Then I blinked, and it was as if a spell lifted from us—Laurie turned to the fire and I stared at my hands. Maria hadn’t faltered, in spite of the strange conversation she’d been privy to. Or maybe she’d completely missed it. Her power continued to pool inside the brand, creating a sensation similar to springtime sunlight. I focused on that, and tried not to listen to the sounds Laurie was making. Minutes later, he left the room without a word. All the stiffness left my body, and I almost let out an audible breath of relief. I waited for Maria to make a comment or a pointed observation, the way every faerie did, because they just couldn’t help themselves.
The healer didn’t say a word.
By the time she finished tending to me, a vibrant fire crackled in the grate and night crowded all around. Maria had turned on every lamp in the room, but the corners had become pockets of deep shadow. Laurie hadn’t come back.
“It has been an honor to heal you this evening, Lady Sworn,” Maria said, bending to retrieve her bag. I reached for my shirt, which now reeked of terror and blood, and pulled it quickly over my head.
I waited until she looked up again to answer. I touched my chin with the tips of my fingers, then lowered my hand in her direction, palm-up. “Thank you, Maria. Really. I’m pretty sure you saved my life. I hope I can repay you one day.”
“You already have, my lady,” the healer replied. When I gave her a questioning look, she smiled. It was a big, genuine smile, revealing her dimples and the slight gap between her two front teeth. She’s absolutely beautiful, I thought as she continued, “One of my cousins was a slave at the Unseelie Court. There was nothing we could do, since she lost her freedom in a foolish bargain. My family has despaired for years, thinking we would never see her again. But then, a few weeks ago… she came home to us. All the slaves had been freed by the Nightmare Queen, she told us.
“It has been an honor to heal you,” Maria said again, with an air of finality. “Your bill is paid in full.”
With that, she bowed her head and walked through the open door. I watched her go, feeling lighter than I had in months. I was always carrying the weight of my mistakes and all the bad things I’d done; I liked knowing that, at least once along the way, I’d done something good instead.
A moment later, Maria’s voice came from the foyer. Laurie’s deeper voice responded. Their voices were too low to hear. I sat on the bed, and I was about to get up when I finally absorbed the absence of pain. I was still weary and fragmented, but I felt the calmest I had in days. Getting free of Belanor
For the first time since Laurie had carried me in here, I took in the details of the room around me.
It was obvious, now that I wasn’t so distracted, that this was where he slept. His subtle, enticing scent clung to everything. The walls were made of dark, wooden panels. Medieval-looking wall sconces had been installed on several of them. There was a looming, framed mirror leaning against one wall—typical—and two leather reading chairs in front of the other. The four-poster bed was exactly what I’d imagined Laurie sleeping in… not that I had ever spent time imagining where he slept. A patterned red rug rested on the wooden floor.
Maria and Laurie had gone silent, presumably because the healer had left. The stillness rang. Gil, I thought. He must’ve finished the transition by now.
Worried again, I crept out of the room, instinctively trying to make as little sound as possible. Maria was gone and the doors were closed, the lock turned. Quivering firelight poured from a wide, open doorway to my right. Laurie was in there; I could see his silhouette on the floor, stretching toward the foyer. The beginnings of soft piano notes rippled through the dark.
I started toward him when I detected the faint smell of blood coming from one of the other rooms. Turning left, I moved to the one that was tightly shut with no light coming from the narrow crack beneath the door. The bond strengthened with every step, and I knew I had the right room. I knocked as gently as I could.
“Gil? Are you okay?” I asked softly, putting my mouth close to the door.
The vampire didn’t answer. Now my concern overpowered my sense of decency, and I probed the bond between us. Gil’s side was covered in shadow, like a bat enclosed in its dark wings. A wary prickle raced over my skin, and I backed away.
When I heard a floorboard creak beyond that dark door, I hurried into the room where Laurie was.
It was a living room, of sorts. More accurately, it was a room that didn’t know what it wanted to be. The space was long and narrow, rather than square. On the far end, there was a baby grand piano in front of a wide window. A cluster of settees and chairs stood in the center. And closest to me, there was a poker table, surrounded by four thick-cushioned chairs.
Laurie sat at the piano.
It was only when I looked at him that I remembered I was wearing ruined scrubs; Laurie looked glamorous as ever. The bastard wasn’t even trying, either. He must’ve showered and changed while I’d been with Maria—his hair, which was shorter than it had been before Belanor abducted me, fell into his eyes in damp, glimmering strands. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, only dark jeans that hung low on his hips. I’d never seen Laurie in jeans before, and yet they looked as natural on him as a fur cape did. The lines of his body were lean and elegant.
I finished crossing the room and stopped beside the piano. The song he played was like nothing I had heard before. It made me think of thick forests and curling mist, regal mountains and gray clouds. I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt. I couldn’t stop watching Laurie’s hands move over the keys.
The piece ended in a soft way, as if the story it was telling had concluded on a gray note. Laurie’s long fingers stroked the patterned, rich wood. There was fondness in the curve of his mouth, as if he were looking at an old friend.
“I would’ve guessed the guitar,” I said.
His gaze scanned the length of me, the twist to his lips more clinical than sensual, and yet I still found myself staring at them. Remembering what they’d felt like atop that imaginary mountaintop. Tasted like.
“Since it appears we’ll be spending more time here, you’re welcome to use the shower and borrow a nightgown,” Laurie offered, getting to his feet. For once, he was completely unaware of my thoughts. Moonlight shone over the hard planes of his stomach, and it took me an extra beat to raise my gaze as he continued, “I keep extra nightwear around for my frequent… guests. I should warn you, though, most of them could technically be considered lingerie.”
“In that case, I probably shouldn’t. I think we’ve both had enough excitement for one day.” I spoke without thinking. Less than a second later I realized what I’d said, what I had hinted at. Heat rushed to my cheeks.
The Seelie King—the true Seelie King—studied me more intensely. Then he apparently misinterpreted my silence for discomfort, because he walked around me and headed for the foyer. “Before my mother interrupted us, you were about to tell me why Belanor has taken such an interest in you,” Laurie said without turning.
I followed him into the room across from the one we’d just left. I did want to take him up on the invitation to shower, but I wasn’t about to miss an opportunity to ask some of the questions burning in my mind.
This space was smaller and brighter, the shadows banished by lights and a fireplace. There was a huge bar along one wall, with wooden columns and carved edges, the shelves behind it lit up to display the long rows of bottles. The rest of the room was dedicated to various seating, the upholstery ranging from green brocade or striped cream and gold. It all had the feel of a speakeasy, somehow.