Page 49 of Hunt the Dusk
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe it was all an excuse to play with my food…”
“Fucking hell.”
He cut me a sidelong glance. “Control your indignant pulse, little Silver. I’m in a delicate state at this moment and feelingmore than a little peckish, and the race of blood through your veins is akin to a siren’s song.”
I breathed slowly and evenly to calm myself. “How much longer before we reach Dracmore?”
“Several hours yet. You should sleep.”
“You just told me you’re hungry. I am not sleeping.”
His laugh was dry and brittle. “You wear the amulet of protection. I couldn’t feed on you even if I wanted to.” A sly look crossed his features. “But feel free to remove it if you like…”
“Yeah, when hell freezes over.”
He snorted softly, leaned his head back on the cushioned seat back, and closed his eyes. “Rest now. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”
I could see his pulse beating beneath his jaw, more of a flutter than a steady tempo. His naturally pale skin looked almost blue in places where his veins were more visible, and there were dark smudges beneath his eyes hidden in the shadows cast by his thick dark lashes.
He was hurt.
More than he was letting on.
“Why didn’t you order Godor and the others to help you?”
He smiled. “And how do you fight a spirit with blade and claw?”
“Fine, so why stop at all? You could have picked up the pace and kept going.” In the silence, a thought occurred to me. What if he’dwantedto face Emelie? Maybe he even felt hedeservedto be hurt by her, that he owed it to his victims, and if that was true, then it could only mean one thing…He was beginning to feel remorse. Remorse, which was a key pillar of his humanity.
“Spirits as a rule can’t hurt me. Many have tried. But I guess Emelie is no ordinary spirit.”
Wait, he hadn’t expected her to be able to hurt him? So he’d gone out there because he’d believed he was safe? “You confronted her to gloat?”
“I don’t gloat, Miss Lighthart.”
“Then what?”
“Maybe I was simply bored. Carriage rides are so tedious, after all.”
My heart sank.
So much for the remorse theory. “You know what, I will go to sleep after all. Enjoy the rest of your tedious ride.”
I rolled away from him and closed my eyes. This weekend couldn’t be over fast enough.
Chapter 17
Dracmore Castle was a mountain residence, nestled on one of the peaks of the snow-tipped Evermore Mountain range. It was dark with only the stars and moon for guidance, and so there wasn’t much to see on the winding road to the castle. Ezekiel closed the shutters and pulled the drapes to keep out the flakes of ice that found their way inside the higher we climbed.
The air was thinner, too, leaving me slightly lightheaded.
“You’ll adjust,” Ezekiel said. “It’ll take a few hours, but you’ll be fine.”
“That obvious?”
“Your pulse is faster, and you’re not afraid, aroused, or exerting yourself so…”
