Page 33 of Her Dark Promise

“Do not move, Callum! She hasn’t had one of these nightmares since she first came. I don’t want to startle her while in this state.”

I didn’t dare take my eyes off her as I walked up the stone steps until the only thing that was between us was the altar. The moment I touched the altar her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she brought the blade down, cutting deeply into her forearm while she said, “You will pay for what you did to me.”

A chill went down my spine.

The blood dropped onto the blade and then she was falling. I pushed the table aside and barely caught her as her body dropped to the floor. I cradled her head in my lap as I heard Callum running toward us.

I gently laid her down as I put my hands over her arm. Fuck. I could see to the bone. Blood ran over my hands and I ran a nail over the skin on my wrist and pressed it tightly against her lips. She drank my blood deeply, and it wasn’t long before the laceration began to repair itself until there was no evidence that there was a wound to begin with.

I bowed my head, not understanding what just happened.

“Why would she do this?” I looked up to find Callum kneeling on Emilia’s other side, his face horror-stricken. “Has she ever done something like this before?”

I nodded. “Yes. Though it was many years ago. I don’t know what could have possibly prompted this.”

Then my eyes closed as I remembered the prisoner in the tower and where he was from. I had told her earlier today who his father was.

All you ever do is cause others pain. What a sad, miserable life.

“Leave!”

I don’t know if Callum thought I was talking about him, but he didn’t move. “May I please help carry her back to her room?”

I took a deep breath, and before I could reply to him, Emilia’s eyes fluttered open. She tried to speak but then she swallowed. Her voice must have been strained from what just happened.

“Don’t speak. You’re fine.” Her eyes roved around and then widened in worry. “We are in the chapel where Callum found you, but you are safe. Everything is alright now.”

Her eyes landed on mine as she brought her hands up,What did I do?

“Nothing of significance. Just a nightmare.” She screamed out in horror at the sight of the blood on her hands. I waved my hands over them, manipulating her mind to think the blood was never there until I could get her to her bathing chamber to wipe away all evidence.

She blinked as her body started to shake.

“Callum, carry her.” He nodded and lifted her in his arms. She pressed into his body as she became so still that one might think she was a statue. I had to look away as she looked too fragile.

We reached her chambers and when I entered, it was just as organized as it was when I came in here the last time. It was the room that my cousins would stay in when they visited. It was grand. Her four-poster bed was against the wall to the left with sheer curtains draped around it. The window was open, the curtains billowing in the wind.

Despite it being the beginning of fall, the room was freezing.

Callum followed me as I flung open the bathing chamber doors and began to fill the tub with hot water. Her eyes were open as I looked back at Callum standing behind me, awaiting instructions, but she wasn’t saying anything. I wasn’t sure if she was conscious, but she was awake enough to stand on her own.

“Set her down.” He did as I instructed and left.

I felt the water to make sure it wouldn’t scald her and then lifted her nightgown over her head until she was completely nude in front of me. “Get in.”

She did as she was told and sat down, head bowed.

Without saying a word, I picked up a tonic, rubbed it in my hands, then lathered it thoroughly in her hair. I let that sit while I picked up a bar of sweet-smelling soap and rubbed it over her shoulders, down her back, and arms. I moved around the tub and lifted each leg, taking care to not scrub too high. When I had finished washing her body, I looked back into her face to find her crying. I reached out, took her face in my hands, and beganslowly rubbing away the blood with my thumbs until there was not one trace of blood left.

I never knew what to do when she cried. I would rather take action and kill whoever had caused her harm, but I couldn’t do that now.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was so soft.

I stood up to grab the towel that was on the side of the water basin and said with my back to her, “I know this happened because of what I told you earlier, but I looked through his memories, and there is nothing about what happened to you.”

I had searched through all of his memories; tore through every part of his mind because I thought there was a chance that the couple was there. I would have remembered seeing Emilia, but I didn’t.

Her eyes met mine and she nodded.

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