Chapter Thirty-Five #2
I was too startled to protest, and Ansel easily moved on now that she was set up. She traded our instruments, handing me the new flute.
If possible, this was even finer. The silver gleamed, reflecting the moonlight that trickled into the room with the open curtains.
She named each of the parts, explaining the function each had in making the sweet notes I was so fond of.
She then showed me how to hold my fingers, demonstrating then repositioning my hands and correcting my finger positions.
It was far more intricate than the one I’d carved from a carrot as a child.
And this flute had no place in a soup.
An hour flew by before I even glanced at the clock.
Ansel beamed at me when I finally managed the latest exercise. “You’ve done really well today. You’ll be playing advanced pieces in no time.”
I lowered the flute from my lips, embarrassed. “You must be a gifted teacher.”
She barked a laugh and began wiping the flute before setting it in the case. “Not at all. I never do lessons. But it’s always a pleasure to get to help someone find their love of music.”
“I’m sincerely grateful. This was lovely.” I took the cloth from the other case to clean the flute before disassembling, and then held it to her.
The flutist shook her head, smiling. “That and the book are yours. To continue your practice.”
“Oh.” The word was a soft pang, bittersweet in my chest. “Thank you.”
She nodded and gave me a brief embrace before bidding farewell, the door closing behind her.
I trailed my fingers over the case, still resting on the couch.
I’d hardly be able to take them with me when I had to leave, once the fledgling bond finally disappeared.
There wouldn’t be room in my life for such things.
Raphael came over, and I shook myself from my thoughts.
“Thank you for arranging that.” I looked from him to the case, where my hand still rested, as if unwilling to let it go. “But I have to ask, how is this supposed to teach me to live like a vampire?” He’d been clear that was his goal for these two weeks.
Raphael’s hand came to the case, long fingers a hairsbreadth from my own. “It was supposed to teach you to have fun.”
The next day, after drinking from Raphael—this time, pressed against the wall—he led me from the palace through Limanos to see the markets, Demos and another vampiress as our guards.
With the Skyflame Celebration fully underway, many were open all day and night.
There were jewelry and sweets, clothing and enchanted objects, all displayed to their best advantage.
Raphael explained the origin of several of them.
And when I commented that one of the bracelets was lovely or that I thought a scarf was particularly fine, I could only pretend to be surprised when it showed up in our rooms later.
Back at the palace, I practiced with the flute Ansel had gifted me until dawn threatened.
I tried to be conscientious and move away from whatever room Raphael was in, keeping my breaths quiet.
Despite Ansel’s kind words for me, a novice flutist was a loud, shrill thing.
But he followed me from room to room without a word.
I could only stay up a bit longer once the sunlight trickled into our rooms.
The next day, Raphael had another engagement, so I was left with Demos. He’d hardly thawed to me, but he didn’t protest when I suggested we head to the courtyard.
The palace itself was a thing of beauty, with large sweeping arches that let in moonlight. The city was alive at all hours, a distant rumble audible from the terrace. Others buzzed about the palace, though no one paid us much heed.
No one until I rounded the corner and was face-to-face with the metallurgist.
“Sir Ferro.” I dipped my head in acknowledgment.
“Lady Samara.” He dropped his gaze to my wrist. “Is that a new bracelet?”
His hand was on my wrist immediately, fingers cool and clammy despite his warm blood.
Demos stepped forward, hand on his blade in warning, but I held up a palm discreetly.
“You have keen eyes.” I let him turn it over before snatching my hand back, a bit more abruptly than necessary. “Thank you for noticing.”
I hoped that would be the end of it, but the knight remained focused on my jewelry. “I’m wounded, my lady! I’ve pleaded with you for the chance to gift you something and you deny me, yet you took this from some common peddler?”
Common peddler? He had no idea who had made it, only that it wasn’t him. “I thought the work was rather fine, as did King Raphael.”
“My sincerest apologies,” he backtracked.
“I am simply startled to be so humbled that when you came to this fair city, you sought another to adorn you. I ask only for the chance to make it right! In fact, I just finished a few pieces yesterday. I’d be honored to have you as the first to see them, and if I may be so bold, wear them. ”
“That would be lovely,” I said, trying for neutrality. I didn’t want to hurt his ego, not when he clearly had ties to so many kingdoms, if our first meeting was any indication.
The knight beamed. “Then we shall go now.”
“Now?” I repeated, startled.
“Lady Samara,” Demos cautioned. It was odd to hear him use my full name with an honorific, but with the meaningful look he gave Ferro, there was no missing the reminder.
“Nothing improper, of course. Your guard will escort you. My chambers are humble, but the king granted me a workspace just nearby to house my wares.”
I was curious despite myself. I had always loved magic, even though I had none of my own. And I’d loved twisting bits of metal into something more, like with the rat traps in Greymere.
My curiosity was a dangerous thing, but still, I considered.
Even if Sir Ferro was turning out to be dreadful company, it was a rare chance.
Metallurgists were hard to come by, given the ability to manipulate metals was a surprisingly rare breed of elemental magic.
Fire, water, and air were most common. Earth less so, with metallurgy a subset with a twist of pyromancy in the mix.
More importantly, this would give me a chance to see if the bond between Raphael and me had eased any further, I rationalized. I hadn’t tested it in days.
“Unless you think the king would be jealous,” Ferro continued, trailing off meaningfully.
Raphael, jealous? Of him? I resisted the urge to scoff. Yes, the knight was good-looking in a classic way. Disguise magic had his teeth polished into neat rows, and symmetrical full brows that betrayed a bit too much focus on his appearance than the carefully tousled hair would have you believe.
Now, Raphael willing to murder some errant knight for speaking ill of him? That was rather believable.
“I don’t believe that will be a problem. Lead the way.”
If the fledgling bond stopped me, well, I’d beg off with women’s troubles. Never mind that I was a vampire. Thea had taught me they were a panacea for all male inquiries.
Sir Ferro beamed, his teeth as bright and glittering as his armor. His rooms were two hundred and eighty-two steps from where he’d found us, which was over six hundred paces from the chambers where I’d started. Progress.
Sir Ferro’s rooms were large, though not quite as large as the space Raphael and I shared. The room was decorated with several rich-colored fabrics, a large wooden table sitting empty to one side.
He set his palm over the air at the corner, then drew back with two fingers, flipping over a high-level card that hadn’t been visible a moment ago. “Illusion magic,” he explained, activating it. I felt it tingle over my skin. “Just a precaution.”
It seemed extreme—such powerful magic, just to guard the table? But as the table filled with dozens of shining silver and gold pieces, I understood.
He lifted one of the rings, a shining blue gem on its clawed tip. “I made something just like this for a fae duchess out west. She wanted something that called to mind moonlight on the sea.”
I nodded along as Ferro went through several similar rings. His breathing remained steady, but his heartbeat sped up slightly. Pride at his offerings?
I was self-conscious that I’d even noticed it.
Was I thirsty? I’d drank only this morning.
My fangs didn’t ache. But he did have warm blood.
I was just… aware. Maybe because there was no other sound in the room save the soft clink of metal due to strong enchantments like those on our own room, installed for privacy.
“This necklace took several days,” he droned on about another piece. His voice was low and monotonous.
The chain dangled from his fingers, wrapped around his wrist. I tracked it back and forth, the slight swish of the metal links against each other.
“And this one, this one I made with you in mind.” It was a gold bracelet, spirals intertwined around it. The patterns were almost mesmerizing, intricately designed as they caught the light.
“Try it on,” he said soothingly, unclasping a hidden mechanism. Ba-ba-dump went his heart. Just a beat too fast. “It would look perfect on you.”
I lifted my hand, then hesitated. A slight prickle at the back of my neck. I looked more closely at the gold bracelet. Where I’d thought it was all bright yellow, it now looked a bit more orange, the burnt tone of…
Copper.
I pulled my hand back, but I was too slow, my thoughts foggy.
And while I was slow, Ferro was quick. He clasped the bracelet around my wrist, locking it into place.
It burned. My wrist felt like it was being scorched, and I cried out. Cursed copper. It had to be. He pulled a second bracelet out from seemingly nowhere and slipped it on, the two tangled together.
“Demos!” I called for him, surprised he hadn’t already leaped into action. But the general stood relaxed, looking between us and the door.
“He can’t hear you,” Ferro said. “I took care of that. All he sees and hears is us looking at the jewelry, discussing different techniques. He can’t even smell your panic.”