Drake mentally focused, gathering his thoughts to make his argument.
“Let’s start with my motivations for what I did. You say I’m too benevolent, but it wasn’t that. I had no idea where Heart Grove was, and without Anna to guide me, I could have wandered off and starved or been recaptured. I needed her to show me the way to town.”
“Perhaps. However, once you came under attack—”
“I still needed her. By protecting her, I was protecting my ability to find a town and get word back to my manor. I won’t deny I also wanted to protect her because I’m not a total asshole, but rest assured, I was considering her usefulness to me as well.”
“And her father?”
“I need Anna, and she needs him. Without her father, she might not help me at all.”
“I am still not comfortable with your choice to protect random peasants over your own manor and blood thralls. Every time you do so, you risk our manor and everyone in it.”
“As I said, I know why you might think that. But you’re looking at the blood pact as it was when you swore to obey it. My changes mean it doesn’t matter if I die.”
She frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“I’ve considered all the ways your manor lords can abuse your blood pact to hurt you. I also understand why, before now, your manor lord had to protect his own life above all others. If he fell, your manor could fall to an asshole who would abuse everyone.”
“So you do understand. And you still insist on risking our manor’s safety despite this.”
“But I’m not risking the manor’s safety any longer. I changed the blood pact so you can kill your manor lord if he misbehaves. Even if I die you can never be thrown back into slavery, because you can defend yourself from whoever managed to kill me.”
“I did not realize how poorly you understood our situation,” Valentia said. “I’m disappointed Lydia failed to explain this to you. I suppose it falls on me to do so in her stead.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Should you die, Lord Gloomwood, we would not be safe.”
He felt a rush of alarm as her words hit home. She couldn’t lie. She truly believed this. Had he missed some obscure quirk about the blood pact? Could his people be enslaved again?
“Can a future manor lord reverse what I did to the blood pact?” he asked.
“I do not know, and that is not the only danger,” Valentia said. “The noble court considers any act a blood thrall takes to harm their manor lord to be a capital crime.”
Drake’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“Why would I jest? The oath a blood thrall takes to the Eidolons, to serve their manor lord, is a sacred pact before the gods. That you have altered the compulsion of our pact does not change the law. Any blood thrall who acted against their lord would commit a capital crime for which the punishment is execution. All who aided them would face the same punishment.”
“Even if your manor lord was going to torture and murder you?”
“If our lord chooses to murder us, it is our duty to allow ourselves to be murdered. When we take the blood pact, we offer our manor lord the greatest trust one can offer. Unconditional loyalty. As your blood thrall, my life is yours to do with as you will.”
“But Val, that is insane!”
“Perhaps,” she said flatly. “Yet railing against the unfairness of ancient magical pacts and the noble court’s laws does not change today’s reality. You have removed the compulsion that prevents us from harming our lord, but the laws against doing so remain. If you fall and another takes your place, our choice would be between submission and execution.”
Drake seethed silently as he considered her words. So it wasn’t just the gods of this world that were dicks. The noble court was equally as asinine... but why wouldn’t they be? The manor lords were loyal to them, so freeing people would threaten the court’s power.
Still, he had a way around the problem of his own death. “Even if I do fall, I named Lydia as my successor. She’d keep you safe.”
“Lydia would try, but she is not ready to lead us.”
Drake whistled softly. “That’s cold.”
“She is a talented steward who understands how to run our manor and protect our people, but she cares too much. If a situation arose where she had to send friends to their deaths to protect our manor, I do not believe she could do so. Could you?”
“Could you?” Drake asked in response.
“Yes,” Valentia said calmly.
“So maybe you should lead the manor, then. You want the title?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You believe you could defeat me in battle?”
“Maybe, maybe not. It’s possible you could freeze me before I turned into a monster and tore your head off, or it’s possible my rarity is powerful enough I’d survive and tear you apart... along with everyone in this inn. But I don’t want to kill you, or anyone here.”
“Even were I to threaten to kill you and seize your title?”
“You haven’t done that yet.” Drake waited. “So are you going to try and kill me?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Despite the tension in the room, Drake chuckled. “I appreciate that.”
“Before I give you an answer, I need more information. Despite your success against those mercenaries, I get the impression you remain uncomfortable with killing. Am I correct?”
“I don’t like killing,” Drake agreed. “I wish I hadn’t had to kill all those Redbow soldiers.”
“They captured you. Tortured you. Intended to kill you.”
“They did, and I killed them for it. As I said, I stand behind my decisions. The next time someone tries to hurt me or those I care about, if I have to, I’ll kill them too. If you’d asked me to do that days ago when I was still in my world, I’d have balked. But I can’t do back now.”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
“Take your pick. I don’t like it, but I’ll kill anyone who threatens me, my manor, or you. I may feel guilty later, but I’d feel more guilty if I put you all at risk because I couldn’t make a hard call. So when it comes to dealing with our manor’s enemies, we’re on the same page.”
“And you still intend to remove the compulsions that protect you even though I’ve given you no guarantee of your safety?”
Drake considered her a moment. “Now I see why you wanted to wait on my decree.”
She nodded. “How deep do your convictions run, Lord Gloomwood?”
Valentia was ruthless, but he could use someone who was a bit ruthless. When he’d first arrived, freeing everyone bound by this world’s sick blood magic compulsion had seemed like a no-brainer, but he’d also decided Lydia was a decent person who would help, not harm him. Knowing she’d be grateful and not vindictive had made his decision easier.
“You’re right about a few things,” Drake said. “My responsibility now is to protect my people and our manor. So if I can’t trust you not to try and kill me the moment I remove your blood pact compulsion, I’m not removing it. Not until we’re all safely back home.”
She smiled as if satisfied. “So you follow your convictions only when it is convenient.”
“I’d say, instead, I’ll set them aside temporarily when there’s a chance they’d get me and other people killed. My opinion about blood magic slavery hasn’t changed, but you’ve given me no guarantee you won’t try and kill me if I remove the compulsion that prevents you from doing that. Even if you tried and failed, if I rat out I could kill everyone in this inn, including Anna. I’m not risking their lives or mine over my distaste with blood slavery.”
“So I am to remain compelled by the blood pact?”
“Until I can trust you, or until we’re back at the manor where Lydia can talk some sense into you,” Drake agreed... reluctantly. “Lydia and Emily have already sworn their loyalty to me, and while you might be able to take me, you probably couldn’t kill all of us. I also don’t think you’d kill your own people, but regardless, I can’t free you until I know you won’t try.”
Valentia looked back to her book. “Understood.”
As he waited for more pushback, she didn’t provide it. “So that’s it?”
“That is it. While I still have doubts about your ability to lead us, you have now shown me you are capable of setting aside your moral scruples when it is necessary to protect yourself and our manor. I still have concerns about you, but I will follow you for the time being.”
Drake suddenly understood everything she’d been doing, and he didn’t much like it. “Holy shit, Val. All of that was a test?”
“If you are to succeed as our manor lord, you will not always have the luxury for moral posturing. At times, you must be ruthless. If you forget that, you will die, and our manor will be worse for it. I intend to protect you, but I cannot do that if you’re constantly being heroic.”
“So... you’re not going to try and kill me.” After all, she couldn’t lie.
“For now. Even after you apply your new decree, I will serve you. I will give my life for you because I believe that now that you have altered our blood pact, you are the only one who can keep our manor safe. I would simply ask you remember your duty to place yourself first.”
“I’ll try,” Drake agreed... reluctantly.
“Also, I intend to continue providing counsel that may displease you. If that vexes you, I would advise you to include an exception for speech. If you wish me to speak no more of such matters, then you must compel me to remain silent regarding your mistakes.
He appreciated her cold honesty. “I don’t want you to stop. This was a good talk. If you see me being too benevolent or putting us at risk because I’m being soft, you tell me.”
“And you will truly consider my counsel?”
“I already have. At some point, I may need to be a bit ruthless, so don’t take our argument tonight as an excuse to keep your thoughts to yourself. Keep challenging me. Even if I don’t agree with your reasoning, I want to hear it. I will always appreciate your counsel.”
Again their eyes locked in silence. Again he felt her measuring his resolve. And again, he held firm and didn’t look away.
Valentia looked back to her book. “While I do not agree with all of your decisions, you are not Lord Crow. You seem a far better man than he was. That offers some comfort.”
That was reassuring. He’d also just heard something else very interesting. “The guy before me was named Lord Crow?”
“Lord Alan Crow,” Valentia agreed. “Not many were aware of his name. I may be the only person, other than Samuel, with whom he shared it. He was a cautious man.”
“You mean paranoid. He was a paranoid old fuck, which is why I was able to stab him to death in his own torture dungeon. I don’t intend to ever be that careless.”
“I hope that is the case.”
He now knew why Valentia could give Crow grief without getting sent to the torture room. Even if she annoyed him, he would never give up a warrior as powerful as she was. He suspected Lord Crow had absolutely no problem sacrificing others to save himself.
“Oh, and just so you know, the old lord’s name is now Lord Dickcheese.”
Valentia eyed him. “Is that profanity from your world?”
“It is. I also happen to think it’s hilarious.”
“Lord Crow had many strengths and led Gloomwood Manor competently, but that does not mean I did not despise him as a person. I will refer to him however you wish. However, I will say that Samuel would have advised you against this.”
“The butler. That’s interesting. Did I mention the part where he’s still alive?
Valentia suddenly sat straight up. “How?”
Drake grinned as the first real sign of humanity flashed across her previously cold face. So she did care for people, or some people. “Did you happen to know his rarity?”
“I do not. It allowed him to survive days of torture?”
Zuri really was the only one who knew what Samuel could do. Had it been Samuel’s decision to keep it a secret, or some other weird aspect of murder politics? He supposed he could just ask the old man when he finished not being a gross flesh-covered skeleton.
“Samuel’s rarity is physical regeneration. Dickcheese ground him down to a bloody corpse, but Emily verified his soul is still stuck in there. Raylan also verified there is a spark of life inside him. It may be a while before he can move or talk again, but he’s going to recover.”
“Does this also mean Olivia has recovered her faculties?” Valentia asked hopefully. “She was inconsolable after Lord Crow took her father to the ritual chamber. I suspected my conversation with her before I departed with Nicole for Skybreak Manor would be our last.”
Valentia was concerned about the other battle maids. She might play the ice queen, but she obviously cared deeply for everyone in Gloomwood Manor... which was why she’d challenged him tonight. She couldn’t fully hide her genuine pleasure at hearing this good news.
“Olivia’s doing better. She seems great, actually. Lydia and Emily seemed confident that she’s going to get back to the grindstone now that she knows her father is still alive.”
“She would. Olivia’s vulnerability has always been her attachments, but her loyalty is invaluable if properly directed. I imagine, now, her loyalty lies firmly with you?”
“Lydia might have implied that.”
Valentia sat back in her chair and stared off into space. “This is very good news. Samuel is alive and Olivia has recovered her focus. The manor is in a better position than when I left. Sachi will also be relieved to hear this. She had great affection for Samuel.”
“I’ll make sure to tell her first thing tomorrow. It just didn’t come up. It sounds like everyone really liked Samuel. Hopefully, we’ll get along as well.”
“If you desire wise counsel, Samuel is the man to give it to you. He is among the sharpest politicians I have ever known. You would do well to give his counsel great weight.”
“Plus you’re glad he’s still alive. Just admit it. You actually like the old codger.”
She eyed him curiously. “Do people from your world not respect those with the experience and knowledge that comes with age? Or is that specific to you?”
“To be clear, it’s not like I’m not going to listen to the old man. I’m just going to give him shit about being old. That’s a tradition where I come from.”
“I am older than you. Do you plan to give me ‘shit’?”
“28 isn’t old.”
“So you have read Zuri’s roster, then.”
Drake grinned. “I skimmed it. How old is Samuel?”
“43.”
Given Samuel had an eighteen-year-old daughter, that sounded about right. He’d have been 25 years old when Olivia was born. Once again, Drake wondered how Olivia had even ended up in Gloomwood Manor.
Given the old lord had been a monster, Drake wouldn’t want any kid of his anywhere near the place... but knowing Lord Dickcheese, he hadn’t given either Samuel or Olivia any choice. Like however Anna and Jeremy had ended up imprisoned by Captain Ro and Lord Redbow, it was likely a sad story. He didn’t need to know.
“And how old are you?” Valentia asked. “If that is not a question that offends you.”
“It doesn’t. I’m 23, by my world’s estimate. I don’t know how our years compare.”
“I would be curious as well. From your appearance, I thought you a few years younger.”
“Really? You know, Lydia did say I was very charming.”
Valentia watched him for a moment. “It is possible she said that.”
“Really? You’re not going to give me anything? Even after that bird’s nest comment?”
“I do not see how my personal opinion about your physical appearance has any bearing on our professional relationship, or your ability to competently lead Gloomwood Manor.”
“Oh, you’re dancing around it now. I could compel you to tell me if I’m hot or not, but you know what? I’m getting sleepy, so I’ll just assume the answer is yes.”
“You may assume whatever you like.”
“Now. Can we get this blood pact out of the way?”
She nodded. “I will follow you without compulsion, Lord Gloomwood.”
Drake repeated the same decree he’d used to free everyone else. Once he finished, Valentia didn’t murder him. He’d brought her around to his side after all.
Drake decided not to push her any further tonight. He was tempted to ask if she was going to be all right in that chair, and only because he wanted her rested tomorrow. Sleeping in a wooden chair wouldn’t be easy.
Yet he felt he’d developed a genuine rapport with his senior battle maid tonight. He didn’t want to mar that with even a suggestion of impropriety, and Valentia might also be offended if she suggested she needed a soft bed to get a good night’s sleep. She was ruthless, but she also wasn’t entirely wrong about his responsibilities. Her counsel would serve him well.
He snuggled into a bed that was more than soft enough, pulled the warm covers up over himself, and sighed in satisfaction. “Night, Val. Get some sleep when you can.”
“I will try.” She sounded almost... content, now. “Sleep well.”
Drake mentally focused, gathering his thoughts to make his argument.
“Let’s start with my motivations for what I did. You say I’m too benevolent, but it wasn’t that. I had no idea where Heart Grove was, and without Anna to guide me, I could have wandered off and starved or been recaptured. I needed her to show me the way to town.”
“Perhaps. However, once you came under attack—”
“I still needed her. By protecting her, I was protecting my ability to find a town and get word back to my manor. I won’t deny I also wanted to protect her because I’m not a total asshole, but rest assured, I was considering her usefulness to me as well.”
“And her father?”
“I need Anna, and she needs him. Without her father, she might not help me at all.”
“I am still not comfortable with your choice to protect random peasants over your own manor and blood thralls. Every time you do so, you risk our manor and everyone in it.”
“As I said, I know why you might think that. But you’re looking at the blood pact as it was when you swore to obey it. My changes mean it doesn’t matter if I die.”
She frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“I’ve considered all the ways your manor lords can abuse your blood pact to hurt you. I also understand why, before now, your manor lord had to protect his own life above all others. If he fell, your manor could fall to an asshole who would abuse everyone.”
“So you do understand. And you still insist on risking our manor’s safety despite this.”
“But I’m not risking the manor’s safety any longer. I changed the blood pact so you can kill your manor lord if he misbehaves. Even if I die you can never be thrown back into slavery, because you can defend yourself from whoever managed to kill me.”
“I did not realize how poorly you understood our situation,” Valentia said. “I’m disappointed Lydia failed to explain this to you. I suppose it falls on me to do so in her stead.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Should you die, Lord Gloomwood, we would not be safe.”
He felt a rush of alarm as her words hit home. She couldn’t lie. She truly believed this. Had he missed some obscure quirk about the blood pact? Could his people be enslaved again?
“Can a future manor lord reverse what I did to the blood pact?” he asked.
“I do not know, and that is not the only danger,” Valentia said. “The noble court considers any act a blood thrall takes to harm their manor lord to be a capital crime.”
Drake’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“Why would I jest? The oath a blood thrall takes to the Eidolons, to serve their manor lord, is a sacred pact before the gods. That you have altered the compulsion of our pact does not change the law. Any blood thrall who acted against their lord would commit a capital crime for which the punishment is execution. All who aided them would face the same punishment.”
“Even if your manor lord was going to torture and murder you?”
“If our lord chooses to murder us, it is our duty to allow ourselves to be murdered. When we take the blood pact, we offer our manor lord the greatest trust one can offer. Unconditional loyalty. As your blood thrall, my life is yours to do with as you will.”
“But Val, that is insane!”
“Perhaps,” she said flatly. “Yet railing against the unfairness of ancient magical pacts and the noble court’s laws does not change today’s reality. You have removed the compulsion that prevents us from harming our lord, but the laws against doing so remain. If you fall and another takes your place, our choice would be between submission and execution.”
Drake seethed silently as he considered her words. So it wasn’t just the gods of this world that were dicks. The noble court was equally as asinine... but why wouldn’t they be? The manor lords were loyal to them, so freeing people would threaten the court’s power.
Still, he had a way around the problem of his own death. “Even if I do fall, I named Lydia as my successor. She’d keep you safe.”
“Lydia would try, but she is not ready to lead us.”
Drake whistled softly. “That’s cold.”
“She is a talented steward who understands how to run our manor and protect our people, but she cares too much. If a situation arose where she had to send friends to their deaths to protect our manor, I do not believe she could do so. Could you?”
“Could you?” Drake asked in response.
“Yes,” Valentia said calmly.
“So maybe you should lead the manor, then. You want the title?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You believe you could defeat me in battle?”
“Maybe, maybe not. It’s possible you could freeze me before I turned into a monster and tore your head off, or it’s possible my rarity is powerful enough I’d survive and tear you apart... along with everyone in this inn. But I don’t want to kill you, or anyone here.”
“Even were I to threaten to kill you and seize your title?”
“You haven’t done that yet.” Drake waited. “So are you going to try and kill me?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Despite the tension in the room, Drake chuckled. “I appreciate that.”
“Before I give you an answer, I need more information. Despite your success against those mercenaries, I get the impression you remain uncomfortable with killing. Am I correct?”
“I don’t like killing,” Drake agreed. “I wish I hadn’t had to kill all those Redbow soldiers.”
“They captured you. Tortured you. Intended to kill you.”
“They did, and I killed them for it. As I said, I stand behind my decisions. The next time someone tries to hurt me or those I care about, if I have to, I’ll kill them too. If you’d asked me to do that days ago when I was still in my world, I’d have balked. But I can’t do back now.”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
“Take your pick. I don’t like it, but I’ll kill anyone who threatens me, my manor, or you. I may feel guilty later, but I’d feel more guilty if I put you all at risk because I couldn’t make a hard call. So when it comes to dealing with our manor’s enemies, we’re on the same page.”
“And you still intend to remove the compulsions that protect you even though I’ve given you no guarantee of your safety?”
Drake considered her a moment. “Now I see why you wanted to wait on my decree.”
She nodded. “How deep do your convictions run, Lord Gloomwood?”
Valentia was ruthless, but he could use someone who was a bit ruthless. When he’d first arrived, freeing everyone bound by this world’s sick blood magic compulsion had seemed like a no-brainer, but he’d also decided Lydia was a decent person who would help, not harm him. Knowing she’d be grateful and not vindictive had made his decision easier.
“You’re right about a few things,” Drake said. “My responsibility now is to protect my people and our manor. So if I can’t trust you not to try and kill me the moment I remove your blood pact compulsion, I’m not removing it. Not until we’re all safely back home.”
She smiled as if satisfied. “So you follow your convictions only when it is convenient.”
“I’d say, instead, I’ll set them aside temporarily when there’s a chance they’d get me and other people killed. My opinion about blood magic slavery hasn’t changed, but you’ve given me no guarantee you won’t try and kill me if I remove the compulsion that prevents you from doing that. Even if you tried and failed, if I rat out I could kill everyone in this inn, including Anna. I’m not risking their lives or mine over my distaste with blood slavery.”
“So I am to remain compelled by the blood pact?”
“Until I can trust you, or until we’re back at the manor where Lydia can talk some sense into you,” Drake agreed... reluctantly. “Lydia and Emily have already sworn their loyalty to me, and while you might be able to take me, you probably couldn’t kill all of us. I also don’t think you’d kill your own people, but regardless, I can’t free you until I know you won’t try.”
Valentia looked back to her book. “Understood.”
As he waited for more pushback, she didn’t provide it. “So that’s it?”
“That is it. While I still have doubts about your ability to lead us, you have now shown me you are capable of setting aside your moral scruples when it is necessary to protect yourself and our manor. I still have concerns about you, but I will follow you for the time being.”
Drake suddenly understood everything she’d been doing, and he didn’t much like it. “Holy shit, Val. All of that was a test?”
“If you are to succeed as our manor lord, you will not always have the luxury for moral posturing. At times, you must be ruthless. If you forget that, you will die, and our manor will be worse for it. I intend to protect you, but I cannot do that if you’re constantly being heroic.”
“So... you’re not going to try and kill me.” After all, she couldn’t lie.
“For now. Even after you apply your new decree, I will serve you. I will give my life for you because I believe that now that you have altered our blood pact, you are the only one who can keep our manor safe. I would simply ask you remember your duty to place yourself first.”
“I’ll try,” Drake agreed... reluctantly.
“Also, I intend to continue providing counsel that may displease you. If that vexes you, I would advise you to include an exception for speech. If you wish me to speak no more of such matters, then you must compel me to remain silent regarding your mistakes.
He appreciated her cold honesty. “I don’t want you to stop. This was a good talk. If you see me being too benevolent or putting us at risk because I’m being soft, you tell me.”
“And you will truly consider my counsel?”
“I already have. At some point, I may need to be a bit ruthless, so don’t take our argument tonight as an excuse to keep your thoughts to yourself. Keep challenging me. Even if I don’t agree with your reasoning, I want to hear it. I will always appreciate your counsel.”
Again their eyes locked in silence. Again he felt her measuring his resolve. And again, he held firm and didn’t look away.
Valentia looked back to her book. “While I do not agree with all of your decisions, you are not Lord Crow. You seem a far better man than he was. That offers some comfort.”
That was reassuring. He’d also just heard something else very interesting. “The guy before me was named Lord Crow?”
“Lord Alan Crow,” Valentia agreed. “Not many were aware of his name. I may be the only person, other than Samuel, with whom he shared it. He was a cautious man.”
“You mean paranoid. He was a paranoid old fuck, which is why I was able to stab him to death in his own torture dungeon. I don’t intend to ever be that careless.”
“I hope that is the case.”
He now knew why Valentia could give Crow grief without getting sent to the torture room. Even if she annoyed him, he would never give up a warrior as powerful as she was. He suspected Lord Crow had absolutely no problem sacrificing others to save himself.
“Oh, and just so you know, the old lord’s name is now Lord Dickcheese.”
Valentia eyed him. “Is that profanity from your world?”
“It is. I also happen to think it’s hilarious.”
“Lord Crow had many strengths and led Gloomwood Manor competently, but that does not mean I did not despise him as a person. I will refer to him however you wish. However, I will say that Samuel would have advised you against this.”
“The butler. That’s interesting. Did I mention the part where he’s still alive?
Valentia suddenly sat straight up. “How?”
Drake grinned as the first real sign of humanity flashed across her previously cold face. So she did care for people, or some people. “Did you happen to know his rarity?”
“I do not. It allowed him to survive days of torture?”
Zuri really was the only one who knew what Samuel could do. Had it been Samuel’s decision to keep it a secret, or some other weird aspect of murder politics? He supposed he could just ask the old man when he finished not being a gross flesh-covered skeleton.
“Samuel’s rarity is physical regeneration. Dickcheese ground him down to a bloody corpse, but Emily verified his soul is still stuck in there. Raylan also verified there is a spark of life inside him. It may be a while before he can move or talk again, but he’s going to recover.”
“Does this also mean Olivia has recovered her faculties?” Valentia asked hopefully. “She was inconsolable after Lord Crow took her father to the ritual chamber. I suspected my conversation with her before I departed with Nicole for Skybreak Manor would be our last.”
Valentia was concerned about the other battle maids. She might play the ice queen, but she obviously cared deeply for everyone in Gloomwood Manor... which was why she’d challenged him tonight. She couldn’t fully hide her genuine pleasure at hearing this good news.
“Olivia’s doing better. She seems great, actually. Lydia and Emily seemed confident that she’s going to get back to the grindstone now that she knows her father is still alive.”
“She would. Olivia’s vulnerability has always been her attachments, but her loyalty is invaluable if properly directed. I imagine, now, her loyalty lies firmly with you?”
“Lydia might have implied that.”
Valentia sat back in her chair and stared off into space. “This is very good news. Samuel is alive and Olivia has recovered her focus. The manor is in a better position than when I left. Sachi will also be relieved to hear this. She had great affection for Samuel.”
“I’ll make sure to tell her first thing tomorrow. It just didn’t come up. It sounds like everyone really liked Samuel. Hopefully, we’ll get along as well.”
“If you desire wise counsel, Samuel is the man to give it to you. He is among the sharpest politicians I have ever known. You would do well to give his counsel great weight.”
“Plus you’re glad he’s still alive. Just admit it. You actually like the old codger.”
She eyed him curiously. “Do people from your world not respect those with the experience and knowledge that comes with age? Or is that specific to you?”
“To be clear, it’s not like I’m not going to listen to the old man. I’m just going to give him shit about being old. That’s a tradition where I come from.”
“I am older than you. Do you plan to give me ‘shit’?”
“28 isn’t old.”
“So you have read Zuri’s roster, then.”
Drake grinned. “I skimmed it. How old is Samuel?”
“43.”
Given Samuel had an eighteen-year-old daughter, that sounded about right. He’d have been 25 years old when Olivia was born. Once again, Drake wondered how Olivia had even ended up in Gloomwood Manor.
Given the old lord had been a monster, Drake wouldn’t want any kid of his anywhere near the place... but knowing Lord Dickcheese, he hadn’t given either Samuel or Olivia any choice. Like however Anna and Jeremy had ended up imprisoned by Captain Ro and Lord Redbow, it was likely a sad story. He didn’t need to know.
“And how old are you?” Valentia asked. “If that is not a question that offends you.”
“It doesn’t. I’m 23, by my world’s estimate. I don’t know how our years compare.”
“I would be curious as well. From your appearance, I thought you a few years younger.”
“Really? You know, Lydia did say I was very charming.”
Valentia watched him for a moment. “It is possible she said that.”
“Really? You’re not going to give me anything? Even after that bird’s nest comment?”
“I do not see how my personal opinion about your physical appearance has any bearing on our professional relationship, or your ability to competently lead Gloomwood Manor.”
“Oh, you’re dancing around it now. I could compel you to tell me if I’m hot or not, but you know what? I’m getting sleepy, so I’ll just assume the answer is yes.”
“You may assume whatever you like.”
“Now. Can we get this blood pact out of the way?”
She nodded. “I will follow you without compulsion, Lord Gloomwood.”
Drake repeated the same decree he’d used to free everyone else. Once he finished, Valentia didn’t murder him. He’d brought her around to his side after all.
Drake decided not to push her any further tonight. He was tempted to ask if she was going to be all right in that chair, and only because he wanted her rested tomorrow. Sleeping in a wooden chair wouldn’t be easy.
Yet he felt he’d developed a genuine rapport with his senior battle maid tonight. He didn’t want to mar that with even a suggestion of impropriety, and Valentia might also be offended if she suggested she needed a soft bed to get a good night’s sleep. She was ruthless, but she also wasn’t entirely wrong about his responsibilities. Her counsel would serve him well.
He snuggled into a bed that was more than soft enough, pulled the warm covers up over himself, and sighed in satisfaction. “Night, Val. Get some sleep when you can.”
“I will try.” She sounded almost... content, now. “Sleep well.”
