Sebastian listened to the wind as it lashed out above their hole, and he tightened his grip on Edwin, as much as he could. It was just their luck that the first day in the desert had a sand storm in store for them.

He wanted to ask the healer so many questions. What were they going to do in the Asylum of Blood? Were they going to tear it apart brick by brick from the outside? Was it even a building or a cave?

Because if it was a cave, then it could get tricky. The core could move around and hide deeper into the tunnels that led Harika knew where. And if they didn’t destroy the core, it could always rebuild.

And that was half-assing it. Which was something he felt the healer wouldn’t stand for. Said healer was not so much as attempting to wiggle around. Something he had done but an hour ago when he was trying not to panic.

Had he fallen asleep? That should be it. Sebastian took comfort in the fact that at least one of them could sleep in this situation. He, himself, could only keep his eyes closed.

Summoning his new shadow, he had it go up, and the strong winds immediately made it slink back under the sand. Which was strange, as the sand couldn’t harm the shadow.

Was it faulty? But Roberts was a champion of Harika through contract, and the goddess was not going to give him faulty goods on principle. Even still, Sebastian was not going to try sending the shadow back up. Just in case.

It was funny how he had gone from setting out to trick this man to attempting to befriend him and being open with him. Edwin trusted, so easily, it was a wonder how he was still alive.

Then Sebastian’s thoughts went back to Hadrian, Daniel, and those four wonderful children. They should be on the way to Daniel’s sister by now. Travelling during the night. Messing with the children’s sleeping patterns. The youngest must really not be taking it well.

Thinking about Elidys reminded him just whose son the boy was. The king of Duria was the boy’s father. Edwin held the future king in his hands, and he was not attempting to manipulate him or rule through him.

That was practically altruistic of him. Sebastian would have milked the situation for all it was worth. He had, shamelessly, bribed the boys with candy bars and had gotten them to call him uncle Sebastian.

Once he got back to them, he’ll get them to call him uncle Seb. The vampire council would thank him for making connections with the future king of Duria and his closest companions. And the other three boys had quite the value of their own.

Ben, the oldest, had stolen a candy bar from right underneath Edwin and Sebastian’s noses after the healer told him he couldn’t get another one. His brother comes forward with the knowledge, after Ben refused to share. Little Luciano was shaping up to be quite the little backstabber, thought Sebastian fondly.

Then there was Luciano, who could go in healer mode at the age of three and regale everyone with stories about neurons and their adventures. Edwin had told Sebastian that the boy wanted to become a brain surgeon when he grew up. Which was good, the vampire mused, as there were precious few of those in the world.

Rael did his training without complaining and mostly shadowed Daniel, which meant he spent little time with Sebastian. But they formed a bond regardless.

Even Daniel was no longer mad at Sebastian, and was more annoyed for having been bested. If the extended training hours were any indication, the next person to get the upper hand on him would have to be an arch mage of another dragon slayer.

As for Hadrian, well, he was just happy that Sebastian was no longer after them. Once that became clear to the goofball, he began to treat Sebastian as a long-lost friend.

That made Sebastian feel things he hadn’t felt ever since he killed his mother. Attachment and something warm and fluffy that helped him get up after sleep better and well-rested.

Sebastian couldn’t quite describe what he felt towards this strange family. But he could say that he wanted to be a part of it. Its black sheep that had started out as a wolf in a sheep’s skin.

He felt the wind lessen above them and then stop. His shadow got to work and soon, they were on a dune three times its original size. Sebastian stared at Edwin, who was asleep, snuggled into his side, and he grinned.

Laying down on the sand, he felt something wet on his back. Well, that was the pig blood gone and done with. He couldn’t muster the energy to get rid of his now useless bag. Everything in it would need to be thrown away.

He reached out a hand to touch Edwin’s bag and found it dry. Was this because he hadn’t used his shadow? Did the blasted thing pass through Sebastian’s bag?

Well, they had restocked at the last hamlet. The farmer being more than happy to butcher a pig for them and get triple what he would have gotten otherwise and be able to keep the meat. That was just before they entered the desert.

Two days. That was how long the sludge they made in the hut of the farmer would stretch. Then it would be hunger or lizard blood. Not boiled with alcohol to make it a little less muddy.

But lizard blood was better than nothing, Sebastian guessed. They could drink each other’s blood from time to time. And maybe the red head could trick the brown-haired healer into a bite on the neck.

And Sebastian meant those words that he had said, some hours ago. Edwin was never going to disappear. The one that got away from Sebastian Black was going to be his eternal companion. And Sebastian would never be alone again.

That was his last thought before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.