The Secrets of Lore Seymour

78. Cyan's Past

Cyan P.O.V.

"Why are we hiding in the library?" Draven asks after breakfast. Even his judging eyes are attractive. How annoying.

"Because we need to talk about those hickey's on Seren's neck," I whisper, double checking the library doors to ensure we weren't followed. "You saw them too, didn't you?"

"I didn't need to. His Grace never returned to his room last night and he was with Seren this morning."

"What... why didn't you tell me?"

Draven twists his nose. "Do you want me to update you on His Grace's sex life?"

"No, just--this is really fast for them, don't you think? I mean, Seren's from the Holy Church." I start pacing past the shelves, nerves growing exponentially. "What if His Grace does have feelings for him, real ones?"

"That's none of our business," Draven says, making me huff.

"How can you say that? Lore has always protected us and cared for us. We need to do the same for him," I argue, pointing accusingly at the heartless bastard.

"He doesn't need our protection. Why are you getting worked up about this? Seren may be from the church, but you admitted he has been questioning himself lately."

"Yeah, but-but what if he was only making us believe that?" I ask, feeling those nerves overtake me. Sure, he looked jealous on the airship, but that didn't mean anything would really happen, especially not so soon! "What if this has always been the plan? Send some paladin to trick His Grace, to hurt him in the worst of ways, and learn every little secret we have," I suggest, wringing my hands together.

"You're sounding extremely paranoid," Draven says, stepping over as if to grab my wrist, but he stops. "His Grace is capable of handling himself. I do not say that because I don't care, but because I truly believe it. If Seren worries you so much, go speak to him again before you do anything rash."

"I wasn't planning anything rash."

He smirks. "Not yet."

I bite my lip to stave off a grin. "It isn't rash if I put some thought into it."

"Even your plans aren't that thought out."

I scoff at his playful smirk. At least he made it obvious that he was joking.

"Why are you getting worked up about this now?" He asks. "We've both suspected something has been going since the airship, at least."

"I don't know," I answer, shrugging. "Before, it felt like Seren might have had some interest and maybe His Grace was messing with his head. Now with what happened, His Grace staying with him, even those matching suits, it feels like things are mutual and that's weird. It's worrisome. The church is... they know how to toy with people. They know how to break them and make them do terrible things. I've seen it with my own eyes. I want His Grace to find happiness, I really do, but I... this is..."

"I understand," Draven says, slowly nodding. That makes me feel a bit better.

"Sorry, I got worked up over nothing," I grumble. This time, Draven risks brushing his hand against my shoulder. The lightest touch that makes me shiver. I bite the inside of my cheek when he releases me, likely thinking my shiver was a bad sign.

"It's fine. The church is a sore spot for you. I stand by what I said, speak with Seren and see what he has to say. You have a knack for sniffing out bullshit," he says, then leaves to attend to his usual duties, which involves being an annoying perfectionist. He needs to ask for a vacation. Maybe we could go to the beach--not that I would go with him on vacation. That's ridiculous, and why would a vampire want to go to the beach? The sun can be super irritating. I'm a total dud head sometimes.