Truth Unveiled

"Of course," Adelia answered in a rushed exhale, still clutching the bottle close. "I do have a number of questions."

"I am certain you do," Rowan said softly before he inhaled and then exhaled, his shoulders relaxing slightly and the stony expression slowly eased off of his face to reveal a troubled and quietly apologetic expression. "But why don't we sit down first, please?"

He gestured towards the fireplace, were three cozy armchairs stood close enough to keep anyone who sat in them nicely warm. After a second of heavy, thick silence in which neither of them moved, he exhaled again and stepped away, his bare feet utterly silent on the stone floor.

Adelia forced herself to follow after a moment, sitting down in the nearest armchair, though it felt more like she was perching on the edge of her seat, the bottle still held tightly in her grip.

"Before I answer any of your questions," he said, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "I would like to know how you ended up in the night guard quarters."

Her mouth dry, she answered, "I didn't think you'd tell me the truth unless I had irrefutable proof." Her voice was quiet and she lightly gestured at the bottle in her lap. "I was trying to find this, actually. I know what got delivered a little while ago wasn't wine, so I asked Steward Lambrecht for any hidden exits out of the keep and kept looking from there."

Rowan stared down at the bottle, an expression of quiet regret mingled with being impressed with her on his face.

"I see, so you figured out what I am." He dragged a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face. "You're very clever, my lady Adelia. I should've known you would find everything out on your own sooner rather than later."

He leaned back then, a rueful little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "For what it's worth, I am sorry that you thought you had to go that far and that you might have gotten a bit of a... shock as a result."

A fright was more precise, but now that she was calming down a little again, she was able to look at things more calmly. In all honesty, few people would react favorable to someone showing up in their home out of nowhere, uninvited and unexpected.

And ultimately, nothing had happened to her and no one even threatened her. Though, if she was being honest, the two night guards that she had met had been quite unsettling.

Rowan grew more solemn again. "I apologize for lying, as well, I only kept everything a secret at first because I didn't know how you'd react. I wasn't even sure if you wanted to stay here with us."

"I would very much like to stay," she said quietly and there was a glimmer of gladness in his eyes that made his expression soften further with relief. She couldn't help but lean forward a little. "Are you the monster I met on my balcony that night?"

"I am," he admitted quietly, casting her a carefully watchful glance as though to check if she'd react badly to those news. "And allow me to tell you this directly: Thank you for saving my life back then."

"You're welcome," she answered and shifted slightly to sit more comfortably on her armchair. "How did you get hurt in the first place?"

His brows furrowed at her question, a darker expression shadowing his face. "Hunters shot me out of the sky, though to this day I still haven't found out what they were doing there. They were suspiciously well equipped, however."

He held her gaze with quiet intensity and added, "If not for you, I truly do not think I would have lived. Those people were very clever and very well trained and quite relentless."

"I'm glad you survived," she said and found she meant it with all her heart. "I'm glad I could help when you needed aid most."

His smile was a small thing full of quiet, sweet warmth. "And I am glad that you do not fear me, now that you know my true nature." He paused, his smile fading a little again. "Am I correct in assuming that?"

His voice softened into something so gentle it made her heart ache. "If I do frighten you, I apologize and I will gladly give you all the space you need. My old offers also still stand, you are welcome to leave with your dowry and make of your life what you will with my full support."

"You don't," she whispered and found it was the truth. She wasn't scared of him, he had given her no reason to, quite the contrary in fact. "So you're truly a vampire?"

It was the first time either of them had said it and he inclined his head in a solemn nod, before he lightly gestured at the bottle. "A vampire belonging to an old bloodline, in fact, courtesy of my sire."

"How did you meet her?" she couldn't help but ask, quietly eager to know more about her husband now that he was telling her the truth she had wanted all this time.

Rowan's gaze was a little melancholic as he answered, "I grew up in a simple house, my mother raised me and cared for me by herself, for my father had vanished before I was born and she had no extended family. I never had any siblings and our lives were nothing grand, but we were happy."

His expression grew grave and his voice was soft still as he added, "My mother was killed by a tyrannical lord one day and I almost died with her when I tried to fight back. The lord left us in the dirt and a woman named Carmilla showed up and gave me the choice between dying for good or rising instead. I let her turn me."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Adelia whispered and he offered her a humorless, if gentle smile.

"Thank you, many years have passed since, so that pain is old and dull. If I'm being honest, I don't even know how long ago my mother died, the years started to bleed together after a time." There was a small grimace on his face, like he regretted having forgotten certain things.

He fell quiet for a moment before he continued, "I avenged my mother with my sire's help and afterwards we traveled together for a long while. We had only just split up for a couple of months when I traveled through the Wilds and I heard of yet another tyrannical person in power. You know the rest of that story."

She did indeed. It certainly explained his distaste for cruel fools and why he had so tirelessly worked on making things better for his people. He had likely given them all the comforts and advantages he would have wanted to have for himself and his mother back when he had been human.

Adelia held the bottle out to him after a moment and as he accepted it, she glanced at his gloved hands. "Have you been hiding your claws?"

"I have," he admitted and after a beat of hesitation, he set the bottle on the ground beside his armchair and pulled them off. His hands appeared perfectly healthy and his claws looked strong and sharp. "I was doing my best not to scare you."

His gaze was earnest and solemn as he added, "If my night guard frightened you, if anything about me unsettles you with your new knowledge, I fully understand. If there is anything I can do to make it easier or to make you feel comfortable again, don't hesitate to let me know."

"I don't think monsters ever scared me that much," she murmured and found herself biting down on the urge to reach out and touch his hand, to run her fingertips over his claws. "Unless they are human monsters."

"I noticed, you were quite brave when you approached me that night on your balcony," he tossed the gloves onto the free armchair, a subtle expression of relief on his face, as though he was glad to finally be rid of them. "I was trying quite hard to repay the favor as much as I could, but you never accepted any of my gifts."

Adelia couldn't help but laugh a little, half a release of her remaining tension and half because looking back she now understood just why that raven had brought her more and more expensive things.

"I didn't want anything," she admitted and he gave her a dry look.

"I know, I wish you did," he said, half joking and half serious. He leaned his elbow onto the armrest and put his chin into his palm, his gaze warm and thoughtful on her. "I want to give you things, you know. I want to make you happy, but I have no idea how or what you want."

"You've given me plenty already," she answered and at his disbelievingly raised brow, she elaborated, "You gave me more than any husband would have. I can help you rule your lands, I am free to pursue my hobby and I can read whatever I want whenever I want."

His expression became deeply complicated for a moment, before he exhaled heavily, a look of anger on her behalf winning out.

"My dear lady," he said, voice lower than before, a faintly chilling tone clinging to his words that seemed to make the warmth of the fireplace fade slightly. "That is the bare minimum of courtesies that you are owed. I wish you knew that. I wish you knew that you could ask for anything you wanted."

She faltered a little at that, unsure how to respond. "You make me feel safe," she admitted quietly after a moment and his expression softened again, the cold anger slipping away. "Even when I was pretty sure I had figured out what you are I wasn't scared."

Worried a bit, maybe, she would have been a fool not to consider all possible options, but in the end, deep down, she still believed his promise that she was safe. She had just wanted to know the truth.

"I'm very glad to hear that," he said with a small, relieved smile. "And yet I still wish to give you gifts. Won't you let me?"

The only people who had ever wanted to give her things had been her friends. Tirn had of course given her something for her birthdays, and on occasion a pretty trinket because they were betrothed and it was expected of him, but that had been it. Her parents had both believed in not spoiling her, so they hadn't given her much either.

"Only if you let me do the same," she answered and Rowan laughed.

"Alright, that's a deal I'll gladly take," he said, a twinkle in his dark eyes and she took a breath before holding out her hand. He appeared briefly surprised before reaching out as well, leaning forward in his seat.

His touch was gentle and his skin cool and now she knew why she had never felt any warmth from him before. They shook on it, though he didn't immediately let go afterwards.

Instead, he shifted his hold on her hand, sliding his fingers beneath her palm to bring her hand up and press a chaste, lingering kiss to her knuckles. He held her gaze as he did so, her skin tingling a little where his cool, soft lips rested and a flush of quiet heat spread in her chest.

"I shall start with books," he said and his breath lightly brushing over her skin before he lowered her hand again, his fingers slowly sliding away from hers, making her palm feel sensitive and she had to resist the sudden urge to reach back out to him, to run her fingers along his in return. "So don't hesitate to let me know if anything catches your fancy."

"If you do the same," Adelia requested once more and he chuckled, warm mirth brightening his face. She smiled back at him, while pulling her hand back into her lap and cupping her other hand over the spot where his lips had lingered. "Is there anything I should know about you being a vampire? Anything I should pay attention to or that I can help with?"

"Not really," he said after a thoughtful pause. "I know well how to care for myself and I get regularly supplied with blood. Though, if possible, try to avoid making loud, shrill noises."

He gave her a crooked, rueful smile. "Which is ironic coming me since I've been trying to learn how to play the violin, but certain sounds do hurt my ears quite a bit. Aside from that, please try to avoid stabbing me with silver."

He was joking, but Adelia still vividly remembered the silver bolts sticking out of his chest, the blood pouring forth and soaking into her clothes and staining her feet.

"Is it poisonous?" she asked and he inclined his head.

"That's the best way to describe it, yes. My kind and a number of other monsters don't react well to silver. Touching it can cause a slow creeping sickness and if it is stuck in us, it poisons us quickly and saps us of our strength. It is not a pleasant death."

"And daylight is bad as well, isn't it?" she asked and remembered the stone in her pocket. "Alexzander gave me a stone that shines like the dawn." She pulled it from her pocket, though she wasn't foolish enough to unwrap it.

Rowan grew perfectly still, a faint red glow appearing in his dark eyes and before she could worry that she had overstepped or that the stone had somehow harmed him even while being covered, he exhaled, the glow vanishing.

"I see," he murmured. "Please don't unwrap it until Iva could take a look at it. Consideirng who it is from, it wouldn't surprise me if I would not fare well when exposed to its light."

Which had most likely been Alexzander's true intent behind giving her the stone. He most likely had hoped that she would cause Rowan pain, that she would hold the unwrapped stone up to him to expose his secret that way. Alexzander was the sort of person to try and cause the most damage by using someone's ignorance or lack of knowledge against them.

Adelia nodded, her fingers closing around the stone again and she tucked it away again. "I shall seek out Sorceress Iva in the morning," she said and Rowan hummed in agreement, relaxing back into his chair.

"If you do, please keep me informed of her findings. You can also reach out to Ivan if it the stone actually holds the same property as sunlight. I know that sun priests and priestesses carry a piece of their goddess within them, but I haven't heard of anyone else managing to capture the power of the sun, especially not in a stone."

"I'll write him," she said and Rowan nodded.

"I'm glad to know you're looking into it, I do not doubt that you will solve this mystery in no time," he said easily, making her feel a flush of quiet pride. He glanced towards the curtain-covered windows "Are there any other questions you have for me? Or would you like to join me for dinner? I leave it up to you whether or not you want to get any work done tonight."

As if she'd miss out on doing her part in making his lands flourish. Even though her evening had been... excitable, it was nowhere near as intensely stressful as the times she had dealt with Father's dangerous temper.

"I will join you, though I do have another question before we go, the night guard, do they all live below the garden?" Her smile was a little wry as she added, "I would hate to ruin anyone else's rest by stumbling across their living space."

He chuckled, a carefree, mirthful sound that made him look younger and warmer and it exposed his fangs a little.

"No worries, the night guard quarters is the only hidden living space around here. We don't even have a stable for the nightmares because those moody beasts wouldn't stay contained for long. They tend to wander through the forest at night unless I call upon them and they seek hiding spots during the day."

Nightmares couldn't stand sunlight either, as far as Adelia remembered from her readings. They were creatures of the night through and through.

Rowan added, "But most of the night guard tends to stay in Ravenburg and surrounding villages during the day, since they have found family or lovers among the people here. They do make sure, however, that there are enough of them sleeping at the keep to be of immediate aid should something happen."

"Are they all vampires?" she asked and he nodded.

"They are vampire spawn who have sworn themselves to me. They guard the keep and Ravenburg and the roads leading to nearby villages and towns once the sun sets. The people here know that, no matter the situation they are in, so long as they can shout or make some kind of noise, one of them will come to their aid."

Adelia couldn't help but think that this was a huge boon.

She had heard a few stories over the years back home, both from other people in town and from the times she had been allowed to sit beside her father and observe how he ruled his lands, so she may learn how to properly be of aid to her future husband.

There had been people who had gotten attacked at night by bandits or lone thieves and they had asked if her father's soldiers weren't willing to patrol the streets. Her father had only ever heeded such requests if there had been too many attacks or if one of the richer citizens of his town had gotten hurt or robbed and was causing a ruckus.

From some overheard murmurs at market day, she knew that there were people who never even spoke to the town guards or sought out her father about the hurt they experienced, the injustices they had faced, for they knew they would not receive help.

"What if one of them wants to hurt someone innocent?" she asked and found herself leaning forward a little bit, intently holding Rowan's gaze. "Not all of my father's soldiers were good men."

One of them had been truly awful and her father had only done something when a merchant's wife had just barely escaped the man. Even then her father had simply sent him to an outpost instead of imprisoning him or banishing him in disgrace, saying that well-trained soldiers were too expensive to discard over the complaints of small people.

There was another spark of glowing, dark red in Rowan's eyes. "If such a thing were to happen, they would face punishment like all other criminals. I took great care in selecting them and so I know the risk of them abusing their power is low, but it is not impossible."

He was quiet for a moment and the bloody glow faded from his eyes again. "Many of them have experienced no small amount of cruelty at the hands of others and I have done much to help them get back on their feet. All I ask in return is that they guard our lands and our people and so far, they have yet to disappoint me."

"I'm glad," Adelia answered, quiet relief making her heart feel lighter. "And I am glad you and they look after our people so well. That you all are keeping them safe."

He smiled, a quiet, warm gleam of pride in his eyes. "I will let them know they no longer have to avoid being seen by you, so if you ever need aid once night falls, don't hesitate to call for them."

"Then I would like to thank them for their hard work," she said and his smile was soft and warm and glad, as though he was relieved that she was so accepting of his night guard. Of him and those like him were under his protection.

"Knowing Captain Ever, they did not go far, I can call for them if you like," he offered and after a thoughtful moment, she nodded.

Rowan rose to his feet, offering her his hand. She took it and found herself effortlessly pulled to her feet, his hand lacking in warmth but it wasn't stone-cold either. Just... ever so faintly cool.

She felt a light touch at the small of her back as Rowan accompanied her to the door and he opened it to lean out, calling out, "Ever? May we have a word, please?"

Seemingly between one second and the next, too fast for Adelia to follow with the naked eye, the captain appeared before them, cloak flaring out to one side with their sudden stop, hood and mask still in place and the bat on their chest gleaming like a polished source of pride.

Adelia had found herself gasping in surprise, pressing a hand to her chest at their sudden appearance. "Goodness," she murmured. "Please excuse me."

Captain Ever inclined their head. "I am the one who ought to apologize. I shall refrain from moving swiftly again in the future and I will let the others know as well."

"Oh no, that is not necessary," Adelia said, perhaps a tad sharper than intended, for both vampires grew still, their gazes resting on her. She was not afraid of Captain Ever, for all that they had startled her just now and back in their quarters. "Please do not hesitate to be yourself around me, so long as you forgive my reactions until I get used to your swiftness."

"My lady knows everything there is to know," Rowan added, a hint of pride in his voice, before he bent his head a little. "I apologize for any and all inconveniences my secrecy has caused you and yours. Please move freely about the keep and our lands once more."

"I would like to apologize once more, as well, for intruding so rudely earlier," Adelia answered and the captain bowed to them both, a hand pressed to their chest.

"There is nothing to apologize for," they answered, voice smooth and light and elegant, but she swore she heard a faint, glad undertone all the same. "It is I who wishes to apologize for giving you a fright, Lady Adelia. Me and mine are glad to officially welcome you and if you ever have need of us, don't hesitate to call for us. We will aid you to the best of our abilities."

"If you keep protecting our people that is everything I could ask for," she answered and the captain straightened with a grave nod.

"You suit these lands well," they said and Adelia couldn't help but feel glad to hear them say it. To know that she was wanted here. "I shall take my leave now. I wish you both a pleasant evening."

Adelia barely managed to wish them the same thing, before they were gone in a blur. She was a little less startled at their speed now, but it was still quite awe inspiring. She glanced up at Rowan.

"Are you also this fast?" she asked. "And can they, too, transform into a big creature?

"I am as fast as they are, yes," he answered. "Though only I can fully transform myself into my other shape. My night guard are spawn that were never given their full powers by their masters before my sire and I killed those very masters, for they were cruel and terrible. However, we cannot give our adopted spawn what their masters should have given them."

"Can it be undone?" she asked. "Can they become human again if they so desire?"

"No," he answered with quiet certainty. "Undeath is nothing that can be reversed. At least, not to my knowledge. Some of them willingly walked into the dawn once they were freed, but the rest decided to stay. When I took over this keep, they came to me to swear fealty in exchange for protection and care."

Adelia was quiet for a moment. "You're a good man, Rowan," she said quietly. "I'm glad to know you."

"You are too kind," he answered with a soft smile. "But thank you. And you are a good woman, Adelia. Brave and bright and brilliant, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather govern my lands with."

She couldn't help but smile back at him, before she suddenly remembered that he was currently still barefoot and rather dressed down and she averted her gaze. "I should probably get going and let you get ready for the day."

"I don't mind being held up by you," he answered. "But please, don't let me keep you, either. Would you be willing to dine with me in a bit?"

"Gladly," she answered, looking back at him. "And if you don't want to drink just wine, that's fine with me. I'll see you in half an hour?"

"I'll be there," he promised quietly, looking at her like she was... like she might be something special. He took a step back and she walked out the door, feeling lighter and gladder and happier than earlier tonight.

"Oh, wait," she said, turning around. "The raven, where is it? I haven't seen it since coming here."

He blinked, then smiled like he was going to share a secret, "That was Lambrecht, my dear. He's a shapeshifter."

Adelia's eyes widened in surprise, before mortification set in, burning through her like oil set aflame, and she hid her face in her hands. "I tried to feed him birdfood," she groaned, voice muffled. "I even baby-talked at him a few times!"

Granted, those times had been far and few between and the raven – Steward Lambrecht – had never reacted to it, but still. She felt so terribly embarrassed. Rowan was straight up laughing now, the belly-deep kind of laughter that was pure, unfiltered mirth and Adelia glared up at him between her fingers.

"My dear, he was very touched at your thoughtfulness," he said once he got hold of himself again, reaching out to gently place his hands on her shoulders and his amused grin gentled to a warm smile. "Don't feel ashamed of your gestures of care, yes?"

"I'll still apologize to him," she murmured, hesitantly letting her hands fall from her face again. His touch felt reassuring and grounding, she had to admit. "Is there anything I should know about anyone else in the keep?"

Rowan hummed thoughtfully, then added, "Ada is a werewolf, as is half of our kitchen staff and Vera is a banshee. Sera is a half-dryad and our alchemist is another shapeshifter. And one of the stablehands has a bit of dragon in her, but I'm not quite sure how much. It doesn't show unless she thinks a horse might be mistreated, either."

Those were a lot more people than she had expected. "Is there anything I should or shouldn't do around them?" she asked and he shook his head, smiling softly at her.

"Just be yourself and treat them like you treated them before. They're all happy to have you, you know. Though, they'll also be happy to no longer hide their true selves. I asked them to keep things quiet in case you didn't wish to stay long."

He grew more solemn as he added, "For all that my lands are one of the safest for monsters, we still need to be wary of hunters."

"I understand," Adelia said with a small frown furrowing her brows, as she thought of silver bolts and thick blood covering her balcony. "Let me know if anyone gives you trouble, as a human I might be able to help."

"It's honestly a relief to know that you're here during the day," Rowan admitted, letting his hands fall from her shoulders to lean against the doorframe instead, tall and at ease. "I know I won't have to worry about anything while I sleep. You can handle anything as well as I would."

Adelia couldn't remember the last time someone had had that kind of casual, firm faith in her and her abilities. Her friends had always believed in her, but aside from them, no one had truly seen her. Had thought of her as capable.

It made her feel flush with pride to the point where she felt like she held a sun of her own cradled between her ribs and there was another emotion, something that filled her like golden softness, warm and lovely. Something that felt so very sweet and comfortable and safe.

"Now then," Rowan said, giving her a smile that made the feeling of warm softness linger. "I think it's time I get dressed and I'll see you for dinner in a bit. I'll also have to inform the staff that you are now fully in the know."

"Please do," Adelia said, finding herself smiling up at him in return. "I want everyone to feel comfortable in their own home, after all."

They both lingered for a moment, before she stepped back and he straightened again, closing the door with a last smile directed at her. Her heart felt light and glad as she walked down the hallway and before she knew it, she was humming a little.

Her smile grew into a happy little grin, right up until she remembered trying to feed Lambrecht sunflower seeds and she felt the burn of mortification anew.

She really had to go apologize. Right now, preferably, especially since she knew that he was still awake and at work at this hour.

When she found Steward Lambrecht in his office and told him that she knew everything now and how very sorry she was for how she had treated him when he had brought her Rowan's gifts, he merely laughed, his expression of calm, quiet dignity turning into something brighter for a moment.

"Worry not, I thought it was quite nice of you to try and take care of me," he said, mirth in his gaze and his usually mild smile had turned into a little grin. "You should have seen Master Rowan's face when you kept refusing his gifts, I've never seen him look so puzzled. He spent an entire night down in the vault to try and find a suitable gift. I was about to ride down to Ravenburg to buy something new when he finally emerged."

She couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. "I wouldn't have accepted anything back then."

"Oh, and what about now?" Steward Lambrecht asked with a little twinkle in his eyes. "If you give my master the smallest inkling that there is something you want, you will probably receive it as soon as he can get his hands on it."

"He's a good man," Adelia said quietly and he nodded, his smile gentling to something proud. "I wouldn't wish to take advantage of him."

"I doubt that you could even if you tried. If anything, you would make him rather happy if you got more brazen with him. Now, not to be rude but I still need to finish some paperwork. If you don't need me for anything else, I'd like to see to it before I retire for the night."

"Of course, have a good night." Adelia said her goodbyes and left his office, finding that it had grown late enough for her to head for the dining room.

She met Ada and Vera along the way, both of them smiling at her, the former wide enough to show off her teeth, a hint of fang to them.

"So he's finally told you, eh?" Ada asked and when Adelia smiled at her, she snorted. "No, you figured it out, didn't you? I should have known, he was fretting far too much about you reacting badly to ever say something himself anytime soon."

Vera just hummed, melodic and drifting, carrying a large platter of food as though it was a mere towel. It made sense now how a young woman this frail looking always lugged things around that should have been far too heavy for her. She wasn't human at all.

They reached the dining room and Rowan was already there, opening the door for them and Ada shooed him away when he tried to take some of the work onto himself.

"You sit," she sat mock sternly. "Go and talk to you wife, don't mind us, we'll be out of your hair in a jiffy."

They were indeed gone within moments, Ada closing the door quietly and Rowan smiled at Adelia, sweet and warm as she started to fill her plate.

When he reached for the wine bottle on the table, she could tell that it was filled with blood, the liquid inside too thick to be alcohol. As he removed the cork, she saw the fine etching of sigils at the bottom.

"What are those for?" she asked, motioning at them.

"Iva made those specifically for me and the others," Rowan answered. "There are more markings on the inside of the bottles. It keeps the blood fresh. Not forever, mind you, but it works well enough until the next delivery that we don't need to hunt."

He took a sip, leaving his lips faintly stained red.

"How do you get all that blood?" she asked as she took a bite of the curried eggs that had gotten served along with tonight's dinner. Personally, she most looked forward to the lemon tart waiting off to the side.

"We pay people for it," Rowan answered. "They get compensated and we get to eat." He swished the blood around in his goblet for a moment, a faint red shimmer appearing in his eyes. "A far more pleasant arrangement compared to what vampires did in the past."

He looked up at her with a smile. "But enough of that, do tell me, have you any new clockwork designs in mind? If you don't mind me asking of course."

Adelia felt herself perk up a bit at his genuine interest. She spoke hesitantly at first, describing an idea she had been working for a little while whenever she had a free moment, but as he remained genuinely curious, she felt a quiet bit of unconscious tension ease out of her shoulders.

Rowan asked her questions whenever she stopped and she found herself growing more confident and animated, until she was drawing shapes onto the table with her fingers, half frustrated that she didn't have her sketches with her. She'd have to show him later.

They talked longer than they ever had before as they finished eating and when they adjourned to his office, Adelia realized just how deeply comfortable she felt with him as they worked side by side.

So comfortable in fact, a quiet calm surrounding their shared space, that she fell asleep before she knew it, the warmth of a gently crackling fire filling the room and the plush armchair she was sitting in more than soft enough to let her drift off.

A gentle hand at her shoulder woke her again some time later. "Come, my dearest lady, let's get you to bed," Rowan said quietly, voice low and gentle. "It's grown rather late."

She sat up with a soft groan, a cracking pop traveling along her spin as she did. "My apologies," she murmured and realized with a blink that Rowan was crouching at her side, smiling up at her.

"There is nothing to apologize for. Allow me to accompany you back?"

She nodded and took his hand when he offered it and he straightened, pulling her up along with him like she weighed nothing. To him she probably didn't. A lot of monsters were capable of great feats of strength and vampires were among them, at least according to the book she had read.

She felt a gentle touch at her back as he guided her to the door and she found herself leaning into him a little, not quite waking up fully the way she would have had her mother found her asleep somewhere.

Had her father found her, she probably would have jerked awake with startled alarm as though struck by lightning and she would have had to listen to a lengthy, sharp lecture about keeping her decorum and acting appropriately. Only a bed was for sleeping on, after all, in her father's opinion.

But this was Rowan and that there was no need to rigidly hold herself at attention around him. More than that, she could relax around him, a quiet sort of calm finding her at his presence.

He accompanied her to her rooms, their pace unhurried and he opened the door for her, wishing her a good night with a warm voice.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Adelia said with a yawn and when he made an agreeing hum, she added, "I look forward to it."

His answering smile looked bright in the dark, glad and happy, and she went to sleep with that memory firmly in her mind.

He really was quite the lovely man.