Page 6 of Reap the Night
“His humanity will return when she falls in love with him. It must be her and no one else. That’s the crux of the curse. “
“And you thought…You thoughtIwas her. You wantedmeto fall in love…in love with him…” My throat pinched, and tears sprang to my eyes. “You pushed us together hoping…” My chest hurt, and it was suddenly harder to breath.
“Orina!” Ordell cupped my shoulder. “Breathe. Slowly. In through your nose and out through your mouth, that’s right.”
Dammit, what the heck was wrong with me? I needed to pull it together. I did as he instructed, taking measured breaths until the buzzing in my head calmed, and when I spoke, I was pleased to find that my voice was calm and steady.
“Is there anything else that I should know? Any more secrets?” I lifted my chin and looked at them both. “I need to know everything if I’m going to help you.”
They exchanged glances, communicating silently, and the urge to smash their heads together and scream coursed through me. I fisted my hands and waited. Cool. Calm.
“There is one more thing…” Ordell said finally. “About The Order of Helsing…”
“Just spit it out.”
“It was formed by us.”
It took a moment for that to sink in. “Youcreated the Order?”
“Along with the white wings, of course,” Hemlock said. “We needed a force to cull the cold ones and keep Loviator weakened. We couldn’t risk her circumventing the curse if she got too powerful.”
“Our family name is Helsing Tepes,” Ordell said.
E.H.T. Ezekiel Helsing Tepes. I was working for them, had been all along. And although I understood why they’d held back in telling me all this—they’d thought I was Arabella—it still stung.
It stung, and it made me feel like a fool.
“Orina, I know it’s a lot to take in but?—”
“I’m fine.” In fact, the truth was liberating, and any residual pain it brought would melt. The knots their task had tied me up in slackened, and I slipped free.
Well…almost. There was still one entanglement to release myself from. “Can one of you drive me back to the chapter house in an hour?” No way was I staying the night now.
Ordell watched me for several beats, his gaze searching. What was he looking for? Grief, loss, disappointment? He’d find none. I was a member of the Order, a soldier of the white wings, no matter who had instigated the formation of the organization.
I’d pledged myself to a higher power to protect this world, and going forward, that would be my only focus, not golden eyes threaded with crimson or a sarcastic drawl that both set my teeth on edge and sent a shiver up my spine. Going forward, I’d be a watcher and nothing more. But if I left the castle, what excuse would the brothers have to stay and watch over Ariella?
“How will you keep an eye on Ariella if I leave? Ezekiel allowed you to stay here because of me.” I sounded too eager, too hopeful, and shame burned my cheeks at the pity in their eyes.
“We have Ingrid,” Ordell said, “and there are passages in the castle, areas that Ezekiel doesn’t go.”
Of course…this wasn’t the first time they’d played this game. “Good. Great. Will you drive me back?”
“Of course,” Ordell said.
“Thank you.” Now, before I left there was one important thing I had to do.
All this timein the castle, I’d never been permitted into Ezekiel’s quarters. Not until now. Now when I was due to leave, Leo, the door knocker, let me in.
The door swung open, admitting me into a narrow hallway lit by wall sconces. A large room decorated in dark muted colors and antique furniture lay beyond. There were bookcases bulging with books, and maps and papers were scattered on the table that sat next to an easel covered with a cloth. And, of course, there was Ezekiel himself, sitting in an armchair, looking out at a moon-washed view of Old Town.
I crossed the room to stand beside him and take in that view. A sense of déjà vu, of home, washed over me, because hadn’t we done this very same thing in my dreams? How many days? How many weeks had we spent together in our dreamscape when only a handful had passed here? Enough for me to know him. To understand him. To want to be close to him.
Enough for me to hope that this time…this time he would extricate himself from his curse. I’d hoped to be party to his liberation, not because of Loviator or the world, but because of him. Because I wanted him to be whole. I wanted him to be free.
I couldn’t give him that any longer; heck, I could never have given it to him. So it was time to step back and let Ariella take her rightful place by his side.
The woman he’d loved.
