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Raúl chuckles. “It is not about what you are, it is about who you are. My vampires would pledge allegiance to you once they know you.”
“We will see,” I say, still uncertain. A thought pops into my head, escaping my mouth immediately. “How did you find me?”
“The spiders showed me.”
“Nava?”
Raúl shrugs. “I do not know who. A handful of spiders would not stop crawling on my map. It was a trial, figuring out what they meant, but I’m glad I finally understood.”
It was my cousins. I told them to.
Why? I think to her.
It is where you are meant to be.
I raise my eyebrows at her words, choosing not to find out more. It does not matter anyway; I am glad Raúl is here with me.
Finally, the colorful sunset disappears, leaving darkness in its wake. Raúl stands up and offers me his hand, sweeping me into his arms when I take it. “Ready to go?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say, anticipation making me grin like a fool.
He walks outside, closing the door behind, then launches into the sky. A laugh spills out of me while I shiver, the mountain air chillier than at the castle.
“Let’s go home,” says Raúl, heading for the portal stone.
A small sigh slips out at that thought. The castle is my home. I clench my hand behind Raúl’s neck into a fist. Airalin will not drive me out of it. I will make sure of it.
Chapter Seventy-One
As soon as we arrive, Raúl heads off to find his vampires. Some rebels were spotted in nearby villages, and Raúl is worried they are making more uncontrolled vampires.
Since he is busy, I head to the library. I want to memorize more spells. If Airalin comes for me again, which it sounds as if she will, I want to be prepared.
Helena is sitting at a desk, writing, and I raise my eyebrows. She hardly ever comes to the library. “Penny!” she says brightly. “I’m so glad you are here.”
“Helena, I didn’t expect to find you here. How are you?” I sit on the sofa and she joins me.
She waves her hand. “Fine, fine. Tell me where you were, though. Raúl said you had disappeared.”
“He did?”
Helena snorted, a look of glee on her face. “You should have seen him running around. Asking everyone if they saw you leave. He hasn’t been frantic like that in a century.”
My heart warms, and I tell her all that had happened. Of course, I don’t go into any specifics of the ritual, Nava already having warned me not to tell anyone, since the ritual had been used by mages in the past to overextend their power.
She stares at me in shock. “You bound yourself to one man for the rest of your life?”
I raise my chin slightly, only enough so I can still see her eyes. “Yes. I love him.”
She shakes her head slowly. “Even love is not enough to keep me within one league for the rest of my life. I’d need a lot more convincing.” She looks at me thoughtfully. “You will grow old while he stays young.”
“I know. I don’t care.”
“If you say so.”
I shift my weight around on the cushion, suddenly nervous. “He asked me to be queen.”
She gasps and grabs my wrists. “Did you say yes? Please tell me you said yes.”
