Page 9 of Wicked Vows
Champagne flows.Men stand in the shadows, armed and ready to protect.Death before disloyalty — their code.
I’m in a room full of people and have never felt more alone.I slip away into the garden.The crisp fall air burns through my lungs, reminding me I’m alive and not lost in a nightmare I can’t awaken from.
This is my life.
I can’t help but think of Lynette and wonder if she’s okay.Is she happier than ever?
Will I learn to like Nico?
Will I one day even dare to love him?
I glance back toward the tent, but a light glowing from the fourth floor captures my attention.There’s someone there, just behind the curtains.Perhaps a servant or one of his men.
I walk a bit more, trying to come to terms with this now being my home.My lavish prison.Leaves crunch behind me.I turn expecting to see one of my husband’s soldiers.He’s a man, but he’s older than the others.
He lifts his chin but doesn’t speak; he wears a grim expression.One that matches my melancholy mood.
I offer him a weak smile and follow the pebbled path into the trees, hoping he doesn’t follow me.
When I glance back, he’s gone.Vanished into thin air.
I take a seat on a nearby bench and gaze up at the starless sky.
I can’t help but feel like someone is still watching me.The moonlight creeps between the trees and shines on a gravestone.
I abandon the bench to investigate.I brush the fallen leaves from the top.“Ouch.”Something poked me.Droplets of my blood drip onto the marble stone.I suck on my finger trying to stanch the blood, but my scratch is forgotten when I read the name.Catherine Moretti.Nico’s slain bride.The woman he allegedly murdered.
“There you are,” Nico’s voice cuts through the dark, startling me.
Chapter Four
“Whatareyoudoingout here alone in the dark?”
I start to tell him about the man but think better of it.
“Needed some fresh air.Was getting stuffy in the tent.”
“Time to cut the cake.”He loops his arm through mine, giving me no choice but to walk alongside him.“I see you’ve met my wife.”He chuckles.
My facial expression must give me away.
“Bad joke,” he tells me.
“How long were the two of you married?”I question.
“Two years.”
“Did you love her?”
“So many questions.”
“Just trying to get to know you.I don’t know anything about you.Not really.”
“I’m sure you’ve heard the stories.”
“I’d rather hear the truth from you.”
“Another time.Tonight is meant to be an auspicious occasion, Odette.”
