Текст книги "Destined"

Автор книги: P. C. Cast

Соавторы: Kristin Cast,P. C. Cast
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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

“I’m gonna try and keep a positive attitude,” Stevie Rae said, ignoring the sneer Dallas was sending her and the mean laughter that wafted like cheap perfume from Nichole. She took Rephaim’s hand and smiled, kissing his cheek. “Don’t let them get to you.”

“Good luck with that,” Erin said.

Shaunee, standing several kids away from Erin, said nothing.

“He’s red, and I don’t mean a good red like Shaunee is,” Shaylin said, peeking over my shoulder at Dallas.

I looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“I’m red?” Shaunee asked.

“Yeah,” Shaylin told her. “Your color’s clear and easy to understand. You’re like a campfire—warm and good.”

“That’s real nice,” Stevie Rae said.

“Thanks,” Shaunee said. “That is nice.”

“But what about Dallas?” Rephaim asked.

“He’s red like a bomb. Like anger. Like hate,” she said.

“Then I say we go down front and get as far away from him as possible,” Stevie Rae said.

“Some things are harder than others to get away from,” Erin said, but she wasn’t looking at Dallas. She was looking at campfire-red Shaunee, who was looking at her fingernails.

“Don’t be such a Negative Nancy,” Stevie Rae told Erin, neatly breaking the awkward silence. Then she beamed her sweet, open smile at me. “Let’s go sit up front!”

“Okay, I’ll follow you,” I said, even though I wanted to run screaming from the room.

“I want to run screaming from the room.” Aphrodite spookily echoed my thoughts as she followed me following Stevie Rae and Rephaim.

I clamped down on the “ditto” I wanted to say and, by default, took the desk on the other side of Stevie Rae that was front and center in the room. The bell chimed and Thanatos entered from a door that led from a small office directly to the front of the room, which was raised, kinda like a stage, and had a podium smack in the middle of it with a Smart Board behind it.

“Oooh! Pretty colors!” Shaylin said from her seat behind me.

“Merry meet,” Thanatos said. We all echoed her greeting. I thought she looked regal and powerful. She wore a night-colored dress that was decorated only with the silver threads of the embroidered outline of Nyx with her arms raised cupping a crescent moon. “Welcome to the first of a first. In all of our history there has never been a class quite like this one, made up of different types of fledglings, changelings, humans, and even vampyres. I stand before you representing the High Council of Vampyres which is, as long as you exist within our society, your ruling Council.” Thanatos gave me a long look during the last part of her sentence. I met her gaze steadily. Hell, I agreed with her.

I just wasn’t one hundred percent sure whether my group and I wanted to exist within vampyre society.

“I know you are wondering exactly what this class will entail, but I have only a partial answer to your wondering. I am here to hone and guide you on a journey that is as rare and unique as are each of you. This class will take the place of your vampyre sociology hour; therefore, I will bring to you subjects that all fledglings and vampyres must eventually attempt to understand, such as death and Darkness, Guardianship and Imprints, Light and love. But because of the unique makeup of this class there are also subjects you will bring to me, and thereby to all of us. I give you my oath that I will seek only the truth with you, and if I do not have an answer for your questioning I will do my best to discover it with you.”

I thought that so far the class didn’t sound too bad, and was actually starting to feel kinda at ease and curious when the poo hit the fan.

“So, let us begin seeking truth. I want each of you to spend a few moments in reflection. Then, on a piece of paper, write at least one question you would like to have answered through this class. Fold it, and after you leave I will read them. Be honest with your inquiry, without fear of censure or judgment. You need not affix your name to the question if you would rather remain anonymous.”

There was a pause, and then Stevie Rae’s hand went up.

“Yes, Stevie Rae,” Thanatos called on her.

“I just wanna be sure we’re all clear. We can ask about anything? Anything at all, without worryin’ ’bout getting’ in trouble?”

Thanatos was smiling kindly at Stevie Rae, and began to respond saying, “That is an excellent—” when from the back of the room Dallas’s exaggerated whisper of “I wanna ask what a bird has that a guy don’t, and why she likes it so much!” could be heard clearly.

Stevie Rae grabbed Rephaim’s hand and I knew it was to keep him from getting up to confront Dallas. Then I wasn’t paying attention to my BFF or her boyfriend as Thanatos reacted. The change that came over her was fast and utterly, totally scary. She seemed to grow larger. Wind whipped around her, lifting her hair. When she spoke I was reminded of the scene in LotR when Galadriel gave Frodo a look at what kind of terrible dark queen she would become if she took the ring from him.

“Do you mistake me for a lesser being, Dallas?” The power of her presence shivered against us. Thanatos was so gloriously angry that she was hard to look at, so I glanced over my shoulder at Dallas. He’d pressed back into his chair as far as he could. His face was winter white.

“N-no, Professor,” he stuttered.

“Call me Priestess!” Thanatos exclaimed, looking like she could throw lightning bolts and call down thunder.

“No, Priestess,” he corrected quickly. “I-I didn’t mean to disrespect you.”

“But you meant to disrespect at least one of your classmates and here, in my classroom, that is unacceptable. Do you understand me, young red vampyre?”

“Yes, Priestess.”

The wind died around her and Thanatos went back to looking regal instead of lethal. “Excellent,” she said, and then turned her attention back to Stevie Rae. “The answer to your question is as long as you behave in a respectful manner, you may ask me anything without fearing rebuke.”

“Thank you,” Stevie Rae said a little breathlessly.

“All right then, you may all begin writing your questions.” Thanatos paused and glanced from Rephaim to Aurox, addressing both of them with the one question. “I did not think to ask before, but as both of you are new to the, well, let us say, the academic world, do either of you need reading or writing assistance?”

Rephaim shook his head and answered first, “I don’t need help. I can read and write several languages of man.”

“Wow, really? I didn’t know that,” Stevie Rae said.

He smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “My father found it useful.”

“And you, Aurox?” Thanatos prodded.

I saw him swallow and he looked nervous. “I can read and write. I-I do not know how I came by this skill, though.”

“Huh, well that is interesting,” Thanatos said. And then, as if people having the magickal ability to read and write was totally normal, she continued totally nonplussed. “Zoey and Stevie Rae, as you’re sitting close by, please divide the room and pick up the questions from both sides for me.”

Stevie Rae and I muttered our okays and then I sat there and stared at my empty piece of notebook paper. So should I ask something harmless, like a question about affinities and when is it “normal” for them to manifest? Or should I be for real and ask something I really wanted to know?

I glanced around me. Stevie Rae was writing with a very serious look on her face. Rephaim had just put his pencil down and was folding his paper in half. I got a quick look at it, but all I could see was that he’d signed his name to the question.

I’m gonna be for real, I decided and wrote: How do you get over losing your parents? I hesitated, and then signed my name to the question. I tried to check out what Stevie Rae was writing, but she was already finished and had her paper in her hand. She bounced out of her desk and started walking up and down the aisles on her side of the room, picking up papers like a pro.

I sighed and began to minesweep my side. Of course Aurox was there. The next kid in the row after Damien and Shaunee. I didn’t want to meet his eyes, so instead I looked at the paper he handed me. On it, in big block letters was the question: WHAT AM I? And he’d signed it.

Totally surprised, I met his gaze. He looked back at me steadily. Then he spoke so softly only I could hear him saying, “I would like to know.”

I couldn’t look away from his unusual, moonstone eyes. For some moronic reason, I heard my voice whispering back, “Me, too.” I snatched the paper from him and moved hastily away, trying not to think, trying just to do what I’d been told. Dallas and his group were super subdued. They barely looked at me or Stevie Rae, but I noticed they hadn’t written any words on the papers I picked up from them, which was a seriously passive-aggressive bad sign. I shoved those papers to the bottom of the pile on my way back to the front of the class. Thanatos took the papers, thanked us, and then said, “I shall study your questions tonight and begin discussions on some of them tomorrow. For the rest of the hour let us turn to a subject I believe most of you will find relevant—that of Imprinting with a mate or Consort.”

I expected Thanatos to give us the standard just-say-no speech we’d been given about the Imprinting thing from day one, but I was wrong. She talked frankly about the pleasure and beauty of the proper Imprint, as well as the tragedy of one going wrong. She was interesting and funny (in a dry British kind of way). It seemed like I blinked and the bell for the end of the hour was chiming.

I hung a little behind, waiting for Aphrodite who was still in a deep but surprisingly respectful discussion with Thanatos about Imprinting. Aphrodite’s point was that an Imprint wasn’t based on sexuality. Thanatos was insisting, much to Aphrodite’s consternation (’cause she’d Imprinted with Stevie Rae, even though it hadn’t lasted very long) that sexual attraction went hand in hand with Imprinting.

Thanatos finally ended the discussion with, “Aphrodite, whether you admit a thing or not does not make it more or less true.”

“I’m going to be sure Zoey gets to second hour,” Aphrodite said, sounding disgruntled.

“You do that, young Prophetess.” Thanatos had a smile in her voice, if not on her face. “And thank you for such a lively discussion today. I’ll look forward to another one like it tomorrow.”

Aphrodite nodded and frowned, and just out of earshot of Thanatos said, “Lively discussion my gorgeous ass. I’m not discussing shit about lesbian Imprints again. Ever.”

“I don’t think that’s what she meant, Aphrodite,” I said, careful to keep the smile from my face, too. “But she was right, it made for a good class—way more interesting than regular vamp soc with all of Neferet’s issues.”

Aphrodite opened the door. “I’m so glad I could amuse the masses and—” And we stepped into the middle of chaos.

“Bring it, birdboy!” Dallas was shouting. “You can’t hide behind Stevie Rae forever!” Muscley Johnny B was pinning his arms and holding Dallas back, but he was struggling like crazy.

“I’m not hiding, you arrogant fool!” Rephaim yelled. Stevie Rae had a vise-like grip on his arm and was trying to pull him down the sidewalk away from Dallas.

“I’ll get Darius and Stark,” Aphrodite said, and sprinted away.

“Okay, look, you guys, stop it!” I stepped between the two guys and their growing groups.

“Butt the hell out, Zoey! This ain’t your fight.” Dallas turned his venom on me. “You think you’re so much better than everyone else, but you don’t mean shit to us.” He jerked his head toward the group of his red fledglings who were standing close by, just watching and smiling.

I was surprised by how much what he said hurt my feelings. “I don’t think I’m better than everyone else!”

“Don’t let him get to you, Z. He’s nothing but a mean, sad little boy all dressed up like a vampyre,” Stevie Rae said.

“And you’re nothing but a slut!” Dallas shouted at Stevie Rae.

“I told you to stop calling her that!” Rephaim tried to pull away from Stevie Rae.

“Everyone knows you’re just pissed because she’s not with you anymore,” I told Dallas, thinking what a total and complete jerk he’d turned out to be.

“No, I’m pissed because she’s with a freak of nature!” His words shot back at me. I noticed even though he was struggling and yelling, his gaze kept going back to a spot low on the wall he was inching closer and closer to. I followed his gaze and saw a single electrical outlet on the wall—one of the industrial three-pronged things.

Ah, hell!

“I’m not a freak!” Rephaim looked like he was going to explode. “I’m human!”

“Really? How ’bout we wait around until the sun comes up and let’s just see how human you are.” Dallas sneered and moved closer to the wall.

As nonchalantly as I could, I took a couple steps toward the outlet and wondered frantically which element would be the best to summon if I needed to fight electricity.

“That suits me fine,” Rephaim was saying. “Whether it’s from a human’s eye or a bird’s I’ll be glad to watch you burn up!”

“In your dreams, you asshole!” Dallas surged forward, toward the outlet, almost getting away from Johnny B and making me stumble and fall back.

And then strong hands caught me and strong arms kept me from tumbling onto my butt. All in one motion Stark steadied me on my feet and moved me behind him and against the wall. Then he faced Dallas.

“Walk away.” Stark didn’t raise his voice. He sounded calm and cold and completely dangerous.

“This isn’t your fight,” Dallas said, but he’d already stopped struggling against Johnny B.

“If Zoey’s in it, it’s my fight. And you need to understand I’ll win. Every time. So, walk away.”

“This ends now!” Sounding like a general commanding runaway troops, Dragon Lankford and several Sons of Erebus Warriors, including Darius, burst onto the scene making a big show of standing between Dallas and Rephaim. The Sword Master’s face was like a storm cloud. “Dallas, you stand there.” He pointed to a place before him, then hardly glancing at Rephaim added, “And you there.” Dragon pointed to an empty space beside Dallas. The two guys did what they were told, though Dallas still sent Rephaim a hateful look. Rephaim’s gaze was totally focused on the Sword Master who began speaking sternly to them both.

“I will not tolerate fighting at this school. This is not a human high school. I expect you to rise above such childish, base behavior.” Dragon looked from Dallas to Rephaim. “Do you understand me?”

“I do.” Rephaim spoke clearly and quickly. “I do not want to be the cause of trouble.”

“Then leave because as long as you’re here there’s gonna be trouble!” Dallas said.

“No!” Dragon hurled the word like a whip. “There will be no more trouble at this school or you will answer to me.”

“He doesn’t belong here,” Dallas said, but his voice was subdued and he looked more pouty than dangerous.

“I agree with you, Dallas,” Dragon said. “But Nyx does not. As long as the House of Night serves Nyx, we will abide by her choices, even if she chooses forgiveness when we cannot.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Everyone’s attention turned to Stevie Rae. She marched up beside Rephaim, took his hand, and faced Dragon. I thought she looked totally like a powerful High Priestess who was pissed enough to spit fire, and I was glad her element was earth and not flame. “Rephaim didn’t even start this crap with Dallas. All he did was stand up for me when Dallas called me slut and whore and other stuff too awful for me to repeat. If anyone but Rephaim was standin’ here you wouldn’t be takin’ Dallas’s side.”

“I can understand how Dallas and many of the students would have difficulty accepting Rephaim,” Dragon said matter-of-factly.

“That is something you’ll have to take up with the Goddess.” Neferet’s voice traveled silkily through the crowd. Everyone turned to see her standing at the head of the hallway with Thanatos beside her.

“From all reports, the Goddess has spoken on the matter of Rephaim’s acceptance,” Thanatos said. “Dallas, you will simply have to adhere to Nyx’s decision, as will you, Sword Master.”

“He’s bein’ accepted just fine.” Stevie Rae sounded super annoyed. “Like I was tryin’ to explain, it’s Dallas who’s causin’ trouble, not Rephaim.”

“And that trouble will now end,” Dragon said. “I have made that clear.”

“You’ve also made it clear that you don’t want Rephaim here,” Stevie Rae said.

“Our Sword Master is not required to like each of our students,” Neferet said with a patronizing shake of her head. “His duty is to protect us, not mother us.”

“His duty is also to be fair and honorable,” Thanatos said. “Dragon Lankford, do you believe that you can be fair and honorable in your dealings with Rephaim, in spite of your personal feelings for him?”

Dragon’s expression was tight, his voice strained, but his answer came with no hesitation. “I do.”

“Then I accept that as your true and rightful word,” Thanatos said. “As should we all.”

“We should also all move on to second hour,” Neferet said sharply. “This has taken far too much of our time.” Her gaze rested disdainfully on Rephaim and Stevie Rae before she moved regally off, shooing kids before her. Dragon joined her, moving gawking students down the hallway like he was herding cattle.

“Can you see the Darkness that surrounds her and those other red fledglings?” I blinked in surprise. Stark was directing his question straight at Thanatos.

The High Council member hesitated and then slowly shook her head. “I have not trafficked with Darkness. It is not visible to me.”

“I can see it,” Rephaim said. “Stark’s right.”

“I can see it, too,” Stevie Rae said quietly. “It slithers around all of them like insects, touching them and constantly hanging around.” She shuddered. “It’s disgusting.”

“What about Dragon?” I asked. “Is it around him, too?”

It was Rephaim who answered me. “Yes and no. It is following him, but it does not wash against him like it does the others.” He sighed heavily. “At least not yet it doesn’t.”

“It’s not your fault,” Stevie Rae told him earnestly. “The choices Dragon’s makin’ right now aren’t your fault.”

“I’ll believe that the day he forgives me,” Rephaim said. “Come on, I’ll walk you to second hour.”

We said our byes and see-ya-at-lunches, but Stark and I didn’t go anywhere. We just stood there with Thanatos staring after Rephaim and Stevie Rae.

“The boy has a conscience,” Thanatos said.

“Yeah, he does,” I said.

“Then there is hope for him yet,” she said.

“Can you tell that to Dragon?” Stark asked.

“Sadly, that is something Dragon Lankford is going to have to discover for himself, if the death of his mate has not caused him to completely lose who he is.”

“Do you think that’s happened? Do you think Dragon has completely lost himself?” I asked.

“I do,” Thanatos said.

“Which means Darkness might be able to get a hold on him,” Stark said. “And if our Sword Master goes over to Darkness, we’re all gonna be in trouble.”

“Indeed,” Thanatos said.

Ah hell, I thought.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Lenobia

There were some school days when Lenobia didn’t need the hour provided for each professor that was called their planning hour, which meant no students were scheduled in class with her for one solid hour.

Today was not one of those days.

Today her fifth hour planning period couldn’t come soon enough or last long enough. As soon as the bell chimed to begin fifth hour she made a hasty exit from the arena. An arena that was still half filled with male fledglings waving swords at one another and shooting arrows at targets.

“Give Bonnie the hour off,” she told Travis as she passed him. “But keep an eye on those fledglings. I don’t want any of them annoying the horses.”

“Yes, ma’am. Some of ’em think horses are big dogs,” the cowboy said, giving the group of fledglings a steely-eyed stare. “They ain’t.”

“I need a break from constantly watching them. I had no idea so many non-riding fledglings were fascinated by horses.” She shook her head wearily.

“Take your break. I’ll have a word with Darius and Stark. They need to keep better corral on those kids.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Lenobia muttered and, feeling surprisingly grateful that Travis was the one heading to lecture the two Warriors, she slipped out into the cool quiet of the night.

Her bench was as empty as the busy school building was full. The breeze had kicked up and was unusually warm for late winter. Lenobia was grateful for it, and for the solitude. She sat, rolling her shoulders and inhaling then expelling a long breath.

She wasn’t exactly sorry she’d welcomed the Warrior class to her domain, but the influx of fledglings—non-equestrian fledglings—was taking some getting used to. It seemed every time she turned her head an errant student wandered from the arena into her stables. So far just this day she’d found three of them gaping like young codfish at a broodmare who was perilously close to foaling and therefore restless and touchy and not in the mood for fish. The mare had actually tried to take a bite out of one of the boys who’d said he was just wanting to pet her. “Like she was, indeed, a big dog,” Lenobia grumbled under her breath. But that was better than the foolish third former who’d thought it was a good idea to try to lift one of Bonnie’s hooves on a bet from his friends so they could wager on how heavy it really was. Bonnie had spooked when one of the boys had yelped about it being a real big paw and the mare, completely off balanced and disconcerted, had gone down on her knees.

Thankfully, she’d been on the arena sawdust and not bruising, breaking concrete.

Travis, who had been overseeing a small group of her regular students who were learning about ground driving, had dealt with the two boys swiftly. Lenobia smiled, remembering how he’d grabbed each by the scruff of their collars and thrown them directly into a pile of Bonnie’s manure that was, as he’d said, almost as big and heavy as one of her hooves. Then he’d quieted his mare with a few reassuring touches as he checked her knees, fed her one of the apple wafers he seemed to always have in his pocket, and completely nonplused, had gone back to the group of ground-driving fledglings.

He’s good with the students, she thought. Almost as good as he is with the horses.

Truth be told, it appeared as if Travis Foster was going to be an asset to her stables. Lenobia laughed softly. Neferet was going to be sorely disappointed about that.

Her laughter died quickly, though, replaced by the stomach-rolling tension that had haunted her since she’d met Travis and his horse. It’s because he’s a human, Lenobia acknowledged silently to herself. I’m just not used to having a human male around me.

She’d forgotten things about them. How spontaneous their laughter could be. How they could take pleasure that felt so new in things that were so old to her, like a simple sunrise. How briefly and brightly they lived.

Twenty-seven, ma’am. That’s how many years he’d lived on this earth. He’d known twenty-seven years of sunrises and she’d known more than two hundred and forty of them. He would probably only know thirty or forty more years of sunrises, and then he would die.

Their lives were so brief.

Some briefer than others. Some didn’t even live to see twenty-one summers, let alone enough sunrises to fill a life.

No! Lenobia’s mind skittered away from that memory. The cowboy was not going to awaken those memories. She’d closed the door to them the day she’d been Marked—that terrible, wonderful day. The door wouldn’t, couldn’t open now or ever again.

Neferet knew some of Lenobia’s past. They’d been friends once, she and the High Priestess. They’d talked and Lenobia used to believe they’d shared confidences. It had, of course, been a false friendship. Even before Kalona had emerged from the earth to stand by Neferet’s side, Lenobia had begun to realize there was something very wrong with the High Priestess—something dark and disturbing.

“She’s broken,” Lenobia whispered to the night. “But I won’t let her break me.”

The door would remain closed. Always.

She heard Bonnie’s heavy hoofbeats thunking solidly against the winter grass before she felt the brush of the big mare’s mind. Lenobia cleared her thoughts and projected warmth and welcome. Bonnie nickered a greeting that was so low it almost did sound like it should come from what many of the students were calling her—a dinosaur, which made Lenobia laugh. She was still laughing when Travis led Bonnie up to her bench.

“No, I don’t have any wafers for you.” Lenobia smiled, caressing the mare’s wide, soft muzzle.

“Here ya go, boss lady.” Travis flipped a wafer to Lenobia as he sat on the far end of the wrought-iron-backed bench.

Lenobia caught the treat and held it out to Bonnie, who took it with surprising delicacy for such a big animal. “You know, a normal horse would founder on the amount of these things you feed her.”

“She’s a big girl and she likes her some cookies,” Travis drawled.

As he spoke the word cookies the mare’s ears pricked toward him. He laughed and reached across Lenobia to feed her another wafer. Lenobia shook her head. “Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled,” but the smile was obvious in her voice.

Travis shrugged his broad shoulders. “I like to spoil my girl. Always have. Always will.”

“That’s how I feel about Mujaji.” Lenobia rubbed Bonnie’s broad forehead. “Some mares require special treatment.”

“Oh, so with your mare it’s special treatment. With mine it’s spoiling?”

She met his gaze and saw the smile shining there. “Yes. Of course.”

“Of course,” he said. “And now you’re remindin’ me of my momma.”

Lenobia lifted her brows. “I have to tell you, that sounds very odd, Mr. Foster.”

He laughed aloud then, a full, joyful sound that reminded Lenobia of sunrises.

“It’s a compliment, ma’am. My momma insisted on things bein’ her way or the highway. Always. She was hardheaded, but it balanced because she was also almost always right.”

“Almost always?” she said pointedly.

He laughed again. “There, see, if she was here that’s exactly what she would’ve said.”

“You miss her often, don’t you,” Lenobia said, studying his tanned, well-lined face. He looks older than thirty-two, but in a pleasing way, she thought.

“I do,” he said softly.

“That says quite a lot about her,” Lenobia said. “Quite a lot of good.”

“Rain Foster was quite a lot of good.”

Lenobia smiled and shook her head. “Rain Foster. That is an unusual name.”

“Not if you were a sixties flower child,” Travis said. “Lenobia, that’s an unusual name.”

Without thinking, the response tripped from her tongue. “Not if you were the daughter of an eighteenth century English lass with big dreams.” The words had barely been spoken and Lenobia clamped her lips together, closing her errant mouth.

“Do you get tired of livin’ for so long?”

Lenobia was taken aback. She’d expected him to be surprised and awestruck by hearing that she’d been alive for more than two hundred years. Instead he simply sounded curious. And for some reason his frank curiosity relaxed her so that she answered him with truthfulness and not with evasion. “If I didn’t have my horses I think I would get very tired of living.”

He nodded as if what she’d said made sense to him, but when he spoke all he said was, “Eighteenth century—that’s really somethin’. A lot’s changed since then.”

“Not horses,” she said.

“Happiness and horses,” he said.

His eyes smiled into hers and she was struck again at their color, which seemed to shift and lighten. “Your eyes,” she said. “They change color.”

His lips tilted up. “They do. My momma used to say she could read me by their color.”

Lenobia couldn’t look away from him, even though anxiety rolled through her.

Thankfully, Bonnie chose then to nuzzle her. Lenobia rubbed the mare’s forehead while she tried to still the cacophony of feelings this human’s presence stirred. No. I will not allow this nonsense.

With a reinstated coolness, Lenobia looked from the mare to the cowboy. “Mr. Foster, why are you out here and not within assuring my stable is safe from prying fledglings?”

His eyes instantly darkened, returning to safe, ordinary brown. His tone went from warm to professional. “Well, ma’am, I had a talk with Darius and Stark. I do believe your horses are safe for the rest of this hour ’cause there’s two very pissed-off vampyres drilling them in hand-to-hand combat—with a big focus on showing them how to knock each other off their feet.” He tilted his hat up. “Seems those boys don’t like it any better than you do that their fledglings are being bothersome, so they’re gonna keep ’em mighty busy from now on.”

“Oh. Well. That is good news,” she said.

“Yep, that’s how I see it, too. So I thought I’d come out here and offer you something truly pleasurable.”

Was the man actually flirting with her? Lenobia squelched the nervous thrill she felt and instead leveled a cool, steady gaze on him. “I cannot think of any possible way for you to offer me pleasure.”

She was sure his eyes started to lighten, but his gaze remained as steady as hers. “Well, ma’am, I assumed that would be obvious to you. I’m offerin’ you a ride.” He paused and then added. “On Bonnie.”

“Bonnie?”

“Bonnie. My horse. The big gray girl standing right there nuzzlin’ you. The one who likes cookies.”

“I know who she is,” Lenobia snapped.

“Thought you might like to ride her. That’s why I came out here with her all saddled up for ya.” When Lenobia didn’t speak, he tilted his hat and looked vaguely uncomfortable. “When I need to relax—to remember to smile and breathe—I get on Bonnie and gallop her. Hard. She can move for a big girl, but it’s a little like ridin’ a mountain, and that makes me smile. Thought it might do the same for you.” He hesitated and added, “But if you don’t want to, I’ll take her back inside.”

Bonnie nudged her shoulder, as if offering the ride herself.

And that decided Lenobia. She’d never turned down a horse before, and no human, no matter how uncomfortable he made her, was going to cause her to start.

“I believe you could be right, Mr. Foster.” She stood, took the reins from him, and flipped them over Bonnie’s widely arched neck.

She could tell she’d surprised him by the way he moved. He was on his feet in an instant.