Page 56 of Ever Dark Academy: Vol. 1

The thought of the Weryn not playing any role in the festivities had been discussed between himself and Demos. But Ryder had vetoed that and he was glad he had. He remembered Christian’s icy demeanor towards him already with mostly full participation in the academy. They were on thinner ice than Lawson understood.

“Because being in the parade does not undercut our position regarding how we choose our Children,” Ryder again strove to speak neutrally. “Offending Eyros, Kaly and Seeyr is not the point of our sitting out. Let alone angering King Daemon. So we’re here. And we’re doing this.”

This had also been told to Lawson ad nauseum. His voice was sharper than he wanted. Demos’ eyes flickered towards him. He couldn’t read his Blood Brother’s expression though. Was Demos worried that they would start a screaming match that ended in a brawl? And wouldn’t that give the other Bloodlines something to talk about even though Weryn routinely settled conflicts that way. But between Master and fledgling such fights were rare and considered serious. Or was Demos hoping that he would stop repressing what he really felt and acted?

“We’re like monkeys on display,” Lawson still complained, hands on hips, as he stared out moodily at the building crowd.

“Actually, the big apes will come in the back,” Demos replied dryly, his silver eyes flickering with anger that he couldn’t quite hide.

Lawson finally noticed that neither R6der nor Demos was in a good mood and he swung his gaze to his two fledglings. He studied them both sourly, but then his face broke into a smile and he patted both their shoulders.

“I’m sorry, boys. I wasn’t thinking how hard this is on you. You’re just trying to keep the peace. You don’t want to be here anymore than I do,” Lawson said.

Did Ryder want to be there? No. He would have rather been sitting down with a decanter of blood and wine, staring into a fire. But what he would have really liked to be doing was having Grayson in his room.

He could well imagine being sprawled on the furs and pillows before the fire with Grayson seated between his legs, the young man’s head resting against his bare chest, only a fur blanket covering them as the fire hissed and snapped. He imagined lazily running his hands through Grayson’s hair and then leaning down to brush his lips across the young man’s left temple. This imagining was so vivid that a sense of unreality stole over Ryder and his body felt strange and distant. Unconsciously, his head turned towards Grayson.

And, of course, Lawson saw where he was looking and turned, too, to see what so entranced him.

For now there wasn’t only Seeyr and this little black kitten by Grayson, but Balthazar and Christian were there too. In fact, Balthazar was gushing over Grayson as he took the tiny black kitten from Grayson’s gentle hands. The Eyros Vampire’s eyes were bright seemingly with tears and he kept patting Grayson’s right shoulder and then his cheek and then half embracing him as if Grayson had performed some great service for him.

Christian was smiling too in a far less cold and distant way than he had when Ryder had met him. He looked almost indulgently at his Master. It was clear that there was great love between them despite Balthazar’s many foibles.

Or is that persona he puts on like a coat to obscure the truth of him?

“I cannot believe the Immortals are lowering themselves by catering to that boy!” Lawson scoffed.

Ryder should have felt relieved that Lawson had mistaken his interest in Grayson for interest in the Immortals who surrounded him.

Lawson bumped his shoulder against Ryder’s. “I guess we know who these fledglings are truly for, don’t we?”

“What?” Ryder’s upper lip threatened to writhe back from his teeth.

“It’s obvious that they brought that boy here for one of them! And Balthazar just took a fledgling this year,” Lawson chuckled. “Eager to spread his Bloodline, I see.”

“That’s not…” Ryder bit back the words he was going to say at a warning look from Demos.

“Or Seeyr. Sly old girl. Imagine starving in her own Spire all these millennia! Yet still she smiles!” Lawson’s grin was almost wolfish.

Seeyr’s head turned towards them. There was a bandage around her eyes, or rather where her eyes should have been, so it wasn’t possible that she was physically seeing them. And yet a chill went down Ryder’s spine. Even Lawson quieted and his lips pursed until her gaze seemingly left them and went back to Grayson and Balthazar.

The Eyros Vampire was letting Grayson pet the kitten’s head and seemed to think it was a great honor to do so. Grayson seemed to agree. Or at least, he appeared to like it. There was a smile that would bloom on his face like the sun peeking out from behind clouds. He would try to hide it away again, but then Balthazar would say something charming and Grayson would be practically laughing.

“Tell me that those two didn’t choose humans that were perfect for them? Not for the rest of us. Just them,” Lawson muttered.

“Well, Seeyr does see the future so she would have known that Weryn wouldn’t be accepting any fledglings from the academy,” Demos said evenly.

“Meaning?” Lawson scowled at him.

But it was Ryder who answered, “Meaning that there are no fledglings for us among the humans. We told the king we didn’t want any and she would have already known that.”

Lawson’s scowl deepened. “Yet we’re still in their damned parade. And the two of you took your own good time bringing back one of the students. But we don’t even get consideration?”

Ryder’s back teeth were clenched so hard together that when he opened his mouth to speak his jaw muscles practically creaked, “We can’t have it both ways.”

“But they are!” Lawson exploded.

That had more than Weryn heads turning in their direction. Lawson’s cheeks were flushed an angry, dull red. The vein in his right temple throbbed visibly. His hands were fisted at his sides. Ryder shut his eyes for a moment and he breathed. In through his nose, out through his mouth.

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