Page 42 of Cursed

Good.

“I— I just wanted something to eat,” I said. “Nothing fancy… and some… some wine.”

Her smile was brief. “Of course, Miss Velez,” she replied. “I would gladly bring this for you— however—”

My mouth was dry. “However?”

“Master Lucian would like you to join him for supper this evening,” she said smoothly.

“I— I can’t—”

“This is not a request,” she said in a tone that carried an edge like the dagger under my pillow.

Did he know that I’d opened the grimoire? Or that Bastian had helped me?

I swallowed hard. “Oh—”

“Someone will come and fetch you when supper is ready,” she said.

The woman didn’t wait for me to argue or bargain with her—it would have been useless to do so. She simply turned and left the room without a backward glance.

I breathed the smallest sigh of relief as the door closed and the latch clicked into place.

Could she sense the difference in the protection spells that were laid on my door? They hadn’t seemed to be any hindrance to the servants—only Titus and his brothers.

Oddly specific. Why had I never questioned it before?

What else were they keeping out?

I rushed over to the bed and pushed the dagger under my pillow with the grimoire.

My fingers brushed over the grimoire’s leather cover—a brief caress.

All I wanted was to dive back into my study of those arcane pages with the hope that they might begin to make some sense… But the knowledge that this very book had caused so much misery and pain haunted me.

My own father had sought to unlock its secrets… and it had driven him mad.

Did Lucian expect the same from me?

Being summoned into Lucian’s presence sent tendrils of dread curling through my stomach.

How was I supposed to keep this mask in place?

He had to know how much I loathed him.

How much I feared him.

I drew a deep breath, turned away from the ominously hidden grimoire, and walked across the room toward my closet. Choosing an outfit was my least favorite part of these strange standoffs. With a grimace, I selected a long velvet dress, midnight blue. The rich fabric clung to my figure, and I cringed at the low-cut neckline—it was intimidating but necessary. It would surely distract Lucian’s hungry gaze and keep him from looking too deeply into my eyes.

I dug through the drawers and found a pair of long leather gloves that had been embroidered with an intricate pattern of snakeskin that wound from my little finger around my wrist to the elbow. It would hide the cut on my hand, and that was all that mattered.

Seated at my vanity, I took extra care with my makeup and applied dark shadow and a winged liner that accentuated the shape of my eyes. This was what Lucian expected me to do. The gold painted heels, extravagant and expensive gowns—all of it.

Befitting your position in this household.

I let out a snort at that thought.

What position?

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