Drake stared at Sky in disbelief and then growing respect. “What did you hear?”
“Cruelty beyond measure. Torture, even murder. My mother would never commit such atrocities, nor would I... but I always knew it was possible for a manor lord to do so. Yet as a child I convinced myself, like a fool, that no lord would ever do that to my people.”
Finally, someone in this fucked up world saw the problem! “So reports from spies changed your mind?”
“Yes. Once I took the role of Lord Skybreak, I had access to reports previously only shown to my mother. I learned of the horrors to which Lord Gloomwood subjected his thralls, and I could not risk such a fate befalling my people. Steward Rodney... Carl... was like a father to me.”
“I’m sorry you lost him,” Drake said.
“Thank you. But as to your question, my thralls... my people... have protected my mother and I since I was little. More than one has willingly sacrificed themselves to keep us safe, so the idea of some monster being able to compel them to harm each other...”
“Unacceptable,” Drake agreed firmly.
Sky nodded. “I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them to that fate if I fell, especially with the big Four now so strong. So... I decided to change things.”
“And how does your mother feel about that?”
“She has accepted it was my choice.”
“So why do you look so freaked out right now?”
“Because I never imagined any other manor lord would agree with me.”
When she’d first revealed her secret, it had shocked Drake, but now... he was more curious than anything. “Did you use the same decree?”
“Mine was phrased a bit differently, but... gods.” She shuddered. “I never imagined another manor lord would do something so reckless.”
“Most of them seem to be dicks. So you haven’t told anyone else?”
“The other manor lords would never accept it,” Sky said grimly. “They would never do it, and I would advise you to never let them know what you... what I... have done. Every time I have even hinted that our blood pacts must be abandoned, it has scandalized them.”
Drake considered her words. Unlike him, Sky had been raised in a world where everyone told her the blood pact was sacred and right and proper. Unlike him, Sky had been taught that to compel people through magic slavery was just the way things were done.
Despite all that, Sky rejected the idea and freed her people despite this whole world telling her that was blasphemy. He was very glad he’d chosen to pick her as an ally.
“I have to go,” she said quietly. “I can’t... this is too much. I’m sorry. I’m barely awake, and you’ve just offered the only confirmation I’ve ever had that I was correct to do this.”
“Yeah,” Drake agreed. “Me too.”
“So, Clint...” She took a moment. “Until now, I was not sure I could ever ally with another manor lord. I was willing to ally out of necessity until we discovered our mutual enemy, because I must protect Skybreak Manor, but now... we could do more together.”
He nodded.
“When I am not exhausted and too overwhelmed to think straight.”
“I agree.”
“Good.” She smiled. “Then... until tomorrow.”
Her lovely face faded like water rippling in the wind, and then Drake was staring at his own face once more in the soft light of the Zippo candle. At least the light was flattering. He looked himself over a little more, pleased with what he saw. Even the hair.
He had a strong ally now, and more importantly, their thoughts aligned more closely than he’d expected. They had a shot at finding out who had been trying to kill him and hurt her since he arrived. The sense of overwhelming work he’d faced earlier faded in the face of that.
He could finally take action. He couldn’t let those letters sit unguarded.
He rose and dressed in the dim light. Then he walked the door to his chamber and knocked twice, as instructed. “I need to head out. Got an errand.”
Lydia had instructed him to knock on his own door, from the inside, before leaving, if he planned to leave his room. That was to make sure the battle maid who stood outside was still alive and ready to escort him. As expected, one answered.
“I’m here, lord,” Valentia said from outside the door. “Whenever you’re ready.”
So Valentia was here watching his door and standing guard over him, instead of spending all her time at Nicole’s bedside. Could that mean...?
Drake opened the door and stepped out to find Valentia waiting in her battle maid uniform, her long white hair immaculate and her features calm. “There’s trouble?”
“Not immediate trouble,” he said. “Possible trouble. Do you recall the items I retrieved before you and Sachi found me?”
“I do. Have we made any progress with those?”
“We haven’t, but I may have found a way to change that. First, I need you to walk with me to get those and come back here with them. From this moment forward, I don’t want them out of my sight. I’ll expect you and the others to treat them the same way.”
Her faint smile returned. “Keep this up and you may impress me yet again.”
“Let’s not go that far, Val. We both know you only put up with me because I’m so handsome. It’s my natural charisma in action.”
She sighed. “And then you go and say things like that.
“So Nicole’s awake? She’s going to be all right?”
“She woke only an hour ago. How did you know? Olivia informed me you had been in your room for hours before I arrived.”
“You’re here, Val. That means Nicole’s alive and you know she’s safe.”
Valentia’s pale face flushed bright red. “I see Lydia has spoken with you.”
“And I don’t care. Really. My only worry was that your relationship would cause problems with your priorities in battle, but Lydia has assured me it will not. I trust her. I trust you. And while I haven’t met Nicole before now, if you all trust her I don’t see how I can’t.”
Valentia smoothed her apron and met his gaze. “I won’t say thank you, because I should not have to. But... I appreciate your confidence in all of us.”
“I hope to meet her when she’s up to chat. Perhaps tomorrow, if we’re not too busy. But now, let’s go retrieve what I talked about.”
“I’m ready, lord.” Yet she didn’t move.
Valentia wasn’t leading him. His battle maids had been leading him around this manor since he arrived. This time, however... he knew where he was going, and Valentia and all the other battle maids were willing to follow him.
The two of them set off together for Zuri’s private library. This time it was Drake who knocked on the door to Zuri’s room rather than one of his battle maids. Given it was the middle of the night, he didn’t expect her to respond immediately.
The “One moment!” that immediately rose from inside took him off guard.
He glanced at Valentia for any clues as to if Zuri was usually up past midnight, but she remained as calm and unhelpful as ever. Inside the door, Drake heard barely audible footfalls approaching the door. Bare feet? The door opened a crack, then eased open.
Zuri, wearing a sheer silk nightgown that left shockingly little to the imagination, smiled fetchingly as she languidly opened her door. “Lord Gloomwood! What a pleasant...” She trailed off as she noticed Valentia standing at Drake’s side.
“Surprise,” she finished calmly, as her face once more went all business. “Is there an issue that could not wait until tomorrow, lord?”
Drake wondered if he should have that conversation about her not seducing him right now. “Sorry to bother you in the middle of the night. Do you want to, uh...”
“Get dressed?” Valentia asked pointedly.
Zuri smiled. “Isn’t this a matter of some urgency?”
“It’s not that urgent,” Drake assured her. “You can throw some clothes on.”
“If you’d prefer. One moment.” The door closed once more, and Zuri padded away.
Drake glanced at Valentia and leaned close. “So you saw that, right?”
“Saw what, lord?”
“She is absolutely trying to seduce me.”
“It is the middle of the night. Perhaps she was simply eager to please you.”
As he recognized the smirk hidden at the edges of Valentia’s mouth, Drake narrowed his eyes at her. “Not helping.”
Moments later, the door opened again and Zuri ushered them inside. She now wore a furry sleeping robe over her sheer nightgown, though it still hung open to reveal cleavage. Drake made sure to look anywhere but there as he surveyed her library.
Still books everywhere. Still several candles just waiting to tip over and set the whole thing on fire. Where did Zuri even sleep? The only possibility was there was a small sleeping chamber behind another door in the back of the library. Given her current quest to seduce him, he wasn’t about to ask where she slept.
He focused on his goal. “I need the letters we gave you to peruse.”
“Which letters, lord?”
Drake supposed she must deal with a lot of letters given her role here. “The ones I brought back with me after my visit with Lord Skybreak. The coded letters.”
“Of course, lord. I believe I have those just over here.”
Zuri sashayed through her library until she reached a table stacked with papers and scrolls. She sorted through them with rapidity that surprised Drake and then stacked six envelopes in one hand, two of which still had traces of blood on them. She brought those over and presented them.
Drake glanced at Valentia and smiled. “You mind taking these, Val? Hold onto them until I come get you.”
Valentia offered a cool look. “Lydia suggested I should not leave your side.”
“I’ll just be a moment. I need to have a chat with Zuri in private. I’d simply like you to stand guard outside the doors.”
One of Valentia’s eyebrows rose incrementally as she looked first to Zuri, then to him, then to Zuri again. Finally, her gaze met his once more. “Of course, lord.”
She had judged him. That was judgey looking. She took the letters and walked away without a look back. Drake resolved to be extra clear that nothing happened once he got done chatting with Zuri, but there were two reasons he needed to talk with her.
Once Valentia left the room and closed the door, Drake turned back to find Zuri smiling at him again. Her furry bathrobe had just accidentally slipped off one shoulder. This woman was relentless, so he was just going to straight up shoot her down. Brutally.
“Is there something else you need, lord? Know that I will do anyth—”
“We’re not sleeping together.”
Her eyes widened. “Whatever gave you the—”
“Can it. You’ve been trying to seduce me with come hither stares and breathy innuendos since I got here. It’s not happening, and remember, now that I can’t compel you to hurt anyone, and you can kick me in the balls if I become a problem, I’m not the threat the old lords were. You don’t need to seduce me to stay safe.”
Zuri frowned as she slipped her robe back up on her shoulder. “Nor would it be appropriate, lord. I am your mediator. If you wish for a bed warmer, I would be happy to make arrangements for one to be delivered to your manor. We have many professionals who—”
“I don’t need a prostitute. I need you.”
She watched him calmly. “Now I am rather confused.”
“I need that big brain of yours. Based on your roster, you’ve been at Gloomwood Manor longer than anyone who serves me. That makes you an invaluable resource I want in my corner, but only if you’re going to stop treating me like I’m a dumb, horny kid.”
She smiled patiently. “I have never once thought of you that way.”
“Good. And just so we’re clear, I also won’t be sleeping with anyone else from my manor. I’m their boss, and I don’t know how it works in this world, but in my world, bosses don’t sleep with their employees. There is a whole department devoted to deterring that.”
“I fear we’ve simply had a misunderstanding, lord. I apologize if I gave you the impression I was attempting to seduce you. Where I am from, we are far more comfortable showing skin than in your northern lands. I will dress more conservatively.”
“I don’t care how you dress. That’s not my issue. I just need to make sure you know exactly what I want from you, which is information, guidance, and advice.”
Zuri raised one eyebrow. “Advice, lord? I am simply your mediator.”
“Maybe prior lords treated you like that, but I think you can do more. If you want to impress me, I need you to step up your game.”
“Step up my... what?”
“I need you to anticipate my problems and come to me with how to solve them before I even know they’re a problem. When I ask for information on some bizarre aspect of your world, I need to know other related topics I should ask about that I haven’t considered.”
“But, lord... I would never assume to know better than you about our manor’s affairs.”
“That.” Drake pointed at her. “That is what I want you to change. I want you to assume you know more about our manor’s affairs than I do, because you do. You’ve been here almost thirty years, served four lords before me, and have a photographic memory.”
Zuri frowned thoughtfully. “I did not know you felt this way.”
“Which is understandable, because I didn’t tell you. So I’m telling you now. Stop holding back. I need you to tell me everything you know.”
Drake stared at Sky in disbelief and then growing respect. “What did you hear?”
“Cruelty beyond measure. Torture, even murder. My mother would never commit such atrocities, nor would I... but I always knew it was possible for a manor lord to do so. Yet as a child I convinced myself, like a fool, that no lord would ever do that to my people.”
Finally, someone in this fucked up world saw the problem! “So reports from spies changed your mind?”
“Yes. Once I took the role of Lord Skybreak, I had access to reports previously only shown to my mother. I learned of the horrors to which Lord Gloomwood subjected his thralls, and I could not risk such a fate befalling my people. Steward Rodney... Carl... was like a father to me.”
“I’m sorry you lost him,” Drake said.
“Thank you. But as to your question, my thralls... my people... have protected my mother and I since I was little. More than one has willingly sacrificed themselves to keep us safe, so the idea of some monster being able to compel them to harm each other...”
“Unacceptable,” Drake agreed firmly.
Sky nodded. “I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them to that fate if I fell, especially with the big Four now so strong. So... I decided to change things.”
“And how does your mother feel about that?”
“She has accepted it was my choice.”
“So why do you look so freaked out right now?”
“Because I never imagined any other manor lord would agree with me.”
When she’d first revealed her secret, it had shocked Drake, but now... he was more curious than anything. “Did you use the same decree?”
“Mine was phrased a bit differently, but... gods.” She shuddered. “I never imagined another manor lord would do something so reckless.”
“Most of them seem to be dicks. So you haven’t told anyone else?”
“The other manor lords would never accept it,” Sky said grimly. “They would never do it, and I would advise you to never let them know what you... what I... have done. Every time I have even hinted that our blood pacts must be abandoned, it has scandalized them.”
Drake considered her words. Unlike him, Sky had been raised in a world where everyone told her the blood pact was sacred and right and proper. Unlike him, Sky had been taught that to compel people through magic slavery was just the way things were done.
Despite all that, Sky rejected the idea and freed her people despite this whole world telling her that was blasphemy. He was very glad he’d chosen to pick her as an ally.
“I have to go,” she said quietly. “I can’t... this is too much. I’m sorry. I’m barely awake, and you’ve just offered the only confirmation I’ve ever had that I was correct to do this.”
“Yeah,” Drake agreed. “Me too.”
“So, Clint...” She took a moment. “Until now, I was not sure I could ever ally with another manor lord. I was willing to ally out of necessity until we discovered our mutual enemy, because I must protect Skybreak Manor, but now... we could do more together.”
He nodded.
“When I am not exhausted and too overwhelmed to think straight.”
“I agree.”
“Good.” She smiled. “Then... until tomorrow.”
Her lovely face faded like water rippling in the wind, and then Drake was staring at his own face once more in the soft light of the Zippo candle. At least the light was flattering. He looked himself over a little more, pleased with what he saw. Even the hair.
He had a strong ally now, and more importantly, their thoughts aligned more closely than he’d expected. They had a shot at finding out who had been trying to kill him and hurt her since he arrived. The sense of overwhelming work he’d faced earlier faded in the face of that.
He could finally take action. He couldn’t let those letters sit unguarded.
He rose and dressed in the dim light. Then he walked the door to his chamber and knocked twice, as instructed. “I need to head out. Got an errand.”
Lydia had instructed him to knock on his own door, from the inside, before leaving, if he planned to leave his room. That was to make sure the battle maid who stood outside was still alive and ready to escort him. As expected, one answered.
“I’m here, lord,” Valentia said from outside the door. “Whenever you’re ready.”
So Valentia was here watching his door and standing guard over him, instead of spending all her time at Nicole’s bedside. Could that mean...?
Drake opened the door and stepped out to find Valentia waiting in her battle maid uniform, her long white hair immaculate and her features calm. “There’s trouble?”
“Not immediate trouble,” he said. “Possible trouble. Do you recall the items I retrieved before you and Sachi found me?”
“I do. Have we made any progress with those?”
“We haven’t, but I may have found a way to change that. First, I need you to walk with me to get those and come back here with them. From this moment forward, I don’t want them out of my sight. I’ll expect you and the others to treat them the same way.”
Her faint smile returned. “Keep this up and you may impress me yet again.”
“Let’s not go that far, Val. We both know you only put up with me because I’m so handsome. It’s my natural charisma in action.”
She sighed. “And then you go and say things like that.
“So Nicole’s awake? She’s going to be all right?”
“She woke only an hour ago. How did you know? Olivia informed me you had been in your room for hours before I arrived.”
“You’re here, Val. That means Nicole’s alive and you know she’s safe.”
Valentia’s pale face flushed bright red. “I see Lydia has spoken with you.”
“And I don’t care. Really. My only worry was that your relationship would cause problems with your priorities in battle, but Lydia has assured me it will not. I trust her. I trust you. And while I haven’t met Nicole before now, if you all trust her I don’t see how I can’t.”
Valentia smoothed her apron and met his gaze. “I won’t say thank you, because I should not have to. But... I appreciate your confidence in all of us.”
“I hope to meet her when she’s up to chat. Perhaps tomorrow, if we’re not too busy. But now, let’s go retrieve what I talked about.”
“I’m ready, lord.” Yet she didn’t move.
Valentia wasn’t leading him. His battle maids had been leading him around this manor since he arrived. This time, however... he knew where he was going, and Valentia and all the other battle maids were willing to follow him.
The two of them set off together for Zuri’s private library. This time it was Drake who knocked on the door to Zuri’s room rather than one of his battle maids. Given it was the middle of the night, he didn’t expect her to respond immediately.
The “One moment!” that immediately rose from inside took him off guard.
He glanced at Valentia for any clues as to if Zuri was usually up past midnight, but she remained as calm and unhelpful as ever. Inside the door, Drake heard barely audible footfalls approaching the door. Bare feet? The door opened a crack, then eased open.
Zuri, wearing a sheer silk nightgown that left shockingly little to the imagination, smiled fetchingly as she languidly opened her door. “Lord Gloomwood! What a pleasant...” She trailed off as she noticed Valentia standing at Drake’s side.
“Surprise,” she finished calmly, as her face once more went all business. “Is there an issue that could not wait until tomorrow, lord?”
Drake wondered if he should have that conversation about her not seducing him right now. “Sorry to bother you in the middle of the night. Do you want to, uh...”
“Get dressed?” Valentia asked pointedly.
Zuri smiled. “Isn’t this a matter of some urgency?”
“It’s not that urgent,” Drake assured her. “You can throw some clothes on.”
“If you’d prefer. One moment.” The door closed once more, and Zuri padded away.
Drake glanced at Valentia and leaned close. “So you saw that, right?”
“Saw what, lord?”
“She is absolutely trying to seduce me.”
“It is the middle of the night. Perhaps she was simply eager to please you.”
As he recognized the smirk hidden at the edges of Valentia’s mouth, Drake narrowed his eyes at her. “Not helping.”
Moments later, the door opened again and Zuri ushered them inside. She now wore a furry sleeping robe over her sheer nightgown, though it still hung open to reveal cleavage. Drake made sure to look anywhere but there as he surveyed her library.
Still books everywhere. Still several candles just waiting to tip over and set the whole thing on fire. Where did Zuri even sleep? The only possibility was there was a small sleeping chamber behind another door in the back of the library. Given her current quest to seduce him, he wasn’t about to ask where she slept.
He focused on his goal. “I need the letters we gave you to peruse.”
“Which letters, lord?”
Drake supposed she must deal with a lot of letters given her role here. “The ones I brought back with me after my visit with Lord Skybreak. The coded letters.”
“Of course, lord. I believe I have those just over here.”
Zuri sashayed through her library until she reached a table stacked with papers and scrolls. She sorted through them with rapidity that surprised Drake and then stacked six envelopes in one hand, two of which still had traces of blood on them. She brought those over and presented them.
Drake glanced at Valentia and smiled. “You mind taking these, Val? Hold onto them until I come get you.”
Valentia offered a cool look. “Lydia suggested I should not leave your side.”
“I’ll just be a moment. I need to have a chat with Zuri in private. I’d simply like you to stand guard outside the doors.”
One of Valentia’s eyebrows rose incrementally as she looked first to Zuri, then to him, then to Zuri again. Finally, her gaze met his once more. “Of course, lord.”
She had judged him. That was judgey looking. She took the letters and walked away without a look back. Drake resolved to be extra clear that nothing happened once he got done chatting with Zuri, but there were two reasons he needed to talk with her.
Once Valentia left the room and closed the door, Drake turned back to find Zuri smiling at him again. Her furry bathrobe had just accidentally slipped off one shoulder. This woman was relentless, so he was just going to straight up shoot her down. Brutally.
“Is there something else you need, lord? Know that I will do anyth—”
“We’re not sleeping together.”
Her eyes widened. “Whatever gave you the—”
“Can it. You’ve been trying to seduce me with come hither stares and breathy innuendos since I got here. It’s not happening, and remember, now that I can’t compel you to hurt anyone, and you can kick me in the balls if I become a problem, I’m not the threat the old lords were. You don’t need to seduce me to stay safe.”
Zuri frowned as she slipped her robe back up on her shoulder. “Nor would it be appropriate, lord. I am your mediator. If you wish for a bed warmer, I would be happy to make arrangements for one to be delivered to your manor. We have many professionals who—”
“I don’t need a prostitute. I need you.”
She watched him calmly. “Now I am rather confused.”
“I need that big brain of yours. Based on your roster, you’ve been at Gloomwood Manor longer than anyone who serves me. That makes you an invaluable resource I want in my corner, but only if you’re going to stop treating me like I’m a dumb, horny kid.”
She smiled patiently. “I have never once thought of you that way.”
“Good. And just so we’re clear, I also won’t be sleeping with anyone else from my manor. I’m their boss, and I don’t know how it works in this world, but in my world, bosses don’t sleep with their employees. There is a whole department devoted to deterring that.”
“I fear we’ve simply had a misunderstanding, lord. I apologize if I gave you the impression I was attempting to seduce you. Where I am from, we are far more comfortable showing skin than in your northern lands. I will dress more conservatively.”
“I don’t care how you dress. That’s not my issue. I just need to make sure you know exactly what I want from you, which is information, guidance, and advice.”
Zuri raised one eyebrow. “Advice, lord? I am simply your mediator.”
“Maybe prior lords treated you like that, but I think you can do more. If you want to impress me, I need you to step up your game.”
“Step up my... what?”
“I need you to anticipate my problems and come to me with how to solve them before I even know they’re a problem. When I ask for information on some bizarre aspect of your world, I need to know other related topics I should ask about that I haven’t considered.”
“But, lord... I would never assume to know better than you about our manor’s affairs.”
“That.” Drake pointed at her. “That is what I want you to change. I want you to assume you know more about our manor’s affairs than I do, because you do. You’ve been here almost thirty years, served four lords before me, and have a photographic memory.”
Zuri frowned thoughtfully. “I did not know you felt this way.”
“Which is understandable, because I didn’t tell you. So I’m telling you now. Stop holding back. I need you to tell me everything you know.”
