Page 30 of Cold Heir

“There has beenonesignificant change I forgot to mention,” Julian added, piquing my interest.

“Do tell,” Levi replied hesitantly. My guess was he’d had enough of the backhanded surprises life had thrown him lately too.

“Mother’s returned.” When those two words left Julian’s mouth, I nearly cursed out loud, but caught myself in time to mumble it under my breath.

“And?” Levi pressed. “Any word on where she’s been all this time?”

From the corner of my eye, not wanting to draw much attention from Julian as my suspicions grew, I listened intently.

“No,” Julian sighed. “She merely insists she would have returned sooner if her responsibilities to the Dynasty had permitted.”

There was no missing the animosity with which Julian spoke. I imagined that, in his mother’s absence, he’d grown somewhat bitter as the trials he faced only became increasingly more difficult. From what I knew of his relationship with his father, the man was only happy when Julian kept to the short leash he’d placed around his neck. With how things played out in recent weeks, I witnessed for myself how their bond had been tested.

In more ways than one.

My goal was to keep things in perspective, keep my focus on how the empress’ return affected Julian, but it was impossible not to wonder how it would affect me as well. The woman and I had never crossed one another’s path’s, so I wasn’t sure what to expect beyond what Glenn shared with us. It was made clear that they kept their personal lives out of their conversation, leaving me with the impression she was cold, someone with whom it was difficult to establish a connection.

My track record with meeting new Ianites wasn’t great. Needless to say, I didn’t hold high hopes for this one either.

When the conversation fell flat there, I glanced over my shoulder toward Levi, questioning him with the look I gave. Reading my body language, and the expression I wore, he shook his head discreetly.

Does he not intend to share what Glenn revealed to us? That his daughter had been there to visit him during her time away?

Levi seemed dead-set against it, and I realized that this was, perhaps, another indication that he didn’t put much stock in the old man. Honestly, though, I wondered if there wasn’t more to it than that.

When the silence crept in and didn’t show signs of leaving us, I leaned into the headrest, deciding to nap the rest of the way. Dozing wasn’t difficult, thanks to Levi seeing to it that I hadn’t gotten much rest the night before. However, I was admittedly reluctant to find out what my subconscious had in store once sleep finally beckoned for me. It seemed that, whenever I closed my eyes, Aaric was there waiting, holding my dreams hostage.

Unfortunately, I was right about seeing him. In the vision that came, I was back at Blackthorn, in Aaric’s lair where we dined that fateful night. He started off in the shadows, just like before, but eventually showed himself, emerging slowly as candlelight bathed his face, and his bare chest. Once he came close enough to touch me, I held my breath. It seemed his features were easier to recall when I was asleep, but that was likely only because I worked so hard to forget them while awake.

Devastatingly handsome … that’s what I thought of him. The cool-metal centers of his eyes were fixed on me, and I’d never felt more aware of wanting something that was bad for me in my life. The rims of his nostrils flared as he scanned my face, settling his stare on my lips.

His hand went to my cheek and I hated how the urge to pull away from him was absent. Actually, I leaned into the softness of his palm, breathing steadier now when I caved. There was still a sense of him being just as ruthless and terrible as always, but in these dreams, he wasn’t justanymonster. No, my prevailing thought was that the man standing before me was …mymonster.

His lips parted and I waited on pins and needles to hear what he’d say. Every time my heart leapt with excitement, I despised myself a little more than the moment before. This hold he had on me—which may have been a hold we had on eachother—was hard to accept. However, with what I felt for Julian and Levi, I knew it would only intensify.

Words still hadn’t left his mouth, but his forehead pressed to mine, and I shuddered when the hand not holding my cheek gripped the back of my neck with passionate intensity. We were face-to-face, eye-to-eye, and I felt the same longing that plagued me since I’d been bitten.

Only, it was more powerful now.

“I’m coming for you…”

The haze of the dream burned away like a heavy fog when that clear statement, and the intent behind it, cut through my subconscious. Awaking with a gasp, it took a moment to get my bearings. The fact that I was still seated in Julian’s car took a moment to settle in, as did the fact that I was still holding his hand. The contradictions between the dream and reality were jarring to my senses. Mostly because the dream felt so real.

Aaric’spromisefelt so real.

It didn’t help that his accent was identical to Levi’s, only raspier, so the familiarity of it was oddly comforting. But that would never be. I’dneverbe comfortable with the idea of that tyrant.

“Are you okay?”

There was no missing the concern in Julian’s tone when he asked.

Feeling like my heart was suddenly in my throat, I nodded. “It was just a bad dream,” I lied. It was much more than that.

He studied my face a moment before turning back to the road. I looked away as well, keeping my eyes trained on the scenery outside. While it felt like I’d only been out a few minutes, the absence of sunlight and brightly glowing moon above suggested otherwise. Glancing down to the clock, I calculated that we should be arriving back in the Capitol soon.

My breathing finally slowed, and I relaxed in my seat again. For the first time, I actually looked forward to the day I’d be like them. Ianites didn’t need sleep, which meant I wouldn’t have to deal with these invasive dreams anymore. Once that was the case, and once Aaric was no longer a factor, I’d no longer feel like this.

On edge.

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