Page 83 of Vows Forged in Blood

“Are you alright?” he asks in that husky voice I love so much.

“I’m not sure that I can ever move from this bed again,” I say honestly with a sleepy grin, “but I’m fantastic.” I place a kiss on his chest. “I might just forget everything I learned about patience again soon…”

A rumbling growl of pleasure vibrates through his chest and I chuckle lightly. I let out a long, slow exhale and suddenly, I can barely keep my eyes open.

“…tired,” I mutter.

“Sleep, Keeva,” he whispers, pulling me even tighter against him.

“Love…you…” I say again as the darkness swallows me up.

Da handsover a small bundle after we finished breakfast. It’s just the Clayburns this morning, and being alone with my family again is so bittersweet that it makes my chest ache a bit. I miss the days of us all together, of sharing meals and stories by the fire, but I can’t imagine my life without Alaric and know that my new life is where I’ve always been meant to be. Still, I hope that visits like these are not so infrequent now.

“For me?” I ask with a quirk of my brow.

“Aye. I hear yer quite the weapons master these days,” he says with a grin.

“I’ve gotten rather good, I must say.” I preen and Enid throws a breakfast roll at me.

“And so humble. Truly your best quality,” she says with a roll of her eyes, but she smiles. “Would you open it already?”

I unwrap the silk and find a small, soft leather pouch. A metal clasp holds it closed and when I study it I realize that it’s the knot of the Clayburn family surrounding the sigil of Alaric’s coven. I run my fingertips over the symbols, the two parts of me coming together as if they were always one, meant to be together from the beginning. Da is a poet when it comes to weapons, but I know that he wouldn’t have thought of this detail. I look to Enid.

“You did this?”

“I designed it and had Widow Kline make it.”

“It’s beautiful, Enid. Truly.”

“Well, wait until you see the rest of the gift,” she says, gesturing for me to continue. I let my gaze travel from the carvings to the hilts of two knives. Again, the wolf head stares at me, ruby eyes shining. I pull the blades free and gasp.

“Da,” I breathe. “They’re…”

“Daggers befitting the High General’s mate,” he finishes for me and I tear my gaze away from the knives to meet his gaze. Had someone told him? “Aye, I know,” he says, answering my unasked question. “It isn’t hard to see, lass.” He smiles, as if the news makes him happy. I guess he knows how fiercely a mated vampire will protect what’s his and knows that I will be safer than any other person on this earth, but I think he can also see how happy I am with Alaric, that though humans don’t have mates the way vampires do, we do have great loves and Alaric is mine.

I smile widely and look back to the blades in awe. They’re miniature versions of Night’s Fury, though of course these stars aren’t real silver like on Alaric’s blade…at least, I don’tthinkthey are. I glance to the ring on my index finger as I run my finger tip over the blade, knowing that da is full of surprises, so who knows. The daggers are thin, sharp, and absolutely perfect. They aren’t just weapons, they’re works of art. I hold them in my hands, unsurprised by the absolute perfect balance, the beauty of the craftsmanship.

Enid leans forward and fiddles with the clasp on the pouch, eventually pulling it free. My brow furrows as she takes the daggers and?—

“Oh my gods,” I say on a soft laugh. The blades slide into the clasp perfectly, looking as if they are all one piece, and that piece is a hair pin. “This was one of my first designs!” I exclaim, looking to da. He beams and nods.

“Aye. It was always one of my favorites and now that ye know how to use the things, I thought you should have one for yourself.”

“This is amazing!” I leap from the table and throw my arms around him, hugging him as tightly as I can before finally letting go and pulling Enid into my arms for the same treatment. I turn and make her put it in my hair immediately and da watches onfondly. We settle back into our chairs and talk about town gossip until we hear the sound of metal clashing against metal below. We all make our way to the balcony and glance over the edge to find Alaric, Elias, Wesley, Nova and my guard all broken into pairs or small groups and going through training exercises on the beach below.

“I want a closer look at this,” da says, excitement sparking in his green eyes. He turns and strides back though the house and Enid and I laugh. Takara looks up from her perch on the edge of one of the rock formations and winks. I know how much she loves watching the men while they train, especially when they end up?—

“Holyhells,” Enid gasps as Elias strips his shirt off, tossing it to the sand. He jerks his head up, his gaze landing directly on us. No, not onus—onEnid. She is the only one he has eyes for, it seems. The two stay locked in a strange trance for long moments before Alaric barks at Elias to pay attention, glancing up to shoot me a quick wink before returning to the business at hand. Enid shakes herself, her cheeks flushing, but her eyes never leave Elias as he moves and spins in the beautiful, deadly dance with Alaric. If I didn’t know any better, I would say he’s showing off a bit. Ok, I do know better and he’s showing offa lot.

I chew on the inside of my cheek, torn on whether I should tell her the truth or not, but decide against it. It’s something that the two of them will have to figure out on their own, as Alaric and I did, but I decide that singing his praises can’t hurt either.

“He’s Alaric’s oldest friend and best lieutenant,” I say casually. “He’s become a very good friend. Helped save my life when I was attacked on the road, too.”

“He’s...” She swallows hard. “He’s very…formidable.” The way she says it makes it seem likeformidableis akin tosexy as all fuckand I try and fail to hide my grin. Maybe Elias won’t have such a hard time winning Enid over after all. “What’s it like?”she whispers. “Being with a vampire? Is it as good as the rumors say?” I can see Elias and Alaric both slow their movements, obviously listening to every word we’re saying.

I narrow my eyes at them and say loudly, “it’s quite lackluster, honestly. Barely above average.” At that Alaric turns to stare at me, mouth gaping in outrage and the rest of the vampires snort and double over with laughter. I smirk at him. “It’s rude to eavesdrop!” I call before taking Enid’s hand and dragging her back into the house where we can have a proper conversation. We settle into one of the drawing rooms in the south tower where our guests are staying and I tell her truth about sex with a vampire. All the mind-blowing, intoxicating, life-altering details.

She looks pensive, toying with the pendant around her neck that she’s had for as long as I can remember.

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