Page 19 of Threads of Crimson 2

Propping my elbow on the table, I leaned on my hand. “Well, I’m here for you now. It’ll be nice to have a local friend.”

“It really will. So let me tell you about the Dreamveil.”

“Were you not going to tell me about this Dreamveil?” I asked Lysandro as he came into his office and shrugged out of his jacket. I wanted to get up and help him with that, maybe give him a little kiss, but strange things were happening with Ego, and Lysandro was holding out on me.

He startled. “How in the world do you know about the Dreamveil?”

“Because my friend, Scotty, told me.”

Lysandro’s lips twitched. “Your friend, huh?” he teased.

“Yes.” I knelt in the center of the bed with my arms crossed over my chest. “We’ve decided you and Ego can have each other, and we’ll be friends.”

Shaking his head, he sat on the edge of the mattress and took off his shoes. I couldn’t believe how much more comfortable he was getting with me in his space. He hadn’t even tried to convince me to go back to his house.

“Sure you have. Better be careful, or Rafe will get jealous.”

“As if.” I rolled my eyes. “I told Scotty all about Rafe. He can’t wait for the opportunity to meet him.”

He ignored me, which I knew he would. He’d already explained to me that once Ego started feeding, he’d only need Scotty. But I still thought Lysandro owed it to Ego to take him to Velvet Vein and see how others lived and where they got their nourishment. I had no doubt I’d talk him into it eventually.

“Anyway, don’t change the subject. Tell me about the Dreamveil.”

He sighed and leaned back on his hands. I tucked in next to him—because he was right there and he was hot—and waited while he parsed his words. Lysandro was so thoughtful that way. Never a wasted breath.

“So you know Kingston is a Dreamwalker and Sky is his tether, right?” he asked.

“I’d heard that, but I didn’t really know what it meant. Scotty tried explaining it better, but I’m confused about how Ego might play into that.”

Lysandro hummed. “That makes sense. Where King and Sky go are the places that monsters or malicious spirits go to haunt human dreams.”

“But Ego’s not human.”

Lysandro kissed the side of my head. “No, he’s not, but there’s a pocket dimension within the Veil that allows Makers to connect to their fledglings as they slumber. I’m still researching what’s happening with Ego, but have no doubt, I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

He got up and walked around the bed, sitting back down to lean against the headboard. Having no shame when it came to him, I crawled over and sat pressed as close as I could get.

“Is Scotty worried?” Lysandro asked.

“Yeah.” I didn’t think I was breaking Scotty’s confidence, and Lysandro needed to know. “I think he really cares about Ego.”

Lysandro snorted, mumbling so softly I almost didn’t hear, “It’s almost like we’re having the same experience.”

Chapter eight

Benji

Cuddling into Lysandro’s side had become my absolute favorite thing to do in the evenings after the library closed. With Scotty moving fully into the position of Ego’s anchor, my sometimes cranky, always quirky vampire didn’t have to make as many trips out to the mini-castle.

I’d met what they called the Scooby-Doo crew, and I loved them all. They were such fun, unique people. And loyal. I’d never experienced that kind of loyalty in my life. I thought maybe Rafe and I were developing that kind of relationship, but this was a whole group of family and found family, and it was really beautiful.

Lysandro kissed the top of my head. “We need to talk.”

Had he found out about the creepy love letters I’d received? With everything going on with Ego, I hadn’t mentioned them to him yet, and the more time that went on, the more pissed I knew he was going to be once I finally told him.

“Uh-oh. It sounds serious.”

He scooped me up, settling me so that I was straddling his thighs facing him.