Jonmarc looked happier and more at ease than Carina ever recalled seeing him. He took her hand and ascended the broad outer staircase to Dark Haven's main entrance. "Welcome home, Carina," he said, and turned to kiss her. Silhouetted in the doorway, the kiss was a public declaration, and the crowd cheered even more loudly.

Gabriel followed them up the stairs, along with a man and a woman Carina did not recognize. The man caught up with Gabriel as they reached the entrance hall, and Carina got a better look at both him and his companion. Both were clad in black, with dark hair, although the woman's hair was streaked with gray. They lacked the pallor of the vayash moru, and her healer's senses told her they were mortal—though not entirely human. The man was close to Jonmarc's age, with shoulder-length dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard. The woman's angular features were attractive, with a beauty that spoke of a blend of the local bloodlines. Carina met the woman's violet eyes, and for a moment, the image of a large wolf came to her mind.

"This is Yestin and his partner, Eiria," Gabriel said as both the newcomers made perfunctory bows. "You've seen them before on our journey."

Carina gasped. "The vyrkin. Of course."

Yestin grinned. "You kept quite a pace to follow. I think I ate twice my weight in deer meat trying to keep up!"

"Since Mikhail is with Tris at Shekerishet, Yestin is Gabriel's second," Jonmarc explained.

Eiria smiled at Carina, and Carina noted that she lacked the vayash moru's long eye teeth. "You're most welcome, Lady Vahanian. News of your abilities has preceded you. It's been a very long time since Dark Haven has had a healer of your skill. The villagers are anxious for you to settle in."

"I'll be glad to do what I can once I get unpacked," Carina murmured, surprised at the unexpected fame.

"Of course. And we need to recover from the journey as well." Eiria rubbed her hands together, and Carina saw that they were badly chapped. "Snow is hard on the paws."

"May I?" Carina reached out to take Eiria's hands. In a moment, the red, raw skin healed beneath her touch. Yestin was unabashed about seeking the same favor.

"Thank you, m'lady," Eiria said. "You do us a great honor. Many healers won't touch our kind."

"I would show disrespect to the Lady to withhold my gift," Carina replied. Yet there had been something different in that touch, something Carina meant to ask Jonmarc about privately. But before she could think on it further, Laisren joined them.

"Good to see you again, m'lady," Laisren greeted Carina, remembering her from Tris's training in Principality. "Lord Gabriel asked me to arrange a real party for you tomorrow night, but there's something of an impromptu gathering in the great room. Warm food and mulled wine for you mortals, and fresh goat's blood for the rest of us. Come on!"

They followed the distant sound of music. She could easily spot the original sections of walls from those that had been recently repaired, and she marveled that so much had been done in just a few months. Many of the furnishings were old, and Carina guessed they were original to the manor. The newer pieces were functional, although their form spoke of the work of local craftsmen, and Carina was sure Gabriel had a hand in their selection. Tapestries lined some of the walls to keep down the chill, ornately patterned but without the common scenes of courtly tales or long-ago battles. Notably absent were the paintings of ancestors that decorated most manors. Dark Haven's decor was well-made and functional, but as without ostentation as its lord.

While the entrance hall and the rooms at the front of the manor had large windows, the great room was windowless. It took Carina a moment to realize that the manor house had been built to accommodate its mix of mortal and undead residents.

Carina was overwhelmed by the crowd of people, and noticed immediately that, unlike at most functions in a noble house, the guests at this impromptu party did not appear to be visiting nobility. They were trades people and prosperous farmers from the nearby village, as well as vayash moru, vyrkin, and the manor house staff. In the corner, three musicians who looked as if they'd been called on short notice from the village tavern struck up a lively round of pub tunes. True to Laisren's word, a spread of hearty food was set out on the long table: meat pies, mincemeat, rum-heavy fruit cakes, sausages, cheese, and fresh baked bread. The room smelled of spiced wine and mulled cider. For the vayash moru, a generous number of flagons filled with goat's blood clustered on one end of the table, along with platters of raw meat for the vyrkin.

"Let me introduce you to Cathel,-" Jonmarc said "The finest silversmith in all of Dark Haven. He made your shevir."

Cathel was a blond vayash moru who wore his long hair back in a neat queue. He gave a low bow and kissed the back of Carina's hand. "It was a privilege, m'lady."

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Carina said.

"Over the course of several lifetimes, one hopes to refine one's skills." Cathel drifted away into the crowd, and Jonmarc introduced Carina to a short man. His waistcoat was made of good cloth, but it nearly burst its buttons at his belly.

"This is Nidar. Nidar's head of the winery guild," Jonmarc said. "Before the last lord died, Dark Haven's lands were well-known for their wines. Without a lord, trade fell off and the vineyards didn't get the attention they needed. Nidar is getting the vineyards back up to production levels. We may not have much of a crop next spring, but he's promised me we'll be back in the winemaking business by the following year."

Carina smiled, welcoming the solidly built wine maker. She took Jonmarc's arm and chuckled. "I don't think I could have imagined this if you hadn't told me. You, a business man, rebuilding the town trade!"

Carina could sense his pride and energy. "Wait until we ride out over the lands tomorrow. I'll show you the prettiest holding in all of Principality. The vayash moru are just as interested in getting the property earning its keep as the mortals, and just as ready to hear a good business deal."

Carina stretched up to kiss him. "You never stop surprising me." "I never plan to stop."

When the last of the guests left around the eleventh hour, Jorimarc escorted Carina to their suite. "These were the first rooms we rebuilt," Jonmarc said, swinging open the door. A small sitting room separated bedrooms for the lord and lady of the manor. Jonmarc's room was comfortable and simple, with a large four-poster bed, a writing desk, and . an armoire, all in the ornately carved style of the local craftsmen. Two comfortable chairs sat near the wide hearth. In one corner, Jonmarc's leather and scale armor stood ready on a form, while the wall above the mantle held a variety of interesting, and very useful, swords, knives, and crossbows. An odd contraption lay on the desk, a fitting of leather straps and a single arrow.

"What's that?" Carina asked with a nod toward the item on the desk.

"Insurance."

The sitting room had its own fireplace, making it comfortably warm despite the bitter chill outside. Large chairs, side tables, and a settee furnished the room, along with a table for card games or dice. Only one painting hung on its walls, a seascape.

"Gabriel gave me the painting as a gift when we moved back into the manor. It's the Northern Sea, near where I grew up" Jonmarc took Carina's hand and led her to the next door. "And this is your room. I hope you like it."

Carina gasped. The bedroom was a soothing mix of green and yellow, and it smelled of fresh herbs and dried flowers. Its curtained bed was smaller than the massive one in Jonmarc's room. Near the window, where the light would be best, a work table was set up with a mortar and pestle. Along one wall, a small library of books hugged built-in shelves, and a wide variety of dried plants hung near the fireplace. Plenty of candles and a large chair by the fire completed the room. Her bags and trunks were stored near the far wall.