Keller blinked. It was such a normal movement; Holly didn’t register it at first.
“He blinked!” she cried when she figured it out. “Lucien, is that good?”
The vampire appeared at her side in an instant. “I’d say so. Keep going.”
“It wasn’t fair of me to lean on you so much,” Holly said. “We were supposed to be in a partnership, and I put all of my weight on you because I wasn’t strong enough to stand on my own. I never asked if you were strong enough to hold both of us up.”
Keller blinked again. His eyes searched her face.
“He’s looking at me!” Holly gasped. “Lucien, he’s looking at me. Does he have his brain back?”
“Holly,” Keller murmured.
Holly sunk onto her knees and crawled to his side. “Keller? You can see me?”
“I see you.” His voice sounded breathy and faint, but it was his voice all the same.
“Oh, thank goodness.” A tear slipped down her cheek. She wiped it away.
“I heard everything you said.”
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I shouldn’t make assumptions like that. Look at what it’s done to you.”
“You pushed me until I snapped. I strangled you. Let’s call it even.”
A shudder tore through Holly at the memory.
“Sorry,” Keller said. “Bad joke. It’s the exhaustion talking, that’s all.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“A pillow, maybe?”
“Sure. What about the chains?”
“I’d rather wait until I’m one hundred percent sure I won’t go crazy again.”
“Smart.”
“I’ve brought a pillow.” Lucien appeared next to Holly, holding a fluffy pillow covered in pink flowers.
“What the fuck?” Keller snarled.
“He can move through shadows,” Holly clarified.
“Of course, he can.”
Holly propped the pillow under his head. “Anything else?”
“No,” Keller replied. “I’ll take this as my punishment for nearly killing you.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” She wondered if she should tell him about Cah and what he found. What if Keller knew and didn’t want her to know? What if knowing she knew made things worse? After the night they’d both had, she decided he didn’t need any more bombs dropped on him. For once, she’d take the pressure off his shoulders.
“I’m going to rest now, if that’s all right,” Keller murmured.
“Of course,” Holly said. “We’ll leave you to relax. Can anyone hear you if you started shouting down here?”
“Definitely,” Keller said. “This was a very poorly built dungeon in its day.”
“Not sure if that makes me feel better or worse.” Holly laughed.
“I’ll shout if I need anything,” Keller said.
“Okay.” She nodded. “Goodnight.” Holly followed Lucien up the stairs, looking back at every step.
They entered Johnny’s studio. He stood near the secret button, painting a landscape of silvery, snowy mountains.
“This is what you do at two in the morning?” Holly asked.
“I’m not tired,” Johnny said.
Holly stepped closer to examine his work.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “I feel chilly just looking at it.”
“It’s the range north of here. Much farther north than Golden Oak.”
“If I wouldn’t freeze my ass off, I’d love to go there.” She squeezed Johnny’s shoulders and moved away.
“Going to bed?” he asked.
“Not yet. Soon.”
“Sleep is important. It stops you from going insane.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’m going up as well,” Lucien said. “It’s only midday for me.”
Holly continued up into the living space. Lucien followed.
“You don’t have to babysit me,” Holly said. “I’m fine.”
“It’s been a busy few hours for you. Johnny’s right. Lack of sleep leads to madness and illness. I’d like to avoid that.”
“If you’re going to be awake, can I ask you something?” Holly said.
“Mining for more wisdom nuggets?”
“No.” Holly laughed. “How did you know speaking to his heart would work? How did you even know that’s a possible thing?”
His smile faded.
“If I’ve overstepped a boundary, please tell me,” Holly said.
“Not at all,” Lucien said. “Besides, if we’re going to trust each other, that means sharing secrets.”
“Ooh, a secret. How mysterious.”
“It’s not very exciting.” Lucien reached into his shirt and pulled out a thin gold chain. On the end of that chain was a stone unlike anything Holly had ever seen before. It might’ve been a fat chunk of ruby if it didn’t pulse with brilliant light.
“Not exciting? Are you kidding? It’s stunning,” Holly gasped. “What kind of stone is that?”
“It’s a heartstone.”
Holly looked closer. The pulsing light mimicked a heartbeat.
“Is it a literal heart?” she asked. “Is that how vampires stay alive?”
“We tie our essence to stones, yes.” He nodded. “We came up with it as a way to avoid those pesky stakes.”
“I see. But if you carry it with you, aren’t you still at risk?”
“If someone were to break my heartstone, I’d become nothing more than a pile of ashes. That’s why we keep them in the safest places we can think of.”
“Are you sure this place is safe? Keller might snap again.”
“Oh.” Lucien smiled softly. “This isn’t my heartstone. This heartstone means more to me than anything else on the planet.”
Holly’s mouth dropped open. “It’s your wife’s.”
“Yes.” He nodded. “I keep Celeste’s heart with me everywhere I go, and she wears mine. I would rather die than have anything happen to her heartstone.”
“And that’s why you’re the perfect place for it,” Holly finished.
“Exactly. I don’t worry about mine because I know she’ll never let anything happen to it. We are equally capable, equally invested, and equally dedicated. Our strengths and weaknesses are different, but that’s all right.”
“Now that’s a partnership.” Holly smiled.
“I feel lost without her,” Lucien confessed. “She’s been my constant companion for decades.”
“She’s going to be so happy
