Black Rose by K.L. Bone Page A

known.  You will fulfill this quest.” 
    A
tremor ran through Edward’s body. “Mara…Mara…”
    “I
will wait for you, mi amor. No matter how long it takes. I swear it to the
Gods.”
    Edward
slowly raised his gaze to meet hers.
    “I
love you, Edward. All I ask is a single promise in return.”
    He
stared at her in silence for several moments, fully meeting the weight of her
violet gaze. “Name it,” he said in a tone so forceful that it drew Mara’s own
tears to the burning surface of her eyes. 
    “Come
back,” she said simply, her heart breaking with each word. “Please come back
for me.”
    He
gave a single nod, never removing his gaze from the woman standing before him.
“promitto. rosa mea immortalis. I will always come for you, Mara. Always.”
    She
stepped forward slowly and then pressed her lips against his. He wrapped his
arms around her. She pressed her cheek against his broad chest, as the first of
her tears fell from her violet eyes.

Chapter XXIII
               
Garreth was standing in the large entryway. “What did I tell you?” he said to
Nolan who stood beside him, gazing up at the vaulted ceiling. “You just thought
the Ciar Court was bleak.” Nolan did not answer, but instead gazed around the
vast chamber, seemingly mesmerized by the spiral staircases and the large, red
curtains which draped the grey walls, blowing from the cold mountain winds.
“Still,” Garreth continued, “there is a certain level of power to it.”
               
“Sub-Captain Garreth.” Brendan emerged from a pair of large wooden doors on the
left side of the chamber.
               
“Sub-Captain Brendan.” Garreth bowed his head in greeting.
               
“Welcome back to the Rose,” Brendan stated to his former superior. “What has it
been?  Sixty, seventy years?”
               
Garreth nodded. “That sounds about right.”
               
“What brings you to my humble door?
               
“Came to see the Captain.”
               
“Ah. I don’t suppose there is any way that this visit might not involve
Edward?”
               
“Afraid I can’t say that.”
               
Brendan sighed. “He leaves her in the foulest moods. Little tired of the worst
of it falling on me.”
    “I
know,” Garreth responded. “I remember well.” 
    Brendan
nodded. “What can I do for you?”
    Garreth
motioned to Nolan. “This is Nolan, a member of the Arum Guard, assigned to the
Ciar by Mara.”
    Brendan
offered a firm handshake to the younger man. “Hell of a mentor you have there.”
He nodded towards Garreth. “He was mine, once upon a time.”
    “And
now look at you; second-in-command of the Black Rose.”
    Brendan
smiled. “It’s good to see you, Garreth. Miss you around here.”
    Garreth
nodded. “It is good to see you as well. I wish this was a visit for
pleasantries.”
    “But
it never is.”
    “The
roses from the Lorcan Court. The ones transported here when Mara took ownership
of the castle. Do they still bloom?”
    “Same
place they have always been.”
    Garreth
nodded. “Perhaps we should…”
    “Garreth!”
A feminine voice entered the room. Mara stood at the top of the spiral
staircase. She wore a gown of thin silk under an open robe of black velvet. Her
hair hung straight down her back, cascading over her shoulders to frame her
face. Her eyes searched the room, fully appraising the new arrivals. Her eyes
narrowed as she began to walk down the steps, her black heels echoing through
the room as they stuck the dark stone with every step. When she finally reached
the ground, she glided slowly across the faded red carpets. “Did I or did I not,
order this one,” she motioned towards Nolan, “to remain with the Ciar Court
Guard?”
    “Technically,
you ordered him to serve in the Ciar,” Garreth stated. “Which he is still
technically doing.”
    She
shot him a glare than had made braver