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“Does he not want to do it? Be mated, I mean?”
Levian looked into the void beyond Gwen’s shoulder. “Barith dislikes being told what to do in general but he cannot avoid it forever. It’s what must be done. What’s expected. And he would want to. It’s their way.”
The bitterness that fell over the last words made Gwen wonder again if there wasn’t something more between Levian and Barith. It was almost as if the mage had resigned herself to the fact that Barith would soon have to go find his mate. So what was the point in getting attached?
It struck Gwen that she felt the same way about Sirus. If she was to be shipped off to the Veil, what was the point of trying to grow close to him? It was a little late for that now though. Her stomach knotted into a pretzel. She had to tell him how she felt. She had to tell him that she wanted to stay here at Volkov.
“How are things with Sirus?” Levian asked shifting through some scrolls.
Gwen’s heart leapt, and she was thankful the mage wasn’t paying close enough attention to see her blush, as she was fiddling with the pages of a book written in some unknown language. “Good,” she confessed.
“Good?” Levian repeated, stopping to look at her. “You’ve been spending a good deal of time together for it just to be good.”
Crap. “We’ve been getting along,” Gwen said, trying to deflect. She didn’t want to talk about it. Actually, she did. She was dying to talk to someone about it. But she chickened out. “It’s nice.”
Levian smirked, her violet eyes glistening with amusement. “Vampires are strange creatures,” she told Gwen. “Secretive, private, and withdrawn. I’ve known Sirus for nearly five hundred years, and I can honestly say you probably know more about him than I do.”
That struck her. The idea that someone who had known Sirus for as long as Levian could know so little about him. That after only knowing him a few weeks, he’d opened up to her so much. Gwen fought back the small smile of satisfaction that threatened.
The mage scoffed. “Heavens, you’re a horrible liar,” she mocked, coming to stand next to Gwen. “I know you like him, darling. In fact, the whole house knows you both are smitten with one another.”
Gwen’s stomach dropped out. The mage chuckled at her reaction and patted her arm. “You two have shared much,” the mage told her. “Magick. Blood. Death. Those are powerful forces.” Gwen’s heart lurched into her throat. Her first instinct was to deny it, but she didn’t.
“I’m kind of freaking out,” she admitted. With that tiny sentence, she felt like a giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Levian smirked. “I’ve never fallen in love with a vampire, but I can imagine it’s an incredibly unnerving experience. Is this why you’re leery of the Veil?”
Hearing the word “love” thrown around so casually made her insides twist. “A little,” Gwen grumbled. “I don’t know. It’s stupid. I’ve only known him for a few weeks, and I don’t even know what the hell is going on with me. Everything inside my brain is telling me this is a bad idea, but…”
“But you love him anyway?” the mage finished for her.
Gwen groaned and thunked her head down on the table. Levian rubbed her back. “The heart has a will of its own, and it’s rarely convenient,” she remarked sympathetically. “Have you told him how you feel?”
Gwen replied with another groan.
“I see,” Levian said pensively. “I may not be the most qualified person to give you advice on this topic. Goddess knows my love life has been more like a tumultuous wander through a raging inferno than a joyous walk through a spring meadow, but I feel like this one is rather obvious.
“If you feel there is something there, something real between you and Sirus, you must tell him.”
Gwen lifted her head and looked to Levian. She opened her mouth to speak, but before any words could form, Barith came lumbering into the library.
“You didn’t convince her to abandon this stupid plan of hers, did you?” he asked Gwen.
Levian turned her attention to the dragon and let out a deep huff. “No,” she replied for Gwen. The mage stomped over to him and looked up into his face. “You’re a pain in my ass, Barith,” she snapped. “You’ve dragged me through swamps, bogs, and one particularly horrible cursed forest, which I still have nightmares about.”
Barith glowered at her, hauling in a breath to hurl back some retort, but Levian raised her hand to stop him. “I’m glad you’re coming with me,” she added. “I know you don’t want to go, but you’re doing it anyway. Thank you.”
The dragon blinked, his forehead wrinkling. “Did you just say thank you?” he asked in bewilderment.
Levian cocked her hands on her hips. “I did.”
Barith looked at Gwen and then back at Levian with an expression of confusion. “Did hell freeze over, or am I just dreaming?”
The mage adjusted her braids and her scarf and went to gather her bag. “Mark the occasion,” she told him sharply. “It’s the first and last time it will happen.”
The dragon smiled wide. “You’re welcome,” he replied smugly.
“You’re such an ass,” Levian growled as she glanced up at Gwen.
