Page 91 of Dhampira

Easy. Ask more questions. Even this kind of knowledge was power in Rasimir’s court.

I forced myself to meet Vander’s stare. “Does siphoning someone make you want them?”

“No,” he said, his gaze just as direct as mine. “That was all me.”

Heat blossomed low in my body, the memory of that seared onto my palm. “Have you been with other men?” I heard myself ask, my voice oddly breathless.

Vander smiled. “Not for a long time. But yes, I have.”

“Really?” I asked, images of what that might look like forming in my head. As soon as they did, more heat rolled through me. It was an effort not to squeeze my thighs together on the bench.

An auburn eyebrow went up. “Clearly, you’ve never spent any time in an army barracks.”

“N-No.” I swallowed. “I haven’t.” My traitorous body turned my gaze to Lorcan.

“He’s never been with another man,” Vander said.

Lorcan shot him an irritated look. “I can answer for myself.”

Vander lifted both hands in a gesture of surrender. “Just trying to help.” He offered me one of his mischievous smiles. “The Drachvi are notoriously uptight.”

“We have traditions,” Lorcan said in a prickly tone.

“Right. Traditionally, you’re repressed snobs.”

Lorcan’s eyes shot sparks. “We govern our emotions. I know the concept is difficult for you to grasp.”

“Hard to govern your emotions when you don’t have any.”

“I have them,” Lorcan snapped. “I just don’t share them with any passerby unfortunate enough to cross my path.”

Vander leaned forward. “You—”

“You bickered like this by the fountain,” I said loudly. When they both turned to me, I added, “I saw you argue from my balcony my first night in the Drakhold.”

Lorcan recovered, straightening his already straight jacket. “Vander buried feygeld under the soil years ago. The entrance to the enchantment contains enough crystals to create a ward.”

Vander folded his arms over his broad chest. “There’s something to be said for hiding in plain sight. Rasimir can’t see wards unless he drains a witch with the gift. And he can’t see my wards because he’s my sire. The front of the maze is doubly protected against eavesdroppers.” He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Unless the eavesdropper is you, Princess.”

A strange sensation spread through my chest. Abruptly I recognized it as pride. I’d felt powerless since I touched Cyprio’s cart. But I wasn’t completely helpless. I could see things Rasimir couldn’t.

“What did you argue about that night?” I asked.

The men shared a look before turning back to me. “You,” Lorcan said. “Rasimir spent a long time searching for you. Once he found you, Vander and I knew we had an unprecedented opportunity to finally end Rasimir’s reign. But it was always going to be risky, pressing him to let us get near you. Vander and I had differing opinions about the best way to go about it. In the end, it didn’t matter. Rasimir knows he’s too unstable to train you himself. He wants you to work with both of us. It’s obvious why. He wants me to teach you how to use your vampiric traits. And since we can’t trust any witches to train you, Vander is the next best thing. Elven magic and witch magic spring from the same ancient source.”

“Speaking of,” Vander said, bracing his palms on his thighs. “Ruvien doesn’t give warnings without a good reason. We need to be careful coming and going into the Everless, especially around the trees.” He pushed to his feet and extended a hand to me.

I took it, letting him pull me up. “Would Ruvien try to trick you?”

“No. The elves don’t lie.”

“Don’t or can’t?” And why didn’t I already know the answer? Another thing Mama had kept from me. She’d been so open, only to leave me in the dark about the things that truly mattered.

“Can’t,” Vander said. “They’re experts at finding loopholes though.”

I turned to Lorcan, another thing Ruvien had said surfacing in my mind. “What did Ruvien mean by you being in his debt?”

Lorcan and Vander exchanged a look. Something unspoken passed between them and then Vander answered.