Page 177 of Vampire's Choice
Ruth noted various levels of agreement or annoyance on the Council. Belizar’s bushy eyebrows drew down when he gave Garron a black stare, but unexpectedly, he nodded. “I do not disagree.”
“As head of Council, it’s entirely up to me whether or not to allow him to speak, but the input is appreciated.” Lyssa arched a brow at Belizar and Walton, but the expression held no rancor. Just the reminder, which they acknowledged, Belizar with a wry twist of his lips.
Lyssa’s gaze returned to Kaela and Garron. “You may speak, Garron. Do not abuse the privilege.”
“No, my lady.” Garron moved to Lady Kaela’s side, giving her a look before he bowed to the Council, then straightened.
“From the time Lady Kaela and I met, I sensed two things about her. First, that she was strong and passionate about protecting those in her territory, ruling them fairly with an understanding of what vampires are and are not. And that she was lonely and unhappy, because she craved a certain type of submission. When we met, it was becoming unsustainable to her.”
Several Council members shifted uncomfortably at the blatant declaration, but Kaela’s face revealed nothing. “She found someone who could serve her the way I do, in both roles, Master and servant,” Garron continued. “I’m using the word serve deliberately and truthfully.”
He looked at Lyssa. “My lady, you know the difference in your own servant, and many vampires choose sexual Dominants for that role, but such servants are never submissive. They serve, because a Dominant can serve. Because being the right kind of Dominant is about protecting and caring for his submissive, giving her whatever she needs to be who she is, who she’s meant to be.”
He looked toward Merc, an acknowledgement of the angel incubus’s similar declaration, before returning his attention to Council. “She’s a better overlord for finding this sense of completion, this sense that she’s not alone in the world. At first, it was difficult. Because of her nature, she felt she was asking me for something she shouldn’t. We got past that hurdle, because at a certain point she trusted me enough to believe me.
“She understood that my definition of being a Master was much wider and deeper than she’d realized it could be. It’s limited by nothing but the two of us, what we each want and need, and how those wants and needs mesh.”
Ruth lifted her hand to cover Merc’s. His fingers overlapped hers, tightened.
Garron bowed to Council, then met Kaela’s gaze and dropped to one knee before her. He kissed her hand, curled at her side. When her fingers grazed his shaved scalp, he rose and stepped back, into his original position behind her left shoulder.
Guarding her heart, Ruth thought.
“I understand this Council has to weigh what will adversely impact our small population,” Kaela said. “And you believe the type of relationship I have with Garron is one of those. You’ve confirmed your regard for my leadership, and that acknowledgment is appreciated. Please let me finish that service effectively. Give me two weeks to bring my replacement up to speed on matters in my territory, for a seamless transition.”
Her attention moved to Daegan. He stood against the wall, just to the right of and behind Lyssa. Gideon and Anwyn were on the opposite wall, aligned with the other servants. Though Kaela’s voice faltered at first, she steadied it as she spoke. “Once that’s done, send your enforcer. I will not fight or try to evade your sentence. I trust Lord Daegan to handle it efficiently and painlessly. I only ask that it be done with my servant by my side.”
Ruth could only imagine what was going on between her and Garron’s minds, but unlike before, the calm between them seemed unshakable. In the privacy of that guest room, they’d made their peace with it. Their bond would not be severed by death.
If it could be, love wasn’t what Ruth thought it was. Her mind returned to her parents. I only ask that it be done with my servant by my side.
Lady Kaela was done. “If we can call the question to a vote…” Lord Stewart started.
Lord Mason rose. “I would like to add some thoughts.”
Stewart subsided with a mild look of impatience.
“Proceed, Lord Mason.” Lyssa settled back, crossing her legs. She frowned at a blood spot on the cargo pants she was wearing, but then rested her manicured hand on it and gave him her full attention.
Lord Mason turned toward Ruth. “Please pass these words on to your brother when he returns, and must face this terrible loss.”
As she understood what was coming, a convulsive jerk went through Ruth’s muscles and joints. Merc’s unburned wing curved over her shoulder.
“They had immobilized me with their spellwork and already taken Kane, who was out in the yard.” Mason held her gaze as he brusquely painted the harsh picture. “Farida was in the lower chambers. The Fae had cloaked their identity, so we could not tell their race.”
Mason glanced toward Jessica, whose face was suffused with sadness, reading from his mind what he was saying to the room. She’d adjusted from the wall so she, too, was facing Ruth, as if the two of them together offered the testimonial. And gratitude.
“They told Mal if he would step aside, they would leave him alive. Your father’s face had the resoluteness of a hundred armies. Yet there was a calm there, too, as if he drew on the wisdom of creation itself, of the cycles of life and death, and all the paths we walk.”
Mason’s tiger gaze flashed. “No stronger vampire, no High Fae, could have fought more nobly, more fiercely, to protect my child, than your father did. And your mother was a credit to all servants.”
Tears were on Ruth’s face, and a tiny noise caught in her throat. She’d risen from her chair and moved forward a pace, feeling as if she needed to be standing. Heedless of their audience, Merc moved with her. He stood behind her, his arms crossed over her chest. The chamber was silent, everyone listening.
“I saw Mal look toward Elisa, before the battle was engaged,” Mason continued. “There was a great deal I recognized in that look, as well as things that were treasured feelings, unique to the two of them. They made the decision together. They knew what the cost of the fight would be. The outcome. I saw it.”
His gaze moved to the Council and held a beat. “It should have been over in an instant, and yet it wasn’t. Though his magical ability was nowhere equal to theirs, never have I seen such an inequal struggle result in such a prolonged fight. His staff fought with him, in the ways that would help the most. Distracting, getting in the way, disrupting. Which meant they knowingly sacrificed themselves.”
His face tightened. “Mal used everything he had against the Fae—hand-to-hand combat, magical weaponry and his sharp intelligence—to keep it going as long as he could. Perhaps in the hope that some attempt he’d made to get out a distress call would be answered, though the shielding prevented that.”