Page 8 of Stolen By the Necromancer

For a split moment, I felt sadness for her and had an almost undeniable urge to pull her into my arms and protect her.

“You are much more than ordinary. You’re exceptional in every way.”

Her cheeks turned a stunning rose color and she looked away.“I think you’re overstating.”

“Genevieve, you have no idea just how special you are. It’sa shame you’venever discovered that for yourself.” Despite my words, her lack of knowledge about what she really was would make what I needed to do a hell of a lot easier.

Chapter 5

Genevieve

Handsome, and knew how to sweet-talk a girl. Nero was dangerous in more ways than one. His questions about my adoptive parents brought up feelings I’d been trying hard to dismiss. I knew they never meant to treat me differently. I doubted they even realized they did. I’d come to terms with the fact that I was the black sheep long ago. But sitting next to him, I felt more detached from my adopted family than I ever had in my entire life.

I needed to shake these feelings otherwise I’d never get a second date.

Forcing myself to smile, I glanced back over at him.“What about you? Are you close to your family?”

Before he could answer, a large gothic-style three-story house came into view. The walls were made of stone with tall, narrow windows and gabled peaks. Next to the house a graveyard lay, a light fog concealing the inscriptions on the tombstones. In the daytime, I was sure that the large trees surrounding much of the graveyard would look stunning as their leaves transitioned from green to a variety of yellows, reds, and oranges, but in the darkness, it appeared eerie, sending a shudder through me.

He chuckled.“It’s not as scary as it looks. In fact, from time to time I take a walk through the graveyard at night. It’s tranquil.”

I huffed, waving a dismissive hand at him.“Thatwasn’t what I was thinking. It’s quite magnificent. Are we having dinner with your family?”

“Nope. The house is mine and mine only.”

My mouth dropped open, as I looked at him and then back at the house as he turned onto the gravel road leading to the front door.“Are you rich or something? Seems a lot for a college student.”

“My parents have long passed away.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I inherited some money, made some money. It was a bit of a fixer-upper, but I think it was worth it.”

“It’s amazing,” I whispered. I was out of the car before he had a chance to open the door for me. There was something about this house. It was magnificent in its own right, but there was an energy about it that beckoned me forward. From time to time throughout my life, there had been a handful of places where I’d feel an indescribable surge of energy that would vibrate throughout my entire body. I was experiencing that now. The energy in this house was the strongest I’d ever felt. It was impossible to resist.

“Thank you.” With a hand at the small of my back, he guided me inside.

Upon entering, we stepped into the grand foyer with a double staircase that led to the second and third floors. Stepping further into the house, to the center of the foyer, I looked up. Above was a stained glass dome, the light of the moon shining through sending beams of colorful light pouring through the room.

As I closed my eyes a pulse of energy shot through me so intensely that it nearly sent me toppling to my knees. With lightning quick reflexes, Nero stepped forward, quick enough to catch me before I fell.

“Are you okay?” he asked, guiding me from the foyer and into the kitchen.

Giving my head a shake, I attempted to smile while still stumbling as I attempted to right myself.“Yeah. It was weird. I felt like… I can’t even explain it.”

“I’llget you some water.” After seating me at the mahogany table with space for eight, he poured me a glass of water from the jug in the fridge and brought it to me. Kneeling before me, he passed me the glass.“Have you felt anything like that before?”

I mulled the question over as I took a long drink of the water. If I told him the truth then he’d think I was crazy, just like everyone else. Shaking my head I replied with a simple,“No.”

“Hmm. I see.” His gaze locked onto mine for a minute as if trying to decide if I was full of shit or not.“Have you eaten at all today?”

I had, but lack of food seemed like the perfect excuse to cover my erratic behavior. I flashed him a sheepish grin.“I had a really busy day.Hadn’t had a chance yet.”

“Well then, let’s rectify that.” He stood and shrugged off his suit jacket draping it over the back of the chair next to me, then pulled his tie up and over his head, tossing it onto the jacket.“I make an amazing steak. Seared to perfection. Sound good?”

I nodded.“Sounds really good.”

“Maybe some potatoes and veggies. It’llbe great.” Turning on the chair, I watched as he rolled up his sleeves and set to work. Pulling out his phone, he tapped the screen and music began to softly play in the background from hidden speakers around the room.

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