Free Bloodchild by Kallysten Page A

for Brad to return. The idea
had not thrilled her, far from it, but at least it kept her mind occupied—and
maybe, if she was lucky, following Aedan’s advice would garner her some good
will from him once she worked up the courage to ask—no, not ask. She had no
desire or need to ask for Aedan’s permission, let alone his blessing. She would
tell him, and that was all there was to it.
    Why she needed courage to tell him
what she intended to do, however, was harder to explain.
    A small part of her would have
liked to accompany Brad into the woods, if only not to be left alone with
Aedan. However, she still couldn’t look at the woods without a faint sense of
alarm ringing through her, the vague awareness that the woods were dangerous
and someone—her mother?—would be upset if she went in.
    Or maybe it was that familiar
dream coloring her thoughts; in that dream, she fled from whatever was pursuing
her through woods just like those. She’d started to wonder if they might be
more than similar woods: if they might actually be those exact woods, and if
the dream might be a memory. If it was, she still had no idea who the man was
that she always ran to for safety.
    She ended her channeling with
bursts of miniature fireworks that shimmered over the water. She took a deep
breath, steeling herself, but before she could say a word, Aedan spoke first.
    “Dame Vivien? May I talk to you
about something?”
    She turned a curious look to him,
and he continued.
    “With your permission, I want to
find more guards for you. You were always going to need more bodyguards, but
now that both Bradan and I are vampires, we need to find someone who can
protect you in the sun.”
    That was not anything she’d
expected to hear, nor was it anything she wanted, not after what had happened
with the last person who had come to work in the castle. She’d agreed to keep
Loree as her handmaid despite her better judgment, and in the end Loree had
almost killed Brad. Or had she really killed him? He was still there, but he
wasn’t the same anymore, was he?
    Something of her thoughts must
have shown on her face because she didn’t have to say a word before Aedan said,
“I know you are reluctant, and I understand why. So am I, if I must tell the
truth. But it’s not about what I want. It’s about keeping you safe. And if you
can channel to make sure the new guard is loyal and truthful, the way you did
earlier, we can both be reassured.”
    “My little lie-detector trick
didn’t end well this morning,” she reminded him. “What if I burn myself out?”
    “Now that you know it can happen,
you can learn to control the flow better,” he said. “And it’ll be good
practice, too.”
    She mulled it over for a few
seconds, but the idea still held no appeal.
    “I don’t know.” She sighed. “And
anyway, it’ll only be a few days before the first duel. Who would want to join
my cause before that? Not even the High Families want to be associated with me
right now.”
    He’d picked up a small rock as she
talked, and now he threw it into the water. A loud plop was followed by wave
after wave of ripples.
    “The High Families are one thing,”
Aedan said quietly. “Heads of families need to think of their people, and
Rhuinn keeps a close eye on them. Guards, cooks, gardeners… Rhuinn cares little
for those. Fear of him won’t keep potential guards away, I think. May I have
your permission to look for one?”
    She still didn’t like the idea,
but by now she’d learned something about Aedan. In the end, he’d do what he
thought was best, regardless of what she wanted. He’d asked for her permission,
but he didn’t need it to act. Maybe if she granted it, she’d set a good
precedent so that he’d keep asking for her opinion. And maybe it’d make her own
request go down that much easier.
    “Very well,” she said, trying to
inject confidence and strength into her voice, the way she had whenever she had
talked to the people she’d hoped to