Dad sat down on the couch like the question had weight and he wanted to carry it properly. I pulled my legs up under me beside him and waited the way I wait for a tricky proof to start making sense.
The house felt different since we'd come back from the mountain. Not spooky different. The opposite. Like someone had gone through every room and turned down a noise you don't notice until it stops. The blue roses on the balcony were pretending they weren't eavesdropping.
"Magnus Draykar," he said, like the name fizzed on his tongue. "Martial King. Warden of the East. Slayer of the Vampire Monarch. And my master."
The way he said master made my chest feel warm and careful at the same time.
