Page 94 of Ruins
She glances over her shoulder before leaning in, voice hushed.
“Vasilisa, you should know… Santo is not all that he appears to be.”
Her words hang between us, heavy, unshakable.
I blink, caught off guard by the sudden shift in her demeanor. “What do you mean?”
She hesitates, chewing on her lower lip before speaking again.
“Promise me you’ll be careful,” she implores earnestly. “There’s more to this house... and Santo... than meets the eye.”
Before I can press her for more, a throat clears behind us, and Lila’s eyes widen.
Slowly, I turn.
Santo stands just a few feet away.
His dark gaze is locked onto mine. The air feels heavier suddenly, charged with an intensity I don’t fully understand.
“Lila,” he says smoothly, his voice a low rumble that somehow fills the entire hallway. His gaze never strays from mine. “Could you give us a moment?”
Lila’s spine straightens. Her voice is steady when she replies, but there’s something strained beneath it. “Certainly, Mr. Amato.”
She doesn’t even look at me before slipping away down the hall, her steps brisk, leaving me alone with him.
I inhale carefully. Steady. “Santo—”
He lifts a hand, just slightly, shaking his head. A quiet, deliberate motion. Calm. In control.
“What were you two discussing?” His tone is light. Almost casual.
But his eyes betray him.
They are sharp. Unrelenting. Pinning me in place like a wolf waiting for its prey to twitch.
My pulse skips. I remind myself to breathe.
“Just… things about the house.”
The words leave my lips before I can second-guess them, but I know. He hears the hesitation.
Santo steps closer. Not fast. Not aggressive. Just slow, deliberate. His presence fills the space between us, pulling the air from my lungs.
His eyes search mine, looking for cracks, for anything I might be keeping from him. I don’t break his gaze. Even as my pulse thunders in my ears.
He studies me for a moment longer, then exhales softly, as if coming to a decision.
He steps past me, reaching for the library door.
“Come in.”
The words are smooth. Unquestionable.
I hesitate for half a second before following him inside.
The grand library looms around me, but its beauty does little to ease the tension curling at the base of my spine.
Santo gestures for me to sit.
