Penelope waited in the hall. She didn't say anything, not in her unspoken way, but she did peek in the room to make sure Wyst was still alive. My shadow danced along the walls. It twirled and frolicked, often leaving my feet to caper playfully along the ceiling.
Downstairs, Gwurm was asleep by the fire. The fox dozed in his lap. Newt sat on the table, nestled among gnawed duck bones. He raised his head and frowned.
"As you're not covered in blood, I assume you didn't kill him."
"Sorry to disappoint you." I took a seat and glutted myself on every piece of uncooked meat I could reach. I was hungrier than I'd realized. Absolutely ravenous. This wasn't the meal my appetite desired, but flesh was flesh.
"What's the sense of robbing a White Knight of his purity if you don't bother killing him?" said Newt. "It's like running down a deer and then letting it go. I hope it was worth it, throwing aside your witchly ethics."
I finished sucking down a turkey leg. "I have seduced a White Knight, exposed the mortal man for all the world to see, and he doesn't resent me for it. Not only that, but I've tasted forbidden pleasures of the flesh and learned something about myself. I can't think of anything more witchful than this."
"Your mistress would disagree."
"I doubt that very much. It was by her design that this night came to pass."
"Vengeance is our quest."
I laughed. "Vengeance or death lay at the end of this journey, but not every journey is about the destination."
He yawned and perked up his head. "Can I kill him then?"
He already knew the answer.
"Senseless," he grumbled.
The tapestry of Soulless Gustav spoke up. "I quite agree." The sorcerer stepped from the cloth. He kept his flatness. It suited him as even in three dimensions he was a slight figure. "Didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I have to go with the duck. It's bad form to not take advantage of a White Knight after you've, well, after you've taken advantage of him. It's expected."
"A good witch does the unexpected."
"Excellent point, my dear witch with the unspoken name." He strolled to a chair and folded himself into a sitting position. "Although when the morning comes, I expect you will die."
My only response was a wry grin. I expected him correct, but then again, a great witch can even surprise herself on occasion.
"Speaking of morning." Soulless Gustav waved his hand, and hard light poured through the windows. "You'll excuse my impatience, but I'd like to get this over with."
"No."
"I beg your pardon."
"Not yet."
He glared. "I am master of this realm. You dare to give me commands."
"Not a command. A request. You've been a most gracious host, and I would appeal to your generosity one last time."
His glares softened. "Of course. Forgive me." He returned to the tapestry. "I'll grant you two more hours. As they shall be your last on this world, I suggest you make good use of them."
"I shall. And thank you."
"The laws of hospitality apply to all men, lowly peasant and legendary sorcerer alike." Soulless Gustav resumed his silent watch over the room as darkness buried the morning.
I allowed myself a few minutes to settle my full stomach.
"What did you learn about yourself?" asked Newt. "You said you'd learned something."
"I learned that I can never love a man. Not as a woman."
"You seem to be doing an excellent job so far."
I smiled without mirth. "A temporary indulgence. No matter what, I am accursed. My love will always be doomed."
My shadow stopped dancing.
The jagged truth tore at my witchly veil. Newt averted his eyes and fidgeted in the awkward silence. Penelope leaned against my shoulder.
"Life isn't about the things you can't have," I said. "It is about those blessings you do find along the way." Though the truth is rarely a comfort, I found some solace in this. I couldn't love Wyst for a lifetime, but I could love him for a short while more.
My shadow skipped around the fireplace as I moved toward the stairs.
Newt snorted. "You aren't fooling me. I know why you robbed him of his virtue. You made him vulnerable to protect him."
"Did I?"
"Oh, stop pretending to be mysterious. I see through it all. Wyst may not have been a match for Soulless Gustav on his own, but he could've helped you. And you need every advantage you can get. But now, he's just a man. You've made him useless. You've taken him out of the game because you weren't willing to risk his life for your own."
"Figure that out all on your own?" I asked.
"You're admitting it then?"
I only grinned.
"It is very witchfol," he said. "To save a man's life by stealing his invulnerability. Your mistress would be proud." He didn't like acknowledging that and scowled.
A good witch admits to nothing. I ascended the stairs without saying another word and entered Wyst's room. He lay on the bed. My eyes lingered on his lean, dark body. He smiled and held out a hand.
He traced my lips with his fingers. "You are beautiful."
I already knew this, but there was something in the way he said it. Something in his eyes as well. He saw more than my cursed flesh. He saw the mortal woman hidden inside that even I could forget was there. But in his arms, it was different. In his arms, I could almost forget the fiend.
He kissed me, and his flavorful lips stirred my twin hungers. The ghoul hissed and fidgeted, but she was smothered beneath the indulgences of the woman.
Newt was wrong. Even without his enchantments, Wyst was more than a man. Much more.
He slipped off my gown and drew me onto the bed.
And he was far from useless.
28
There was a benefit to being ageless. Time meant nothing to me, a vague abstraction. Two hours in Wyst's bed might pass as slowly as I perceived it. It could never last as long as I wanted, but I could draw out every moment, enough for a lifetime that might reach into infinity If I survived the next day, and still walked this world a thousand years from now, this night would always remain with me. When the dawn finally came, I was ready to meet either death or eternity.
Soulless Gustav allowed me a slow sunrise. The light slipped through the windows, and I pulled myself from Wyst's arms. I reached for my silken gown but thought better of it. It would have to be left in this room, like so many things. I wrapped a heavy blanket over my body I leaned over Wyst and kissed his eyes, an earlobe, and finally his lips. Part of me wanted to wake him, but this was best. This was the only way it could be. I turned to the door.
"Where are you going?"
I'd hoped to steal away unnoticed. It would've made everything so much easier.
I closed my eyes and didn't look back at him. "It's time."
"I'll get my things."
"You're no longer enchanted," I said. "Soulless Gustav would kill you even easier than he would have before."
"I won't let you face him alone."
"I know."
I glided to his side and enfolded him in my blanket to enjoy the feel of his skin against mine.
"You won't talk me out of this," he said softly.
"I know. You're a stubborn man, but I think you are very tired. I think you should go back to bed." I batted my eyelashes at him. His lids slipped half-closed.
"What are you doing?" He yawned. He fell limp in my arms. I had no trouble holding him up. "Don't do this." He nodded off and jerked alert. "I have to protect you. I have to ..."
"You can't protect me as tired as you are." I covered his mind in sleep. Magic that would've burned away against his invulnerable aura only hours ago now proved more than his match.