Candles lit both levels—the kind of thick, well-dripped pillar candles one would expect in a vampire’s lair, Lyle thought—and they softened and scented what might have otherwise been a damp, dreary setting. “Not bad,” Lyle said and pointed at the door behind the bed. “Though why we didn’t just take that door instead of wandering through the bowels of the city is beyond me.”
“It’s bricked up on the other side,” Arius replied. “One can’t be too safe in a city like this, after all.”
Lyle moved toward the lounge, but was stopped with an, “Uh, uh, uh,” and waved up to the bed.
He went, but hesitantly. “Are we alone down here?”
“We won’t be bothered, if that’s what you’re asking.” Arius patted the mattress. “Come here.”
“My clothes…”
“They’ll get here,” Arius said around a smile. “Surely y
