couldn’t help but regret
that he couldn’t channel alongside her anymore.
Since bringing her back to
Foh’Ran, it seemed as though he’d done little else, teaching her to use the
Quickening by showing her how he did it. Teaching her now, when he could
neither channel himself nor see what she was doing unless she specifically
channeled so that he could see it, was different. The loss was an ache in his
chest that he was sure echoed through the bond, though Aedan never asked about
it as he watched them train.
They practiced all morning,
stopping when Doril came to tell Vivien her lunch was served. After lunch,
Aedan suggested some reading and pulled books from the shelves in the library
that recounted past duels, to give Vivien some idea about the kinds of
strategies Rhuinn might employ—or that she might adopt herself.
She read, and they discussed
tactics until mid-afternoon, at which point she stood and stretched her arms
over her head.
“I need a break,” she said then
with a quiet groan. “And to clear my head. I think I’ll go for a run.”
Bradan started to say he’d go with
her, and then it struck him yet again. He couldn’t, not now, in the middle of
the day, when the sun shone brightly over the castle. He was still struggling
with that realization when Aedan cleared his throat and said, “You would be
safe on the grounds by yourself as long as you remain within the shields, but
as your guard I would ask you to please wait until one of us can accompany
you.”
Vivien’s fleeting expression of
confusion, quickly replaced by understanding, showed that, she, like Bradan,
had forgotten. She took Aedan’s words in stride and nodded.
“All right. After the sun sets,
then.”
It was rare that she agreed so
easily with Aedan’s suggestions, and Bradan could see it for what it was: she
wasn’t so much agreeing with him as choosing the solution that meant Bradan
would be able to go with her. He felt a surge of affection for her and wished,
more than ever, that he could have taken her in his arms. He had to settle for
a smile.
* * * *
Aedan still didn’t understand this
running thing.
He could do it, of course, and was
doing exactly that at the moment, running at what felt like a terribly slow
pace a couple of feet behind Dame Vivien and Bradan. What was the point if one
didn’t run to their full potential, as Dame Vivien’s regular but unstrained heartbeat
told him was the case? For that matter, what was the point of running in
circles around the castle?
Aedan enjoyed running when it was
part of the hunt or even part of an attack necessary for his duty as a
bodyguard. But this… No, this was not enjoyable, or at least not to him. He
supposed Bradan had taken up this kind of running—jogging, he called it—as a
way to remain close to their dame, but what was Dame Vivien’s reasoning behind
it? Could she possibly enjoy this? How very odd.
Regardless of what he felt about
this strange pastime or his lack of interest in it, he kept pace with them,
remaining two strides behind them.
Part of him refused to believe
Bradan would do anything to hurt their dame, but that was the brother in him
talking, the boy who had grown up with Bradan and sworn his first blood oath
alongside him. Another part of him, the vampire part, knew how strong the need
for blood could be and remembered how hard it had been, right after being
turned, not to yield to his instincts every time the hunger twisted his
insides, clamoring for a bite, for hot, strong, human blood.
On their second pass by the woods,
Bradan and Dame Vivien slowed down then started walking together toward the
lake, their hands reaching for and finding each other in a gesture that seemed
almost instinctual. Now walking behind them, Aedan clenched his teeth and
refrained from saying anything; he knew his opinion on this particular subject
was unwanted.
He continued to observe his
brother closely, however, ready to intervene, and couldn’t fail
that he couldn’t channel alongside her anymore.
Since bringing her back to
Foh’Ran, it seemed as though he’d done little else, teaching her to use the
Quickening by showing her how he did it. Teaching her now, when he could
neither channel himself nor see what she was doing unless she specifically
channeled so that he could see it, was different. The loss was an ache in his
chest that he was sure echoed through the bond, though Aedan never asked about
it as he watched them train.
They practiced all morning,
stopping when Doril came to tell Vivien her lunch was served. After lunch,
Aedan suggested some reading and pulled books from the shelves in the library
that recounted past duels, to give Vivien some idea about the kinds of
strategies Rhuinn might employ—or that she might adopt herself.
She read, and they discussed
tactics until mid-afternoon, at which point she stood and stretched her arms
over her head.
“I need a break,” she said then
with a quiet groan. “And to clear my head. I think I’ll go for a run.”
Bradan started to say he’d go with
her, and then it struck him yet again. He couldn’t, not now, in the middle of
the day, when the sun shone brightly over the castle. He was still struggling
with that realization when Aedan cleared his throat and said, “You would be
safe on the grounds by yourself as long as you remain within the shields, but
as your guard I would ask you to please wait until one of us can accompany
you.”
Vivien’s fleeting expression of
confusion, quickly replaced by understanding, showed that, she, like Bradan,
had forgotten. She took Aedan’s words in stride and nodded.
“All right. After the sun sets,
then.”
It was rare that she agreed so
easily with Aedan’s suggestions, and Bradan could see it for what it was: she
wasn’t so much agreeing with him as choosing the solution that meant Bradan
would be able to go with her. He felt a surge of affection for her and wished,
more than ever, that he could have taken her in his arms. He had to settle for
a smile.
* * * *
Aedan still didn’t understand this
running thing.
He could do it, of course, and was
doing exactly that at the moment, running at what felt like a terribly slow
pace a couple of feet behind Dame Vivien and Bradan. What was the point if one
didn’t run to their full potential, as Dame Vivien’s regular but unstrained heartbeat
told him was the case? For that matter, what was the point of running in
circles around the castle?
Aedan enjoyed running when it was
part of the hunt or even part of an attack necessary for his duty as a
bodyguard. But this… No, this was not enjoyable, or at least not to him. He
supposed Bradan had taken up this kind of running—jogging, he called it—as a
way to remain close to their dame, but what was Dame Vivien’s reasoning behind
it? Could she possibly enjoy this? How very odd.
Regardless of what he felt about
this strange pastime or his lack of interest in it, he kept pace with them,
remaining two strides behind them.
Part of him refused to believe
Bradan would do anything to hurt their dame, but that was the brother in him
talking, the boy who had grown up with Bradan and sworn his first blood oath
alongside him. Another part of him, the vampire part, knew how strong the need
for blood could be and remembered how hard it had been, right after being
turned, not to yield to his instincts every time the hunger twisted his
insides, clamoring for a bite, for hot, strong, human blood.
On their second pass by the woods,
Bradan and Dame Vivien slowed down then started walking together toward the
lake, their hands reaching for and finding each other in a gesture that seemed
almost instinctual. Now walking behind them, Aedan clenched his teeth and
refrained from saying anything; he knew his opinion on this particular subject
was unwanted.
He continued to observe his
brother closely, however, ready to intervene, and couldn’t fail
Similar Books
