The Vampire & Her Witch

”I’m glad that I can rely on you, Lord Loghlan,” Ashlynn said, giving the older man a smile filled with genuine relief. ”There are a few other things I could use help with as well, if you don’t mind me borrowing a few more people from your retinue,” she said.

”Speak the words, Lady Ashlynn,” Loghlan said easily as he sipped his mulled wine. ”Thus far, the hardest thing you’ve asked me to do is to smuggle you and your people into Lothian City. My people may not be as capable as yours,” he said delicately.

”But what we lack in quality we can make up for in quantity,” the baron said. ”If you need guards and lookouts for Master Isabell while she sets her traps on the route, agitators in the crowd, men to create a distraction while you enter Lothian Manor,” he said, ticking off options on his fingers as he thought of ways he could be of use to Lady Ashlynn’s plans.

If a fight broke out, he was certain that Lady Ashlynn’s forces would carry the day. With two witches, two vampires, and an extra Inquisitor in addition to her own powers, he imagined that very little in Lothian City could truly resist her aside from the Templars of the Church and the Inquisitors from Maeril.

But even if he couldn’t offer her strong soldiers, the quantity of his men had an advantage that Ashlynn’s forces couldn’t match. He could spread his people to more places at once. Already, Sir Carwyn would be searching for Sir Ollie’s family and keeping them safe through the chaos that would follow Ashlynn’s arrival, but Loghlan was certain that she could use more help.

”I’d like to borrow Lady Morwen and her brother, Cadeyrn,” Ashlynn said, surprising Mairwen with her request. ”I, I couldn’t bring my lady-in-waiting, Heila,” Ashlynn explained. ”And I’ve never taken anyone as my squire. There will be moments where I will need both, and Isabell and Ollie each have their own responsibilities to tend to,” she said carefully.

”Your lady-in-waiting is an Eldritch woman, isn’t she?” Mairwen said as realization dawned on her. Her eyes flicked across Ashlynn’s face, taking in the slight tension around her eyes and the set of her jaw as she quickly put the pieces together.

It was clear that Ashlynn had come to rely on the people of the Vale of Mists during her time in exile. Now that she was returning to human lands, she’d been forced to leave behind some of the people she relied on the most because most of the people of the march weren’t ready to accept an alliance with the Eldritch. If she’d shown up with ’demons’ in tow, she’d never take the throne without a battle.

But the decision to leave her trusted supporters behind had come with a price and it was clear to Mairwen that Ashlynn was struggling to pay the bill.

”I’ll handle the arrangements,” Mairwen promised. ”I’ll need to speak with Sir Brennus Thorne and Lady Rhiannon, but I can’t imagine they’d refuse the opportunity for their family to support you. You can leave this to me,” she said.

”Thank you, Lady Mairwen. There’s one more thing,” Ashlynn said, steering the conversation to the final piece she needed to put in place tonight. ”And this one requires some delicacy, Lord Loghlan,” she said, turning her attention back to the baron.

”You aren’t the only baron who has been touched by the forces beyond the frontier,” Ashlynn said. ”Baron Erling Fayle struck a bargain years ago with one of Nyrielle’s progeny, a vampire named Wolstan, though he’s unaware who he was negotiating with.”

”In exchange for peace along his borders, Erling agreed to keep his men north of the River Tuilig,” Ashlynn explained. ”He’s honored that bargain for many years, and because he’s honored that bargain, Marcel has quietly supported him with things he couldn’t otherwise have obtained.”

”Erling Fayle,” Loghlan repeated, his brow furrowing. ”I can’t say that I know him well. Our lands are about as far apart as one can get within the borders of the march. People dubbed him the ’Coward Baron’ for refusing to venture south, but it seems like there was something else to it all along,” he mused.

”The same,” Ashlynn said. ”I need someone to act as an intermediary with Erling,” Ashlynn said. ”Someone he respects, or at least someone whose word he’d trust. I can’t approach him directly, and Marcel’s involvement needs to remain hidden for now.”

”You want me to bring him into the fold,” Loghlan said.

”I want you to tell him that a friend who knows him well has asked that he and his men stay close to the Dunns during the ceremony,” Ashlynn said carefully. ”If he hesitates, tell him the message comes from a little bird. A raven, in fact.”

”A raven?” Loghlan said, blinking in surprise. ”And he’ll understand the meaning of it?”

”It’s a secret that Erling has kept for many years,” Ashlynn confirmed. ”He’ll understand what it means. He doesn’t need to know the full scope of what’s coming, only that the people who have been protecting his borders for years are asking him to trust them one more time.”

”And if he refuses?” Loghlan asked.

”Then he refuses, and we proceed without him,” Ashlynn said. ”I won’t force him. But I believe he’ll choose to stand with you when the moment comes. He’s been hiding behind a mask of weakness for years, Lord Loghlan. I think he’s been waiting for a reason to take it off.”

Loghlan was quiet for a moment, turning the information over with the same methodical care he applied to everything. Then he nodded.

”I’ll speak to him at the Stag Feast,” Loghlan said. ”Before the wine flows too freely and the walls grow too many ears. A quiet word in a crowded hallway won’t draw attention.”

”Thank you,” Ashlynn said, and the gratitude in her voice was genuine and unguarded. ”That’s the last thing I need to ask of you tonight.”

”Is it?” Loghlan said, raising an eyebrow. ”Because I have the distinct feeling that tomorrow will bring a fresh list of requests.”

”Tomorrow will bring a great many things,” Ashlynn said. ”But for tonight, you’ve given me everything I need to move forward, and you’ve done it on shorter notice and with less preparation than anyone has a right to ask.”

She stood, and the weariness she’d been holding at bay all evening settled onto her frame with a heaviness that even the mulled wine and hand pies couldn’t quite disguise.

”We sail at first light,” Ashlynn said. ”The boats will be loaded before dawn. I’d recommend getting what rest you can, because tomorrow will be a long day for all of us...”