Thirty-six bodies were found in the castle so there was no need to continue searching for the one that got away. Ash had to bear the terrible burden of being the coven leader who couldn't save a single one of his comrades.

He stared up at the incomplete barrier morosely. He had never wanted to be coven leader at all. There were many candidates who were both older and more powerful but he ended up with the job simply because his father had been the previous one.

Ash did the best he could with the position. He managed to get everyone pa.s.sage to the New World though they nearly starved on the way.

They created their settlement in the woods of what would later be known as Oregon. They managed to live peacefully and thrive for a few centuries before everything was destroyed. And all because he hadn't even known the threat was coming.

The Mayhews worked in intelligence! It was his job to know everything! Yet the Cromwells' plans had completely blindsided everyone. It was all over from the moment they managed to capture a Mayhew agent and use him to get inside the barrier.

If he had been smarter…stronger…more powerful…could he have saved his people? Even one of them making it out with them would have felt like an accomplishment. Now he was completely alone.

Or was he? Their truce was temporary but he did have Ruby for the time being. Due to the altered nature of their deal, their contact would go on indefinitely even though it would be limited.

Once their venture in Las Vegas ended, Ash had no doubt she would disappear for years before showing up and asking for that promised barrier. He was used to being around others constantly but the solitude was what he deserved.

If he couldn't protect his kin he couldn't protect anything. He didn't deserve to rebuild even if he could find other vampires willing to join him. He couldn't join another coven for the same reason.

Ash didn't deserve to be happy. He didn't deserve to have a sense of normalcy.

Besides, if he did join up with the Alaskan or Canadian covens they would want to know where he came from. They could be put in danger if the Cromwells ever found out he was still alive.

He had fled to this castle because it was the closest former vampire lair he could find that wasn't affiliated with the Mayhews. He needed a safe place to recuperate that had a witch coven nearby where he could plot his revenge.

Getting involved with a fairy that obviously had troubles of her own hadn't been a part of the plan. But right now she was his best shot at taking down his enemies.

Ash had no intention of getting Ruby involved in his fight. She would help him make some money and he would come up with a plan from there by himself. He couldn't feel guilty about using her; they were both only in this because of mutual need.

He needed power to destroy the Cromwells and she needed protection from her aunt and uncle. There was definitely more to that than simply avoiding a marriage but it wasn't his place to pry.

Mutual need. Helping each other and parting ways. That was all this would be and then he would live out the rest of his long miserable life alone.

Ash had debated whether he should kill himself once his revenge was complete or continue atoning for his inadequacy by living a few hundred years with no one around. It would make him go mad; he had heard of that sort of thing happening to isolated fae before.

But since there was a good chance he would die getting his revenge anyway that was kind of a moot point now. He felt like he was going mad anyway. Being interested in something unrelated to his vengeance like Ruby was definitely a sign of madness.

===

Ash rather boredly spend his nights working on raising the barrier further for the next week. During the handful of waking hours that overlapped with Ruby's, they worked in the garden or putting everything to order in the castle as the furniture continued to arrive.

The two of them spent a fair amount of time strategizing as well. She said that everything in Las Vegas was based on gambling so they would need a lot of capital, time, and patience.

Ruby would provide the capital they needed but they had to figure out how to best go about earning money beyond that. She had been doing a lot of research in a human library while he was asleep to raise their chances of success.

She told him slot machines were much harder to win anything on and had less payouts so it was better to join card games, which involved at least a little strategy. She looked up every rule known to man for these games and had the two of them practice after the sun went down and gardening became difficult.

She intended to use her usual methods—whatever those might actually be—to make money rather than gambling but wanted him to see if he was any good at it while she was asleep. That way they could potentially be making money 24/7.

"Do you really think I can get all these rules down enough to win anything?" Ash asked in frustration after she beat him at blackjack for the third time in a row.

Ruby shrugged. "I think so. Your poker face is way better than mine so you have that much going for you."

He sighed. "Is this even necessary? Aren't you capable of making money for both of us?"

"Yes but wouldn't it be more satisfying if you could make some yourself? If you get good at this you won't need me sooner."

Oh. That made sense. Ruby wanted to be able to travel freely without worrying about him after fulfilling her end of the deal. This was as it should be. They were never supposed to run into each other in the first place.

And yet…Ash found himself disappointed in a way he couldn't fully explain. He had gotten a little bit used to having her around.