Page 20 of House of Darkness
“Not to me.”
His words should have comforted me, but instead, they felt hollow. My tiny flicker of hope had just been extinguished, and now the prejudices and expectations I carried were crumbling like sand, leaving me with nothing. I didn’t know how to handle that, especially as the gaping hole in my gut widened.
It took a while for me to find my voice again, long enough for him to move on to my fourth bandage. “Why purchase me, then?”
“You and your questions,” he sighed. I pursed my lips to fight the frown forming. He had been so open, yet now he was dancing around the most pressing question I’d asked.
He finished rebandaging my wound and buttoned my shirt. “Get some rest, doll. I’ll make sure someone brings you food. Don’t move too much, or you’ll reopen the scabs.”
As he stood to leave, I noticed the torn fabric of his still-damp shirt, revealing perfectly healed skin. He left damp shoe prints behind as he walked out the bedroom door. I was left staring at those footprints, my unanswered question still ringing through my mind.
Roman kept his word. Shortly after his departure, food was delivered. I picked at it absently, my mind elsewhere. My hopes for freedom, for a better world beyond my cage, and my fear of Matei had fueled me my entire life. Yet the world outside was just as cruel as the one I had known. If Roman was to be believed, my fear of being returned was a farce. I didn’t know where that left me.
Then there was the look of panic in Roman’s eyes as he pulled me from the river, the relief that I was alive. Only my sister had ever looked at me with such care. His gentle touches had brought clarity and calm to the turbulent waters of my mind. I wasn’t sure how to process that.
He didn’t visit me again that day, and if I was honest, I was disappointed.
I woke to a soft knock at the door. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, blinking in the soft morning light. Spring rain pattered against the windows like a soothing lullaby, cloaking the sky in gray.
“Come in.” It felt strange to invite someone into my chambers. I had never had such privacy before.
Roman stepped in, his hair neatly groomed, wearing a crisp linen shirt rolled to his elbows. His wings were out today, giving him the appearance of a dark angel. He carried a silver tray piled with an assortment of items I couldn’t quite make out.
“Good morning, sir.”
His smile faltered as he approached my bedside and placed the tray on my lap. “I really wish you’d stop calling me that. It reminds me of my father.”
I glanced over the tray with vague interest. There were littlesandwiches, a tea set, and a deck of cards. He had really gone all out. “Breakfast in bed served by the tsar himself? I must be a lucky girl.” I gave him a smile, only half forced, and picked up one of the sandwiches. “Thank you, Roman.”
He sat in the chair beside my bed. “I thought you might appreciate some company. Sitting in bed all day can be quite dull without a good conversationalist.”
“And are you a good conversationalist?” I asked.
He smirked. “I’d like to think so.”
“So confident,” I teased. It was nice to see him in better spirits, a semblance of normalcy amid the chaos. Even though I had been wrong about so much, at least I knew what to expect from him. Suave and arrogant Roman was the one I understood.
I bit into the sandwich, barely containing a moan of pleasure at the flavor. The bread was soft and spongy, with the crunch of fresh cucumber adding a delightful contrast. As I munched, Roman picked up the deck of cards.
His nimble fingers shuffled the deck with intimidating speed and precision, not even glancing at the process as the cards fluttered like a bird’s wings blending into the sound of the rain. “Do you know any games?”
I shook my head, captivated by his movements. Vampires looked human, but even their subtle actions revealed an inhuman grace.
“No? What did they teach you at that godforsaken academy?” he teased.
I smiled, though my stomach twisted at the reminder of my lessons, most of which had been spent learning how to be satisfactory in the bedroom. Learning to please a man was a dark part of my memory that I had shoved into the back corner of my mind and did my best to ignore. “They taught me how to please you.”
Roman flinched, a visceral reaction that surprised me. He knew what we were trained for at the acolyte academies; it shouldn’t have shocked him. He rolled his shoulders, and his suave mask slid back into place. Watching him put on that mask was oddly fascinating. I wondered how he learned to perfect it.
“Well, it would have pleased me if they had taught you how to play Whist so I wouldn’t have to, but here we are.”
I pursed my lips. “So, you really aren’t going to take me?”
“No, not unless you’re an enthusiastic participant.”
I couldn’t help myself, though I knew the question troubled him. It felt like the final piece of a puzzle that just wouldn’t fit. “Then why purchase me?”
He sighed, his fingers neatly assembling the deck. “How about we play a different game? Truth for a truth.”
