SEBASTIAN
My fingers traced the blue embroidered moon on the handkerchief from Rhain, the small, rigid bumps a soothing distraction as I pretended to read. A week had passed since the night at the Blue Moon Inn, and despite spending hours studying the rectangular cloth, it didn’t seem to have any other secrets to share.
Things between Luna and me had been strange since we returned. Maybe I moved too fast. Perhaps I said things that should have waited. Maybe I frightened her when I told her I would destroy anyone who came after her.
Either way, something had shifted between us.
Despite my best efforts, I had yet to find out why her letters were going unanswered. I sent Estrella to check on the welfare of Luna’s family, and the vampire reported everyone was safe and accounted for. The blonde vampire might have had a caustic attitude on the best of days, but I trusted her.
This was a problem. Not so much the missing letters, but the reasoning behind it. I had already decided that tomorrow night, I would have Estrella personally shadow a letter to Ipotha and wait while a response was penned before returning, but that didn’t solve the bigger issue.
Someone in my castle was intentionally causing emotional harm to my wife. I needed to know why. I had my trusted spies looking into it, but there was no word yet. Not only that, but since our return from the Blue Moon Inn, Luna had been withdrawn. Burying herself in her books even more than normal, she barely spoke. Even the Binding Mark between us was silent.
It had been a very long week. Every night when I woke in bed next to my wife, I was hungrier than the last. The deer’s blood was doing even less to sustain me now that I had drunk from Luna. We were both increasingly frustrated. Our tempers were growing shorter by the day, and I knew this couldn’t go on forever.
A book lay open in front of me, but I couldn’t concentrate. My attention flicked to Keven, who stood at his large desk, speaking in low tones to a winged elf. The guards I’d stationed at the front of the library were a new addition, but a necessary one.
Still, I was on edge. I had been that way since the moment I caught Luna eavesdropping on the People of the Night. The knowledge that there were people who wanted to hurt my wife lay heavily upon me.
Something was going on within my castle, and I didn’t know what it was. Sleep was a rare occurrence these days. I felt a primal need to keep constant watch over Luna, the weight of the unseen threat looming over us both.
“Prince?” A hand landed on my shoulder, and I jumped, my shadows curling around my fists as I looked around me.
I let out a low breath at the sight of the elderly librarian. “Keven, you shouldn’t creep up on people.”
Especially not on a vampire prince who was already on edge because he had professed his love for his wife, and she proceeded to ignore him for an entire week. Wisely, I kept that part to myself as I pulled my shadows back into my palms.
The librarian withdrew his hand, wincing. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you. Phyrra sent me a message. She is on her way to report.”
I nodded. “Thank you, Keven.” Turning towards Luna, I placed my hand on the table near her. “I’ll just be over there if you need anything.”
She didn’t even look up from her book, turning the page as she said, “Go ahead. I’ll be here.” She snorted. “It’s not like I can go anywhere.”
That was, possibly, the only good thing about our Tethering. I had my eyes on Luna at all times. If the People of the Night were going to try to hurt my wife, they would have to go through me. I wouldn’t let her get hurt.
Pushing back my chair, I slipped the handkerchief into my pocket and walked over to the nearest stacks. Placing my palm flat on the smooth wooden grain of the bookshelves, I erected a privacy ward around the entire area. Shadows flitted from me, thickening the air around us for a moment before sliding back into my palms.
I settled in to wait, watching Luna as she read. Her finger passed over the text and she mumbled under her breath, occasionally jotting notes on the parchment at her side.
A blur soon entered the library, and within moments, my spymaster stood before me.
“Bastian.” Phyrra dipped her head in greeting, her long black hair hanging in thick ropes framing her dark russet skin. “I’m glad I found you.”
Shifting so I could keep an eye on Luna over my spymaster’s head, I asked, “What do you have to report?”
Phyrra crossed her arms. “Honestly, Bastian, it’s a mess. This castle is far more crowded than I have ever seen it.”
It truly was.
I sighed. “In all her wisdom, Mother is throwing a ball to celebrate her birthday at the end of the next month.”
“Has she ever—”
“No.” I shook my head. “In all my years, it’s the first time she’s done this.”
I had no idea what had gotten into her lately. Maybe it was the mention of the so-called “coming darkness”, but first she allowed the People of the Night out of their tomb, and now this?
Perhaps her mind was slipping. Tales of vampires who grew so old that they completely lost their grip on reality circulated in the darkest corners of taverns. Sometimes, they chose to walk into the sun. Other times, they destroyed everything around them.