Page 99 of Tales of a Monstrous Heart
‘Thean !’ William called cheerily, coming around the corner right on cue, a stack of books in his arms and a welcoming smile on his face. ‘Would you like something to drink?’
‘They’re not staying,’ Emrys said coldly.
‘Oh.’ William stopped with a frown. ‘What are you doing here then?’
‘How wonderful for you to ask, William,’ Thean practically preened, turning to address the boy. ‘I had a feeling Emrys might stumble upon something … unpleasant in the ruins and need some help.’
‘You knew something was there?’ I asked, aghast.
‘I had a sense something was off about the place.’ The voyav shrugged, but something about their smile told me it was more about playing a game with Emrys than anything else.
‘What was there?’ Alma asked, her tone short with the annoyance of not knowing something.
‘Something …’ I tried to get the words out, but that horrid feeling tightened my chest. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Miss Darcy, if you could take Miss Woodrow to her room. She needs to rest.’ Emrys’s words were curt, and he seemed to struggle to remain still as his hands formed fists at his sides.
‘With the state of her she’ll be late for this dreadful dinner,’ Alma argued, clearly not sensing the darkness that was creeping in around Emrys.
‘She isn’t going,’ he replied off-handedly, barely looking at the pair of us. ‘We found a bad collection of dark spells at the ruins.’
‘I’m perfectly fine,’ I insisted before Alma could fully process her shock at the revelation.
‘I don’t think it’s wise.’ Emrys finally turned to me, something in his tone trying to be gently persuasive, but the tightness of the words ruined the effect.
Of course, he was ashamed of how overfamiliar he’d just been and was trying to put distance between us. Through revulsion probably.
‘Neither is being anywhere near Fairfax Manor,clearly,’ I argued, folding my arms, unbothered by the darkness of his gaze. ‘I came here to solve this. Not hide in that horrid guest room.’
‘On this one occasion I think you should seriously consider listening to me,’ he pressed, an authority to his tone that made me straighten my back.
‘I’m not the one who got knocked unconscious,’ I challenged, watching his eyes narrow in warning.
‘Don’t argue with her, Emrys, the little beast might get you,’ Thean mocked, straightening the frilled cuff of their shirt with little care. A rumbling came from deep within Alma’s chest that sounded close to a growl.
‘Kat,’ Emrys said too gently, turning me so I was closer to him. So, there was only us and his words. That worry in his dark gaze.
‘I’m fine,’ I lied. However, the sooner we solved this and left Fairfax, the better.
That was all that mattered. All that had to matter.
Sensing he’d lost the fight, he let me go, running a hand through his dark hair before he turned back to the voyav. ‘Thean, you’re coming with me.’
‘What?’ My mouth hung open in shock. After all the warnings he’d tried to give me about the voyav. ‘You can’t go back there.’
‘Worried?’ he challenged, his dark brow raised with teasing.
Of course. I’d dismissed his worry for me so why couldn’t he do the same thing? A dark amusement lay in his grey eyes, ignoring how my heartbeat quickened at the intensity of his attention.
‘Fine. But if you leave me to attend this wretched dinner on my own, I’ll reanimate your corpse and make you regret it,’ I warned ominously, trying not to care as I turned on my still-aching leg and made a dignified exit.
‘Where is your shoe?’ Alma asked, tucking her curls behind her ears as she fell into step with me.
‘It was confiscated by anidiot.’ I took her arm, letting her lead us back to the portal and my room in Fairfax, however I was certain I heard someone laugh in response.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
You are a beauty without end, a fire that cannot be smothered by something as fickle as men.
