Page 79 of Chain Me
“Lies, yes,” Dmitri admitted. “But this is just a mere question.” He took a step forward, honing his gaze on my throat. Whatever he saw made him frown and that simple expression transformed him entirely. Gone was the sly intruder. He resembled a scholar mulling over a puzzling mystery.
And somehow that made him more intimidating than ever.
“You haven’t fed from her in a while,” he mused aloud. “For all your loathing of the act, you must have feared for her life, I suspect. I’d heard Raphael tried feeding from her. That could… But that wouldn’t explain why she didn’t die. No. Though if youdidtry to turn her—”
“Enough!” The bellowed command resonated through the manor’s foundation, and I found myself bracing my hand against Dublin’s shoulder.
“Don’t!”
He swiveled his head in my direction, eyeing my fingers coldly, but the tension in his body eased just enough for me to breathe again. For whatever reason, I sensed that the contact had kept him from lunging.
“And I will take my cue to leave.” Still smiling, Dmitri bowed. “Such a shame that we couldn’t come up with some kind of agreement,” he lamented as he headed for the entrance of the room. “What a shame. I had so hoped your child might survive unharmed.”
I staggered an involuntary step toward him. “Wait!”
Obediently, Dmitri lingered.
Dublin simmered. “A word?” He took my arm, dragging me into an adjacent room.
The door slammed behind us, rattling in its frame, as I found myself spun around, forced to face him directly.
“Listen to me.” Something within his gaze made goosebumps creep over my skin. Unease. Wariness. Those rare few emotions he only displayed in the presence of Raphael. “You do not want to play his game,” he warned. “Yulia was right. I should have never even—”
“I need answers.” It sounded like such a pathetic contrast to his caution. As if answers could ever change what a part of me already knew deep down.
Some things you couldn’t change. Studying the sordid reasoning behind them didn’t make the truth any easier to stomach. Yet, at the same time, ignorance could be unbearable torture.
“I need answers.” I couldn’t disguise the bleating, pleading note in my voice. But the longer I observed Dublin’s face, the more I realized that I might not have been the only one desperate for a lifeline. “I will admit that I don’t know your history,” I added. “But please. This isn’t cancer. I…I don’t want to pretend anymore. So, you can gut him like a fish with your bare hands when this is over, but Ineedanswers.”
“Should I be on my way?” Dmitri called from across the room. A glance over my shoulder revealed him standing in the doorway, observing his right hand with dejected interest. “I suppose I must—”
“Wait!” It terrified me, how desperate I felt. Desperate enough to beg. I reached for Dublin’s hand, squeezing it so tight that I was sure, despite his superior strength, he still felt the pressure. “Please.”
Like always, his blank expression gave me nothing to cling to. I floated in uncertainty for what felt like an eternity. Then…
“What the hell do you want?” He advanced on the other man, using my grip to tether me behind him. “No riddles. No games. Just lay out your terms. Now.”
Once more, Dmitri seemed to drop the carefree act. His eyes found me again, sparkling with undisguised interest.
“I merely want to observe,” he said. “And conduct my own research. Why should these ancient bastards”—he hefted the journals—“have all the fun, eh? To put it a bit more bluntly, I simply want to come along for the ride.”
If anything, that response made Dublin stiffen further. Remnants of winter emanated from his gaze, freezing me down to my core.
Wisely, Dmitri seemed well aware of the delicate line he was toeing. “And I’ll even play nice,” he insisted. “No mentions of the past—for now.AndI wasn’t even lying when I mentioned that little bounty on her head. I’ll even go further and share another tidbit of information—they fully intend to collect on it. Soon.”
He let the word hang there, gauging my reaction, which—surprisingly—was more subdued than Dublin’s. I simply stared at him as my brain struggled to process the reality. While the man beside me nearly broke my hand.
“Damn.” He released me, forming a fist. I swore I heard bone crunch and meld within the span of a second—he had clenched his fingersthattightly.
“The funny thing is he is more than aware that his human soldiers can’t harm her as long as she’s under your protection. Oh, Mero—I mean,he of whom we will not speak.” Dmitri made finger quotes as Dublin snarled in warning. “You remember how he loved his deception? His games? Though he preferred poison over intrigue. Oh, the things that man could do with poison.” He sighed as though reliving a cherished memory. Then he cleared his throat. “So, if he truly wanted her dead, she would be. Therefore, her death isn’t his main goal, for now at least. Which means his ultimate plan is a bit more abstract. In fact…the sister is missing, correct? I’m sure he knows the value of that life to her.” He nodded toward me. “Oh, come now, don’t you see it? He’s deliberately trying to provoke you—”
“Enough.” Dublin didn’t shout that time, but the low, raspy baritone seemed to reach even deeper, clawing open the part of me that recognized the beast he truly was beneath his flawless skin.
“And I’d wondered why,” Dmitri mused, completely unperturbed. “I admit that I had to rack my brain for quite a while to come up with the solution. After all, why come out of hiding after so damn long? Raphael is of no interest to him, and we know how much he craved his peace. But then, if I may be so cliché, the answer appeared right in front of me.”
He stepped closer, grazing my cheek with an icy finger. “Was that his one condition to end that bitter war between him and your master? Stay away from those under his ownership. But you couldn’t resist, could you? No, after years of atonement, youdaredto defile one of his precious, sacred Grays. Though I’m sure that was his plan all along.”
A hand brushed my hip, knocking me off-balance, and I found myself staggering out of Dmitri’s reach. Dublin stepped forward, filling the space I’d left behind.
