Page 31 of Vampire's Breath

I could hear her heart, the blood coursing through her arteries with every beat. But I wouldn’t be like him. I wouldn’t make the same mistake Ashdowne had. I would remain in control.

“Good night, Briar,” I whispered, wishing I could shield her from my brother’s game, but more so, protect her from myself.

For the first time since the early 1900s, I pushed open the door to our town house on St. James’s Square in London. As the scent of the citrus polish and aged wood enveloped me, my heart calmed. A sense of belonging settled over me; my years as the Marquess of Dún Na Farraige running through my mind, joined by my years of traveling, returning home to Ireland frequently. I was closer to the manor than I had been in a lifetime. A lump rose in my throat. I would never go back there. Doing so was rejoining my family. Even being in London was not about that. It was about helping Briar.

The door closed behind me, shutting the urban elegance of London outside. I made my way into the grand entryway, the glass ceiling soaring two stories above me, the hallway filled with light. Briar, Cormac, and Rory followed. I heard a sharp gasp from Briar. Had Lady Isobel been acquitted, Briar could have had a home like this, passed down over generations. Would she have inherited the title Baroness of Blackcairn as well, instead of it being forfeit to the Crown?

The staircase rose beneath the glass, the polished banister gleaming, the ornate carvings restored, yet the floorboards of the entry creaked underfoot. I glanced through the open doorways. The dining room was still just to my left. In front of me, I could see the dark wood shelves of the library and the pocket door resting snug in the wall. The leather chairs we would occupy after dinners sat in an empty circle, a shrine to the times before Aiden lost his mind.

I bristled as nostalgia from the familiarity of the house caused my breath to catch in my throat. I needed to figure out how to help Briar and get out of here. To do that, I had to speak to Cormac alone.

We both knew nothing existed in the public archives. Not only was Lady Isobel tried in the House of Lords as a peeress in her own right, but I had done everything I could to bury the information. I had even compelled the Lord High Steward to have her incarcerated in the Tower of London to keep the details from the guards at Newgate. My hand clenched into a fist at my side, my nails digging into my palm in a futile attempt to steady myself. Finding a path forward with this deception felt impossible when the only possible records were in our own archives.

Cormac placed a hand on my shoulder. “Welcome home, brother.”

I glanced at him, my jaw twitching. “You know this isn’t home. And I’m not setting foot there.”

Briar tilted her head slightly, her brow furrowing as she glanced between us, clearly intrigued by our exchange. Her brown eyes lingered on me. I wanted to reach out and take her hand, run from this place, and keep her away from the madness. Why had I let this happen?

Rory stepped forward, her eyes narrowed and focused on her mate. “I thought you two had settled this on the plane, Cormac? Briar, let me show you upstairs while they finish this… conversation.”

Briar tore her eyes from me. “Show me the way.”

“Here.” Rory mounted the stairs, followed by Briar. I watched as she disappeared from view.

“Looks like some things never change.” I gestured at the room around me, refusing any further acknowledgment of my brother’s statement about home.

The cords in Cormac’s neck tightened and twitched once before he nodded. He pointed toward the library, the conversation about Ireland delayed. “Most of the layout is the same, just modernized. No one from Dún Na Farraige Estates can access the second floor or above in the house. They still use the ballroom and reception halls on the first floor, and the music room remains the boardroom. On this floor, the small drawing room, library, and dining rooms are used for formality when needed. But we’ve expanded the offices into the Hendersons’ place next door. The corporate employees are now housed there.”

“And the Marquess’s office?” My heart clenched as I mentioned our father’s office, the room that was supposed to be dedicated to the sitting Marquess, even though he never relinquished it.

Cormac paused, biting his lips together. “Father’s office remains empty.”

We stood in stony silence for a minute before Cormac drew in a sharp breath. “Security and IT are both in the basement, and the kitchen has been expanded to host functions. That also raises the question: Would you prefer eating in the drawing room upstairs or the dining room here?”

I peered through the door beside me. The dining room, a stately space with tall windows draped in heavy crimson curtains, looked like no one had used it since the last century. The fireplace gleamed, not a speck of ash showing a fire had warmed the room in years, but I knew it could have been lit just yesterday with the staff employed. Still, I couldn’t see the four of us sitting down to a meal at the long wooden table in mock formality. “The drawing room is fine.”

“Wonderful. I’ll let the kitchen know. We’ll need to get you access cards so you can come and go as you please. I’ll have Dani bring them to you.”

A smile played on my lips. “I was surprised to see Dani’s still around.”

“She’s been with me for almost three hundred years. Why would I get rid of her? She and Aurora get along quite well, and I trust her to liaise with my office.” Cormac hesitated. “You know you have your own office as well?”

I raised an eyebrow, leaning on the doorframe and crossing my arms over my chest. “How do I have an office?”

His voice softened as his brows knitted together. “As the company grew, I created offices for each of us. I couldn’t leave anyone out—even if I couldn’t find them.” He stopped for a minute and twisted the cuff link in his shirt. My brother never knew how to dress casually. Of course, he was as far from a casual person as I knew, but this moment of hesitation was very unlike him. “Everything here has changed. Mother and Fatherstill haven’t returned. I heard from them about twenty-five years ago.” He stopped again as though testing how much he could tell me. “Declan has a mate now. Her name is Isla.”

I smiled. “What is it with everyone finding a mate?” And how could they trust those feelings when they did?

Cormac raised one side of his lips. “Well, maybe you and Briar…”

I clenched my jaw and shook my head. My words were sharp—too sharp. “Don’t even go there. I’m helping Briar with her ancestors’ story and taking her back to Australia so she can live in peace. She doesn’t need to be around us.”

A harsh silence engulfed us even though Cormac’s eyes glittered with disbelief. “Keep telling yourself that. There is a lot you don’t know, so if you have any feelings for her at all—”

“Like what?”

Cormac swallowed as his eyes darkened. “Runa kidnapped Isla last year.” His words fell from his mouth without a hint of him trying to soften them.

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