Chapter 48

Sam stopped sawing a long beam of wood to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The winter freeze was thawing in Snowmelt, and everyone was heartened by the first warm day of the season. Brunie sat under a tree, singing to herself while sewing the hem on a pair of blue-checked curtains. Eldridge was perched on a stump nearby, sanding pieces of wood.

For the past few months, Sam had been living in the loft of Brunie and Eldridge"s barn. Since the plumbing was installed last week, they were working on other improvements to make the space more habitable. A set of windows had been added, shelves and cabinets were built, and now they were focused on flooring. The list of improvements to be completed was extensive but necessary for Sam's long-term comfort.

When Sam had arrived on Brunie and Eldridge's doorstep after months of waiting for Zaybris at the Goblyn castle, Brunie rushed to the attic to get his room ready. Sam told her not to bother. He didn't care if it was dusty or needed fresh bedsheets. All he wanted to do was sleep. He had finally admitted to himself that he had lost Selene forever, and when he wasn't having visions about his mate being tortured or killed, sleep was his only escape from the heartache and regret that plagued him.

But when he reached the top of the attic stairs, grief made him turn around. Memories of the passionate night he had spent there with Selene after the vampire attack were too raw. The pain had been more than he could bear. So he had retreated to the barn, sleeping on a bed of hay next to Rainsilver's stall until Brunie and Eldridge insisted they turn the loft into a living space. Though the renovations gave him something to focus on, Sam feared the emptiness he would feel once they were completed.

Sam took a drink from the jug of water Brunie had brought him. He pushed his hair back from his forehead, and the motion bumped his damaged horn, sending a shock of pain throughout his body. Although the healer at Queen Lilith's castle had worked magic on Sam's injuries, the new growth of his regenerating horn was tender.

He thought back to how Queen Lilith's remaining servants had been eager to assist him during his stay, and how all but a few vampires living at the castle were respectful to him. Waldron was especially rational for a vampire, and Sam felt he was genuinely concerned for Selene's safety. Their brief conversations about Queen Thema's search efforts turned more regular until they began to share a drink in the throne room nightly by the fire. Sam drank whiskey while Waldron sipped on donated Aurelian blood.

Through these talks Sam learned of Zaybris's obsession with Queen Lilith. Waldron believed this had something to do with her disappearance, but Zaybris would never speak of it. Sam cared little for stories of Zaybris's unrequited love for the Goblyn queen, but he did like probing Waldron about the habits and inclinations of human women. Though the vampire and Selene had been born in different centuries, Waldron had taught Sam much about the customs of her people. Sam was especially intrigued by the ceremonies of marriage. There was so much he wished he had learned about Selene. It made him more determined to find her and be the mate she truly deserved.

Since many of the rooms in the castle were small and Goblyn-sized, Sam made himself at home in the former royal chambers of Queen Lilith and plotted his vengeance. Her apartments were comfortable and decorated with the style and colors Sam would have chosen himself. Within her royal library, he found the law books she had created to govern the vampires, and he admired her shrewd but fair leadership style.

As the weeks turned to months, the determination Sam had felt when he arrived at the castle dimmed. It seemed that no one in the whole of Aurelia had spotted or heard anything about Zaybris or Selene's whereabouts. The queens offered rewards and sent out trackers, but their search efforts came up empty.

Finally, one bleak morning Sam resigned himself to the reality that Selene was gone. He wasn"t going to see his mate again. She was lost to him forever, most likely drained to death or killed. Violently. Horrifically. Because he had failed to protect her.

Her last thoughts of him would have been bitter and ugly. He knew he had hurt her deeply and regretted every moment of their last conversation. Fate had given him a rare and precious gift, but he had wasted it by thinking only of himself.

He spent many nights considering what to do next. He could go back to his life as a guard for Queen Thema, but working in her castle was a lonely existence. He was fond of Thema and had respect for her close courtiers like Arkaya and Hollen, but there was no one there he missed enough to return to.

There were also none who knew who he truly was. Now that he had experienced being with someone who accepted him fully, he couldn't go back to pretending. He believed Selene's calming influence could control his demonic urges, but he was tired of acting as if he had none at all. He could be violent but also tender. Brutish, yet kind. She had allowed him to be each part of himself, and he had found it liberating.

Sam decided to spend his days with the only other Aurelians who knew him as well as she did. He bid farewell to Waldron and the others at the Goblyn castle and left to live with Brunie and Eldridge.

A satisfied groan from Brunie snapped Sam's attention back to the present. She stretched her wings, then said, "That's enough sewing for me today. Ah, look at the time. I should get supper on, shouldn't I?"

"What are we having, dearest?" Eldridge asked.

"I was thinking about a nice stew with lots of bread for dipping. Does that sound good?"

"Lovely," Eldridge said, smacking his lips.

Brunie tossed the completed curtain over her shoulder and turned to go inside. She had just reached the front door when a strange noise from the hills made all three of them turn.

It sounded like trotting horses, but there was also an odd whooshing tone, like the noise of a sled coasting down a hill. Sam shielded his eyes from the setting sun to see where it was coming from. At first, he couldn't see anything, but eventually, something large and egg-shaped crested over the hill.

"What is it?" Brunie asked.

Sam could make out four gray horses. They were pulling a glittering white carriage the size of a small house, but instead of wheels, it glided across the grass on curved runners. Gold flourishes decorated the windows, and the carriage door bore the image of two cats flanking a shield, the royal crest of the Malkina.

It was Queen Thema's carriage.

Sam's jaw clenched as the carriage drew closer. What could she want? He couldn't have been more clear in his letter to the Queen that he was finished working for her. Was she angry about his decision? Or did she expect to woo him back with riches and promises?

"Who is it, Samael?" Eldridge asked.

"It's the carriage of Queen Thema," he said tightly.

Brunie's wings trembled. Sam glanced worriedly at them both. The Harpy had never liked Queen Thema, and she hated unannounced visitors. Would she feel their humble home was inadequate to host a visit from a queen? Perhaps it was just a Malkina servant in the carriage sent to bring Sam some of his abandoned belongings.

Once the carriage reached the bottom of the hill, the driver signaled the horses to slow, and the gliding structure came to a stop. After a moment, the door opened.

A ginger-colored cat emerged first, trotting down the small stairs leading to the ground. Then the doorway was filled by Queen Thema herself. The evening sun made her silver breastplate shimmer as she stood at the top of the stairs looking out.

"Greetings, my friends," she called out across the expanse of grass separating them.

Sam set down his saw. "What are you doing here?"

Queen Thema gripped either side of the doorway and winked. "I've come to bring you a gift," she said, then turned her attention away from him. "You must be Brunie and Eldridge. I am Queen Thema of the Malkina. Truly a lovely farm you have. And Lady Brunie, I owe you my eternal gratitude! One of your extraordinary muffins came to me through the switch pouch, and it was the most delightful thing I had ever tasted. Do you mind if I brag to my sister Queen Aello of how I met the most skilled baker of all her subjects?"

The suspicion on Brunie's face was quickly replaced by delight. "Oh my, of course. If you wish, certainly! I have more muffins cooling inside if you'd like one."

"That would be divine," Thema replied. "It's been a long journey and—"

"What are you doing here, Thema?" Sam growled. "I told you my home is in Snowmelt now."

Queen Thema glanced inside the carriage and patted her upsweep of braids. "Forgive me. Samael, we miss you, but I'm not here to bring you back. I have something for you. I wanted to make the delivery myself. To make amends."

Sam could see through the windows that someone else was moving in the carriage. He assumed it was Arkaya but couldn't understand why she would want to see him.

As Queen Thema stepped down the stairs, Sam saw a face appear in the doorway behind her, which made his heart seize in his chest.

Selene.