Page 84 of Devour the Dark

He runs his tongue along the inside of his bottom lip. He’s doing that on purpose, dragging my gaze to his fucking mouth. “I’ll use six if you’re giving them,” he says.

I wink at him. “Six will do.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

VANE

Two WeeksLater

Before Winnieand I leave Darkland, we have a few things to wrap up. I need to know that the hat is stored in a safe place and that Roc is stabilized, and isn’t off running his fucking mouth, getting himself into more trouble.

We’ve moved into Maddred Manor.

Right now, he’s sitting across from me in the room that used to be our father’s office, and is now his.

The desk is different. The cloth and leather-bound books on the shelves are different. Even the handwoven carpet and the bar cart along the wall. All of it was chosen by Roc, and yet everything is in the same place it was when our father was the head of the house. It’s startling how everything can change, and yet the imprint of the old remains.

“Have you decided?” I ask him.

Late morning sun pours in through the double garden doors behind him. The glass has been freshly cleaned and the light hits all of the imperfections, the bubbles and the undulating waves of unevenness. The others are still in the breakfast room,gorging themselves on the food cooked and baked by Roc’s new kitchen staff. Win saw the croissants and practically melted into the floor. That girl has a weakness for baked goods. Bash has corrupted her.

Roc leans back in his chair and props his boots on the edge of the desk. He’s different this morning. And not just because he’s well-rested and no longer burdened by the witch.

He finally claimed the Darkland Dark Shadow.

I helped him, convinced the shadow would fight him like it fought me, that I would spend the rest of the night patching him up like he had when the shadow tried to claw its way out of me.

But Roc made it look easy. Just as he makes everything. He and the shadow were united from the onset. There was no infighting, no carnage or chaos. Just a pop of air, a swirl of darkness.

“How does it feel?” I asked him.

He had leaned back in the nearest chair and stared off into space for several long seconds. “I feel…calm, for once.”

I nodded. I knew exactly what he meant.

The shadows help keep our monsters at bay. No more bowing to the god of time. No more drinking blood to stave off the turn. The shadows come with their own price, but it’s much easier to pay.

The chair creaks now when Roc shifts, rolling his head along the quilted leather back so he can look over at me. “Have I made my decision?” he repeats. “Yes.”

I sit forward, elbows on my knees.

“I’m going to make a claim on my title and my right to the Darkland throne.”

I crack a knuckle, letting the information sink in.

I’m caught off guard by it. I didn’t think?—

“I can tell you’re surprised.”

“You hate obligations.”

“Iusedto hate obligations.”

“And now you don’t?”

“Now I have to become something else.” His gaze goes distant, in the direction of the breakfast room. He’s thinking about Wendy and Hook. Two more things I’m surprised by. I knew he had an interest in Wendy all those years ago, but I thought she was a pawn. An unwitting plaything caught in a game. And Hook? He hated the captain at one time.

I was wrong.

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