Page 34 of Her Dark Promise

“Aren’t you going to ask about what I am going to do with him?”

She closed her eyes. I assumed it was to beg me to kill him, but I was surprised when she shook her head. “I would never ask you to explain yourself, nor do I have the right to make any requests.”

“Even for a male who is the son of the one who did this to you?”

“Even then. You wouldneverallow anyone to survive if they were anything less than innocent.”

She was right. I would kill him if he was guilty of this crime or any other. Unfortunately for me, he was not a threat. He wished to kill me, but I saw a glimpse into the boy he was and I was certain that he wouldn’t hurt my humans.

She was also right that I didn’t owe her an explanation. I didn’t owe her anything, but I found myself telling her all the same, “I am keeping him. He is the first born son to that monster and though he is an egotistical brute of a male, I cannot in goodconscience kill him as he has done nothing wrong. It wasn’t for lack of trying either. I couldn’t even find anything in his past to warrant punishment. You know my rules.” I couldn’t punish him for his father’s crimes. “His father will not come looking for him which is why I must keep him. If I sent him back, they would surely send more. This is the only way.” I sighed. “I will instruct him to not approach you.”

“You are too kind, your grace.”

I handed her the towel. “Dry off and head to bed.”

I didn’t wait for a response as I exited the bathing room to find that Callum had shut the window and started a fire for her so that she wouldn’t be cold. Good, now I didn’t have to. I kept walking out of the room and leisurely walked back to the South Wing.

What could she have meant when she said that I would pay for what I did to her? Or was she even talking to me? She was looking straight at me, but maybe she was seeing someone else. I could go into her mind and pry, but I had learned that Emilia’s memory was fragmented because of what happened to her and so I wasn’t sure what good it would do. Not when what I would witness might not even be a true memory.

I suppose it didn’t matter. She was awake, and if it were to happen again, I would handle it like I always did.

I absentmindedly ran a hand through my hair, and it was sticky. I lowered my hand in front of my face to find that there was dried blood in my hair. I stopped in front of a mirror in one of the halls and was taken aback by my appearance.

There was blood everywhere. My face was smeared with it. I didn’t even remember touching my face. My hair was matted, but the brown was so dark that you wouldn’t notice the blood in the dark.

The blood was a stark difference to my pale-brown skin. I had lost the glow I was so proud of when I was a child, something which my mother wouldn’t stop commending.

Despite the pale skin, I was striking.

I didn’t eat much which honed my features from any extra fat that I might have had and sharpened them. My brown eyes were at times so dark that they appeared black. They were hollow, dead, which was appropriate for how I felt on the inside. I finally had to look away, not caring to stare at the creature who ruined everything.

Reminiscing again, are we?

“There’s nothing to reminisce about.”

I would beg to differ. We had fun.

“Wedidn’t have fun. You’re dead. Just like the rest of them.”

She clicked her tongue at me as if she were disappointed.Don’t you find it rude to speak to your governess like that?

“You are not her. You are nothing to me.”

It was silent for a moment and I thought that she was gone, but alas…You did this to yourself.

By the time Emilia had calmed down and I had taken yet another bath, I was too awake to think about attempting to go back to sleep so I went to the tower as the sky was starting to lighten.

He has a lot of fight in him, doesn’t he? Remind you of anyone?

I cocked my head to the side. “If you are insinuating that we are the same, then you couldn’t be more wrong.”

I narrowed my eyes at him as I stood over his sleeping form, still under the spell. He had his arms under his head as a makeshift pillow, his knees folded into a tight ball to stave off thechill of the air. I suppose I could have given him a blanket, but it never occurred to me as anyone who came into the tower never left.

I made a face as I took him in and heat pooled in my core. I wasn’t blind. He was one of the most handsome men that I had ever seen in my existence. And that mouth… All of the vulgar things he said about me only fueled the desire. I would need to find Callum soon.

Already wanting to fuck him?

“So would you if you could.” She laughed at that.

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