The Vampire & Her Witch

When Ashlynn woke again, it was to the warm, comforting scent of Georg’s beef and barley soup, fresh-baked bread, and Nyrielle’s lavender and jasmine soap.

The familiar, comforting weight of a thick, soft blanket lay on top of her, and the softest of silk sheets brushed against her skin. The only light in the room came from the hearth, crackling merrily on the far side of the room while filling the bedchamber with warmth and a soft, golden glow.

”You’re awake,” Nyrielle said, appearing at Ashlynn’s side in an instant. ”I was starting to worry that you’d sleep the whole night away,” she said as she reached out to softly caress Ashlynn’s brow.

”Is it that close to dawn already?” Ashlynn asked, pushing herself up in bed enough to sit upright.

Nyrielle must have undressed her when she tucked her into bed, and the sheets fell away to reveal the smooth curve of her full bust, but Ashlynn hardly noticed. She’d long ago become comfortable with Nyrielle’s gaze on her naked skin; she even delighted in it, and Nyrielle had stopped letting her bedchamber grow cold so that Ashlynn could be comfortable whether she was dressed or not.

”Not that close,” Nyrielle said gently. ”Several hours away still. Long enough for you to eat, bathe, and tell me what happened today,” she said as her brows furrowed in worry. ”Georg found you slumped in the hall outside your chambers when he came to bring your dinner. He brought you to me right as I woke.”

”So that’s what happened,” Ashlynn said, blushing faintly in the golden light of the fire. That must have been quite the sight. The Master of Kitchens carrying an unconscious Empress through the castle corridors.

In Gaal, that sort of thing would have been gossip all through the castle within half a day, and all through the town by the following evening. Thankfully, the Eldritch weren’t as prone to gossiping about their lords and ladies, but the Vale held more humans with every passing day. The days when she could afford to be careless and unguarded in the ancient fortress might be coming to an end.

”I need to do something nice for Georg after everything he’s done for me,” she said, though she struggled to come up with any ideas that could match up to all of his contributions this past year.

”You could start by not making him carry you through the castle again,” Nyrielle said dryly.

”But right now, I’m more interested in what happened before that,” Nyrielle said. ”But you need to eat before you explain yourself,” she added. ”So, are you up to joining me by the fire, or should I bring a tray so you can eat in bed?” Nyrielle asked, raising a brow at Ashlynn.

”I can get up,” Ashlynn said, pushing herself fully upright only to immediately slump back against the pillows as the world tilted and swam. ”Or not...” Ashlynn said sheepishly, closing her eyes and waiting for the sensation to pass.

While her eyes were closed, she felt the cool brush of Nyrielle’s fingers easing her back against the pillows, followed by the soft rustle of skirts moving away toward the hearth.

When she opened them again, Nyrielle had returned to her bedside with a steaming bowl of soup, freshly sliced bread, and a small wedge of sharp, yellow cheese, all arranged neatly on a wooden tray that she set on the blankets over Ashlynn’s lap.

”Let me help you,” Nyrielle said gently as she tore one of the slices of bread into several small pieces before dipping one into the rich, dark broth of the beef and barley soup. Once the bread had sopped up enough of the thick broth to risk falling apart in the soup, Nyrielle held out the delicate morsel, blowing on it for a moment before feeding it to Ashlynn.

The bread was slightly sweet and almost nutty with bits of cracked oats and flaxseed scattered throughout. The beef broth, by contrast, was warm and savory with a deep, onion flavor that mingled with the rich beefiness of Georg’s signature stock.

It was heavenly, and Ashlynn’s stomach gurgled in anticipation as she swallowed her first bite.

Nyrielle went slowly, working through two slices of the soft bread dipped in broth before she brought Ashlynn her first spoonful of soup. The barley had turned soft, like tiny little pillows floating in the broth alongside bits of carrot, potato and onion.

The soup had been left in a pot near the hearth for several hours, and the carrots and potatoes had gone mushy, but Ashlynn didn’t care. The small bits of beef, when she encountered them, were just as tender, falling apart with barely any effort to chew. Which was good, because Ashlynn doubted she could have made much of an effort at the moment.

”Is it the same for the rest of the coven?” Ashlynn asked when she felt like she’d eaten enough to slow down and start talking about what had happened. ”Healing Ritchel was harder than any of us expected. I didn’t think it would be like this when so many of us worked together...”

”You forget, sometimes, how inexperienced your coven still is,” Nyrielle chided. ”You push yourself hard, and you push them just as much. You’re acting like they’re experiencing a blossoming period,” she said, pointing out something that Ashlynn hadn’t considered.

”They aren’t vampires, my darling,” Nyrielle said, tapping Ashlynn gently between her brows. ”They can’t grow as rapidly as you did.”

”You’re right,” Ashlynn said, taking a deep breath as she forced herself to confront what had happened. ”I thought that we finally had time to fulfill the promise I made, but... It was too soon after all.”

”I don’t know about that,” Nyrielle said. ”I spoke with Talauia to hear her perspective on what happened to you. She says that each day of delay in treating Ritchel made the healing harder. If you’d spent a month preparing to face the challenge of healing Ritchel today, the challenge you would have faced a month from now would have been even greater.”

”You might never have caught up,” Nyrielle said. ”But while your coven strained to their limits, they had both you and your Willow Witch to rely on. They did not break. You seem to have taken the brunt of it. The rest ate their fill when Georg brought their meals and went to bed afterwards.”

”Talauia says they should be fine with a day or two of rest,” Nyrielle said. ”You were the only one who collapsed in the hallway. So tell me, my darling,” Nyrielle said as her slender fingers began crumbling the yellow cheese into small morsels. ”What exactly happened to you?”

”I gave Jocey the letters,” Ashlynn said after taking a morsel of cheese from Nyrielle’s fingers. ”I thought they would help her to understand and... And that they would help her find the strength to face the Olive Seed’s trial.”

”I think I made it worse for her,” Ashlynn said with a long, heavy sigh. ”She said that she deserved to die. We fought... Or, not really,” she admitted. ”I scolded her. Then I told her that she has three days to get ready for the trial and that I won’t speak to her until then.”

Nyrielle’s fingers went still on the wedge of cheese. Across the room, the fire popped, and for a moment it was the only sound in the bedchamber.

”I also told her that if she won’t face the trial, I’ll send her back to Father,” Ashlynn said in a small voice. ”Because I can’t have her by my side if she won’t fight for a place in my life. If she’s just going to give up, then it’s better that she never tries.”

”You were tired, hurt, and angry,” Nyrielle observed. ”Did you strike her? Did you lash out at her with your witchcraft?”

”Yes,” Ashlynn said, looking at the hand that had slapped her sister hard enough to split her lip. ”Just a slap, no witchcraft, but I shouldn’t have...”

”Your sister probably needed a good slap,” Nyrielle interrupted. ”She’s come too close to the Void, Ashlynn. It calls to her. Breaking free of that is harder than most people will ever know.”

”But now that you’re free of the moment,” Nyrielle said. ”Will you hold to your ultimatum? In three days, will you force her to face the trial or send her away?”

”Yes,” Ashlynn said resolutely. ”But to do that, I’m going to need your help...”