with that of a cherub-faced Garin shrouded in fear, huddled within the arms of his mother perhaps in this very bed.
“It wasn’t their first choice, of course,” he laughed bitterly. “But they were loyal to their homeland, yes. Reluctant patriots, mum and dad were.” He ran his hands over his face. “And mystics, especially my mother. Where other newcomers were repulsed, the ominous, magical rumors of Brocéliande drew them in. Back then, Paimpont was a relatively new town settled mainly by migrants from up north. It was easy enough for simple farmers like my parents to blend in, when everyone counted as a newcomer. It was perfect for them—plenty of business at the weekend market, certainly plenty of the destitute and ill to sell herbal cures to, and occasional Darkling sightings here and there at the edge of the town. Never once did they suspect that I would one day become one of them,” he added sourly.
Tucking her feet in, Lilac shifted and hugged her knees. “Then, how did Adelaide’s family acquire this house?”
“I’m unearthing details of my life that not even Bastion has had the privilege of knowing. Yet you have the gall to focus on her,” said Garin ruefully.
“I-I only meant to ask about your parents.” She stumbled over words that she knew were only partially true. Finding out about Adelaide also mattered to her—mattered more than she cared to admit, even to herself.
Despite his annoyed countenance, the vampire strode over to pat her foot, jolting her from her thoughts. “Pass me a pillow, would you? You don’t expect me to curl up on my own floor like some mutt.”
He took the faded canary cushion that Lilac handed him and placed it to the right of the bed, then slid down to rest his back against it just as he had back in his chamber at the Mine. Sighing, he looked down at his hands, turning them this way and that in the orange glow. “It wasn’t winter illness that killed my mother and father, as I told you before. They were in charge of overseeing the health of those who were plagued. During the outbreak of war, my mother forbade my father to fight like he’d wanted to, so they compromised and served in their own way, as healers. Medics, if you will. One morning after a particularly bloody battle just outside Concoret, they both left to assist English troops on the field. There, the recovering troops—my parents included—were ambushed by Charles’ men. My parents were among those killed.”
Just when Lilac opened her mouth to offer something consoling, he continued. She let him, wondering just how long it had been since he’d told anyone. Memories, especially the bad ones, grew heavy over time. Even for the future queen. Even for the prince of night.
“I had turned fourteen or fifteen the summer before they died, and I had no other family here. I couldn’t support the farm myself, so I was evicted from my own home. I’d had the beginnings of a fine beard—” he grinned to himself, absently stroking his now-naked jawline.
“Had you shaved, the morning of…?” What Lilac had meant to come out as a joke sounded wrong as soon as the words escaped her lips, but Garin surprised her by laughing.
“I’d shaved my face the morning before my transformation, yes. But I used my beard to lie about my age, and joined the war efforts.”
“On which side?”
“I served under John of Montfort, as my parents had, and so did your ancestors. The battles raged on and off for nearly a decade. Becoming a foot soldier offered me meager yet steady pay, shelter… and in a way, a sense of family that I thought I’d lost permanently. During those years, the war was so widespread across Brittany that much of her vast forestland was destroyed. It was then that the monsters who were previously the stuff of our bedtime stories began to emerge from the trees. It didn’t take long before the heavy bloodshed drew out a certain type of Darkling. He so swift, we didn’t know what hit us. Only three of us survived Laurent’s attack. Bastion was one of them, and the other was our Constable—the leader of our regiment, and also a duke, at the time. He eventually disappeared; I don’t think he handled it all very well. We heard he killed himself before he could get to any human blood to complete the change.”
Garin suddenly rubbed his flattened eyes and yawned, as