next four years in Sir Edward’s service, dressing him in the morning, serving his meals, caring for his horse, cleaning the knight’s armor, weapons, and shield. He had accompanied Sir Edward to tournaments and gone with him when he went to war. During this time, he had also learned to handle a sword and lance while wearing forty pounds of armor and riding a horse.
He had been just shy of his twenty-first year when Sir Edward deemed him worthy to become a knight. The day before the ceremony, Saintcrow donned a white tunic and red robes. He had spent the night in his room, meditating, praying for strength and courage, petitioning heaven for the purification of his immortal soul. Thanking heaven for Sir Edward’s kindness and patience with a rebellious youth. He had loved that man, respected him as he had no other before or since.
In the morning, the chaplain blessed his sword, and then heard his confession.
Later, attired in his finest clothing, Saintcrow had knelt in front of Sir Edward, his head bowed, as his lord tapped him lightly with his sword on each shoulder and proclaimed him a knight of the realm. It had been the proudest moment of Saintcrow’s life. It was one of the few memories he had clung to all these years.
“Rylan?”
“You’ll see your parents again, Kadie,” he said quietly.
“You mean it?”
The hope in her eyes went straight to his heart—a heart he had thought dead long ago. “I swear it,” he said, his voice thick. “I swear it on my honor as a knight.”
Later, Saintcrow stood beside Kadie’s bed, wondering why she had never told him about her sister. She tried not to think about Kathy too often. Perhaps it was too painful. Or perhaps, with his ability to read her mind, she figured he already knew.
Watching her sleep, he longed to hold her in his arms, to make love to her until the sun came up, but, given all that had happened at the mall, he thought it best to wait a few days. He had never meant for her to see him like that, his skin drawn tight, his eyes blazing like the fires of hell, his fangs dripping blood. She had covered the horror she felt remarkably well, better than he had expected, but he knew it wasn’t something she would soon forget.
Would she look at him now and see only a monster? If so, she wouldn’t be the first. Or likely the last.
He lifted a lock of her hair, let it sift through his fingers. Since becoming a vampire, he had refused to let himself fall in love, had refused to let anyone—vampire or mortal—get close to him. But Kadie, clothed in youthful beauty and innocence, had captured his heart.
He had thought to keep her with him for a long, long time, but now, loving her, he knew he couldn’t subject her to a life with him. He recalled, all too clearly, something Kadie had told him.
Only a monster keeps people enslaved, she’d said, her voice ringing with righteous indignation. And she was right. He was a monster.
A monster in love for the first time in his long, long existence. And so he would let her go.
But not yet.
Surely even a monster deserved a little happiness.
Chapter 22
Kadie woke feeling as if she hadn’t had more than an hour or two of sleep. Her dreams had been filled with red-eyed demons and faceless monsters clad in black. Sometimes they had chased her. Sometimes they had attacked each other. Once she had dreamed she was buried alive in Leslie’s grave. She had pounded on the lid of the coffin, screaming for help until her throat was raw, and all the while she could hear Saintcrow telling her she should have run while she had the chance. And always there had been blood, rivers of blood.
She banished her bad dreams with a hot shower and several cups of coffee. Sitting in the kitchen, staring out the window at a bright beautiful day, she found herself wondering what it would be like to never go out and about during the day. When the vampires slept, was it truly like death? Did they look like corpses, or merely like they were sleeping? What did Saintcrow look like? And why was she so obsessed with finding out? Was it because he didn’t want her to? Still, if she was going to spend the rest of her life with him, then she wanted to know everything about