good, solid sense, but still in my mind and heart I want. I need to let them both settle a bit before I know what should be done about it next. But I do know that I donât want to go into battle stepping back from this only because Iâm afraid of what it could be, or what it couldnât.â
After a momentâs debate, Glenna sighed. âIt may be good solid sense, but I very much doubt Iâd take my own advice if I were in your place.â
Reaching over, Moira took Glennaâs hand. âIt helps, being able to talk to another woman. Just to be able to say whatâs in my mind and heart to another woman.â
Â
I n another part of Geall, in a house shrouded against even the weak and watery light, two other females sat and talked.
It was the end of their day, not the beginning, but they shared a quiet meal.
Quiet because the man they were draining was beyond protest or struggle.
âYou were right.â Lora leaned back, delicately dabbing blood from her lips with a linen cloth. The man had been chained to the table between them as Lilith wanted her injured companion to sit, to eat, rather than lie in bed and sip from cups. âGetting up, having a civilized kill was what I needed.â
âThere, you see.â Pleased, Lilith smiled.
Loraâs face was still badly burned. The holy water that bitch of a demon hunter had hurled at her had wreaked terrible damage. But Lora was healing, and the good fresh meal would help her get her strength back.
âI wish youâd eat a little more though.â
âI will. Youâve been so good to me, Lilith. And I failed you.â
âYou didnât. It was a good plan, and nearly worked. Itâs you who paid such a high price for it. I canât stand to think of the pain you were in.â
âI would have died without you.â
They had been lovers and friends, competitors and adversaries. They had been everything to each other for four centuries. But Loraâs injuries, the near end of her, had brought them closer than theyâd ever been.
âUntil you were hurt, I didnât know how much I loved and needed you. Here now, sweetheart, just a little more.â
Lora obeyed, taking the manâs limp arm, sinking her fangs into the wrist.
Before the burns, sheâd been pretty, a youthful blonde with a swaggering style. Now her face was raw and red, riddled with half-healed wounds. But the glassy glaze of pain had faded from her blue eyes, and her voice was coming back strong again.
âIt was wonderful, Lilith.â She sat back again. âBut I just canât drink another drop.â
âThen Iâll have it taken away, and weâll sit by the fire for a bit before bed.â
Lilith rang a little gold bell, signaling one of the servants to clear. The leftovers, she knew, would hardly go to waste.
She rose to help Lora across the room where sheâd already had pillows and a throw placed on the sofa.
âMore comfortable than the caves,â Lilith commented. âBut still Iâll be glad to be out of this place, and into proper accommodations.â
She settled Lora before she sat, regal in her red gown, her hair piled high and gold as sheâd wanted to add a touch of glamour to the evening.
Her beauty hadnât diminished in the two thousand years since her death.
âDo you have pain?â she asked Lora.
âNo. I feel almost myself. Iâm sorry I behaved so childishly yesterday morning, when that bitch flew over on her ridiculous dragon-man. Seeing her again just brought it all flooding back, all the fear, the agony.â
âWe gave her a surprise though, didnât we?â Soothing, Lilith smoothed the throw, tucking it around Lora. âImagine her shock when her arrows met Midirâs shield. You were right to talk me out of killing him.â
âThe next time I see her, I wonât weep and hide under the covers like a frightened child.
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