Page 52 of Violet Legacy

Riekastared.Theguardshad destroyed the room in their efforts to protect her. She didn’t know where to look. Nor could she get over the fact the nightmare creatures were real. Her mom had drawn them in her journal, and they appeared every couple of pages, but Rieka had always presumed they were a figment of Lilian’s imagination.

But that wasn’t the most pressing thing on her mind. She had also outright lied to Dante about the bracelet. Ever since the vision, she had been plagued by a dull throbbing feeling through her arm that centered on the bracelet. Every so often, a sharper pain would shoot through her. It was like a small electrical shock racing around her body. Not enough to be debilitating, but enough for her to notice it. She wanted to tell him the truth, but she couldn’t risk being placed under lock and key.

Dante stood to the side, talking to Talik about who knew what. Even though he appeared engrossed in the conversation, she knew Dante was wholly aware of everything she was doing. It should scare the hell out of her, but right now, it was comforting. Maybe she didn’t need to deal with this mess on her own.

Lost in thought, she stared at the glass door. The animal had almost knocked it down. She hadn’t realized how close it had gotten to her. She could still see the way its orange eyes stared straight through her as if it was looking for something within her. It was beyond unnerving.

“What do you want to do?”

Rieka sighed as she turned to face Dante.

He appeared unaffected by what had happened throughout the evening except for the subtle glint of fury in his gaze that she occasionally caught.

The guards had torn the room apart, and she had no idea what they thought they were looking for. The animal had been the size of an oversized lion. Priceless artifacts and keepsakes had been destroyed or discarded, as if they were rubbish. Her clothes had been thrown haphazardly around the room and trampled. The emerald dress she had worn to the gala lay in an uneven heap by the bed. The aftermath of the search told her exactly what the guards thought of her. Rieka struggled to not let her feelings show. She held onto the journal tighter, glad that she’d had the foresight to grab it before the guards could have torn it to shreds. Or taken it somewhere else. The room was a clusterfuck. And that was putting it nicely.

Dante touched her shoulder. “Rieka?” Patience tinged his voice.

She wouldn’t have expected or have guessed he was capable of it when they first met. He watched her as if she was a fragile piece of glass seconds away from breaking. It took her another second to realize they were the only ones left in the room.

“It may take a couple of hours, but the room can be fixed and ready for use again,” Dante offered.

“No.” The thought of staying in the room for a minute longer was not an option. It made her skin crawl. She didn’t need to close her eyes to feel the breath of the serpopard or imagine the damage its yellow teeth could do to her. “Can I stay somewhere else?”

Dante slowly looked her over, concern flashing in his gaze. But it was quickly replaced by his normal icy expression. Anyone else in their right mind would have demanded a flight out of Egypt as soon as possible. Instead, she was a lot closer to finding out her mother’s secrets, and she wasn’t going anywhere until she got some answers. She ran her hand through her hair in frustration. Three days until she was back home, and she could deal with the emotional aftermath. But right now, she was only focusing on the next twelve hours.

“Do you have anything in here that can’t be replaced?”

She glanced at the journal; her other hand clutched her pendant. In any other situation, she would have laughed at the absurdity of the question. “I can replace everything else I own in the room.” Rieka didn’t wait for a response once her mind was made up. She had spent enough time in there.

Outside in the corridor, she watched the guards warily. Their stoic appearance gave nothing away. The fledgling emotions she had felt from them before were gone, and she was left with a wall of nothing, which suited her. She didn’t think she could deal with any of her newfound heightened senses. Dealing with her own emotions was more than enough. And there was one feeling that she couldn’t quite understand. The trust she was putting in Dante terrified her. This was the second time she had turned to him for help. Every time it was like there was a magnetic pull toward him, and she was powerless to fight it. Trust was not something that came easily to her. She pushed the thought away before she could analyze it. Her sudden reliance on the Atlantean was nothing she wanted to look into, not just yet.

Dante followed her. He remained a step behind her, giving her the personal space she needed. She turned the corner when it dawned on her that she did not know where she was going. Dante stopped a few feet away and waved at the almost hidden scanner. It blinked green and emitted a low beep before the door swung open, revealing a large, spacious room. It had an identical layout to her room, but was decorated with darker tones and masculine furniture. The room looked simple but expensive.

“You can have my room.” Dante moved to stand next to her. “The guards will ensure you are not disturbed. Anhur has reinforced the security around the Arx.”

Like before? She bit her lip before she said something she would regret. The adrenaline had quickly faded, replaced by a wave of tiredness. So many questions she wanted to ask, but right now, she didn’t want to think about any of it.

How did she put the words together? She had been on her own for so long she had forgotten how to ask for help. To rely on someone else. Truth be told, she had Rory, but she had never been comfortable asking for help—not even from her best friend. Not when she had other priorities.

She swallowed. All she could do was ask and be ready for the rejection. “I don’t want to be alone.”

Chapter 32

Danteinstantlyclosedthegap as the words hung in the air between them.

She hesitated for a second before she melted against him. Warm tears seeped through his shirt as she wrapped her arms around him. Dante wanted to stop time and rewind what had happened. To go back to when he’d had Talik escort Rieka to her room instead of doing it himself. His intention had been to protect Rieka from House Mestor and Kai’s accusations, but he didn’t think he had ever miscalculated the situation as badly as he had that night.

For an Atlantean who had spent centuries not caring about other people’s reactions or emotions, Rieka was forcing him to reevaluate his entire way of thinking. Her tears pierced parts of his heart he didn’t think had ever existed. “I will not leave you.”

He held Rieka as she shuddered, her body trembling.

Eventually, Rieka pushed back as she wiped the tears from her red-rimmed eyes. “I didn’t take you for a cuddler, Delacroix.” Still clutching the journal to her chest, she gathered her composure. “It’s been a night. I’m not usually this—” She waved at herself. “Whatever. I know how Atlanteans view emotions as a human weakness. Blame my human side.”

He had been taught to ensure he had no obvious weaknesses that could be exploited. Emotional attachments to people and objects had been frowned upon in the Delacroix household. Even his relationship with his twin had been shaped to ensure that they couldn’t be used as a weapon against each other, and he had never questioned it until this moment. It was a dangerous moment, and it was becoming apparent Rieka was affecting him in ways he could never have predicted.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” Rieka asked. She moved so she could look up at him. A frown marred her forehead. “Has no one ever hugged you before?”

No. Not since he was a child.

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