Page 44 of Blood and Roses

"I have heard that love does strange things to a person."

"Love is like fire—life giving or utterly destructive," Balthasar said sharply. He was frowning angrily at the canvas.

"Can I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer it if you don't want to." Rosa bit her lip, wondering if she should be so bold. "Butdidyou ever find out what happened to Jane?"

Balthasar stopped painting and straightened his shoulders. "No, I didn't. I left Gwaed Lyn believing it to have been Eli's doing. He has always wanted me focused, and with Jane, I was recklessly in love. You would know from the letters we didn't stand on many grounds of propriety or formality. After her death, I was away from Eli for over a hundred years, and to this day, he claims he had nothing to do with it. Despite my suspicions, I have never found out what happened to Jane. It could've just been an accident after all."

"I'm sorry," Rosa said, a sad ache spreading through her.

"Thank you. It was a long time ago now, and while I cherish the memories, I can't wade too deeply in them anymore. When you become as old as I am, you have to be careful not to get buried in the past."

"Do you ever become tired of living?"

"Sometimes, but a few years back out in the world will generally set me straight. Humanity is in a constant state of flux. The changes in the last century alone are mind-boggling. I never thought I wouldn't have to hunt, but blood donations ensure that no human has to be hurt, and our existence, if we are careful,can remain hidden from the world. Now is the perfect time to be Unseelie or one of the Gwaed Gam. That is why the Gathering is so important."

"Eli said to ask you what it actually is. It isn't only a Winter Solstice party, is it?"

"No," Balthasar said, looking around the canvas at her. "It is hopefully going to be a peace treaty between the Gwaed Gam and the Seelie Court. Eli has been trying to make it a reality for the past fifty years. At first, the clans in Albion wanted nothing to do with it. We've convinced them, but they're like squabbling cats. It's going to be the first time Ryn's people and Eli's will be meeting off a battlefield. That is where I have been going every night, to check on the faerie ring. It's a touching point between our world and theirs. It's growing powerful every day, so that the night of the Solstice, they will be able to cross over into our world. They'll come here and meet with us, and with any luck, it won't end up being a blood bath."

"That makes a lot more sense than what the current gossip is," she said, her heart pounding with relief.

"What gossip?"

"The rumor is that you are meeting a lover in the forest."

Balthasar pulled a face. "I'm surprised they would think I have the time for something like that."

"I know, because a great faerie party is so much more believable," Rosa said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at him.

"The truth should terrify them. They are the most beautiful, cruel creatures that you will ever imagine. Eli wanted you to be back in the safety of Gwaed Lyn so that you will be protected from any Gwaed Gam wanting to disrupt the treaty, but I'm more concerned about the Seelie."

"Don't worry. My head is not so easily turned by a pretty face. You should know this by now."Stop trying to flirt with him,Rosa. You are sitting in front of him, stark naked right now, and he hasn't even batted an eyelid.

"Saul is the pretty-faced one, and you are not so unsusceptible to his charms if drinking in the cellar is anything to go by," he replied coolly.

"I only did that because I was upset, and I wanted to annoy you," Rosa admitted.

Balthasar caught her eye in the mirror, and heat flared up her spine. "I wanted to throw him through the cellar wall. It takes a lot to annoy someone as old as me, but congratulations, Miss Wylt… You succeeded."

"It's a special gift of mine."

"One of many, I imagine," he said before clearing his throat. "What did I say about moving?"

"I haven't budged! I don't think I have ever stayed so...still," Rosa managed.

He was standing behind her, and she hadn't heard him move. He lightly touched her bare shoulders, guiding them back into place.

"Why did Saul drinking with me annoy you so much?" she asked, trying desperately not to think of his hands on her.

"Because you are clever, kind, and beautiful, and you deserve more than being another of his doomed conquests," he admitted, his hands shaking as he fixed her hair where he wanted it.

For once in your life be brave, Rosa.

"Saul is not my favorite Vane," she whispered, and his hand stilled. Her breath caught in her throat as he ran his fingers along her neck.

"Rosa, we can't..." Balthasar said, his fingers moving down her shoulder despite his words.

"Because I'm a Wylt?"

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