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“Lift him for me, Corvan.”
I gently lift the lad’s body at an angle, allowing Vinciel to loop bandages around his torso.
When he’s done, he liberally douses a wad of gauze in ether and lets the lad breathe it in. “Thanks to your magnificent blood, he’ll awaken soon if I don’t do this. Best to keep him sedated until he’s healed enough to tolerate a bit of pain. He’ll live.” Appearing satisfied with his work, Vinciel raises his bloodstained hands and walks toward the basin. “This kid isn’t a local, is he?”
“No.” I close my hand and open it again, staring at my palm. The cut has completely healed. There’s only my bare skin and the sword calluses I earned before I became a vampire.
A necessary reminder that I was once human.
Vinciel looks over his shoulder as he immerses his hands in the water, giving me a calculating look. “Who travels here in the middle of winter? What kind of idiot travels here atall?”
I return his look with a shrug. Although I’ve withdrawn from the politics of the Rahavan Court, I’m still sought out by the occasional visitor. From minor nobles to grifters to cunning merchants; and even spies disguised as the latter, there are those that will brave the wilds of Tyron to pay their respects to the crown prince of Rahava.
But this is the first time a woman has come into my domain.
The very thing I feared might happen…
It happened.
Ilost control.
And if it happened again—if I had the opportunity totasteher again—there is a part of me that would not mind at all.
“We shall see,” I say quietly, carefully concealing the sudden heat that flares inside me. “I will have the servants prepare lodgings and bring him down. I trust you will be monitoring the patient during the early stages of his recovery.”
“Of course. It is my duty as a physician.”
“Another thing, Ciel. This man’s companions will soon arrive. One of them is a woman. I want you to give her a full check-up. Make sure she is not displaying any signs of ill-health.”
Ciel dries his hands on a towel and turns to face me. He pulls his spectacles from his bloodstained pocket and puts them on, his eyes narrowed behind the crystalline lenses. “A woman,” he says flatly.
“Yes.”
“You have already encountered her?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have…?”
I regard him with a cool stare. “Yes, Ihave.”
Ciel’s left eyebrow curves upwards. He knows a lot more about my condition than most. He knows I do not permit women to reside in Edinvar because their bloodscent tempts me to the point of near-madness.
He even has his theories as towhy.
“I will examine her for signs of anaemia, then.” My physician lets out a wry chuckle. “It isn’t the end of the world, Corvan.”
I frown.I can’t afford such weaknesses, even when I crave them so badly.
“So tell me. Have you become a depraved monster yet?”
I shrug. “No idea.”
A look of disapproval crosses Ciel’s elegant features. “You can’t keep avoiding the issue, you know. There’s only so long that you can continue to depend on offerings from the tribes to quell your thirst. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to learn to control it.”
I turn to leave. “I did not request your counsel on the matter, Vinciel.” My tone is cold. “Although I appreciate your efforts in saving this lad’s life.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Realizing that he has overstepped, Ciel’s tone becomes formal.
