When I awoke the next morning, it was to find that I had been divested of yesterday morning's ensemble. I sat up disoriented and puzzled by my nakedness. Had I undressed myself sometime during the night? I must have been so utterly exhausted that I had no cognizant memory of doing so.

I looked over to where Lucian lay spread out as if he were the bed's only occupant. He was gloriously naked except for the bandage on his thigh and he had flung an arm haphazardly over his face so I could not tell yet if he was awake. Watching the steady rise and fall of his golden chest, I was relieved to note that he did not seem feverish with infection and that his color was good.

I gently left the bed and grabbed yesterday's shift that had been lying discarded on the floor, then pulled it over my head for modesty's sake. Having completed the task, I once again eased myself back onto the mattress and carefully leaned over Lucian's midriff, trying desperately not to stare at where the little pathway of golden hair was tempting me with wicked persuasion. I did look and then abruptly forced my eyes away.

The bandage, you dolt! Check his wound and stop molesting an unconscious man! I blushed the while I admonished myself silently. 'Twould seem I was as much an indignant prude as I was a voyeur. Although, was it not natural to be curious about one's husband? He was, after all, a fine specimen.

I gently loosened the strips of linen bandaging his thigh and unwound them slowly. Fortunately, his leg was bent ever so slightly, the convenient position therefore making my exercise efficient and unlikely to rouse him. I pulled away the stiff fibers, caked with dried blood as they were, and dropped the soiled items on the floor before assiduously lifting the last layer.

I sucked in an incredulous breathe, the sibilance of it calling Lucian out of slumber. He moved instantly into action and yanked the sheet over the lower half of his body, his agility far too nimble for any man — let alone one that had been as severely injured as he had. I jumped back, opening and closing my mouth like a dying trout. No words came to me and he, in turn, hit me with the full blast of his reproachful gaze.

But his fury did not warrant my notice nor did I spare it any mind. My tumultuous confusion and shock was all too great, spurred as it was in the face — or rather the absence — of his fatal wound! My eyes scanned his covered thigh as though I might see through the sheet, but it was enough; what I had seen was now firmly etched into my memory. His barring the wound from my view was belated and moot.

"How is this possible?!" My voice came out breathy and garbled, but he understood me well enough.

"Did not Fendrel tell you that the injury was slight!"

"The devil you say! Are you a necromancer? A devil?!" I edged further away from him. Seeing again, with my mind's eye, what remained of his lesion: naught but a long, thin scab where there should be dying flesh!

"My condition is somewhat more complicated than that," he said through a clenched jaw. "Perhaps you would think me a devil if you knew the whole of it..."

"More secrets?" I shuddered. My lips were parched and I wet them with a nervous flick of my tongue. "And you still will not tell me?" I asked. He remained taciturn. "Am I losing my mind?" I shouted, "I have eyes, Lucian. I saw the wound! How did you heal yourself so quickly? Tell me that at least!" I slammed my hands on the bed with as mighty a blow as I could muster, but it purged none of my frustration for it produced only a muffled, soft sound against the mattress.

Finally, he did speak. "I have the capacity to heal at a rapid rate-"

I made a snide sound as if to say, Oh really.

He ignored my sarcasm and cleared his throat before continuing. "I have the capacity to heal at a rapid rate by virtue of a family curse. I have been endowed with that and... other abilities."

I pursed my lips woodenly and inclined my head in a manner that suggested he should continue before I threw him from the chamber window. Or tried to at least.

"It is an ability I share with others like myself."

"Tell me!" I insisted. "Who else can do what you can?"

"Not yet!" He moved toward me, towering over me with his threatening height, though we were both yet kneeling on the mattress. "Wait a little longer and I will reveal all, you have my word."

But I growled my frustration and pushed him away when he thought to come near me.

"What has gotten into you?" he glared, pinning me with wary vexation as though he did not know what to make of me.

Me?! This was all too much! His reserve, his nonchalance, was infuriating and misplaced. "Do not prevaricate, Lucian! You and the entire family are keeping something from me! Am I not now your family too?" I could feel a painful lump rising to the fore, threatening to choke the fury from my chords. "Do I not, even now, deserve your trust?" He seemed taken aback by my outburst, but I could easily observe that he was weighing my words carefully.

"Once Fendrel has gone-"

"Hang Fendrel!" I interjected. "Why are you all so-"

He clamped a hard hand over my mouth. "Have a care for the magnitude of your shrill voice, woman," he said gruffly. "Fendrel has killed for far less offenses than you have already bestowed him with thus far!"

I stilled, my brows locking together dubiously. Godwin had said much the same thing. I twisted my head and pulled my lips free of his hand; which he allowed grudgingly.

"He would not hear us in the privacy of our own chamber," I said mulishly.

"You believe that if you wish, but I tell you now that he can do that easily... and more. Another one of our family talents, you see," he shrugged.

"What do you mean? What else can you do?"

He considered my question some moments then said, "My organ of sight is such that I can see every detail of the landscape even on a moonless night. My sense of smell is also rather acute." My brow creased into further puzzlement ere he pointed his finger towards some vague direction. "I know that the grooms are, at this very moment, laying down fresh hay in the stables.

"I can smell the sweetness of it, and the stench of boiling feathers is also prevalent in the air; the cook is, as we speak, preparing freshly butchered chooks for the main meal. I smell all of this and more, but do you know what I find to be the most exciting aroma?" I shook my head rapidly not sure if I was saying, 'no, tell me' or if I was begging him not to. "It is the pungent scent of your fear, Aria, and it entices me powerfully! There is no perfume more tempting."

He leaned in, his hypnotic gaze seducing me to silence, but I shut my eyes to his, shunning his advance. I would have my answers from him! I was still so confused and I pushed at his inflexible chest, halting his passionate offense and drawing a scowl from him.

"You will not distract me with your kisses. I need to know why you cannot tell me everything. Why must I wait for Fendrel to leave?" I whispered the awful name as though it were a foul curse. Lucian sat back and moved to the other side of the bed with a frustrated sigh, the bulge under the sheets attesting to that frustration.

"There is a hierarchy at play," he looked at me carefully. "I am not altogether sure whether or not you have noticed as much?"

I inclined my head in the affirmative.

"It has been in place for centuries. The Greyback legacy, our bloodline, is as old and as illustrious as the king's." Lucian closed his eyes. "There are many clans in Nordrlund, it is true, but there are only two worthy of mention: the Greybacks and the Blackmanes.

"It is those two lines that harken back to ancient times, when gods and monsters ruled the earth. It is those two bloodlines alone which concern us. Our history is steeped in legend and obscurity, but that is a tale for another time. As to Fendrel: his rank and power have made him complete overlord of the Clan of Greyback. His will is second only to the king's."

"I know. He is the Duke of Skådrokk."

"It is more than that. You see, the king is a Blackmane and wars have been fought between our two families for centuries — there has always been either a Blackmane or a Greyback on Konungrsverd's throne. If a Greyback occupied that position now, instead of King Haakon, it would be Fendrel. He is a direct line of Renic."

"Renic?"

"Aye, we are the direct line of Renic and the Blackmanes are the direct line of Røth; or so says the family codex."

"The codex? Slow down Lucian, I cannot keep up!"

"It is a list of covenants, but mostly it is our recorded history. Never mind that now."

"Yes of course." I made a moue of disgust. "Do continue."

"Fendrel's power is vast and... dominant." Lucian lifted his head and searched the ceiling for an analogy as if it were written in the thick wooden beams above. "Think of it as the master huntsman's pack. He keeps twenty five dogs in all and shares the highest status in the pack's upper echelons with the other handlers. Sealgair would be the dog just below them on the tier." He spoke now of the largest alaunt in the pack. I had noticed it was the most dominant of all the rest of the group, during the hunt. "Just as Sealgir is their leader, Fendrel is the head of this pack — of our family. Renic and Røth are the first of our kind-"

"Your kind?" I asked, mulling his words over thoughtfully. He had spoken as if he was a different species altogether.

"No, our kind. You are the same as I am, for the most part."

Could it be true? I did heal quickly, but in nowise the same way; not as fast and unnaturally as he had just done, seemingly overnight! I did have a keen sense of smell, but mine was nothing to his.

"But I am not yet certain how you fit into this picture, Aria," He continued. "You are still so much a mystery to us."

"Is that why you asked about my mother yesterday morning?"

"Yes."

"And what have you concluded thus far?"

"That you are not at all what you think you are."

How completely obscure that statement was. When I had first come to Nørrdragor, knowing little of its inhabitants and even less about its history, I might have answered that I was nobody important. Merely an insignificant, motherless child who was hated by her father and, as a consequence, sold off to a rich family. But I had since learnt that that was not the case. I could offer Godwin nothing and, as such, had thought his motives naught but nefarious in nature, however, he and Anne had done nothing but treat me fairly.

I had, in fact, been educated, clothed, fed and unconditionally cherished by the lady of the castle as though I were her own daughter. So what would I answer now?

"I am fortunate, Lucian. That is what I know of myself," I sighed.

"You can say that, even though you have just discovered your husband to be a sport of nature?" he teased, his hopeful grin notwithstanding.

"Aye, even so."

"You surprise me." The awe that my confirmation had kindled was clearly writ across his face. "I should apologize."

"Indeed. You should always do so," I goaded playfully. "I shall never grow tired of that sheepish countenance; I see it so little. But tell me, to what do I owe your current remorse?"

"Perhaps, in the face of your saucy badinage, I no longer feel so honor bound to repent," he rejoined.

Then he leaned in and, taking me quite by surprise, seeled my lips with a heady kiss that soon banished all thought of humor from my lips. When he had silenced me properly, he leaned back with a satisfied grin, his eyes banked with passion — no doubt mirroring my own.

"I will however, vouchsafe my apology; it is, after all, long overdue. I must ask your forgiveness because I treated you abominably when first you arrived at Nørrdragor-"

"Lucian, no! That has been long forgot."

"I would have your forgiveness all the same," said he chuckling.

"Then it is yours. I did not trust you then, but I trust you now. And as to the matter still between us: on that account you have my faith as well; you will divulge later what you cannot say now. I trust you Lucian."

Yet instead of rousing the smile that I had intended, my declaration seemed only to pall his eyes to dim solemnity. It must certainly be a grievous secret indeed to cloud his gaze so completely.





🌟🌟🌟🌟 le vote? le no? mkay *awkward silence*🌟🌟🌟🌟