A lump of emotion formed in Jade’s throat. Tears prickled the backs of her eyes. “I figured you’d given up on me.” As Davian clearly had. She forced herself not to dwell on that excruciating thought.
“Of course not.” Sheena seemed to put great effort into conjuring the right words, then said, “I’ve been struggling with the difficulty of having a mortal friend. It’s proved most…challenging.”
Jade didn’t dispute that. “It’s not the human blood flowing in my veins that disturbs you, though.”
Sheena shook her head.
With a sigh, Jade said, “You think I’m reckless and that troubles you.”
“No. I think you’re determined and that troubles me. Plus, you’re a danger magnet. It’s unnerving.”
Temporarily giving up her search for the necklace, she said, “I have to be out on patrol. Do you want to join me?”
“I’d like to spend time with you, yes.”
They started a counter-clockwise route.
The vampire asked, “Do you enjoy this?”
“I’m usually on horseback, but the exercise this evening is nice.”
“I meant, do you enjoy being out here alone. At night?”
Jade glanced up at the clear sky and a moon that was nearly full. “It’s peaceful. I like how quiet it is. If I put all my concentration into hearing something—like the crack of a twig in the distance from an animal—I don’t have to think about anything else.”
Sheena glided gracefully alongside her. “What would you think about if you didn’t have something else to distract you?”
With a shrug, Jade said, “Everything.”
“The king?” the vampire ventured.
Jade let out a long breath. “What would be the point?”
“I don’t know, the fact that he loves you?”
Her stomach twisted. “That seems unlikely. I haven’t seen him in over a month.”
“He’s been busy.”
“Right.”
They continued in silence. Jade altered her path every night to cover more territory. The intent of the patrols, Toran had explained, was to search for any sign of a demon inhabiting the woods. Or more than two of them entering Ryleigh.
Jade wondered how the checks and balance system worked at the castle. She surmised the demons had to report to someone that they intended to go into the village to ensure they kept to the king’s law. Not that immortals came into the village all that often. T
hey didn’t hang out at the tavern and shoot the breeze. But they seemed interested in seeing how the humans fared in this new world. She had no doubt Sheena possessed enough clout to supersede another demon’s request in order to make tonight’s visit.
The vampire eventually interrupted the respite by asking, “When you accepted the king’s marriage proposal, which I heard about from Morgan, did you do it simply to keep the humans from feeling threatened by his army encircling the village, or because you really wanted to be his wife?”
“First,” Jade said, “since you and I are friends, you can call him Davian in my presence. I really don’t need the constant reminder he’s the king. Believe me, that reality is never far from my mind, and when he’s mad at me, he makes a point of reiterating his authority.”
“Fine.”
“Second,” she added as they wandered through the west woods, Jade’s gaze scanning the area, “I wanted to say yes to him the moment he asked me. I was completely awestruck when he gave me the necklace, but that ring meant even more to me.” She didn’t bother mentioning the inscription. It no longer held weight…or the same significance as the night he’d placed it on her finger.
And that made her heart hurt even more.
“Is that what you were doing in the forest by your house earlier?” Sheena asked. “Trying to find the necklace?”