Page 28 of To Vanquish Darkness

Anger built in her chest like a thunderhead. He'd brought her here, yet since they'd stepped foot on this rock swept by the tide, he’d told her nothing more.

Amalie swore under her breath and glanced around her room. It was much more grand than her room at home, either the one in the city she shared with Olivie or the one at Uncle Oren’s. There was already a fire lit in the hearth. Her bed was turned down. A water basin and clean cloth sat on the dressing table.

She dropped to the chaise and stripped off her boots and socks. Just as she suspected, the skin was rubbed raw on her ankles and the edges of her toes. She winced as she ran her fingers over it to check for bleeding. Thankfully, it had already stopped, soaked into her socks.

Her heart started to pound. Did Theo expect her to stay here alone while she waited to change? She’d been so focused on her questions, she still didn’t know how or when that would happen.She’d asked in the shed, and he hadn’t answered. The least he could do was tell her what to expect.

Amalie flung her door open and stormed into the hall. She pounded her fist on Theo’s door. It swung open within seconds, and she stumbled forward.

"Changed your mind?" Theo's shirt was unbuttoned, revealing sun-kissed skin and well-toned muscles.Nothing like the legends.

She opened her mouth, then closed it. What had she been wanting to ask? "I thought you couldn't go in the sunlight." Amalie forced her eyes to his face.

"We can't," he answered quickly.

"Then why do you look like that?"

"You'll have to be more specific."

Amalie slid into the room and pressed her palms against the door. It closed with a scrape. "You're not pale or cold like the legends. You don't have bloodshot eyes and fangs showing over your lips."

Theo turned, continuing to undress. He threw his shirt over the post of his bed, and Amalie’s mouth felt like it had been swabbed with cotton. Ink-like marks wound over his broad shoulders, connecting along his spine. She caught a glimpse of a sun and moon and a symbol on the underside of his forearm that looked exactly like the signet on the ring she’d stolen.

If Theo saw her gawking, he didn’t let on. "We're built to attract those we seek. Our appearance has changed over time. A thousand years ago, humans preferred lighter hair and skin. Now you seem to be preoccupied with . . .” He inspected himself in the mirror along the far wall. “Dark features." He glanced up and caught her eye.

Amalie set her jaw and glared at him. "It's disgusting."

"You set traps for your food. Smear your faces with mud. Dress in colors that mimic the grass or trees. It isn't any different." Theo reached for the button on his pants.

"Can you stop, please? I didn't come here to watch you undress."

Theo smirked. "Then why did you come?"

Amalie bit the inside of her cheek, her heart racing like she’d just climbed the staircase at the abbey.Vain bastard.“You said I’d learn more once we arrived.”

“And you will.” Theo sat on the bed, leaning back on his forearms, his trousers still unbuttoned. Three stripes of black ink dragged over his left hip and disappeared beneath the waistband of his pants.

Amalie blushed in spite of herself. “I’ve been patient.” They were his words she hoped to use against him, but they backfired. All they brought into her head was the memory of his lips on hers.

Theo looked amused. “Hardly.”

“You can’t keep touching me or—taking things without permission.”

“I had permission for that.”

Amalie’s eyes widened.He thought she’d wanted his kiss?“No, I?—“

“You agreed to play the part. It kept you safe. I won’t apologize.”

Amalie wanted to scream. Instead, she drew a deep breath and refocused. She needed to play nice. She needed the answers she came for. “Am I going to succumb to darkness overnight? Will there be pain? Will I burn from the inside out?”

Theo frowned, then cocked his head. “Possibly all of the above.”

“Excellent.” Amalie’s lips pulled into a tight line. She wished she had another stake in her hands. Even if she couldn’t kill himwith it, she could at least watch him bleed. Theo’s lips curled into a smile, and Amalie couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “You find this funny?”

Theo sat straight. “A little. But only because I’d forgotten.”

“Forgotten what, exactly?” Amalie seethed, her anger finally killing any desire to rake her eyes down his bare torso. It was a shame that the lithe male form would be ruined for her after this moment.

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