached down and moved one of the pieces of skin back over his thigh, and adjusted his loincloth over the offending area.

“Better? You mortals are so squeamish about bodies. The insides, the outsides, really, all of it. A pity. The inside’s the best part. ”

Well, if that was how he was going to be—pretending he hadn’t tried to betray her—two could play at that game.

“Based on what I’ve seen of your insides and out,” Nerys said, “I don’t see what you’re so obsessed with.”

Vine chuckled.

“And you still haven’t answered me,” she said.

“Oh?” Vine asked. Nerys stared at him and crossed her arms. “Ah, a riddle—questions like, what am I doing here?” Vine stretched, unfortunately dislodging the skin loincloth again.

That was worth ignoring in the spirit of getting some actual answers.

“Easy” ?he grinned? “there was only one bed. Where else would I sleep?”

Nerys kept her face even. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of reacting. And that’s what he obviously wanted, with his wide eyes and sharp smirk.

Bastard.

“Why were you sleeping?” Nerys asked. “Demons don’t sleep.”

“Now, now, you can’t say that wasn’t the best sleep you’ve ever had. I am certainly well rested. ”

“No, leaving all this aside” ?Nerys gestured at him? “why are you in here? I placed salt at the door.”

Vine’s hairless eyebrow flicked up. “Did you?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure? Look.”

Nerys pursed her lips, rested up on her knees, and peered towards the door, over the bloody demon on her bed. A demon who seemed to be enjoying this far too much. “I don’t see an issue.”

“Look closer.”

On a second look, Nerys’s heart sank. The line of salt was right where it should be—with a broken area right in the center.

“Tsk tsk,” Vine said, shaking his head. “Not sure how that happened. A maid? Sleepwalking, perhaps? Regardless, because I am here, you had a delightful, restful night.”

“And a morning I will never forget.”

“I can only hope.” Vine smiled.

What was the point of this little display? Was he trying to convince her that he was going to protect her? Build trust so that he could turn on her later? Again?

If only he didn’t seem to be enjoying this so much.

Nerys was about to tell Vine what she thought about his ability to respect her space when a knock sounded at her door. “Callidora,” Idris called out, using her new name, “are you awake?”

“Yes.” Nerys scowled at Vine and sent her stone eyes away. In an instant Vine was gone, replaced by a shadow. She had to remember that trick for later. The bond apparently made her more sensitive to him than to other spirits, but she’d take any muffling of him now. “Come in.”

Idris stepped into the room and Nerys’s eyes widened. Idris was gone, back into the form of the same soldier he had been in the army, misshapen nose included. A pity. After Vine, she could’ve used the distraction of Idris’s body. An intact, handsome body. Not Vine’s.

…After what Vine did on the bed, it was a good thing she had just spent her last night in this one. Luckily, Idris could not see the other plane and thus was unaware of the grisly scene.

“Are you alright?” Idris asked, his voice the same though his body was no longer his own and his Cerdorani accent already muted. “I thought I heard you talking. ”

Nerys rubbed her eyes. “Yes, I’m fine. It’s just strange hearing your voice coming out of someone else’s body.”

Idris nodded. “It’ll get better. The first few days are the worst.”

“You’ve had this problem with others?”

“Of course.” Idris smirked. That made sense—illusion was his kingdom’s magic. For a moment she locked eyes with him, Vine forgotten, until she remembered what they were going to do next.

A pause settled between them.

Idris—there was so much she wanted to say. About her worries, about him, about… them . More than anything, she wanted this last moment of normalcy to last forever, before her entry to court tore it from her.

“How are you?” Nerys asked. “We haven’t talked since…”

“Fina?”

“Yes.”

Idris’s lips set in line. “She went back to Cerdoran. She has a task to do for me there.” Surely only part of the story, but the only part Nerys would get.

“I never thought she’d come with us.”

“No.” Idris smirked. “She was never one for hiding in stables.” Idris’s attention went towards the windows, where the sun was turning rosy from behind curtains. “I need to go.”

“What is it? Are we leaving?”

Idris nodded. “Soon. I wanted to come here in case I don’t have a chance to say it later—good luck, ‘Callidora.’” He stepped away.

“Wait,” Nerys said, moving to get out of bed. Her breath caught in her throat as he turned back to her.

“What is it?”

“I…is this it?”

“For now. But not forever.” Idris gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry I can’t be at court with you, but I will be there.”

“I know.”

“And I’ll be thinking of you.” His eyes roamed her body, focusing on her breasts. “But maybe you’ll be wearing something different.”

“Different? ”

“Maybe…something with less layers. Something that shows just how beautiful you are.”

A dull heat worked into her core, and they stared at each other for another long moment. The way he looked at her—had anyone ever looked at her like that before? She wanted to reach for him again, caress him, touch his—

“I have to go, Callidora ,” Idris said, jolting her from her fantasy. “I’m pretending to be a servant starting today—which means I have to act like one.”

Nerys nodded. “I understand.” They then said their farewells. Their reluctant ones. What she wouldn’t have given for one more hour with him, one more minute, before having to say goodbye and face the court alone.

Once they started traveling, Nerys soon regretted not using her last chance at Qiana’s lodge to talk to Idris further.

To say…something. How thankful she was that he was coming with them.

Maybe even how it wrenched her heart that she could not speak to him.

He was a friend. Of a sort. He was…something. If only he was something more .

Nerys was not allowed to pine after Idris for long.

Qiana put an end to her attempts to talk to Idris on their journey like tossing a lit candle into a bathtub.

“Sword Man Callidora is not familiar with carriage drivers,” Qiana had said each time Nerys asked about Idris, now “Philian,” as they bobbed along the dirt roads.

“Sword Man Callidora is mindful of her new station in life.” “Sword Man Callidora is careful not to try her guardian’s patience .

” Thus, Nerys resigned herself to the fact that Idris may as well be living in a hermit’s hut in Pelia for all she could talk to him.

Thus the days passed, until finally, after weeks of mind-numbing body-jolting travel over pocketed frozen roads and questionable bridges, it was the night before they were to arrive at court. The last night before Nerys was tossed into satin-infested waters.

A few curt knocks were the only warning Nerys received before Qiana entered Nerys’s room at their final inn, wearing a solemn expression and a full dressing gown that contained more fabric than an army tent. Nerys stood before her guardian, head bowed in an attempted show of respect.

What lecture was she going to get now? Nerys had stopped asking to speak to Idris several days ago, and tried to keep her other questions to a minimum.

She stopped complaining about her tingling ass or her cracking back.

Qiana was always friendly, but it was clear she had little interest in getting to know her. 134

“I wanted to see if you had any questions, before we go to court,” Qiana said, stepping closer to her ward, her eyes homed in like a merchant eying merchandise.

“Once we arrive, conversations will be difficult. Even in private. It doesn’t help that my demon is still missing.

135 He would have kept things away.” Unseen ghoul things, she meant.

“Demons can go missing?” Nerys frowned. Vine had essentially stayed out of sight—a preferable condition. “I thought he was sworn to you.”

“He is. Was. But their world is just as vicious as ours. Maybe worse. Any number of things could have happened.” Qiana sighed and rubbed her eyes, the weeks of travel visible, even though her face wore enough paint to patch a fence post. “On top of helping you succeed, I’ll need to find another demon, too.

I can’t be at court without the protection. ”

“I’m sorry.”

Qiana flicked her wrist. “Nothing you can do about it. Just tell me if you have any questions. I need to get some rest.” Yes, they both needed it. Badly.

“I think we have covered everything as best as can be expected. Just…”

“Yes?”

“Won’t the other creatures at court sense Vine and know that I have the Sight?”

“Probably.” 136 Qiana tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“And they will think he is mine, provided he doesn’t tell them otherwise .

I’m just a guardian protecting my ward.” That last part was likely for Vine’s benefit more than Nerys’s.

Like she had any control over what that demon did.

She was just happy if he wore clothes these days.

Qiana’s words were yet another reminder that Nerys’s fate depended on the slippery demon .

“That’s a lot of things to hope for,” Nerys ventured. “How is Vine supposed to protect me?”

“You’d be surprised. 137 Don’t worry,” Qiana said, “or try not to. I don’t think you appreciate how useful he may be for keeping you in one piece.”

“He tried to trick me.”

“He’s a demon. That’s what they do.”

Great, just great.

Later that night, long after the moon rose, Nerys threw her covers off her and paced her room, which was directly adjacent to Qiana’s.

She wanted nothing more than to roam the halls, maybe find Idris…

But if finding him was out of the question before, it was doubly so now.

Now they were so close to the court that she had to act like a proper lady, and a proper lady did not roam the halls of an inn unattended, searching for a carriage driver.

At the very least, she could expect to encounter curious servants. Or worse—actual courtiers.

She was about to ring for a servant to bring her hot mint tea when a familiar shadow walked by her room. She called her stone eyes, just in time to see the last steps of pale, bloody bare feet stride past. Despite Qiana’s confidence, she was not sure how she was going to manage with Vine.

This was as good of a time as any to talk to him. And if he was going to be as important to her as Qiana claimed, she had better get used to dealing with him. Avoiding him wasn’t going to make him decide not to betray her.

“Vine?” She asked softly, moving towards the door. “Can I ask you something?”

The feet came back and stopped outside her room. “Yes?”

“How” ?she swallowed? “how are you going to protect yourself at court? Sitri is gone.” Nerys’s eyes drifted to the salt line, the one thing guaranteeing her a peaceful night.

“I’ll manage,” he said, resigned.

“Oh.” That was not the answer, or tone, that she expected. 13 8

Moments passed. With her sight called, Nerys heard Vine’s heavy breathing through the door, and made out the sounds of drops of blood splashing on the wood from his numerous wounds. He acted so nonchalantly about them—was that really the case? Did demons feel pain?

“Do they hurt?” she asked.

“Does what hurt?”

“Your…wounds.”

A moment.

Then another.

And another.

“Always.” 139

“Oh. I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” She was sorry—was this pity? No, she had no room for pity, especially for a demon.

“Don’t be sorry. They’re not worth discussing.” That seemed like a lie, even compared to how he normally spoke.

A moment passed. Then another. And another.

“I was not going to betray you, you know,” Vine said. “Sitri lied.”

Nerys’s heart leapt into her mouth and she tucked her arms around her. “You could be lying to me now.”

“I could,” he admitted. “But I’m not.”

It was Nerys’s turn to pause. If only she could see his face to tell if he was lying. Would that help?

“You bound me,” he said. “And have my word.”

“You’re a demon.”

Vine chuckled, a rumbling sound that echoed through the door.

“That I am. Well, Nerys of Raven’s Crest—aligning with me is one decision you will not come to regret.

” Hopefully. Or it was the worst mistake of her life.

“I’ll prove it to you—I’m going to be the only true friend you will have at court. ”

“I’ll be glad for your friendship.” What? What did she say that for?

“Will that be all?” Vine asked after a short pause .

“Yes.” Nerys started, briefly forgetting herself. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I’ll have my thanks for my troubles later.

” Vine said this with an even more poignant hiss on the s ’s than usual.

Who did he plan on getting his thanks from?

The demon they were going to try to keep from being summoned?

Someone else at court? Or her ? Steps outside the door told her Vine had walked away and their conversation was done. For now.

Nerys shivered and crawled back into bed. She had to contend with the court, the R?ll, and at least two demons. Now, who was going to get to her first?