Page 43 of Claim the Twilight
Kaster hovered beside Holly as she heated a glass beaker over a portable burner. Her leather case was open—a pop-up lab that contained everything she needed.
Jacqueline scribbled on a notepad on the other side of the table. Ezekiel was nowhere to be seen.
My stomach trembled. Dammit, why was I so nervous? It was just Kaster. Sure, he’d seen me in a compromising position with Ezekiel, but that shouldn’t matter. Kaster had made it clear that he and I weren’t a thing, and now…Now I understood why.
The flash of pain I’d seen on Kaster’s face when he’d caught me with Ezekiel couldn’t matter. Just because Kaster cared about me didn’t mean he wanted me. Not anymore.
Before the curse broke, before I turned, he’d broken things off with me, saying that he wanted me to focus on Ezekiel and the curse. I’d hoped that we’d be together one day, but now that hope was dead. He was a white wing who was somehow in a vampire’s body. I doubted that he could be with me even if he wanted to. Maybe he’d slipped up and allowed his feelings to guide him for a while, pulling back when he discovered who I was. Or maybe he’d known all along but crossed the line anyway.
None of it mattered now.
Although I’d seen the relief on his face when he’d arrived at the castle to find me alive, he’d set the boundary firmly by not hugging me. My chest ached, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.
I couldn’t hate him for it. In fact, I was glad that we’d had our moment, however brief. And now I needed to be cool and professional about it all.
I exhaled and entered the room.
Kaster slowly looked up, no surprise on his face to see me. He’d probably sensed me as soon as I got to the doorway.
“Spell activator is almost ready,” Holly said without taking her eyes off the simmering liquid in the beaker.
“Where’s Ezekiel?”
“He went to get tea,” Holly said with a slight smile.
Yeah, the thought of Ezekiel catering personally for his guests was enough to make me smile too. The vampire king had come a long way.
“Ezekiel said you wished to speak with me,” Kaster said, his tone curt and formal.
I decided to match it with my own. “I wanted to ask you about Loviator. I spoke to her.”
His eyes flared wide. “When? How?”
“During the cold one attack on Raffleton. She said that every soul she’d taken was evil or had the potential to be. She intimated there was more to the story than we’ve been told. So tell me, Kaster, what have you white wings kept from us? Is it true? Does she only kill evildoers?”
He exhaled sharply. “She did. Once. A long time ago. But I’m sure you can agree that Ezekiel and Arabella were not evil when she tortured them in her realm.”
“No, they weren’t. But…she didn’t kill them and devour their souls.”
“Orina has a point,” Ezekiel said, entering the room behind me. The trundle of wheels had me turning to look, and it took a moment for me to absorb the sight of the vampire king pushing a tea trolley.
He arched a brow. “What?”
I shook my head, biting back a smile. “Nothing.”
A warm gleam entered his eyes, a message just for me, before he flicked his gaze back to Kaster. “I think you’ve been keeping things from us.”
“Yes,” Kaster said, his shoulders slumping. “It’s time I told you the whole truth. But I don’t want to have to repeat myself, so gather everyone, and I’ll tell you everything that I know.”
Chapter 19
INTERLUDE WITH A MEMORY
The moddlins watch as I craft them a new friend. This one is different. He doesn’t have a static form, he’ll choose for himself what he wants to look like. I finish pressing the earth into a sphere then create a hollow in the structure and press my lips to it, whispering words that will give it life. Well, it’s not the words that matter, really. I can say whatever I want; it’s my breath that creates, but the words are fun too.
The sphere warms as I set it on the ground. It sits there, inert for a moment, before it begins to tremble.
The moddlins gather closer, creatures of varying size and shape. Some have wings, some two legs, others four—creatures I’ve crafted from my imagination. My friends. My companions when I’m trapped outside of my grove and away from Tor.
