Page 56 of Necromance
It was distant, foggy at first, like peering through warped glass. No, not glass. A canvas.
I was inside the portrait.
Serena paced before it, her fingers curled around a thick, leather-bound book. I recognized it instantly, the same one Lucien and I had found in the library. My pulse quickened. My grandmother’s book…
Serena lifted her gaze, smiling up at Lucien’s painted form with something sickly sweet in her eyes.
“Now we can be together forever.”
A cold unease crawled through me. No…not me. Lucien. I felt his anger, his helplessness, his silent rage as he watched her from the prison of the painting.
Serena only shrugged, flipping through the pages of thebook, her voice light, almost teasing.
“Who knows, Lucien? Perhaps you’ll fall in love with me… and I’ll be willing to break the curse for you one day.”
The vision wavered and shattered, pulling me back into the present with a sharp gasp. My fingers gripped the edge of the basin for support as the truth settled over me like ice.
Lucien was innocent. He’d not betrayed a heart… he’d simply been a victim of an obsessive one.
Tears pricked behind my eyes. For Lucien… and for my grandmother. Despite her involvement, I knew she’d had a good reason, I could feel it.
I sighed softly as I stepped out of the room, the quiet of the hallway pressing in on me, the only sound my own footsteps echoing against the stone floors.
I swallowed hard and made my way down to the kitchen, each step slower than the last. The place felt colder than usual, the walls seeming to close in around me. When I reached the kitchen, I moved to the table, my hands fidgeting with the hem of my sleeve as I sat down. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since the day before.
I snatched a chunk of bread, and some fruit, placing them on a cracked plate. I ate quickly, barely tasting the food as I chewed, my mind occupied with everything but the meal. I kept replaying the visions in my head, Serena’s voice lingering like an insidious whisper.
My heart raced as I thought about the body I needed to find. I still wasn’t sure how to break the curse. My stomach churned with unease, and a shiver ran down my spine. I couldn’t bring myself to face Lucien right now. Not yet.
I stared down at the table, hands clasped together tightly. I thought about summoning him, but there was hesitation, an unspoken fear of what I might face if I did. The emotions from last night, the kiss, his closeness… now knowing without a doubt that my grandmother cursed him… it made things more complicated. I wasn’t ready to confront that yet.
I glanced at the window, the fading sun taking with it, the fragile peace of the castle. He would be expecting me to summon him, upset if I put myself in danger… again.
Finally, after a long breath, I gave in. I couldn’t keep running from this. I needed answers. And if I was going to find them, I needed him.
I stood, my hands trembling slightly as I moved toward the center of the room.
“Lucien,” I called into the still air, barely above a breath.
A chill ran over me and my heart thudded in my chest. I waited, holding my breath. The silence stretched, and for a long moment,I thought perhaps he wouldn’t come..
Then, I felt it—a presence, unmistakable, just behind me. It was him.
I didn’t turn immediately, not yet. I wasn’t ready to look him in the eye again. But his presence was comforting and overwhelming all at once. I knew he was there. And whether I was prepared or not, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
“Mia,” Lucien’s voice came softly, his tone warm, but there was something deeper—something I couldn’t quite place. His voice was always like that, like the calm before a storm.
I turned slowly to face him, taking a deep breath, though it did little to calm the whirlwind inside me. My heart raced, the words I had been rehearsing in my head suddenly felt foreign on my tongue.
Hells, he was beautiful.
“I’ve been remembering some of the visions,” I said, my voice trembling slightly. “The ones from your past. Pieces of them, anyway.”
Lucien didn’t say anything at first, but I could feel his attention sharpen, his presence leaning in just a bit more. His dark eyes watched me patiently.
“I’m starting to put the pieces together,” I continued, trying to push through the hesitation. “There was an argument. Between you and Serena. She… she was so insistent about the engagement. She wanted you to marry her. But you—” I paused, feeling a strange pang in my chest as I thought about the pain in his expression during the vision. “You didn’t want to. You told her you couldn’t. That you couldn’t love her the way she loved you. And she…” I trailed off, unsure of how to phrase the next part. “She seemed so determined. Like she thought she could make you love her somehow.”
Lucien remained silent for a long time, his gaze unwavering. I felt the weight of his eyes on me, as if he were searching my face for something, answers, maybe, or the truth of what I’d seen.
