Page 75 of Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
When he finally looked at her, his eyes were hollow.“If I ever loved you,” he whispered, “I should let you go.”
And then he was gone.
Chapter 30
Anemptinesscreptthroughher chest as she watched Gabriel walk away from her.Her mind spun, trying to make sense of his words.
If I ever loved you…
What did that mean?Didhe love her and he was too afraid to admit it?Too afraid to tell her because he was terrified of Lenore’s wrath?Because surely the ghost woman was lurking somewhere.Listening.Waiting for another opportunity to attack.
Victoria wanted to shout for him to come back, to demand he tell her what he meant.If he loved her, he should let her go?Was that it?
If he let her go, did that mean she had to leave this place and never return?He was bound here.He could not leave.Would he spend the rest of his days hiding from her?From what they could have been because he was more loyal to Lenore than to her, a living breathing human?
No, that was ridiculous.He wasn’t loyal to Lenore.If anything, he preferred to avoid her and keep her quiet than tempt her wrath.
Everything in her mind shouted that Gabriel did love her.He had shielded her during her youth.Even now, as a grown woman, he protected her from the malevolent forces that lingered through the corridors.
She remained there a moment, trying to get her emotions under control.Trying to stop her mind from spiraling out of control.
It all felt so overwhelming.So soul crushing.She had no answers.No way to break the curse.No way to release him from his torment to give him the freedom to love her as she loved him.And that was all she wanted to do.That and to live in peace in her house.
Her house.
The words clanged in her head.
Yes, this washerhouse.No longer Lenore’s.Her presence should be gone from this place.Not stalking the halls.Not tormenting Gabriel.Not trying to terrify her into leaving.
With renewed fury and determination, she shoved up from the table.Her ankle throbbed, but she ignored it as she snatched up her father’s journal and hobbled from the room.
At the door, she had to take a pause to catch her breath and close her eyes, steeling her nerves against the pain flaring through her ankle.
She could do this.
Shewoulddo this.
Gritting her teeth, she made her way to the study, thinking of her father’s desk and all the books.It was slow going.When she finally arrived, sweat beaded her forehead and trickled down her back.
The room was cast in gloomy shadows.
She was tired of gloomy shadows and cobwebs and dust.She vowed to reclaim what was hers.Her birthright.And she was no longer going to allow Lenore to control her.
She moved into the room and halted at her father’s desk, her fingers trailing along the shiny surface.The parchment and inkwell were still where she left them when she scribbled the frantic letter to her uncle.The desperation pounding through her when she did that was no longer there.
Victoria placed the journal on the top of the desk.Then she turned her attention to the bookshelves lining the walls.Faint light filtered through the window.She lit the candles around the room, trying to give it more of a cheerful glow.But even that was not enough to cheer this room.
Favoring her injury, she headed to the bookshelf to examine the titles.Most were novels.Nothing more than fantastical tales.A few missing spaces between books made her smile.Those must be Gabriel’s favorites.One tattered oversized volume sticking out from the shelf caught her eye.She pulled it off and opened the dark gray cover to the first yellowed page.The title was written in an archaic hand in a language she didn’t understand.
She moved back to the desk where she placed it on the top and sat.As she flipped through the aged pages, she saw drawings.A raven with words written under it she could not understand.A curved knife like the one in the room with the altar.She flipped another page and froze, her heart clawing its way to her throat.
This page had pale brown circles.Drops of blood splatter.
It was like the book in the altar room.
She slammed it closed and sat back, her heart racing.
Wasthis the book from the altar room?If it was, how did it get here?
