“The Lord is in his study,” she said, finally putting me down inside the grand foyer. “Come—he will want to see you straight away.”
I let her drag me through the foyer and down the hallway, casting a bewildered look at Aleric over my shoulder. But the tall vampire didn’t pay me any more mind as he strode into the mansion and headed for the grand living room. Apparently, his job was done.
“Carina, how… how has he been?” I asked my blonde companion.
She glanced down at me. “He has been… like he was before.”
“Oh.” I felt terrible for the flicker of disappointment in my gut at that answer. It wasn’t that I wanted him to suffer, far from it, but after what Aleric had said I’d expected… well, the same kind of heartache I’d been dealing with. “Well, that’s good.”
“No, Liv. It’s not,” she said.
I wanted to ask her what she meant, but before I could she stopped before a closed door and knocked lightly. “My lord?”
An affirmative murmur sounded from within, and she pushed the door open. “You have a visitor, my lord,” she said, giving me a light nudge to push me over the threshold.
And there he sat in a hideous, white modern chair, staring at two vampires who were kneeling in front of him, heads bent. We were obviously interrupting something.
"Show them to the waiting area, Carina. This will take a while." Warin’s voice was icy and detached and so… so different. It made my heart ache. I made to turn around and leave, but Carina’s light grip on my arm stopped me.
"I don't think this can wait, my lord,” she insisted.
He looked up then, pale face impassive and as perfectly sculpted as I remembered it, but there was something different there. It seemed like pain was straining behind that flawless mask, threatening to break through the cracks. I wondered if my face looked the same.
When his eyes locked on my form, they widened, but the rest of him was still as a statue. Until he, in a smooth but authoritarian tone, said, "Leave."
The shock that went through me nearly made my knees buckle. Tears stung my eyes as I tried to turn around, dazed, but again Carina’s hand stopped me.
Warin had turned his head to the vampires on the floor. "I will summon you when I wish to resume this."
The two looked relieved. They got up and swooshed past me before I'd fully realized he hadn't spoken to me. A light squeeze on my arm notified me of Carina’s departure.
And then it was just him and me in the big office.
Warin stood, slowly, but stayed by the chair, keeping distance between us.
"Hey, I croaked.
"Why are you here, Liv?” The velvet touch of his voice made me shiver.
“I…” I took in a deep breath. “I’m here because I…I know I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have left, and I’m… hoping you…” I gritted my teeth, trying to force the words out. In the face of his detached agony, I hated myself like I’d never hated myself before. I’d caused this. I’d hurt him. He may have looked the regal, detached vampire to everyone else, but I recognized the wound of our separation in him, because it resonated in my own broken soul. I wanted to tell him so bad why I’d left, but Aleric was right—it wasn’t safe.
“Please take me back, Warin,” I whispered. “Please forgive my stupidity. I was scared, and I was stupid, and I… I am so, so sorry.”
He shook his head, breathing deeply. “I sense Aleric here. I know he brought you. My brother… has an unfortunate tendency of ignoring my orders. I will ask Carina to arrange for your travels back—and I will ensure Aleric obeys me this time. Whatever he has threatened, you have my word I will not allow him to fulfill it.”
I blinked, confused at that response. Sure, I hadn’t expected him to just take me back, no questions asked, but trying to send me back? Then it hit me—he thought my apology was forced by his brother.
“No, Warin. No, no, no.” I crossed the floor and, hesitating for a just a second, put my hands on his shoulders. He tensed under my touch, like he had the first few times, and I fought back the bloom of hurt. He had every right to build his walls back up.
“I am not here because Aleric made me. Yes, he brought me here, but I’m not asking for another chance because of your asshole brother force blood bonding me. I’m asking you—“
“What?” Warin interrupted me, a flare of anger taking over his face. The change was feral and terrifying as fuck. “He did what?”
“Uh… blood bonded… me?” I squeaked.
“Aleric!” It was a roar, but the dark power welling up around my beloved was what made me take a startled step backward. His nostrils flared, his eyes nearly black with fury.
“W-what’s happening?” I stuttered. “Warin—?”
The study door banged open and Aleric came stumbling in, a hand pressed tight against his ribs. “Fuck, calm down!” he groaned through gritted teeth.
“You forced a blood bond on my beloved?” Warin snarled. “Without my permission? Against her will?”
Aleric groaned again and dropped to his knees. “Had to. You were suffering, Warin, I—“
Warin’s growl shut him up. “You went against my direct orders—you brought her here against her will, and tied her with your blood! You know what the punishment is!”
Aleric drew in a shuddering breath and finally lowered his hand from his ribs. “I do. Do what you must, Elder. I do not regret my actions.”
“You will,” Warin promised, his voice low and deadly.
“Warin,” I interrupted as he made to step toward the other vampire. When he looked at me, I reached out for him again, placing a hand on his arm. “Stop it. Please.”
He didn’t respond, but at least he didn’t advance on Aleric, either.
“Your brother’s an ass, but he did what he did for you. I know that, even if I’m not happy about his methods. And he came to get me when I was too much of a coward to come on my own. Please, can we… can we just talk?”
Warin drew in a shuddering breath, and as quickly as the anger had arrived, it melted off his features until only weary regret remained. Slowly, he lifted a hand to touch my hair. “No, my love. You need to leave before it’s too late. If we talk, it will be too late.”
“W-what do you mean?” I whispered. Was he really… sending me away? I blinked my tears away, but they just kept coming.
“I mean that if you stay, Liv… if we talk... if you tell me you’re sorry, I won’t… I won’t be able to let you leave again. Ever.” He brushed his hand from my hair to my cheek, capturing the trickle of tears with the pad of his thumb. “Leave, my love. Now. If you ever wish to be free again, you have to leave.”
I shook my head and clutched his hands, pressing my cheek into his cool palm. “No, Warin. I don’t want to leave. I don’t ever want to leave.”