Page 489

The pale autumn light had faded away by the time Ashlynn, Heila and Ollie exited the longhouse.

Smoke poured from the chimneys of every loghouse, filling the air with the faint scent of burning pine and the distant sound of large families gathering around the central hearth to begin their own evening meals.

High above, the brightest stars were just barely beginning to pierce their way through the soft, midnight blue sky, sending a momentary pang of loneliness through Ashlynn’s heart.

After spending the entire summer apart, and most of fall as well, it felt like she’d only just returned to her lover’s side before they were forced to separate yet again.

This time it would be brief, only a few more days before she could gaze once again into Nyrielle’s glittering, midnight eyes, but every day they were apart felt longer than it should, and the nights they shared together felt far too brief.

"Heila," Ashlynn said, shaking off the feelings of loneliness that flowed from her separation from Nyrielle and focusing instead on the small and growing family around her. "Please light the way for us. Ollie," she said, holding out an arm to the would-be knight. "I’ll be relying on your support."

"Of course, my lady," Ollie said, taking Ashlynn’s arm while Hiela drew her wand and filled the area around them with dozens of softly glowing motes of silvery-green light, like lightning bugs at night, dancing slowly around them and illuminating their path toward the woods.

"How do you do that without even speaking?" Ollie asked while they walked. "I’ve learned a little bit of sorcery from Sir Thane and Sir Marcel, but if I don’t use words to focus, I can’t make anything come together."

"We use words, too, Ollie," Ashlynn said, giving his arm a gentle pat. "But what Heila just did isn’t very difficult. Not for a witch anyway," she added with a smile.

For the next several minutes, no one spoke as everyone sank into their own thoughts. The autumn air of the quiet mountain village was crisp and cool, but for Ashlynn, it resembled the warm, balmy summer nights of the Briar after spending so many days making the passage through the High Pass.

The cool, moist air soothed her battered and abused flesh and she could feel her body drinking in the energy of life as they slipped beneath the cover of gently swaying pine branches.

More than the strength of life flowing through the air, however, she drank in the simple comfort of human touch as she walked alongside Ollie into the woods.

It wasn’t until she saw him standing outside her carriage that she realized how much she’d missed the familiar faces of other humans.

Nyrielle, Zedya, and Ignatious were almost human, but they’d all lost some of the things that made them feel human, making them feel subtly wrong until she learned to accept the vampires for what they were instead of expecting them to be humans who just happened to be a little older.

Ollie, however, didn’t suffer that problem, even after living among the Eldritch ever since they fled from the Summer Villa in the spring. He’d grown, certainly, and in more ways than just the muscles he’d put on. But despite the many changes she felt in him, he was still very human.

"After the summer you’ve had and everything you’ve been through," Ashlynn said softly as they walked, leaning into Ollie’s strong, reassuring presence while picking their way over the rocky soil.

"Do you miss living among other humans? Does it ever feel.

.. lonely?" Ashlynn asked, turning her emerald eyes away from the pass to watch his graceful features when he answered.

"Sometimes," the flame-haired young man said, scratching his head in thought. "Mostly, I’m too busy to think about that sort of thing very much. I miss my parents," he said in a voice that felt heavier than even he had expected it to. "Sir Marcel, he, he looked into things for me," he began.

"After we ran away from the Summer Villa, Owain captured my parents to find out what they knew about ’Lynnda’ and me," he explained. "I think he was looking for someone else he could blame for what happened when we escaped."

"Oh, Ollie," Ashlynn said, freezing in her tracks and looking at him with eyes brimming with moisture as a chill gripped her heart. "Owain didn’t... he didn’t do anything to your parents, did he?"

"He might have tried," Ollie said, nudging Ashlynn slightly to keep up with Heila’s steady pace.

The rocky terrain meant nothing to the diminutive witch from the Horned Clan, who seemed to know exactly where to step and never once faltered over the uneven ground.

"I don’t know how to feel about it, but they were rescued by the Inquisition. "

"The Inquisition rescued your parents?" Ashlynn said, blinking in surprise.

"According to Sir Marcel, an Inquisitor named Diarmuid rounded up everyone who might have been connected to events at the Summer Villa," Ollie said with a light laugh. "They were very determined to find ’Lynnda’ and anyone who knew anything about the woman who killed knights and made soldiers vanish in the forest without a trace. "

"I’m sorry," Ashlynn said as she racked her mind for the right way to respond to what Ollie had just shared. "Did Marcel ever try to rescue your parents? To bring them to the Vale?"

"He can’t," Ollie said, pausing to help Ashlynn navigate over a sudden drop in the ground as they worked their way deeper into the forest. "He said that the Church has placed barriers around the Lothian Manor that prevent the entrance of Vampires.

Supposedly, just setting foot on the grounds is no different than walking into the open at full sun in summer. The protection is that strong."

"We were able to retrieve the family members of some of the other men who, um, came with us, from the Summer Villa," Ollie said awkwardly. "A few of them even settled into the village with the other refugees. I think it was easier for them to be around other folks who had just moved house."

His words were light, but the way he said ’moved house’ made it clear that nothing had been as simple as packing up and moving to a different place to live. From the story he’d told, there were at least six different clans living shoulder to shoulder in that village, and now there were humans too?

"I want to see it," Ashlynn said. "I want to see this village you built where humans can live with the Eldritch in peace."

"Not many humans," Ollie said, holding up a hand before Ashlynn could get too excited. "Really, it’s just two families, both with small children."

"Children..." Ashlynn said with a heavy sigh. After years of expecting that she would do her duty to bear an heir both for Blackwell County and Lothian March, she’d expected for a very long time that she would have children one day. She’d dreamed of what it would be like to become a mother, and how she would raise her children to grow into wise, kind rulers.

Once, she and Owain had even discussed names.

She was partial to Gaerith in honor of the pioneer who first discovered Blackwell Harbor while Owain wanted to name a son Caeleb after his great uncle who was famed for his skill with a sword.

When she’d asked about girls’ names, though, Owain only laughed.

"Silly girl," Owain had told her when she brought it up a few days before their wedding. "Lothian men don’t sire daughters. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, just raise our boys up to be brave and strong and I’ll turn them into fine warriors," he promised her.

Now, it all seemed distant and unreal. For her and Nyrielle, children were doubly impossible. Even if they weren’t both women, vampires were all but infertile. Her parents’ giving birth to a child at all was a rare miracle, never repeated for the rest of their lives.

Ashlynn thought she’d made peace with the notion, but thinking of it now, while she prepared to offer Ollie the chance to join her coven, she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d be willing to accept the changes that came with becoming a witch.

He was already growing into a fine young man, and he’d no doubt be a capable knight someday soon, even without becoming a witch. But as soon as he did, he’d never again live the life of a normal human. It was a bridge that, once crossed, had no way to return from.

"Ollie?" Ashlynn asked, pausing and tugging on his arm until he turned to face her very serious gaze.

"Have you given any thought to starting a family of your own?

Is there... is there a woman in your life that you want to return to?

Or to rescue from the Lothian Manor? Have we.

.. have we taken that chance away from you? "

Ashlynn’s question struck the flame-haired young man like a bolt of thunder out of clear skies, shaking his world from the crown of his head to the soles of his boots. Of all the things that she could ask, she wanted to know if there was a woman he was interested in? Why would she need to know?

But, she’d brought him out here to talk privately, away from prying ears who might overhear. Was it for this? Was this the question that she needed to ask him? But that didn’t make any sense! She was already with Lady Nyrielle, wasn’t she?

Wasn’t she?!?