Hey, sorry for the delays. Its Saturday and I've been on a writing roll this week, so I figured I wouldn't give up the chance and stay up till 1:20 am and finish this. Enjoy!

Bones led Ian into a large dining room that I'd never seen before. He produced a bottle of whiskey and a glass and set them both down in front of the red-haired vampire. Ian ignored the glass, picked up the bottle, and began to drink straight from it.

"In a hurry?"

"Always, mate. It's taken me ages to get here. None of my household knows where I am."

"Why the hell not?"

"Why should they?"

Bones sighed and continued to ignore me. I leaned against the doorway and watched Ian.

"She's not just a whore, Crispin." Ian's slight mutter caught me off guard. Bones had been teaching me to catch extremely quiet noises, but I didn't think it had worked that well. "You know that."

"I don't know what on earth you're talking about, mate. Who?"

"Your girl over there." Ian made to wave his hand in my direction, but at his slightest mention of me, I had fled to my room.

I stoked the fire that was flickering in my room and chucked in a pine cone that had been sitting on my bedside table. The flames went mad, crackling loudly and covering the sound of my heartbeat. I pressed my ear to the ventilation duct and strained for a snatch of conversation.

"What the bloody hell have you been teaching her, Crispin? She's human. It won't last."

"You'd be surprised at what a mere human like her can do. It's been much more than I've expected."

"Have you talked to Vlad about this? You know how he gets bored."

"Tepesh is no worry of mine. I have no plans of revealing my pastimes to him."

There was a sigh and a pause. "Have you fucked her yet?"

I could imagine the infinitesimal scowl appearing upon Bones's face. "I wouldn't and I can't anyway."

"Why not?"

"It's like you said earlier."

"Ha! So she's valuable."

"Of course. She's Charles's."

"You said that earlier. He does want her?"

"It's complicated. He thinks he doesn't. But he does."

"Ooh! Drama!"

Once again, I could almost see Bones rolling his eyes. "He's sent her here to train. And so he can stew in his own angst. He doesn't know what he wants."

"But you do. Let's go to Manchester and knock some sense into that dickhead."

Bones sighed. "Lia. You can stop listening through the vent. Come down here."

I swore and sat back on my heels. "Pine cones worked last time," I called.

"Not if you know what to listen through. Your heart is beating louder than that."

When I arrived back downstairs, Bones looked bored and Ian looked incredulous. "You were listening?"

"Yeah. Fires make a lot of noise." I pulled out a chair and sat next to Bones.

"You sure you want to go back to Charles?" Ian's brow arched. "I could use someone like you." A mischievous glint appeared in his eye. "For more than one thing."

I sat back. "If I'm hearing right, then the ownership of me would be between you and Spade. You'll have to talk to him about that."

A disappointed look extinguished his boyish expression. "You know just what not to say," he grumbled.

"Oh, believe me, mate, she can say just the right thing," Bones said, a small grin pulling at his mouth. "That's exactly what we were practicing before we met you."

"So what else can you do?"

I smiled. "Anything you want."

"Oh, I like this girl. Anything I want? You're sure?"

I barely glanced at Bones, who gave me the slightest not. I took it as an affirmative and stood up. Bones rose as well, going to stand in the corner and observe.

I sidled around behind Ian and ran a hand along his jaw. "I'm sure. Want to try?"

His fingers slowly crept to my leg and curled there, a searing grip that locked me in place as he stood and began to walk me backward until we hit a glass-fronted cabinet.

"Hmm… what first…" he looked contemplative as he ducked his head and deliberately ran his lips over my neck. I shuddered, turning it into a sensual shiver, and slid my hands over his chest and around his neck. I pressed his head closer to my throat as though in encouragement. I looked around to Bones and saw one eyebrow raised in amusement. He motioned for me to keep going. He wanted to see how I would go through with it.

Ian's mouth came up to my ear. "I haven't fed in a while…you seem like you'd taste good."

I pulled him closer to me. "I told you anything, didn't I?"

His mouth curved into a grin against my ear and his tongue flicked out to trace the curves of it. Then he moved further, back down to my throat. I felt his fangs slide out and press their length against my skin. I tried to suppress the bolt of fear that struck through me and hoped he didn't smell it through my own scent.

Ian's fangs slanted suddenly, their sharp tips coming dangerously close to piercing my flesh. I quickly shook my knives out of my sleeves and brought my forearms up to block Ian's teeth, knives themselves, from slicing into me. My arms swiped across each other, scissoring across what would have been Ian's neck.

He had moved so quickly I hadn't seen it happen. Suddenly he was behind me, holding one of my own knives to my neck. I elbowed him, hard, in the stomach and ducked out before the blade could cut more than a thin red line across my skin. I spun and leapt at him, slicing a gash across his knuckles, forcing him to drop the knife. His fist caught me in the side and I gasped for air as I vaulted over his shoulder, throwing him off-balance and to the ground.

He rose suddenly, the knife back in his hand. I stumbled back, still trying to regain the air he'd forced out of me. I hopped up on a chair and flipped over him. The knife flew from his hand as I turned, striking me in the crook of my elbow and sticking through there. A sharp, intense agony screamed in my arm and I stifled a cry. My knees collapsed as I landed and I jammed my arm back, throwing the blade that was protruding from my skin into his. He swore and tried to turn around, but I twisted my other arm and stabbed the other knife deep into his back.

"Fuck!" He writhed, and I barely kept a hold on the knife through the pain shooting through my entire arm.

"Mate. Stop." Bones's voice finally entered. "You see what I've been teaching her?"

"Bloody hell, Crispin! You've been giving her all our old secrets," Ian complained, and he jerked suddenly, pulling the blade that was impaled through my inner arm out of his skin but farther into mine. I cried out, and Ian turned, yanking the other knife from his lower back.

Blood streamed from my arm, and the world started to swim. Ian scooped me up and set me on the table. Red dripped from my fingertips to the ground. Bones cut open his wrist and held it over my mouth. I drank willingly, letting the hole in my elbow close and my blood replenish.

My other hand reached for the knife that had been buried in my flesh. I sat up quickly and jumped back onto Ian, knocking him to the ground. I wrestled with him for a second before getting the knife above his heart.

He started to laugh. "You've got to tell me how you managed it, Crispin. She never gives up."

"That wasn't my doing, Ian. Angel, let him up and go clean off your arm. If you keep bleeding on him like that, he really will start drinking you."

I sat up and fought the fresh wave of dizziness. "Was that a test, Bones?"

"Of course. An unplanned one, but a test all the same."

I walked off to my room. Blood still ran down my arm and trickled off my fingers in rivulets. A fresh basin was waiting for me, and I stripped off my waistcoat and shirt and wiped off the blood with a damp rag. Two violent pink lines remained on my elbow, both on the inside from its initial entry and just around the base of my upper arm from the exit of the blade.

I'd beat Ian. He'd been caught off guard and I'd beat him in a fight. The crazy urge to whoop with joy overcame me, but I fought it and collapsed on my bed instead. I was asleep within minutes.

Ian was gone the next morning when I woke. I ate and went downstairs to the training room.

"Yeah, he left," Bones said, striding into the room. "Either that or I kicked him out. You passed, by the way."

"The test? Oh good. My life is complete."

The sarcasm in my voice made him grin. "You passed so nicely, in fact, that you're going back to Manchester today."

My heart leapt. "Seriously? I get to go back?"

"Seriously. I'll be coming with you, of course, but yes, we're going. Go pack your things and I'll have your horse readied."

I could barely contain myself from skipping off. My meager belongings were packed in barely minutes, my blood-soaked clothing from last night chucked carelessly in the bin for waste. I was in a fresh shirt, waistcoat, and breeches was I galloped down the stairs, bag in hand. I jumped into my boots and met Bones at the front door.

When I opened the door, a stable boy began strapping my small bag to Orion's flank. I greeted my beautiful horse and examined him. He was well fed and glossy, nuzzling my hand happily.

Bones's own horse was already packed. I swung up on Orion and watched impatiently as Bones did the same. He nodded at me, telling me to move. I nudged Orion and began the journey to Manchester.

Spade

Spade looked up, startled, when he heard Alten's knock on his door. "What is it?" he called. "You were instructed not to disturb me."

"Yes, sire, but you'd want me to disturb you for this. Bones has returned."

He stood quickly and strode to the window on the hallway wall. Sure enough, two sleek horses stood outside. He scanned the yard quickly, hoping not to see what was inevitable.

Lia was back.

Spade practically flew through the hallways in his haste to get to the door. He met Crispin on the doorstep. "You're not supposed to be back for another week."

Crispin shrugged. "She was doing well. She deserved an early break."

Spade glanced back to the lawn and saw Lia and Emma, exchanging their feminine greetings and also exchanging playful blows. Lia managed to duck every single one of Emma's and even landed a few on the vampire.

"Bloody hell, mate. You really worked something with her."

"You bet I did. She got a knife on Ian last night."

"Ian? What was he doing in Nottingham?"

"I dunno. Who knows why he does anything?"

Spade shrugged and led Crispin inside, leaving Emma to deal with Lia. He didn't want to face her yet.

They had a drink and Spade introduced Crispin to Mr. Mason. Sid, Charlie, and Seamus hung by the doorway. The moment they heard that Lia had returned, they left, whooping though the house like madmen.

"You know," Crispin said edgily, "Lia-"

"Leave it, Crispin. I know what she said."

"I was going to say that she misses you. Give her a chance."

Spade snorted. "Never thought you to be a romantic."

"I'm not a bloody romantic, mate; I just don't want you to be hung up on Giselle all your life."

Spade stood up. "You know where your room is. There are people downstairs." Crispin stood as well, nodded, and left the dining room.

Spade walked through the hallway, hearing Lia unpack in her room. He entered his study, sitting back down in front of the work he'd been laboring over before the unexpected arrival.

He read the same sentences several times, trying to concentrate on his papers instead of Lia's tantalizing heartbeat many floors above. The papers fluttered back down to his desk and he started to pace, anxiety tearing at his still heart. What if Crispin was wrong? What if she did hate him?

It took him several minutes to realize that his beloved's heartbeat was getting closer. It was a slow, hesitant sound, as though she felt like she was forbidden from this wing of the house.

She knocked at his door and he answered before he could stop himself.

"Enter."

Lia did, closing the door behind her. Spade turned his back to her, facing the framed portraits on his walls. "Spade," She said slowly, "I-I don't know what to say-"

"Then say nothing."

She fell silent. Finally, she spoke again. "I'm sorry."

"What do you have to apologize for?"

"I don't know. Well, yes, I do."

"Please just make up your mind."

"Stop it!"

Her exclamation made him turn around. "Stop what?"

"You know what. Stop turning my sentences around on me. I don't hate you, Spade. I really don't. Not a day went by that I wished I had never said that. Please believe me. I'm begging you."

He was around the desk in a second. "Don't. Never beg me. I can't take it." He surprised himself with the rawness in his voice.

"What can I do? You don't believe me. I can tell. You think I hate you."

"I don't know what to think."
"I know what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that if I could go back in time once, just once, I would stop myself from saying that I hated you. I wouldn't save Archer. I know it sounds sick, but I would choose you over my own goddamned brother." A half sob, half laugh burst from her.

Spade swore and gathered her close to him. "Lia. I never thought you hated me. I might have tried to trick myself into thinking it, but I never really believed it." He marveled in the heat emanating from her body and wrapped his arms tighter around her.

A relieved choke came from her and she buried her face in his chest. Spade nudged her chin up with his hand and bent down. She met him halfway on tiptoe and he kissed her with all he had. Every worry, every shivering thought he let go through the kiss melted away in an instant, a single, blissful instant.

Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and he lifted her to rest on his hips, flicking his tongue along hers and tasting her rain-and-oranges scent. She responded in full, weaving his hair through her fingers and pulling him closer.

Spade's lips moved to her neck and he stopped there. "Why do I taste Ian?"

She laughed. "Bones gave me a test. It was a mix of seduction and combat."

"Who won?"

"I did."

He returned to ravishing her smooth, pink flesh. "That's my Lia."