I glared. “I do not need a voice of reason.”
“Yes you do,” Tholdri and Steifan said in unison.
I sighed and shook my head. “I won’t do anything stupid, and I’m anxious to take to the road.” I looked to Tholdri. “And I’m just as anxious as you to discover why the Potentate is sending me.”
Dismissing Tholdri with a final meaningful look, I turned to Steifan. “Go ready the horses. I’ll meet you at the gate shortly.” I looked him up and down. He wore his armor and his sword, but . . . “You do have everything you need ready, don’t you? I’d hate to delay further.”
His eyes darted, giving away his sudden worry. “I’ll meet you at the gates shortly. I have only a few more things to attend.”
Tholdri walked toward the door and clapped Steifan on the shoulder. “I’ll have the stablehand ready your horses.”
Steifan’s hazel eyes shimmered with relief. “You have my thanks.” He opened the door and hurried outside before I could make comment, shutting it quietly behind him.
“Am I really that scary?” I asked Tholdri.
“He doesn’t want to disappoint you. I think it’s quite sweet.” He went for the door, then turned with his hand on the knob. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid, Lyss.”
“I’ve already decided I can’t kill Asher when a vampire war is about to begin,” I explained. “The order needs me.”
He opened the door. “I’ll see you soon then, and don’t get Steifan killed.”
Whatever clever retort I might have thought up was cut off by him exiting and shutting the door behind him. I stared at the door for a minute, then went back to my preparations, sparing the occasional glance for my bookshelf. In a secret cubby behind it was all of my research done to find Asher. So much time wasted, when all I had to do was nearly die to draw him out.
Now I had him, but I wasn’t quite sure what to do with him. Part of me still wanted to kill him, to end my existence as a vampire’s human servant. But another part of me, a dark hidden part I would never admit to, wasn’t sure if I could.
I arrived at the gates before Steifan, and couldn’t quite contain my irritation. The stablehand—a young male hunter whose name I didn’t know—quickly handed me my reins with eyes averted. Maybe I was scary, or maybe my nerves painted everything in a dark light. Perhaps the stablehand was just distracted and not frightened of me at all.
I stood outside the wooden wall of the stable with my horse and waited. I’d been given a well-muscled brown mare which I’d ridden many times before. While the horses were not assigned to individual hunters, most of us had our preferences, and the young stablehands tended to remember. For eventually, if they trained well, they would climb up the ranks. And any young hunter would do well to be liked by whatever mentor was assigned to them. Anything less might get them killed.
Steifan had never had to remember horses to earn favor. Because of his wealthy family, he’d skipped many steps.
I petted my mare’s forehead as the sun shifted high enough in the sky to project our shadows across the dirt road leading toward the gates. Steifan had wasted so much time we wouldn’t make it far before dark. Normally I would travel through the night, but that might not be wise given the state of things. If vampires wanted to kill freely, they’d be keen to eliminate vulnerable hunters.
I watched as another shadow was added to mine and the horse’s, but didn’t react.
“Isolde told me of your mission,” Markus’ voice said to my back.
I shifted my stance, bringing him into sight. “Yes? What of it?”
He pushed a short lock of brown hair away from his strong-jawed face. He wore a simple white shirt with pearl buttons, and tan woolen breeches, no armor. So like Isolde, he was not on assignment and could have been sent to Silgard instead of me. “I just think it’s odd that you’re being sent so far away under the circumstances. If it is a simple killing, one of the lesser ranking hunters could have been sent.”
I sucked my teeth. “Yes, it has been established that it is quite odd, but I’m not sure what anyone expects me to do about that. The Potentate orders and I obey.” My horse tugged at its reins, upset that I’d turned my attention away without offering any treats. I gave her the rein’s full length so she could snuffle at the ground, even though there was no grass to be found.
Markus’ playful smirk made his face seem a little less harsh. “You follow orders? You could have had me fooled.”
I laughed, relaxing. I wasn’t used to having any sort of repartee with Markus, but he was at least slightly less sour toward me than Isolde. Perhaps it was because we shared the same secret, though we had discussed it no further since I first learned he was also a vampire’s human servant.
I scanned the road to the courtyard beyond for any sign of Steifan, then turned back to Markus. “I obey where it matters, and I have an inkling you do the same.”
“Yes we are similar in that way, I suppose,” he agreed. He spotted Steifan at the same time I did, carrying two heavy saddlebags brimming with who knew what. “This is goodbye then. Do take care you return to us.”
I looked to see if he was being sarcastic, but he had already turned to walk away, and Steifan was nearly upon me. His black chin-length hair fell forward over his reddened face, flushed either with the effort of hauling the heavy bags, or out of embarrassment.
The stablehand spotted him and approached with a second horse, a white and gray dappled mare.
I nodded a greeting to Steifan as he reached
