Chapter 5 Cyrene
CHAPTER FIVE
CYRENE
Iwoke during the night to an odd sound. Lying in the dark, I stared around for a moment, wondering where in the world I was. Then I remembered. Marrying Kieran. Discovering he’d known he was marrying me all along. Him stating that my boundaries would be respected.
Making a soft sound, he rolled over to face away from me.
At least he didn’t snore.
I slipped from the bed and padded to the window.
Pulling back the heavy curtain, I gazed out at the vampire kingdom spread below.
Unlike the darkness of the castle, the landscape was unexpectedly beautiful.
Luminsprites danced over gardens where night-blooming flowers unfurled pearly petals.
In the distance, the lights of a village twinkled like earthbound stars.
“Lovely view, isn’t it?” Someone said from behind me. “Though the curtains are ghastly. I’ve been telling them for decades that emerald velvet would be much prettier than all this black, black, black.”
I whirled around, my heart leaping into my throat. A woman stood behind me—or rather, she floated above the floor behind me. She wore an elaborate pink gown in a style I suspected had been fashionable years ago, with big puffy sleeves, a low neckline, and enough ruffles to clothe a small village.
I could see through her pearly flesh.
I opened my mouth, and what came out was a sound like something between a yelp, a squeak, and an entirely undignified hiccup.
Suddenly, Kieran stood beside me, a sword in his hand, his hair rumpled from sleep. He’d moved faster than I could track, putting himself between me and the door.
“What is it?” he snarled, scanning the room. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s a woman.” I pointed at the floating figure who was now examining her nails and tutting about how she’d broken one and where would she find a file. “Right there.”
Kieran followed my gesture before his gaze raked back to me. “I don’t see anyone.”
“Oh, he never does,” the woman with long golden hair and pretty violet eyes said with a dramatic sigh. “None of them can. It’s terribly inconvenient.”
Quandary, who’d been sleeping on his perch, blinked in my direction with widened eyes. He fluttered over to inspect the woman, circling her.
“Quandary can see her too,” I told Kieran. “She’s right there.”
“To your kingly husband, sadly, I’m not right there,” she said. “I’m a ghost.”
My breath snagged in my throat. “She says she’s a ghost. What ghost wears a ridiculous dress with enough ruffles to—”
“Excuse me.” The woman sniffed. “I’ll have you know this gown was the height of fashion in my day. I even wore it once to the Winter Solstice Ball.”
Kieran lowered his sword, his mouth a thin slash on his face. “Ghosts do not exist, Cyrene. Shadowborne has many legends, but haunting spirits aren’t among them.”
“Of course not. And yet here we are,” I said. “Me, you, and Miss Ruffles, the Ectoplasmic Fashion Disaster.”
“I resent that,” she said.
“Unless you’ve enchanted your castle to project images of fashion-challenged women in the middle of the night, there is absolutely a ghost standing nearby,” I said.
“Standing is such a pedestrian term,” Cordelia drawled. “I prefer to think of it as gracefully manifesting.”
Quandary released a puff of smoke that passed right through her. In his excitement, a larger flame escaped right behind, hitting Kieran’s sleeping pants.
“Blood and shadows.” Kieran jumped back, swatting at the flame that had begun to eat through the fabric. I grabbed a pillow and beat at his leg, putting out the fire but not before it had scorched a good portion of his shin.
“I’m so sorry.”
Kieran examined the reddened skin with a grimace.
“Quandary gets excited. He doesn’t mean—”
“It’s fine,” Kieran snapped, though his expression suggested it was anything but. “Maybe your companion should sleep elsewhere. The tower workshop, perhaps?”
Quandary dropped to the floor, his wings folding against his body in shame.
“He stays with me.” My protective instincts flared. “He’s been by my side since he bonded with me. I’m not sending him away because of one accident.”
“It’s called practicality, not punishment,” Kieran said, the corners of his mouth twitching like he was trying and failing not to smile. “Unless you’d prefer we roast in our sleep?”
“He won’t—”
“Actually, darling, the king has a point,” the ghost said, drifting between us. “The little dear did nearly burn him to a crisp.”
I glared at her. “You’re not helping.”
“Why would you expect me to help in this situation?” Kieran asked.
“I’m not speaking with you.”
He sighed and lowered his sword.
“Do you have something I can put on your burn?” I asked.
“I’ll handle it.” He stomped toward the bathing chamber.
I followed, stepping inside and pointing to a chair near one wall. “Sit.”
“I told you I can take care of it.”
“I want to help. Please. I’ll speak with Quandary, tell him to work harder to control himself. He’s young. I know he didn’t mean to hurt you.”
With a sigh, Kieran sat in the chair.
I found supplies in a cabinet and brought them over, kneeling on the floor in front of Kieran, tapping my leg. “Put your foot here and pull up your pants.”
He did as I asked, watching me with more curiosity than irritation.
I unscrewed the lid of the container holding enchanted cream much like something my grandmother might make. Perfect. This would heal him by morning.
“I’m sorry I snapped,” he said.
“I don’t blame you.” I gently spread the cream across his burn. “I really did see a ghost.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “There is no such thing as ghosts.”
“Of course there are.”
His grin slipped out, revealing his fangs. He really was devilishly handsome. I wasn’t sure my heart could take it. “There are not.”
“And here we are, me interacting with a ghost.” I wound gauze around his leg and secured it, carefully tugging his pants’ leg back down to his ankle. “These are ruined. If you leave them on the bed in the morning, I’ll patch the hole.”
“I’ll throw them out. I have others.”
I stood, carefully not meeting his eyes, because I was afraid of what he might see in mine. It was much easier to keep a grumpy Kieran at arm’s length than a kind one. That version reminded me too much of the man I’d fallen in love with.
He stood and followed me back to the bedroom.
Quandary lifted off the floor and soared over to hover in front of Kieran. Please tell him I’m sorry.
I relayed the message.
“We’ll make this work out,” Kieran said with a sigh.
“I’m Lady Cordelia Nightvale, by the way,” the ghost said. “I’ve haunted this castle for the one hundred and forty-two years.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said. “I think.”
“Who are you talking to?” Kieran stared at me like I’d told him I was about to soar off the tallest castle tower. Which wasn’t a bad idea. If I could perfect broom flight, I’d use that for my test run. Joy would keep me afloat.
“Lady Cordelia Nightvale.” I gestured to the empty space that wasn’t empty at all. “She says she’s been haunting your castle for over a century.”
Kieran ran a hand through his already messed-up hair. “Persistent in that, are you?”
His disbelief got my back up. “I see her. She’s here. Quandary sees her too.”
My companion fluttered his wings and shot flames toward the ceiling, which, thankfully, was made of stone.
“Try not to burn the place down, please,” I told him.
“You talk to your companion,” he drawled.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Cordelia stomped her foot and crossed her arms on her ample chest. “Could you please pay some attention to me?”
“Just because you can’t see Cordelia doesn’t mean she isn’t real.”
“That’s right. Tell him, sweetheart,” Lady Cordelia said. “At least someone in this dreary castle appreciates my presence.”
Kieran looked completely bewildered, which might’ve been funny under other circumstances. “You honestly believe you’re seeing a ghost.”
“I don’t believe I’m seeing a ghost. I am seeing a ghost.”
“It’s true, Your Majesty,” Lady Cordelia said, giving him an elaborate curtsy that made her skirts billow out. “Only witches and magical creatures can see me, unfortunately. Not a single vampire. It’s a terrible limitation, but one I’ve learned to live with. Or exist with, rather.”
I relayed this information to Kieran, whose expression suggested he was questioning the wisdom of this marriage even more than I was.
“So now I have a wife who sees ghosts that aren’t there, and her fire-breathing companion who’s determined to set me ablaze.” He sighed again. “Perfect.”
“The ghost is there whether you believe it or not. And Quandary’s accident was just a slight mishap. I explained that already. I don’t believe it’ll happen again.”
Kieran looked at my companion, who was trying to make himself as small as possible on his perch. “I’m not trying to separate you from him. I’m just suggesting a safer sleeping arrangement.”
“We’ll discuss this in the morning.” I lifted my chin, unwilling to back down.
“How delightfully tense.” Lady Cordelia floated around us with a fang-filled grin on her face. “This is the most entertainment I’ve had in decades.”
“The ghost is enjoying our argument,” I told Kieran, which only deepened his scowl.
“There is no ghost,” he growled.
“That, also, is not open for discussion.”
“Cyrene,” he snapped.
“Kieran,” I said quite placidly, crossing my arms on my chest, tapping my foot like Cordelia.
“Let’s…compromise. Your companion can stay in the room, but he must remain on his perch by the window, which is far enough from the bed I might actually be able to sleep.”
I hesitated, then nodded. It was a reasonable suggestion, and I was too exhausted to keep bickering about it. “Fine.”
“Good. Now, can we please get some sleep?” Kieran returned his sword to a stand beside the bed and climbed back under the covers.
I followed, keeping to my side of the vast mattress. Lady Cordelia drifted over to perch, or whatever ghosts did, on a chair near the window.
“I’ll just sit here and keep watch,” she said. “In case any real danger appears. Unlike some people, I take my guardian duties seriously.”
“Could you keep watch from the sitting room?” How was I supposed to sleep with her staring at me all night long?
She drifted up off the chair and soared over to hover above the bed with a scowl on her painted face. “Must I?”
“You must.”
“Stop talking to yourself, Cyrene.” Kieran fluffed the covers and rolled over to present his back.
“I’m not.”
With a groan, he yanked the covers over his head.
“See?” I told her. “Now you’re interfering with my marriage.”
She sniffed. “I know when I’m not wanted.” With a shrill wail, she spiraled across the room and disappeared through the closed door to the sitting area.
Good grief.
I closed my eyes. Rolled onto my side.
Rolled onto my other side.
“Could you please hold still?” Kieran grumbled after my fifth adjustment. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Try counting luminsprites. It helps me sometimes when I can’t fall asleep.”
It was such an unexpectedly kind suggestion that I didn’t know how to respond. So I said nothing, focusing instead on slowing my breathing and imagining luminsprites dancing behind my closed eyelids.
Eventually, exhaustion claimed me, and I drifted away…
I woke to sunlight streaming through a gap in the curtains and an empty bed beside me.
Kieran had neatly arranged the covers on his side, making it look like he’d never been there at all.
Quandary still slept on his perch, his tiny snores punctuated by wisps of smoke.
At least Lady Cordelia wasn’t looming over me.
I sat up, pushing hair from my face as I surveyed my new home. Yesterday, I’d been a free woman with my own workshop and life. Today, I was the vampire queen, married to a man who both was and wasn’t the person I’d once cared for.
I squared my shoulders.
I was Cyrene Moonwhisper Thornwick, now Cyrene Nightblood, I supposed, though the name felt odd. A joy witch, I infused light and happiness into various physical forms. If this gloomy castle or my new not-husband thought they could extinguish my spirit, they were sorely mistaken.
I would find my footing here. I would continue my craft. I would create a life of my own, with or without their cooperation.
While I was at it, I’d discover what he was hiding behind his gorgeous, guarded blue eyes.
And if he was keeping any more secrets, I’d charm them right out of him.
Preferably before breakfast.
Joy might be my magic, but payback was starting to feel pretty powerful too.