In the Dark

In the morning, Adelia woke to frost-cold air filling the room and as soon as she got up, blankets clutched close around her and shoved her feet into fur lined slippers, she peered out the window to see thick, white flakes falling before they merged with the ever present fog below.

Winter had arrived overnight, over two months earlier than it would have in her homeland, where the first snow usually fell a couple of days before the winter solstice.

A thick, white blanket already laid on her balcony and the surrounding roofs, and the nearby gargoyles wore shawls and hats of white. It must've started to snow just shortly after she had gone to bed at last sometime after midnight.

As she stared at the steadily drifting snow outside, she once again mulled over the various bits of knowledge, of evidence, she had gathered about Rowan. She had stayed up way too late pouring over the monster book and questioning herself all the while.

It felt wrong to accuse him of anything when he had been nothing but accommodating and kind. He worked so hard to continuously improve his lands, sniffing out problems like a bloodhound and persistently looking for solutions, especially when someone told him something wasn't possible.

And yet he was also strange in ways she hadn't encountered before. His fangs might be the real deal and not a glamor and the nails she had suspected of not being cut, of maybe being infected or his hands having some kind of disease, might be actual claws. He never showed up during daylight hours, neither when he had visited King Harold nor here in his own home.

Adelia did not like to think of others as monsters, especially when they had treated her well, but she wasn't a fool, either. She couldn't be, not with a father like hers and not with the dangerous men and women that enjoyed life at court so very much. Who saw those around them as stepping stones and sources of mean-spirited entertainment.

Furthermore, the Wilds had a reputation to house monsters and while she knew by now that most of the rumors she had heard back home were bogus, this one seemed to be true.

And it seemed her husband might be one.

She wasn't foolish enough to tell anyone of her suspicions or to accuse him without evidence, no matter how much a part of her wanted to march to his rooms and demand an explanation.

There was still, after all, a slim chance that she was misinterpreting things, that maybe there was a curse at play that Sorceress Iva couldn't break despite her vast skill.

For a brief moment she considered contacting Lady Miriam, before she discarded that thought as well. Lady Miriam hadn't told her anything last night and if Adelia's suspicions about Rowan were correct, it was highly unlikely that his fellow warlords didn't know what he was after all these years.

It had been a choice on their end to not tell her anything, which made them Rowan's allies before hers. There was a good chance they wouldn't tell her anything at all if she asked any of them about Rowan now – aside from perhaps Alexzander and his word she could trust least of all.

She wished she could write her friends back home and ask them for advice, but she knew they would not react well, even if her husband was no threat to her, should he be a vampire. Adelia did believe, despite the faint unease at the idea of vampirism, that he wouldn't harm her.

He hadn't once, so far, after all, neither with words nor with actions, which already made him a better person than some of her fellow humans. Furthermore, if she was wrong, if he was plagued by some kind of curse after all, she didn't wish to unnecessarily unsettle her friends.

Or maybe a family member was a vampire and he was wearing glamors and keeping to strange hours to keep them company and keep them comfortable. That was a possibility.

Still, the amount of blood he had gotten delivered had been far too much for one vampire alone. According to the book most vampires fed once a week, or, if they weren't doing much and slept a lot, once every two weeks. The only exceptions to that were vampires who fought violent battles regularly or created a lot of spawns. Or were straight up gluttons.

So there was a good probability that there were more vampires around the keep, or that Rowan supplied vampires around his lands with food.

The section about thralls in the book had scared her a bit, she had to admit, until she had read about the symptoms. It seemed that no one was thralled in the keep. No one spoke in monotones, no one had memory issues as far as she could tell, no one sang his praises unduly and had empty eyes and smiles. No one seemed mistreated or suppressed or even afraid.

It felt forbidden to a part of her to challenge Rowan, to go and find the truth he was hiding from her. It felt dangerous, even though she wasn't scared of him.

She had grown up among men who demanded obedience and women who were forced to give it while trying to carve out their own little pocket of power and control.

But she wasn't going to let that hesitancy, that feeling like she was going to do something that would see her punished, stop her. Not when the alternative was to either pretend that she knew nothing or to flee the keep and return home. Where her father would marry her off again without hesitation.

She didn't want to flee the keep and neither did she want to keep doing what she had done all her life, which was to stay quiet and small and pleasant and out of the way. To make herself pretty to look at while she fawned over others so their egos liked her and to never take up space for herself. To flatter and compliment with empty smiles and soft, unresisting hands.

Her mind made up she got ready for the day and as she left her bedroom, warmth greeted her. A fire was merrily crackling in the fireplace of her solar and she realized that the staff had been by before she had woken to try and keep her warm.

She felt... safe here, still, even after realizing that there was a good possibility that Rowan was a bloodsucking monster. He had never once been monstrous to her or others and no one ever treated him like he might have a terrible temper that ought to be avoided.

It was also telling, in a way, that Alexzander's only point of attack had been what Rowan was, rather than who he was and his actions. Adelia didn't doubt that Alexzander wouldn't have hesitated to gleefully tell her all about Rowan's awfulness otherwise.

However, she still wanted to know the truth and she wanted proof before she confronted him about it, in case he tried to lie. Maybe then he'd finally be fully honest with her.

She went about her morning as usual, keeping the cloth-wrapped sun-stone in her dress pocket, and since it remained dark for a while longer at this time of year, Rowan was still around.

"I have a surprise for you," he said just as she finished eating breakfast. He looked like he was very much reigning in his excitement, but a little bit of giddiness shone through, making him appear almost innocent. "If you have a moment, that is."

Adelia couldn't help but glance at his mouth as she rose to join him and there was a brief little kick of energy to her system at the thought of being so close to a monster – only for that to stop mattering the next moment. She had been around monsters before, had housed a wounded one in her bathroom and had danced with Iris without any harm ever coming to her.

"Of course," she answered and took his offered arm, glancing down at his gloves.

It did look like he was hiding claws and now that she thought about it, he never acted like his hands hurt him, his touch always sure and calm. Nothing looked swollen either beneath the fabric.

Rowan led her to the part of the keep dedicated to crafts, where the seamstresses worked and a smithy laid cold and barren and an open door showed an old, weathered woman made a new leather halter for a horse, while an equally old, weathered man beside her delicately embossed letters onto a leather covered book.

"I cleared out our alchemists old workroom," Rowan said as he stopped in front of a door that was made of metal rather than wood. "They set up shop in Ravenburg last year, though they still supply us with everything we need and our orders take precedence."

He opened the door to reveal a clean space, with empty shelves and three tables by large windows. Mage lanterns illuminated everything clearly and there was even an enclosed glass shelf at the side, most likely to keep any books and notes safe from potential harm.

The room was warm, despite the lack of a fireplace and she was willing to bet that one or both the neighboring workrooms had a fireplace in the walls they shared with the former alchemy lab and heat was spilling over as a result. Either that or an enchantment was at work.

"We can get you anything you need," Rowan continued as she walked into the room and he remained by the door, his dark eyes glittering with a hopeful sort of anticipation. "Tools, materials, books. Whatever you want, it's yours."

She turned a slow circle, her skirts brushing along her ankles and for a moment, she felt like every hope and dream she had ever had was rising to choke her up just a little, her vision going blurry for a moment before she blinked the gathering tears away and composed herself.

"Thank you," she answered and meant it. "I don't think anyone has ever done something so nice for me."

Rowan's smile gained a faintly sad edge at that. "Well, it's time someone did, I'll gladly make up for the shortcomings of the fools in your life."

She couldn't help but chuckle softly at that. "No need, but I thank you for the offer. I'd rather just... be happy."

His smile softened into something warm and understanding. "That sounds like a marvelous plan to me." He glanced past her to the windows in such a subtle way that she wouldn't have paid it any attention if she hadn't kept an eye on the slowly approaching dawn herself. "I'm afraid however that I'll have to leave you for now. I'll see you later for dinner?"

"Can't I accompany you today?" she asked, taking a step forward, a little bit of anticipatory tension rising within her as she watched him closely. "I promise I'll do my best to help you with your duties and to stay out of the way if you'd prefer that I don't."

He looked surprised and then shifted ever so slightly in place, like he was preparing himself to lie to her. "Not today, I'm afraid, but if you like, you can join me in my office tomorrow?"

Would she find the windows boarded up securely over night? Perhaps with the excuse that they had accidentally gotten broken by a servant's clumsiness? Or would it be enough to draw thick curtains?

"I look forward to it," she said, with a smile that she had learned to give her parents so she looked sweet and unassuming. Harmless. "I'll take some time today to make this room my own."

His smile was quietly relieved as he took a step back and offered a small, sketched bow. "I'm glad you like it. I will see you later, and if you have need of anything, please don't hesitate to reach out to Lam in the meantime or to myself in the evening."

She nodded and watched as he turned and left, closing the door quietly behind him. She exhaled softly, glancing about the room again, though her mind was racing. How long did it take for vampires to fall asleep? Did they even properly sleep or were they just drifting in unconsciousness until the sun set once more?

The book hadn't been clear about that, but the author had speculated in the margins. All she knew was that vampires needed coffins and dark places, safely away from the sun. Some preferred to sleep underground, while others were happy with a windowless room.

She had seen pretty much all corners of the keep by now and hadn't seen anything even resembling a coffin. There hadn't even been a crypt, since the previous warlord had destroyed it and anyone who had died since had gotten buried at Ravenburg's cemetery.

So, if there were coffins in the keep because a certain lord might very well be a vampire, it must be in a secret room somewhere.

The two most likely places of such rooms that she could think of was the dungeon and Rowan's personal quarters. Since she was loathe to enter his sanctuary without permission, to cross his boundaries when he so carefully respected hers, she started her search in the dungeon.

It quickly became clear that it was hard to do any sort of investigating while being the lady of the keep and she had to shelve her self imposed task rather quickly in order to attend to her duties.

There had been a number of unfortunate accidents with the arrival of so much snow overnight and she found herself working side by side with Steward Lambrecht to receive some supplicants and answer letters from mayors all over Rowan's lands.

They even had to send out Sorceress Iva to help traders that hadn't managed to make it back to their hometowns in time and had gotten snowed in with wagons full of goods.

"You seem somewhat distracted today," Steward Lambrecht remarked as they wrapped up their work. It was getting late to her quiet frustration and she had only two hours of daylight left. "If there is anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to reach out."

Adelia dithered for just a moment, before she asked, "I have been wondering, my father's home had two secret exits in case of a siege, has anything of that sort been built here as well?"

Steward Lambrecht nodded. "Of course, the previous warlord was a rather paranoid man and despite bringing the keep to near ruin he did ensure that he had a way to escape." His smile got cold and hard. "Not that it did him any good in the end."

For the first time Adelia wondered just how exactly Rowan had killed the previous warlord. If he had beheaded him straight away in the throne room, or if he had hunted him through the hallways of his crumbling keep like a hound hunting a hare and had drained his blood upon catching him.

"There is an escape tunnel near the dungeon that I could show you," Steward Lambrecht offered. "And another in Master Rowan's rooms, though you'll have to ask him to show you that one."

"I understand, thank you," Adelia said and he nodded before leading her out of his office and down the hallway to the stairs.

When they reached the hallway that led to the dungeons, a chill rose from the ground and walls, though it failed to feel damp at all. Adelia still remembered that her father had to regularly have his dungeon cleaned to scrub away any green that had started to grow on the stone. The two times they had anyone locked up in there for a longer time, the prisoners had all left with fevers and heavy coughing.

"Look for this symbol," Steward Lambrecht said as he stopped near the entrance of the dungeon, gesturing at a small etching. A raven and a bat were circling each other, forming somewhat of a circle.

Steward Lambrecht reached out and when he pressed against the etching, it sank in a bit and she heard the grinding and shifting of stone and metal, before the wall slid inward and then to the side, revealing a lightless tunnel.

"If you follow it you'll emerge in the cemetery in Ravenburg," he explained. "The one in Master Rowan's rooms opens up into a clearing to the west of this keep. Though I hope there will never be any need for either of these tunnels, of course."

"As do I," Adelia answered, the very thought of war making her uneasy.

"If you want to close the door again, press this symbol in here," Steward Lambrecht said and stepped into the tunnel to point at another raven and bat etching right by the secret door. "Otherwise it will stay open."

He pressed it and then swiftly stepped back again, the door sliding shut and the wall looked seamless once more. Even though she knew where the door was now, she couldn't see so much as a hint of its presence.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" he asked and she shook her head with a smile.

"That was all, thank you for indulging my curiosity. Shall we head back?"

They walked back up the stairs together and once they left the dungeon behind, Steward Lambrecht tugged lightly at his sleeves, looking like he was perhaps a little glad to be back where it was warm and properly lit.

"I have just one more question," Adelia said as they drew to a stop in front of a window, the slowly sinking sun shining between gaps in light gray clouds. For the moment the snowfall had stopped. "The nightmares, do you keep them around here?"

She hadn't seen hide nor hair of the nightmares anywhere near the regular stables, so if they were kept in a separate location, maybe that was another place for her to check out to find evidence of vampires.

"We do," Steward Lambrecht answered and this time she could tell that his smile wasn't just polite, it was carefully maintained to give nothing away. So he knew the truth. "They're not particularly fond of people, nor are they overly tame, so we like to let them run loose in the forest at night."

No mention of where they were kept during the day, Adelia noted. "That's kind of you," she said, her mind puzzling with the pieces she got the same way she puzzled out how to make a clockwork invention run smoothly. Which gears had to be placed where and how to screw everything together to be both functional and pretty.

"Maybe I can meet them at a later time?" she requested and he inclined his head.

"I shall inform Master Rowan, he'll be sure to accompany you," he answered. "I fear it might not be safe otherwise."

It was just another point in favor of Rowan truly being a vampire. "I will speak with him tonight myself, in that case," Adelia said and Steward Lambrecht gave her an understanding nod. "Thank you, for showing me the secret passage."

"It was my pleasure. And if that is all, I shall excuse myself and return to my work. I'll be in my office for the rest of the day." With a little bow he stepped back and turned to vanish around the corner, his steps growing faint.

Adelia waited a moment longer to ensure he truly had left and that no one else was approaching, before she turned to look back at the door that led down to the dungeon.

How likely was it that she'd find her answers down there, when Steward Lambrecht had so readily shown her the secret passage? Rather unlikely. Most of all, however, he had shown her the symbol they used to mark such passages. If she paid close attention to the keep's walls, she might find more. She might find the secret rooms that held caches of blood before she knew it.

She glanced out the window, gauging how much time she had left, before she straightened and went on her search. A few servants paused and asked her if everything was alright as they noticed her peeking behind tapestries and paintings and pedestals displaying pieces of art.

She reassured them that she was merely admiring the fine work that had gone into the pieces and she dug out every bit of knowledge she had gathered during her education back home, for a lady should always know the value of a piece of jewelry or art. It was one of the few things where her father had gladly ensured she knew more than most.

The servants looked a bit befuddled but glad that she liked what they had on display, some even suggesting she check out the storage rooms where they kept a few other pieces in storage.

The sun kept sinking slowly but steadily all the while and Adelia tried not to feel frustrated or pressed for time. If she found nothing today, there was always tomorrow, after all.

It wasn't until only a little bit of light was left that she glanced out the window and down into the garden. She hadn't really set foot into the garden since her first tour of the keep, knowing that it was Sera's and Ada's domain and that Sorceress Iva had placed enchantments to ensure the fog didn't kill the plants.

She paused. Sorceress Iva had enchanted the garden, so what were the odds...

Turning on her heels, Adelia hurried to her rooms to grab the fur-lined cloak she had gotten and to switch her silky slippers for warm boots.

Dressed appropriately, she walked back down the hallway with brisk steps, pattering down the stairs at the same pace, her boot-clad feet almost a little too loud on the stone and her skirts swishing around her ankles. She soon reached the first floor and took a turn towards the kitchen.

She heard the bustle of the kitchen through the closed door as she passed it by, laughter drifting out, and she headed for the door at the end of the hall. Pulling it open, she shrank back as icy air rushed in to greet her. Her bracelet kept her from feeling cold in the keep, but not even it could keep the deep chill of winter completely at bay.

Adelia drew her cloak tighter around herself, keeping her warmth close and cutting off the wintry air that had slipped past its opening. Stepping outside, snow crunched beneath her boots and she immediately regretted not bringing a lantern to see more.

Then again, light would give her away and she didn't want anyone to notice her wandering around the gardens alone.

There were footprints in the snow, a single pair leading from the keep down the pathways, likely Sera's who had checked up on the garden sometime after snowfall had stopped.

There wasn't much to be done at the moment, Adelia gathered, with the thick blanket of white ensuring the earth went into a deep sleep.

Adelia walked a little further still, trying to spot any of Sorceress Iva's enchantments, when something gave her pause. There were raised beds and vegetable patches all over this part of the garden, which was the closest to the keep.

They were planted and built along the keep's walls and she remembered a number of wooden trellis where a last couple of zucchini and pumpkins and tomatoes could be harvested.

But there was a part of the wall kept fully free and no patches or beds were planted before it. The footprints led up to that part of the wall and the snow had been stomped down in front of the wall.

As if someone had cleared enough space for a door to get opened.

Adelia swallowed, before she tightened her grip on her cloak and stepped forward. Her breaths fogged in front of her, a last glimmer of the setting sun barely falling through a gap in the gray clouds. She had only little time left before any vampires living in the keep rose from their slumber.

She reached out when she stopped in front of the wall, her heart beating faster. She half expected to touch cold, hard stone, but her fingers slipped right through it and after a beat, they brushed against cold, hard wood.

There was indeed a door. And just like Sorceress Iva had cloaked her tower in illusionary magic, it seemed she had similarly cloaked and hidden a part of the keep.

For just a moment Adelia felt that familiar prickle in her veins, that whisper-hissing warning that she was overstepping, that she was challenging someone, that she was going to lose something, someone, by breaking a rule.

But she took a deep breath and brushed her fingertips down the wooden door until she found two ring door pulls, the metal so cold it stung her skin and she realized that the door was a double door and the entrance larger than she had thought.

She experimentally pulled on one of the rings and with soft grunt, she managed to drag the door open, the wood groaning softly and darkly. The door emerged from the illusion, causing it to flicker and vanish so Adelia now saw the large double doors in full.

They looked similar to the entrance doors of the keep, just a bit less iron enforced. Peering past the half she had dragged open, she saw the glow of mage lanterns and a set of stairs vanishing below the earth.

So this wasn't the place where the nightmares were kept, but someone, or something, for sure was. Maybe this was where Rowan kept the blood containers? Only one way to find out.

It was completely and utterly silent as Adelia carefully entered the entrance space beyond the door and the air smelled like cold stone and frost. A little shiver crawled down her spine and she walked forward slowly, almost hesitantly, her heart beating a little faster than before.

Her steps seemed to too loud as she walked down the stairs. She could see the end of them farther down, another mage lantern illuminating the space, though she couldn't yet see what laid beyond.

Walking down the stairs, straining her ears to hear anything but her own breaths, she soon reached the end of the stairs and she saw another set of doors before her.

Pulling one half open again, she peeked inside and blinked when she saw a large entrance hall illuminated with more mage lanterns. There were plush armchairs and sofas by two unlit fireplaces, bookshelves kept far from the fires and there were some tables set up around the room as well, as though people gathered here to play games or chat after work.

Plush carpets were on the floor and she spotted tapestries and paintings on the walls. Someone had put a vase with flowers on one of the tables, but the flowers looked frozen and wilted, bits of color still remaining in the petals as though they had withered away rather quickly.

There were three doors leading away from this hall, this community room and after a moment of hesitation, she approached the first. Beyond it laid a large armory, with armor so black it seemed to swallow the light falling in from the open door, the metal of arrows, blades, axes and crossbows, glinting coldly.

Closing that door Adelia quietly stepped towards the next one and pulled it open until she saw shapes emerge from the dark like wood bobbing to the surface of a dark lake.

Stone coffins, prettily carved ones, some with flowers growing up the corners, others with grapes and other fruit carved into the top and another had hounds and horses running along the sides. She counted five in the front row and the faint outline of more beyond them and her heart leapt into her throat.

The keep had no crypt, so there was only one answer as to why coffins were here, in these secret rooms. She had found the vampires.

Her pulse starting to pound in her throat. She had no idea how many coffins there were and she didn't dare to enter the room or to try and lift a lid to check if anything, if anyone, was inside. She didn't want to risk waking anyone if that was the case.

Right up until she heard the grinding of stone on stone further in the dark, like someone had not only woken up, but was getting up, as well. Without much thought, she turned on her heels to rush back towards the stairs, only to skid to a stop with a frightened gasp.

Someone suddenly stood in front of the doors she had come in through, a woman, short and stocky, her dark hair combed back and put into a braid and she was dressed in dark, soft cotton clothes. The clothes were plain, the sort someone might wear if they had yet to get ready for the day and liked to lounge around a while longer. Comfortable and simple.

Her eyes glowing a dark, ominous red and when she opened her mouth to speak, Adelia spotted her fangs.

"Have you gotten lost, m'lady?" the woman spoke with a quiet voice, faintest bit of a rougher accent laced through it and she stood utterly and impossibly still, her dark-red gaze unerringly fixed on Adelia.

There was the scrape of more stone on stone and Adelia didn't have to turn around to know that someone stood behind her now. Soundless and between one blink and the next, a presence as chilly as the keep itself.

"I'll take it from here," a calm, steady voice said behind Adelia and the woman before her broke her stillness, stepping to the side with a deferential nod, stepping away to vanish between one blink and the next, leaving Adelia to suck in a sharp breath of surprise. She had been so fast it had almost looked like teleporting.

"My Lady," the voice behind her said and now Adelia heard steps, that person likely making noise deliberately, as someone moved around her. "We welcome you."

They were tall and slim when they stepped into her view, wearing the sort of night-dark armor she had seen in the armory, a hood covering their head and a mask hiding their lower face, allowing her only a glimpse of the same dark-red eyes the woman had had. At their left shoulder, where a cloak could be fastened, rested a golden bat with rubies for eyes.

"I am the night guard's captain," they said with a formal, elegant bow. "You may call me Ever. I am certain you have many questions, please allow me to accompany you to our lord and master. He is most equipped to answer them to your satisfaction."

"Of course, thank you," Adelia answered, her thoroughly ingrained manners kicking in while she felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest, her body feeling frozen still. She forced herself to take a measured breath and to take hold of herself again. A lady never abandoned her decorum, after all. "I apologize for intruding on your home."

"No apologies needed," Captain Ever answered, gesturing for her to go ahead. "You were merely exploring, I'm sure. You couldn't have known this area is ours." They glanced at her as they started walking with her, her steps somehow sounding louder than theirs. "I suppose you now know the secret this keep has kept, if you have come all the way down here?"

Adelia had no idea how to answer for a moment, though her pounding heart was finally settling a little again, returning to a nervous beat instead of a frightened, startled one. "I have my suspicions," she decided to answer.

Captain Ever inclined their head and fell quiet. They returned to the stairs and followed them back into the garden, which laid quiet and dark, only the faintest hint of light still touching upon the gray clouds.

They returned to the keep together, the kitchens still bustling but no servants crossed their paths as they walked down the hall. And even though there was no direct sunlight anymore, Adelia noticed that Captain Ever stayed near the walls the entire time, casting brief glances towards the windows before crossing before them, as though they could sense that the sun wasn't fully and entirely gone yet.

They seemed to be fine, however, since nothing about them started to glimmer and burn and turn to ash, like a vampire's daylight demise had been described in the book.

Adelia couldn't help but wonder how much light it took to kill a vampire and how much of it they could withstand before dying. The book had been very vague about it, so she'd probably have to ask Rowan at one point. If this upcoming conversation went well.

She felt the fierce gnaw of nerves at that thought return, but at the same time, she made sure she walked tall and calmly. Nothing bad would befall her, she told herself. Besides, she had wanted answers and it looked like she may finally get them.

Captain Ever led her up towards Rowan's rooms and they stopped in front of his door, which was made of thick, plain wood. The only adornment was a carefully carved tree, etched into the wood at eye-level, holding stars in its branches.

They knocked and entered without waiting for an answer, stepping aside to hold the door open for her. She followed with equal, quiet trepidation and determination, along with a spark of curiosity about his living space.

Rowan didn't seem to be there and she couldn't help but wonder if he slept somewhere nearby in a hidden space, or perhaps even in his bedroom.

The book hadn't said that vampires had to rest in the lowest level of the building they resided in, after all. As long as they had their coffin somewhere safe and could avoid the sunlight, they could slumber anywhere in their home.

Rowan's sitting room was furnished with beautifully carved and crafted furniture, thick curtains covered the windows and the only real light came from a small fire in the fireplace to the left, and from mage stones mounted on the walls in gilded candle holders.

Two doors near the left side of the room, before the fireplace, likely led to his bedroom and bathroom. There were bookshelves between the big windows, and some had bookmarks sticking out of them. A writing desk was placed in front of one of those windows and a half written letter laid on it, so Adelia avoided looking at it too closely.

Off to the right was another big bookcase and a dark wooden dresser that someone had painted flowers onto. On top of the dresser sat Rowan's violin and, near the corner, a bottle that looked like one of the keep's wine bottles. She wondered if she'd find blood within if she picked it up.

It smelled like paint and firewood in here and beyond the dresser with the violin, near the last window, she spotted an easel with a canvas left on it, surrounded by paint jars and bottles. It was a carefully set-up painting corner, with little splatters of paint here and there on the stone floor.

There were finished paintings leaning against the wall, one was of the sun just starting to rise above the horizon, of Lord Cynar and Lord Ivan embracing each other, a golden glow permeating the entire painting and the last one was of a raven flying past a full moon while wolves ran through the snow beneath it.

As she stepped further forward and Captain Ever gently closed the door behind her, she glanced over her shoulder at them briefly, before she took a bracing breath and briskly walked the last few steps to the dresser, reaching for the bottle.

No hand stopped her, no voice called out as she picked it up and she noticed that the liquid inside was a bit too thick for wine. Uncorking it, she gave it a cautious sniff, only to recoil slightly.

That was blood, unmistakably. She had found some of the delivered blood, at long last.

Glancing up, she intended to look back at Captain Ever, when her gaze fell to the easel first. Since she was closer to it now, she could get a glimpse of the painting left on it. She stilled with a sharp, startled inhale.

Even in the soft light of the mage stones and with the painting being rather dark itself, she could see what was depicted on it. Herself, in a bloody nightgown, holding a silver bolt. Her painted self stood on the balcony of her old room and she was illuminated from behind by the glow of the fireplace from her bedroom.

There was only one creature that had seen her like this. A monster with its raven companion.

A muffled click followed by a squeak and wooden groan made her jump in startled alarm and she whirled around. Her heart leapt into her throat as the bookcase on the right side, beside the dresser, swung open and Rowan stepped out, wearing a simple white linen shirt and dark linen pants.

He was in the process of pulling on gloves and he walked barefoot, his long hair falling openly down his shoulders. He was as casual and as dressed down as she had ever seen him.

He glanced up sharply as Captain Ever pressed a fist to their heart and bowed and past the captain, he could see her, holding the bottle. For just a moment, there was a blood-red glow to his eyes, before he grew as still as Adelia. His gaze flickered from her to the bottle clutched in her hands to the painting on the easel behind her and lastly to his night guard captain.

"Ah," Rowan said, slow and with a near rigid calm that he seemed to have forced upon himself. "I suppose there is a reason why you're here, Ever?"

"Yes, my lord," Captain Ever answered, still bowing. "I found your wife down in the night guard quarters, waking me and some of the others. I apologize, I fear she has been given a bit of a fright as a result. I thought it prudent to bring her to you."

"Thank you," Rowan said, calm and near soft now. "You have done well. Please, return to your duties."

Captain Ever straightened with a nod and turned to leave the room on silent feet. Adelia found herself swallowing, clutching the bottle closer as the door got pulled closed behind the captain, her heart beating faster and stronger in her chest. For a moment, she had no idea if it was a good thing or not for Rowan to be alone with her, before she told herself that nothing bad would happen.

Surely it wouldn't. Not when Rowan had been nothing but kind to her so far. But what if, a part of her whisper-hissed again, the pain of her lost horse and banished mentor carved deeply into her heart. What if you have finally found the line in the sand that you were looking for all this time?

Rowan's face was utterly unreadable as he turned to her and said, still in that calm and downright soft voice, "I think we need to talk."