Page 77 of Reap the Night
“No…”
“Yes. It’s the only explanation.”
I’d bitched about Ezekiel. Called him a pompous asshole and all sorts, and all the time he’d been the one speaking to me through Leo? Agreeing with me even. A few weeks ago, I’d have been pissed at him for playing me for a fool, but now all I could think was he’d played chess with me, kept me company…been a friend…
It explained why Leo had been silent the past week. Because Ezekiel wasn’t there to animate him. He was here. In a cell. In a nightmare.
A fist claimed my heart. I missed him and his pompous arrogance. “I need to go for a run.”
“Now?” Hemlock glanced at the clock. “Not a good idea.”
“Why?”
“It’s almost sunset and two days from the full moon. Ordell will be…prowling.”
The mention of my almost mate made my stomach flip, and I wasn’t sure if it was fear or longing.
“Riiight, no outdoors time. Got it. But I need to get rid of some of this energy so I can sleep.” So I could be with Ezekiel.
We’d discovered that sleeping aids meant that I slept too deeply for Ezekiel to find me and pull me into his nightmare, but I was too wired today and worried that natural sleep would be evasive.
“There is something we can do,” Hemlock said. “There are tunnels beneath Branwood. A whole network built to act as a hideaway or a hidden route into the castle. Ordell and I used one of the routes to check on Ariella the past few weeks. The lighting system still works down there. I can take you into what Ordell likes to call the run. It’s a winding route that circles the castle. We could do a few laps.”
I didn’t like enclosed spaces, and tunnels underground would be enclosed, but I’d done sewer cleanouts before for the Order and been fine so… “How wide are these tunnels?”
“Wide enough for us to run side by side and there still be room,” Hemlock said. “But we don’t have to go down there if you?—”
“No. I want to.” I glanced across at Ezekiel. “I need to.” To be tired enough to stay asleep long enough for him to tell me or show me what it was he needed to reveal.
Hemlock stood slowly and stretched his lithe frame, and I was suddenly struck by his superior beauty, the kind that paired well with his often condescending attitude. Except he hadn’t been that way. Not the past few days. The cold, distant male who’d been eager to keep a distance had been replaced by someone who’d become synonymous with comfort.
His eyes narrowed when he caught me staring, and a little frost seeped into his expression. “Don’t get any ideas, kitten. I’m here forhim.” He pointed at his brother. “To keepyousafeforhim, because Ordell can’t be here to do it.”
A little of the warmth leached from the room with his words. “I know that, but…But it’s been nice.” Fuck, why had I said that?
His eye flinched. “Let’s get you tired out before you profess your undying lust for me.”
I’d have risen to that before, but not any longer, because despite what he said, I was certain that Hemlock was just as fascinated with me as I was with him. I shouldered past him and opened the door. “Hope you can keep up.”
He smirked. “Of course, you’ll need someone to carry you back when your limbs give way from exhaustion.”
I turned to face him, chin up loftily. “You know, big muscular guys usually have very little stamina.”
He stepped into my personal space and leaned in, gripping the top of the frame, his lips grazing my ear. “Oh, kitten, you wouldn’t be able to handle my stamina.”
Be still my beating pussy. I shoved his chest and spun on my heel to head up the corridor. “Well, come on, then.”
“Oreena…” he crooned. I glanced over my shoulder. He tilted his head in the opposite direction, lips flirting with a smile. “This way.”
Shit.
Whenever I startedto believe that I had Branwood mapped out in my mind, another area was unlocked for me. This, the southernmost wing, was drafty and bare. The floors were without rugs, the walls without tapestries, and blackened marks marred the stonework.
“What happened here?”
“A fire,” Hemlock said. “Long ago.”
His tone was curt, the kind of tone that warned against further investigation. I let it go. For now.
