Page 16 of House of Darkness
As I heard the rushing water of the nearby river, my slipper caughton a web of roots, and I fell. Sharp stings in my knees and forearms told me the worst—more injuries meant more blood for my hunter to track. I managed to push myself up just as an arm wrapped around my middle, dragging me into an iron-like chest.
No, no, no.This couldn’t be how it ended. My life couldn’t be summed up in torture endured at the hands of monsters. I twisted in my captor’s grip and drove my blade into his heart.
His arms loosened, and I resumed my desperate flight. I lost one slipper and threw off the other. Stones and branches mercilessly cut into my feet, but I ignored the pain.
The river grew louder, and I skidded to a halt just before toppling into the rushing water. I was trapped. I could endure the river’s depths or return to the beast at my back. My mind scrambled. He should be dead. I had stabbed him through the heart. I could follow the river and hope to evade more vampires.
“I’ll admit, I didn’t think you’d have it in you to stab me. In the heart, no less. I’m proud of you, doll.” A voice like satin rumbled through the darkness. I stiffened.
The tsar had found me.
He shouldn’t be alive after what I did. I spun to face him. The knife still protruded from his chest, yet he seemed unaffected by the wound. Taloned hands grasped the wooden hilt and yanked the blade free. He tossed it into the river with a soft splash.
He would be furious. He had to chase me down. My blade might as well have been turned on myself as his rage over my attack was sure to be my doom. He’d send me back to that hell, to the demons that haunted my every breath.
I’d rather die.
I stepped backward, acceptance washing over me as I fell toward the icy depths. Blackness consumed me. I opened my mouth to gasp,but water rushed into my lungs. I was dragged across the river bottom like hot coals but even as pain raked through me, I accepted my fate. At least if I killed myself, no one else would get the pleasure.
I allowed my eyes to roll back as calm washed over me. Maybe death would be peaceful, unlike this world. Then arms wrapped around me, dragging me from the depths and forcing me to return. Roman dragged me onto the riverbank.
“You are not dying on me, Estrella.” His voice was laced with panic. I wasn’t sure why he was panicking. Everything felt warm and comfortable now; he should be relieved.
His fists battered my ribcage. I wished he wouldn’t, it hurt. I tried to scream, but the words wouldn’t come. It felt like I was drowning.
Iwasdrowning.
My eyes fluttered open and caught his gaze. His were bloodshot and wide with terror. He struck my ribcage again, and water gurgled from my lips. I rolled onto my side, gasping desperately, trying to regain my breath as water poured from my lungs.
“Oh gods,” Roman murmured, curling over me. “You scared me, doll.”
I couldn’t respond. My lungs felt battered and broken. I was pretty sure Roman had fractured a rib in his attempt to save me and blood pooled from my injuries. Icy water leached my heat, forcing my body to shiver, which only intensified the pain. I was barely aware of his featherlight touches, inspecting each injury.
“I can’t move you like this… Estrella, I need you to trust me.” His fingers pinched my chin, tilting my head back to meet his eyes. “I can make the pain go away.”
I nodded, exhausted. All my energy had gone into ending up right back where I started. The world was meant to devour girls like me; what did it matter what he did to me?
Our eyes locked, and though they were fuzzy, his eyes still seemed to consume my very being. His fingers brushed over my cheek, then the sweet scent of sap and polishing oil overtook my senses.I was sure my eyes were open, but instead of his ruby gaze, there was a crackling fire, its warmth enveloping my frostbitten limbs. A soft quilt wrapped around me, trapping in that comforting heat.
I sat in a rocking chair next to a large workbench, wood shavings scattered around me. A pile of logs for the fire sat in a corner, a splitting maul worn with love leaning against the stack.
Then I was yanked from the vision by the taste of copper. Roman’s wrist was pressed to my mouth, his blood trickling from puncture marks into the seam of my lips. I choked.
“Shh, doll. Drink it. It’ll help, I promise.”
I reluctantly parted my lips, allowing the foul liquid to enter. It slithered down my throat like liquid fire, igniting my insides and leaving a numbing tingle in its wake.
His free hand gripped my wrist tightly. The pads of my palms were shredded, blood streaming down my arm and over his talons. The pain had been excruciating, but now all I felt was a soothing warmth. I giggled, realizing I hadn’t even lasted two hours on my own. I could almost hear Solaris’ voice in my mind, gloating about being right.
“Quit fighting me, Estrella. You don’t want to see this.” I wasn’t sure what he meant and was about to ask when the visions of the cabin surged back. The last thing I saw was his tongue sliding over my palm before I found myself back by the fire, its comforting warmth spreading through my battered body.
Chapter 10
ROMAN
Iflew back to the castle at breakneck speed. The sight of her shivering form and the overpowering scent of blood urged me onward. I didn’t slow until I reached her room, where I gently laid her on the mattress.
The terror she had endured—reaching the point of contemplating her own death—filled me with a seething rage. I ached to hunt down her tormentors and tear them apart, but I was one of those monsters. The realization that she had feared me sickened me.
