Page 56 of House of Darkness
After dinner, I bid Iliya goodnight and allowed Isabella to escort her to her room. I could hear their happy chatter as they made their way down the opposite hall. Iliya would fit in well here if she weren’t already committed elsewhere.
Though part of me wanted to walk with them, I had bigger concerns. I tiptoed down the opposing hall. If Sorin knew whereRoman was, I needed to know. Every hour he was gone threatened to send me spiraling. The only light came from the soft glow of torches in the darkened hall.
Sorin melted out of the darkness with the ease of someone accustomed to sticking to the shadows. My mouth opened to scream, but his hand covered it. The sweet scent of cigarettes and something spicy seeped into my nostrils. “I’m guessing you’re looking for me?”
I smacked his hand away. “Where’s Roman?”
He cast a long look down the hall before beckoning to the door closest to us. “Let’s talk in my room.”
I followed him, my skin prickling as the door clicked shut behind us. I was alone with him, and the memory of the last time I had been alone with a male vampire surged to the forefront of my mind. Sorin cast me a sideways glance. “No need to worry, sweetheart. I wouldn’t do that to Roman.”
I flushed. “You can read minds too?”
“No, your face is just easy to read.”
He gestured to the tea table, a twin to my own, and I sat across from him. “Does my brother’s scent all over you have anything to do with his sudden absence?”
My face heated. “I’m guessing by that comment you have no idea where he is?”
Sorin’s fingers twitched. “No, I don’t.”
Then this conversation was a waste of my time. I stood up and made to leave, but Sorin cut me off with a sharp snarl. “Sit down.”
My eyes went wide, and my heart skipped a beat. I plopped back down, fear pinning me in place.
“I don’t know where he is, but I’m going to find out. I need to know what happened to do so, so you’re going to sing, little bird,” he demanded, tapping his finger against the table.
“I… don’t know what Roman would be okay with me telling you,” I admitted.
His eyes, glowing like torches in the darkness, narrowed. “Don’t insult me. I’ve known Roman my entire god damn life. I’ve pulled him out of the dirt more times than I can count, and he’s done the same for me. I know things about him you couldn’t even imagine, and he knows every horror of my life. Your little escapades with him are nothing to me.”
“Fine.” I gave him a brief rundown of everything that had transpired. My cheeks burned and my eyes remained glued to the table. Sharing even small bits of my most intimate moments with Sorin had not been how I had envisioned spending my evening.
“He showed me how he felt, and I froze. He left before I could find the words to tell him anything,” I finished, tears welling in my eyes.
Sorin whistled, pulling out a cigarette. He lit it, and the flames illuminated his face like a demon of the night. He and Roman shared that intensity. “You really did a number on him, huh? Broke the poor boy’s heart.”
His tone wasn’t accusatory, but it felt like a knife to my gut. A tear fell, and his eyes tracked its path with a predatory focus. He puffed out a halo of smoke, the ring encircling my face before dissipating.
“So, what’s your plan here?”
“I—I don’t know.” My fingers twisted into the fabric of my skirts.
“No judgment here. It’s just going to change how I get him home,” Sorin added.
I gulped. If I was to be truly free, that meant taking what I wanted—and I wanted him. I didn’t want to deny it anymore. “He and I will figure it out.”
Sorin studied me thoughtfully, puffing on his cigarette until he reached the filter. He extinguished it on the tabletop with a softchuckle. “Roman hates it when I do this. Can’t do anything to hurt his precious wood. So, of course, I do it every time.”
“Good to know the asshole thing is consistent at least.” I rubbed my hand across the table’s surface, feeling something carved into it but unable to make it out in the darkness. “He made this?”
“Roman carved pretty much everything in this castle. Guy fucking loves woodworking; he used to do it all the time before he took the throne.” A smile crept onto my face as I recalled him covered in sawdust while I watched him work. No wonder he had looked so happy.
Sorin stood and guided me to the door. “I’ll find him. A word of advice, though. It seems like you love the guy, and we both know he loves you. Love isn’t something you should hold out on. It might be something you want to figure out before I drag him back.”
I stepped across the threshold and turned back. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”
His glistening white fangs flashed in a grin. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, sweetheart. Goodnight.”
