Page 129 of The Midnight Order
“My work was my bedfellow. I didn’t let anyone in. Ever. I don’t really know why. I just never felt the pull to do so.” I onlyhave a few bites of food left, but I can’t stomach another one. Pushing the plate away from me, I grab my wine glass.
Jasper leans over, filling it again for me, and his spiced scent wafts up my nose, calling forward a dangerous side of me I’ve let run wild whilst here in the manor.
“I can understand that. I was that way for a very long time. In fact, I’d say I was like that until the day I saw you.” His gaze bounces back toward mine, and I feel breathless, caught in it. Like I’m floating in a thick morning fog, nothing but a speck in his atmosphere.
“Well, then I’d say we’re perfect for one another.”
The tension between us grows thicker, and that’s when Milly flounces through the room, whistling some tune and breaking the moment between us.
I clear my throat. My eyes feel heavy from the wine, and my body likewise.
“I’d like to show you something if you’re up to it,” Jasper says, eyeing Milly with darkened eyes.
“Of course. I have nothing better to do.” I wince at how my words came out, but Jasper seems none the wiser as he stands and offers his hand.
If I were ever to rejoin the modern world, I’d never be able to date anyone again. The Thorngray Vampires have set the bar too high.
Way too fucking high.
Jasper unlocks a door before us,hesitating after the lock gives way. I don’t understand what’s beyond it, but whatever it is, he doesn’t know if he should show me.
“No one’s ever been in this room, apart from members of the order. The only reason I’m bringing you here is to show you… warn you what this life looks like. What triggering that dormant gene inside of you looks like. We didn’t have time to know, to see. You deserve that chance.”
My heart is beating wildly, and I swallow in anticipation.
Jasper turns the handle. Every subsequent move he makes feels like he’s in slow motion.
The room is dark, but as we step in, cases in front of us and to the left and right illuminate as if triggered by our presence. The walls surrounding us are paneled wood, reminding me of a past era. It looks like a museum—a shrine to another time.
“What is this?” I whisper, forgetting him at my side as I step toward the closest case.
Inside lies a uniform. It’s moth-eaten and bears the scars of some distant war. There are medals on its lapel. So many medals.
“That’s Corvin’s uniform from the war.”
I recall Corvin regaling me with his tales of life as a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
Looking down at the clothing he’d warn when he was human… Fuck, it does something to me.
I know they’re old. They’ve said as much and proved it to me. Seeing the evidence of that life livedbeforeis mind-boggling.
Stepping to my left, I begin a trek around the room.
Relics from other wars are proudly displayed, each case illuminating as I wander close to whatever sensors trigger them.
I stop, hovering over one case as I spy a collection of photographs.
It’s Asher. Not only Asher, but also with all sorts of people: musicians, women, and Corvin.
“The Roaring Twenties,” Jasper says, and I hear the smirk in his tone before looking up to see his lips spread up his face. “He loved that era. This entire case is dedicated to that decade.”
Emotion burns in my chest as I watch ghosts fill his eyes. “Jasper, why did you bring me here?”
He sighs, turning away as he meanders through the room. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he turns back, eyeing me with his brows furrowed. “Even if you’re the key, Silver. Who would I be if I damned you to a life like this? Who would we be?”
“Jasper, I?—”
He shakes his head, and I bite my tongue. “This might look like such a magical thing to you. But we’ve lived so many lifetimes, Lowell, especially. I’ve fought in battles that should have killed me, loved women I killed for sustenance when it came down to it, and lived long past my expiration date. I don’t want this for anyone. The more I get to know you, the more I get to be near you; I wholeheartedly don’t want this for you.”
