The Vampire & Her Witch

”...now that the opportunity lies before you to rise as the Lord Warden of a Ride, will you take it, even if the one who offers it to you was once your enemy?”

Nyrielle’s words hung heavily in the air, and for more than a dozen heartbeats, no one said a word as everyone stared at Sir Garrik, waiting to hear whether or not he’d accept the Midnight Empress’s offer.

”What happens if he refuses?” Lady Bronwyn asked, looking directly at Nyrielle while she clutched her husband’s shoulders.

”Then he has no place as a lord in the Bloodroot Empire,” Nyrielle said. ”My darling Ashlynn is fond of granting people a choice, so I offer you the same. If you cannot fight for all our people, knowing that you must defend the Eldritch and humans alike, then retire from your post. You’ll be granted a farm in the countryside or a home in a city of your choosing to live out your life in comfort and peace.”

”Or accept a bag of silver and gold and leave the Empire entirely,” Nyrielle said as if she didn’t care what choice he made. ”We have no room for those who are too stubborn to put aside old hurts. We’ve all lost people far more precious than a simple bridge,” Nyrielle said pointedly. ”If you cannot move beyond that to seize the opportunities that await you, we will not force you.”

”I will not leave,” Garrik said, placing a hand on top of Bronwyn’s in silent thanks for her support. ”Maeril is my home. It was my father’s home and his father’s home. It’s home to my children, and if I’m very lucky, I will live to see it become their children’s home as well.”

”I’ll fight to protect my home,” Garrik promised. ”And if that means protecting your people as well as mine... I’ll fight to protect them too.”

”Our people, Lord Garrik,” Ashlynn corrected. ”From today forward, they are all ’our people.’”

”So it is,” Garrik agreed, offering a salute of his fingers to his chest. ”So it is...”

Once again, the hall offered up a round of polite applause and a few knights even made their way across the floor to congratulate the newly promoted Lord Warden Garrik on surviving the ’exam’ administered by the Midnight Empress. Meanwhile, Nyrielle leaned close to Ashlynn, once again whispering in a voice only vampires could hear.

”How many broke?” Nyrielle asked.

”Fewer than half,” Ashlynn said, sighing as she watched resistance harden among a number of lords and ladies of the realm. ”Several looked interested when you mentioned the bag of gold.”

”Let them leave,” Nyrielle said flatly. ”We expected as much from the beginning. Better to flush out the rats now than be bitten by surprise.”

”I’d hoped to sort out the Rides,” Ashlynn said softly. ”But we’ll have to come back to the holdouts later. Perhaps, once they’ve seen where the real power lies, they’ll care less about clinging to their smaller worlds.”

”Mmm,” Nyrielle agreed. ”The ones who come next are the important ones.”

”There are a number of other Rides that should be settled,” Ashlynn told the room, calling attention back to herself as her voice echoed from the wooden rafters above. ”Hurel, for example, has lost its knight protector and much like Maeril and Kermeen, would benefit from becoming the heart of a Ride rather than remaining an overlarge village.”

”We cannot leave such posts empty for long,” Ashlynn said. ”But we will consider those who prove themselves worthy in the year to come. Of course, we will also listen to the counsel of the lords who sit above the rides,” Ashlynn said with a smile as she turned to one of her guests at the central table.

”Lord Loghlan Dunn,” Ashlynn said, calling a name that surprised no one, while still capturing the attention of everyone who wished to learn at last what the former baron’s new position would be. ”Our Gardeners and Wardens are charged with nurturing and protecting their people in the face of ordinary threats to peace and prosperity,” she began.

”But there are limits to what can be achieved at a small, local scale,” Ashlynn said. ”I need you to do more for our empire and for the people under your protection. I promised you once a position similar to my father’s. Today, I honor that promise and appoint you as the Lord Governor of the Protectorate of Dunn.”

”Your lands will stretch from the northern banks of the River Luath west of Saliou all the way to the summit of Little Sister Mountain in the west,” Ashlynn declared, shocking the room with the scale of the domain she’d just offered the former baron, more than doubling the size of the largest barony in the march in a single breath.

”Of course, you cannot do this alone,” Ashlynn added with a smile as she turned to Loghlan’s son at the nearest table. ”Lord Liam, in recognition of your extraordinary service in forging a peace between our people, I name you to the office of Lord Commander of the Protectorate of Dunn.”

The instant she announced Liam’s title, both father and son rose from their seats, coming to kneel before Ashlynn and Nyrielle with their heads bowed and their fingertips pressed to their chests.

”What is my charge, your Dominion?” Loghlan said smoothly. ”I stand ready to accept it!”

”Good that you are, Lord Governor,” Ashlynn said. ”I expect you to do more than simply care for those who already reside within your borders. I expect you to plan for the future, establish new villages and Rides as you need to, develop the common roads and bridges that weave them together, and attend to the interests of your protectorate even when doing so means you must work beyond its borders.”

”To that end,” Ashlynn added. ”You will be granted a seat at the High Table,” Ashlynn declared. ”Much as the Kingdom of Gaal maintains the Royal Court, so too will the Bloodroot Empire call upon its lords for the drafting and passage of laws and the greater administration of the realm. As a Lord Governor, you are the voice of your people at that table.”

”Can you accept that heavy burden, Lord Governor Dunn?” Ashlynn asked formally, even though she was fairly certain she knew his answer...