Page 172 of Magic of the Damned

I shook my head.

Dominic whispered, “Come closer.” He was looking past me, addressing Anand. An extensive amount of time was dedicated to determining the distance I needed to be from the object to prevent it eliciting a response.

Though the distance seemed to be about six feet, Dominic was overly cautious, asking Anand to take it home to his wing of the house. “We’ll be there soon.”

“Why?” Anand asked, keeping himself and the bespelled object a safe distance from me.

“I need the Book of Umbra.”

The mention of the dangerous book that Dominic kept from his father for fear of abuse piqued Areleus’s attention. Anand and Dominic took notice.

“Should I escort her home?” Anand asked Dominic, gesturing at Emoni.

She wasn’t having it. Shoring up for an argument and protest, she locked her arm through mine.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, trying to disengage from the hold.

“What exactly are you okay with, Luna? Me not hearing from you for days? Me wondering if things were successful? Or being forced to pretend things were normal while wondering if I’d ever see you again?”

The sad desperation in her voice compounded my remaining guilt. Dominic studied my face then moved to Emoni’s. I’d accepted that the royals weren’t moved by human emotions and the decisive look on his face supported it. It wavered when his gaze returned to me. Everything would be done to keep her safe, and I wanted her with me.

He nodded. Placing me in front of him, he held me tight and kept a loose grasp on Emoni. “Close your eyes,” he instructed her, and when they opened, we were at the door of his home.

Emoni stepped back, holding her head, trying to regain composure after the unsettling travel that left a person off-kilter. It wasn’t dizziness but an airy feeling of losing your bearings.

Immediately and without a word, Areleus entered the house.

CHAPTER 11

Emoni stopped and looked around at the bleakness of their world without any hints of the midday sun that we’d left. After taking in the exterior of the castle-like stone building, her brows inched together at the dark grays and deep currants, the bushes encircling the building and the lush forests next to it.

Losing step with me as we entered the home, her head snapped in the direction of the departing guards who followed Areleus. Slowly she took in the grandeur of the room. Her appreciation for art extended beyond music, and it showed as she moved throughout the area to look at the art and sculptures atop pedestals. A smirk curled at her lips at the number of winged sculptures, I was confident finding the same irony that I had. At least her first visit was as a guest; mine had felt more like imprisonment.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it,” I said, moving close to her, aware of Dominic’s watchful eyes.

“I had great expectations.” She looked over everything visible. “And it still has exceeded it. But the darkness is creepy.”

“Wait till you see the garden and the black flowers,” I told her with a grin. Expecting the information to pique her interest, I was surprised when it didn’t. Instead, she returned a tight reserved smile, her eyes skating over me and moving to Dominic.

He looked between the two of us, surveyed the room as if he was trying to look at it through Emoni’s eyes. Then his gaze returned to Emoni with intent focus. Expressionless, I couldn’t figure out what went through his mind. He excused himself, and in the graceful sweep of preternatural movement, he was out of sight.

“What happens when things go further with Dominic? Will you stay here?” Emoni asked, seemingly having difficulty looking away from the space Dominic had occupied just seconds ago. It was a brazen reminder of how far from human he was.

My response was quick and reflexive before I could give it any consideration. I shook my head. I didn’t want to live here or be part of this world. Not this part of it. I just wanted Dominic. Was it possible to have him and not all the things connected to him?

“Is he willing to give this up to be with you? Is that possible?”

I blinked back tears of frustration and answered with a half shrug. The words wouldn’t form. There were many things in my mind that needed to be sorted out.

“If he can’t, will you always be in some form of danger because of your relationship with him? Oh, come on,” she scoffed in response to my look of confusion.

“Once this is over, the Dark Casters stopped, edicts in place and reinforced, infighting put to rest, and everyone confident I didn’t have connections to the Dark Casters and their magic, I’d become a non-issue.”

“You’re being overly optimistic. Naïve. I may not know much about their world, the politics, or the dysfunction that accompanies being a person with magic, but I can spot when people despise someone. No matter how this situation is managed, there is sheer animosity for Dominic and his family. And the looks they gave at the mere mention of Helena.”

Helena hadn’t made a positive impression on Emoni during their first meeting, either.

“Are you prepared to have a relationship with the Lord of the Underworld?”