Magic Forged (Hall of Blood and Mercy #1)(37)

The beautiful vampire shook her head. “I’m afraid not—we weight our weapons. You wouldn’t be able to use them. Besides, Josh doesn’t mind.”

“Indeed,” Josh piped in. “It will provide me an excuse to buy a new sword to replace the bare spot on the wall.” He smiled in satisfaction—almost passing for cheerful—then practically pushed the sword at me. “It’s yours now.”

“Thank you.” Reluctantly, I took the sword, wincing when my fingers left smudgy prints on the lacquered black scabbard.

“Of course. You will require ties which will allow you to secure the scabbard to your clothes, but what you wear now is too pitiful to even attempt to use.” Josh eyed my clothes with clear condescension.

“I sent out for proper attire last night,” Celestina said. “Her clothes are in her room if you want to reference her size, but first we have to go for a run.”

Josh nodded. “Very well. I will do so.”

The dark-haired vampire left his bedroom, leaving Celestina and me behind.

“Does he seriously get to check out my room before I do?” I asked.

Celestina laughed. “You will be afforded privacy should you need it, but you will find the Drake Family does not hide anything from each other.”

Why? Because they were actually close, or because Killian was too paranoid of a takeover to let them be?

“Come, we will go outside for your run.” Celestina glided into the hallway, waiting only long enough for me to scramble through the door after her.

“We’re running outside? Can you do that?”

“I will be carrying a parasol for sun protection, and we will be moving at a slower pace given your human limitations,” Celestina acknowledged. “However, it is good for me to be out and under the sun—it gives me the opportunity to work on my stamina and practice operating in a weakened state. We commonly practice under the noon sun.” She led the way back to a spiral staircase that, if memory served me right, went all the way down to the first floor.

“Wow. So, Killian has turned the Drake Family into a bunch of Spartans, huh?” When I stepped down the first stair, my legs almost gave out from the stabbing pain in my thighs. I thought going up the stairs was bad. Unbelievably, coming down was so, so much worse.

“Perhaps relatively speaking,” Celestina said. “Rather, it is that we are living to our full potential.”

I kinda doubted the vampire I had seen in the Victorian outfit at the vampire meeting I’d busted into would see running outside as “living to her full potential.” Heck—I don’t think any of the vampires at the meeting believed that. But this was probably how Killian had become Eminent of the Midwest and had the Regional Committee of Magic in a choke hold. (Killian Drake was terrifying by himself. But knowing he had a houseful of ripped, militant-esque vampires who trained outside in the sun for funsies made him into a person you would never cross.)

Somehow I managed to hobble down the stairs and outside, all while carrying my new sword—though it did take me a while.

Celestina, thankfully, didn’t seem to mind. It gave her time to grab an umbrella (black, shocker) from an umbrella stand, and check in with a few vampires before escorting me outside.

The sky was a drab and cloudy gray, and there was a breeze that had a bit of a chill to it that made me smile. (Apparently spring wasn’t leaving without putting up a fight—a good thing if Celestina intended to make me run a lot, or I’d turn into a sweaty pig in minutes when I combined my magically induced high body temperature with the warm air and a brisk workout.)

Celestina led me to a running path that was covered with woodchips, nodding to the female vampire she had given the clothing orders to last night. “Good day, Julianne.”

Julianne smiled and twirled her own umbrella. “Hello Celestina—taking the wizard for a run?”

“Yes. Thank you for picking up her clothes.”

“Of course—whatever the Eminence wants!” The vampire—a pretty blond—glanced at me with a small amount of curiosity before she smiled again at Celestina. “Oh—Sigmund left his post about fifteen minutes ago—he wanted to get a fresh blood pack since we got a delivery about an hour ago. And Ling is holding a firearm practice right now which those of us who aren’t on duty are all attending.”

Celestina waved her off. “Thank you for the update.”

Julianne bowed. “I will leave you to it, then, and wish you well!”

Celestina turned back to me. “Now,” she began.

“Let me guess,” I said. “I have to carry my katana while I run.” I’d been eyeing the area, which was suspiciously free of benches or sword stands.

“Exactly,” Celestina said with some surprise. “You are smart for a wizard!”

“Wizards aren’t stupid.”

She looked unconvinced, but said nothing more as she indicated to the tree-lined path. “We’ll take this circuit. It’s the shortest—only a single mile.”

“Oh, well, if that’s all,” I said.

Celestina laughed. “I imagine it will seem long at first. But don’t worry—I can monitor your breathing with my hearing. If you need a break, we will walk. It will do you no good to push your body into an injury.”

“That does actually make me feel better,” I admitted. “As long as you actually know human breathing patterns?”