Blood and Blade (Goddess with a Blade #6) - Lauren Dane Page 0,12

away from him, out of his embrace.

“Of course you do. Now that you’ve scared the hell out of me and put dinner off for so long, let’s eat or I’ll get hangry.”

He pulled her to him once more, planting a kiss on her mouth before he released her, following in her wake.

* * *

Clive didn’t need to eat to live as humans did, but he enjoyed eating human food. Enjoyed watching his wife as she fussed over him but tried to pretend it was no big deal. Enjoyed that he’d finally been able to access that which had been denied to him by Lyr’s magic.

Overcoming that block to gain access to Lyr’s memories had been a victory. Though Lyr was truly dead, there were others and Clive would be able to find them because he’d been stronger than Lyr in the end.

It didn’t bother him that he’d had someone else defeat the magic in him. She was one of his in a sense now. She’d held his life in her hands and had done him only good. It meant he had resources better than Lyr’s. And it meant he could beat this foe.

That he’d do so with something he’d taken from Lyr would be utterly delicious.

He knew Rowan only had so much patience and would be asking him about it soon enough so he sifted through all the memories as they ate, trying to get them in some sort of order before he spoke.

Finally, when he knew she was just about to demand he talk, Clive put his teacup down and settled back in his chair, taking Rowan’s hand because he wanted to and because she was still recovering from a scare and they both needed it.

“I will know more when I awaken at dusk but I can give you what I’ve pieced together so far. I’ve never experienced a Vampire this old and well protected before.” It usually took him a bit to put everything together. All the images and snippets of faces and details had to coalesce into something understandable.

“Before you do, would you like me to tell you about the spell in Lyr’s blood?” Genevieve asked right before she took a bite of lemon cake.

“Yes. In the interests of keeping a logical order.”

“As I said, it was in his blood. Triggered, I believe by his death. The spelltrap began a sort of cascade then, further infecting you with the passage of time.”

Ah. Interesting. Clive would think on that and circle back to it later. Maybe he would benefit from such a protection. He wasn’t the only Vampire in the world who could take memories that way and he certainly knew details that would be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands.

“The spell created a lock on all those memories. Eventually they might have come to you. But given the size of what you coughed up after only a week, it’s more likely that it would have killed you if not caught.” Genevieve nodded her thanks to Elisabeth, who put another slice of cake on her plate.

Star grunted with a half bark at the end and Clive looked down at her. “I’m not a fan of hearing such things either.”

“Let’s make that the three of us,” Rowan said as she took her hand back to finish up her cake. “But you said it’s gone.”

Genevieve nodded. “There’s no trace of dark or malevolent magics on or in you that I could sense. Just Vampire magic and the bond you have with Rowan and the bond you share with the Vampires and Protected in your service. Bonds are protective magic. Yours protected you as much as possible. I imagine all the Vampires in your territory will feel better when they awaken.”

“You know a lot about Vampires,” Clive said. Enough that it made him slightly uncomfortable though certainly still grateful she’d just saved him.

Genevieve shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve learned a few things over the years. I haven’t seen a spell like this before though. Not exactly. There are layers to it. I will think on that and study. It tasted different than straightforward dark magework.”

“Do you think you could make a spell like that for me?” Rowan asked. “If I was drained a bad guy might see something that could put people in danger. But I want to be sure it wouldn’t trigger for a blood exchange.” His foulmouthed, ill-tempered wife blushed and charmed him anew.

That she’d said it to another person, in front of David, was a step he wasn’t sure