Page 42 of Hunt the Dusk
“You’ll wear what I tell you to wear!” His eyes blazed bright gold. “Do not confuse my tolerance with weakness, Miss Lighthart. There are protocols and etiquette in my world, and youwillobserve them.”
I swallowed past the heartbeat in my throat. “Fine.”
His gaze skimmed over the room, a dark look crossing his stern features. “If you hope to forge some kind of understanding of my nature by examining the objects in this room, then you’re wasting your time. The man that these things belonged to no longer exists.” He swept out of the door, and the candles flared back to life on his departure.
I fell back into my chair. A weekend away with Ezekiel…What had I just signed up for?
Chapter 15
“No,” Hemlock said. “It’s too dangerous.” His silver coin skated over the knuckles of his right hand while he gripped a mug of tea in his left.
“She can handle it,” Ordell said.
“It’s not her I’m worried about, it’s him.” Hemlock set his mug down, the coin moving faster across his fingers.
“She needs to spend time with him if she’s going to help him find his humanity,” Ordell pointed out.
“Yes, but not in a remote location filled with other ancient vampires. Remember what happened at the Exciatio?”
Ordell’s heavy sigh illustrated just how well he recalled it. “I do, and I’m sure Ezekiel does too. He won’t let her out of his sight, and Laudon will be there too.”
“I’m not on board with this,” Hemlock said.
Seriously? The trip wasn’t up for debate. “Hello? This isn’t your decision to make. I’m going. End of.”
They both turned to me in surprise as if they’d forgotten I was in the room.
I looked over at Ingrid. “Can you believe these two?”
She bit back a smile. “How about a spot of tea to settle the nerves?”
Hemlock glared at me, hard and probing. “This is dangerous, Orina. Tell him you’re not going.”
“I can’t do that. I’m his watcher. I need to be with him in case someone tries to hurt him again. We need him in his full mind, at full capacity if we have any hope of nurturing his humanity.”
His jaw ticked, but the coin he was flipping slowed its pace. There was no argument to this, and he knew it. Someone had already tried to poison Ezekiel using dead man’s blood and it had almost put him into a state of decay. We had no idea who’d done it. It could be any of a host of suspects. He’d need backup at this summit.
“What if he needs blood?” Hemlock said softly. “Human blood.” There was conflict in his eyes. Concern for me that made my stomach warm.
“Master has summoned the bloods,” Ingrid said.
Ordell’s head snapped up. “He has?”
“They’ll be waiting for him at the summit.”
I was lost. “Who are the bloods?”
Hemlock answered. “Chosen veins from three noble bloodlines who’ve served Ezekiel for centuries. He hasn’t called on them for two cycles.”
“The families probably thought he’d forgotten about their contract,” Hemlock said. “Perfect, there’ll be three naïve veins for you to protect too now.” He made a sound of exasperation and stormed out of the kitchen.
Ordell remained seated, his half-eaten breakfast going cold in front of him. “I’ll speak to Ezekiel and see if there’s any way we can come. Even if we camp on the grounds. At least we can be close if needed.”
I had to admit it would make me feel better to have them close by. “Fine. But you’ll have to do it last minute. We leave at sunset, and I doubt Ezekiel will surface before then.”
He ran a hand down his face. “I wish you’d spoken to me about this last night.”
“Did you want me to come to your bedroom last night?” It was meant to come out lightly, a joke between friends who’d set boundaries, but the husky timbre of my tone didn’t match the vibe I was going for.
