Page 120 of Mama Si's Paradise

I was shocked, to say the least. “Are you serious?” Becausehewas the one who came closer and licked my lip—him, not me.

“Yes, I am,” Valentine said, moving back, pulling me up to my feet and spinning me around to face him. “Because when I kiss you, I want it to meaneverything.”

His eyes gleamed and he was grinning like that again, like he was the devil. Maybe it wasthat,or maybe my trauma, or maybe my instincts—no idea, but he was teasing me, I was sure of it. He wastestingme.

“It never will, Valentine,” I said with a sad smile. It was only fair that he didn’t get his hopes up, just in case.

He wasn’t fazed in the least. Instead, he said, “I love the way you say my name,” then gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and turned for the door. “Come on, Sunshine. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

I sighed, shaking my head, watching him walk away from the stage and into the narrow corridor that wasn’t so dark to my eyes anymore. Then Shadow landed right there by the door, watching me curiously, that pointy head of his turning from one side to the other like a damn puppy.

“Don’t look atme—he’s the one with issues,” I muttered, and together we followed Valentine back to the castle.

Twenty-Nine

“It’ssomeone you haven’t met before. She leaves her chambers very rarely,” Valentine said.

“Who?” I asked because I was pretty sure I’d met everyone who lived in the castle. All the brides had coffee or tea together at least once every day.

But Valentine said, “You’ll see. She lives in the south wing, so we’ll need to walk for a little bit.”

The curiosity inside me grew the size of a mountain within seconds.

Valentine took me down a maze of corridors and hallways and so many turns I lost count, but about five minutes later, we seemed to have reached the doors he was looking for.

“Quit stalling—who’s in there?” I asked. I had never been to this part of the castle before, but the dust here was much thicker, the paintings on the walls less shiny, and the lamps dimmer, too. Or maybe it was just me.

Hetsk-ed me. “So impatient.” Pushing the doors in front of us open, he stepped to the side to let me through.

A lot more light was coming from the other side, but theair that filled my nostrils was…different. I couldn’t really put my finger on it, and I couldn’t even move for a second, either.

“Shall I carry you, Sunshine?” Valentine said.

I must have been stuck at the doorway longer than I realized.

“Thanks. I can walk by myself,” I muttered, and continued through.

“For now, yes.”

I threw him a look. “Are you planning to tie me to a chair or something?” I said this on purpose, just to tease him, and the way his eyes widened so suddenly as he came through behind me was totally worth it.

“I am now,” he said after a second. “And I’ll also be making sure youcan’twalk without assistance.”

I laughed. “That was good, Mr. Evernight. Very good.”

“Yet you seem perfectly immune to it,” he said, almost in wonder.

I was tempted to tease him again, but I felt bad because he did try. “Don’t take it personally,” was all I said, and I focused on where we were going.

A large spiral stairway made entirely out of metal was in a middle of a round room, and it went up at least three floors that I could see.

“Genevieve lives up on the fifth,” said Valentine when he saw my reaction. The stairs were wide and beautifully engraved with large roses and thorns as big as my thumb. They reflected the light of the many lamps dotting the walls because there was nothing else in this room, just the incredibly high ceiling atop the stairway—five stories up. The walls were full of those lamps, and they reflected on the chrome of the stairway, making it look like it was underwater.

“Who’s Genevieve?” I asked when he took my hand in his and pulled me toward the stairs. They looked like glass from soclose up. The way those lights reflected on the surface was masterful, and it was no doubt done on purpose.

“She’s the eldest living bride in the Whispering Woods—well, not abrideany longer, but she was one of many to my father,” said Valentine, and his voice was heavy. Almost like he was sad.

Up and up we went together, and I held his hand through every step, afraid I’d slip and fall and break my neck before I saw what this stairway led to.

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