Page 176 of Magic of the Damned

Dominic changed course and we looked in the library but didn’t find them. He ushered me to the kitchen where I’d first seen the garden with the peculiar exotic flowers of black roses, Black Forest calla lilies, and bat orchids.

“Anand,” Dominic said, his voice raised slightly higher. It didn’t take very long for Anand to appear, with a noticeably bewildered Emoni next to him. I knew it was in response to Anand answering Dominic’s call that she couldn’t hear. An ability that I continued to find unsettling despite the multiple times I’d witnessed it. It had to be the pinnacle of eeriness for her.

As she managed to work her way through the discomfort, I took in the batch of exotic flowers from the garden in her hand and then looked to Anand, wondering if my friend’s curiosity had her pilfering flowers or if he’d given them to her.

“I couldn’t leave without these,” she admitted. Moving closer to me she whispered as if there wasn’t any possibility of her being heard. “I haven’t decided if it’s creepy or alluring.” It seemed to pertain to more than just the garden, but the Underworld and Anand as well.

“Will you come with me?” Dominic said to Anand. “Can you find your way to the library?” Dominic asked Emoni. “Or we can direct you to another room or the bedroom you’ll be staying in so you can get acclimated to it,” he added in response to her look of apprehension.

“Bedroom?” Her eyes snapped from Dominic to me, widening in panic.

“It won’t be for longer than two days,” he offered in clarification.

With her sharp intake of breath, I knew she was quickly succumbing to the fears and ominous thoughts that she’d managed to keep at bay. Overtaken by the feeling that leaving was no longer an option.

“If I wanted to leave now, could I?” she blurted, ignoring me grasping her hands in an effort to calm her.

“Despite it being unwise and unsafe, we’d let you leave,” Anand responded quickly, her mounting unease unable to be ignored. After assessing his face for a long moment, she looked to Dominic. Clearly not used to making so many concessions to a human—which he had a difficult time hiding, his lips pulled into a pinched line—he confirmed with a barely noticeable nod.

Her rigid posture relaxed with her exhalation. “Bedroom, please.” Anand placed his hand on her back, guiding her in the opposite direction of where we were going.

She stopped abruptly. “I need a vase for these,” she said. “I don’t want them to…” Her eyes were firmly fixed on me. “I want them to survive.”

The restless tension inundated the space. “They will,” Dominic said. Moving with slow, purposeful steps, he disappeared into one of the rooms and returned with a vase.

“Join us once she is settled,” Dominic said to Anand. Despite not being offered any further information, Anand appeared to have an understanding of the situation.

“And where would that be?” Emoni asked.

A smirk slid over Dominic’s lips, and his eyes narrowed on her. It was a look I’d seen him give too often to those he deemed to possess inconsequential power but still attempted to assert dominance over him.

I understood Emoni’s grimace because his look held hints of contempt and condescension. “You are very special to my Luna. Understand that you’ve been extended an exceptional amount of grace. I will not stand for Luna to be harmed. Ever. There is no need to question my every move.”

He started to back away but before he could turn to leave, she blurted, “It won’t stop me worrying about her. If you can’t even give me something as simple as her location, don’t expect me to place my unwavering trust in you.”

Her tremulous voice softened the edges of Dominic’s dark smirk. “Office. She’s going with me to the office.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, urging him not to disclose the possibility of Sabin being there. Emoni’s curiosity had proven to be a weakness. Guilt over what this situation had done to her made me reluctant to have her involved in the meeting.

His response seemed to be enough, and she allowed Anand to lead her away.

Reeling from Dominic disclosing that he’d be the sacrifice, I was hesitant to enter the office. Bringing my hand to his lips, he pressed a kiss to it before releasing it and entering the room. Sabin was perusing the collection of books on the shelf, and Ileana had taken a seat at the desk and was examining a weathered, leatherbound book with gilded pages and illuminated writing. The hum of magic could be felt from across the room.

“You’ve made yourself at home,” Dominic said to her, a tick in his jaw.

“The presence of the Book of Umbra can’t be denied. It was easy enough to find.”

“For you.”

It was obvious that the task wasn’t easy for Areleus or even Helena. If they were able to detect the book, Dominic wouldn’t be in possession of it. They would have taken it and dedicated an unreasonable amount of time and resources trying to discover a way to get it open.

Dominic examined the book. “You didn’t try to leave with it?”

“Why would I, when you made it clear you needed it to find the Dark Casters and your sister?”

The clench in his jaw relaxed along with his expression. Constant betrayal from the ones he loved seemed to have planted a distrust of everyone in his family. He nodded.

“And if that was my desire,” she said, allowing her finger to graze over the area near the book, prompting a bronze illuminating shell to cover it, “it would be impossible. But I was able to find it and bring it to the desk. However, I never tried to leave the room with it.” Pride lit her eyes.

Dominic couldn’t weave spells like witches could, but he had a gift for combining complementary spells that were just as effective. He’d explained it was more time consuming, although his proficiency with it didn’t support that assertion. He’d mastered magic and he seemed to be more adept at wards and protection spells than anyone else in his family.

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