Page 2 of Ever Dark Academy, Vol. 7

“I don’t know if you can have this yet,” Ryder said.

“Let’s see.” He wiggled his fingers.

“Don’t you want me to feed you?” Ryder asked even as he handed the glass over.

“Absolutely. I cannot wait to feed from every inch of you. But I am not certain how much time we have here before the danger to Eyros and his people is too great,” Grayson explained. “We must both be well fed quickly.”

Ryder stiffened. “You think the Kaly can get in here?”

“I think they must at some point. Eyros died in Solace,” Grayson said as he sat up so that he didn’t choke on the wine. “He’s holed up here and intends to stay and never leave. So how does he get there? How does he become moldering bones and Elgar… Well, how does that all happen?”

“Maybe he chooses to go there,” Ryder suggested.

But Grayson shook his head. “Eyros is not a coward, but he knows what happens to him there. He won’t be rushing to the Spire anytime soon unless he has no choice.”

He brought the cup to his nose and sniffed it. His eyelids fluttered shut. The scent of it was so familiar and amazing. He knew the grapes that had been used in its making were grown not far from here on a slope that caused the vines to struggle and thereby become all the richer in flavor. The blood was from–he drew in a deep breath–a person who was in the peak of health. Without opening his eyes, he took a sip of the blood wine and held the liquid in his mouth.

It coursed over his tongue. It coated his palate. He swallowed it down. It left a trail of heat in its wake and pooled warmly in his stomach. He waited to see if there were any ill effects. One moment passed then another and another. His system did not reject it. He actually felt quite a bit hungrier for more. He took another sip and monitored that one too.

“Well?” Ryder sounded anxious.

“Okay so far,” he answered and opened his eyes. “I should drink as much from you as possible though, but this will do in a pinch.”

“Yes, I wanted to give you as much strength as possible,” Ryder said and took the glass from his hands. He downed it.

“Not at the expense of your own,” Grayson said. “I doubt I will be anywhere near full health and power myself for some time. I’ll need you to be strong for the both of us.”

“I will be. I asked more blood wine to be brought and Eyros agreed to give me access to several of his Acolytes later,” Ryder explained.

“That’s generous of him,” Grayson said.

“It is.” Ryder poured another glass and let Grayson drink half of it before he handed it back to Ryder to finish and refill. “We’ve asked a lot of him.”

“I know. Considering how close he is to all that’s happened, I’m rather amazed he could trust us so much,” Grayson admitted.

Ryder drained another glass. “We talked.”

Grayson stilled. “Oh?”

“It was good. Sort of. He’s not exactly ready to welcome me as his brother with open arms again, but… but we’re somewhere other than the white, hot hatred stage,” Ryder explained.

Grayson let out a breath. “That’s good. That’s really good. Not that it matters so much considering how Balthazar feels–”

“It does matter,” Ryder said. He scrubbed his face with one hand. “Maybe he can avoid remembering the past forever. I put nothing beyond him. But I also feel as if I have cheated somehow. He accepts me because he does not remember what he lost because of me.”

“He didn’t–”

Ryder held up a hand. “He did, Grayson. Most everyone lost something because of me.” He let out a sigh. “He just fears he earned it in some way. But that’s not true.”

“War does things to people. We both know that.” Grayson reached over and stroked his shoulder. “But we cannot stay in that place with hatred and revenge in our hearts if we are to go forward together. And we must go forward together. Humanity is not going to take Daemon ruling the world lying down.”

“I know. Which is why I’m glad of this. Eyros remembers everything here and he helped us. I remember everything that Kaly did and yet I know when I see Caemorn again I will not hate him. He is my brother,” Ryder said. “Full disclosure. Full forgiveness.”

Grayson looked down at the tattoo of his Bloodline–a spiral made up of three interconnected lines that reminded him almost of a tornado–and thought of what he’d been able to do in the hallway in Lasting. He’d had the Kaly gift. For a moment anyways. Maybe always. It wasn’t like he could check it quite yet. He’d had his own gift, too. Thankfully. Ryder’s blood had taken him over the cliff, but there was still something of Kaly within him, too. Would that be forgiven?

“How long does it take before a fledgling of yours can shift?” Grayson asked suddenly.

Ryder lifted an eyebrow. “Wondering what your spirit animal is already?”