Page 28 of The Demon's Discovery
“No, please. Come inside.” I forced the rage away, willing my fangs to recede.
The same damned one-eyed raven flew down in greeting, chattering away at her from the fence. The tight smile she gave made my heart squeeze in a painful way. It dropped away when the bird left as abruptly as he had arrived.
Something was very wrong. Everything about her was off, and it made me feel like I was crawling out of my skin. “Grace brought us tea. Go on ahead if you would? I need to have a quick word.” I watched as she made her way down the hallway after throwing a tense glance at me, one fist clenched and the other rubbing at her shoulder blade.
“Was there anything out of the ordinary that you noticed?”
Clem squeezed his hat in his hands, turning it slowly as he considered. He was avoiding looking me in the eye, which, along with the prickle in my mouth from my fangs, told me my demon was out again. To their credit, most of the staff had seen it enough times between Rylan and I that they were no longer quite so affected, but I understood the instinct to hide fromthe predator when faced with it directly. “There was another carriage, sir. It wasn’t one I recognized. She was noticeably upset when she came out of the house.”
“Thank you, Clem. I appreciate your help.” He bowed and hurried back to the horses.
I found Greta arranging ingredients on her worktable, hands trembling as she set vials out and adjusted things to her liking.
“Are you alright?” I asked, immediately regretting such a useless question. She clearly was not.
She met my eye but quickly looked away before offering me the lie. “Yes. I’m fine.”
“You’re late,” I said, realizing as the words crossed my lips that it sounded like an accusation.
Her head snapped up, her eyes wide with tears already on the verge of spilling over. “I’m sorry.” She buried her face in her hands, silent sobs racking her frame as I stood there, staring.
I approached her carefully. “I apologize, Greta. That’s not what I meant—” I stopped, seeing the ring on her finger. It was her right, and the band was simple, but she’d never worn any jewelry before.
She was suddenly sobbing into my shoulder, trying unsuccessfully to inhale giant gasps of air, her fingers knotted in my shirt. One of my hands automatically went to the back of her head, my palm smoothing her wild curls down as I shushed her. I leaned my cheek against her silky hair, and my eyes slipped closed as everything in my body stilled. I was simultaneously the most at peace and least settled I’d been in years. I turned my face so I could inhale the floral scent of her, my lips resting against her forehead. The ache in my chest flared to life painfully hot, but I could easily ignore it for the calm that had settled over me with her in my arms. “Greta, I need you to tell me what’s happened. Please, you’re frightening me.”
In truth, I’d never seen such a powerful emotion come out of her, and I had no idea how to respond. She was not passionless, far from it, but was generally so even-keeled, this kind of outburst left me feeling untethered.
I placed a hand on either side of her face, gently lifting so she’d look at me. Tears overflowed her gorgeous hazel eyes and sent lava racing through my veins. Anger burst down my spine, wings and fangs ready to release at the merest of thoughts. One hand instinctively moved to my belt where my sword should hang. Regrettably, it had become frowned upon in polite society to walk around with one’s blade in full view, so I’d taken to leaving it in my room. I furiously reconsidered how much I cared about conforming to the standards of civilization. I wasn’t human, after all, no matter how much I adapted. No matter how much I pretended to be.
She pulled back, the fear that crossed her face delivering equal parts shame and rage. I held fast to her arm, knowing I was risking her being even more afraid of me in my effort to soothe her.
“Who must I kill, Little Dragonfly? Who’s upset you so? Just point me in the right direction, I promise I’ll make it right for you. I could make it so they regret ever having been born, much less for offending you. I only need a name.” There was darkness in my tone as I made the vow.
She collected herself with a sniffle and stepped back from me. I let her go, but reached out as she did so, grasping her hip with my palm. I wasn’t sure whether it was for her or for me, but I wasn’t ready to break contact. “I’m so sorry,” she said miserably, pressing her palms into her eyes as if that would help stem the flow of tears.
“Don’t apologize,” I said, finding it increasingly difficult to maintain my calm. “Not to me. Please, explain before I decide formyself who’s to pay for your unhappiness. It could end badly for some innocent soul.”
“You’ll do no such thing.” Her tone was resolute, but she sighed miserably before crossing the room to fold herself into one end of the couch.
“I would,” I promised again.
“I do believe you’re offering seriously, but no, you won’t. There’s no need to put yourself in such a position for me.” She took a deep breath, piercing me with those lovely hazel orbs. “They’ve matched me,” she choked out, showing me her right hand. “I can’t get it off.” Her fingers tugged at the band, but it didn’t budge. “It feels like it’s burning, but it won’tcome off.”
Her words landed like punches, and I rubbed at my chest with one hand. “What?” Rage bubbled in my veins at the notion that someone other than me put a ring on her finger not only without her acceptance, but also without the ability to remove it. It didn’t belong there. It was a vile stain on her hand, and I wanted it gone perhaps more than she did.
As I watched, the sadness within her turned to anger. “Marriage,” she said, the word a curse. “They’ve promised me to a man in exchange for money. I mean, I’m guessing it’s for money, though I don’t even know for sure if that’s what he offered, nor how much. It sounded like maybe it has been in progress for some time, now that I think about it. I thought…” She shook her head, dismissing whatever she’d been about to say. “I thought I had more time, at the very least. I honestly thought your interest in me coming here was going to earn me my freedom.” She dropped her face into her hands again, curls bouncing angrily against her cheeks.
I sat next to her, rage brewing hot under my skin. I forced my outward appearance to remain stoic, however. For her. Inside, I felt like I was being flayed into a million shards of flesh and bone.
“To whom have they”—the wordsoldbegged to cross my tongue, but I didn’t want to make her feel worse, or send myself into an unstoppable spiral—“promisedyour hand, Greta?”
I took her fingers into mine, gently tugging at the offensive band. It was as though it had fused with her skin when I pulled. It didn’t move at all, not even to turn. Dread settled into my gut. There was some kind of magic at work here, and clearly nothing good.
She raised her head, swiping the tears away with her fingertips as though they annoyed her. “Some merchant, I think, but they kept referring to him as a lord. Otto Feiser? I’ve never met him before. I don’t understand what’s changed. They’ve never mentioned anything about it before now. I thought… I thought if I had a prospect to get me out of their house, I wouldn’t have to… But they made it so I couldn’t, even if I wanted. And the other jobs—” She choked on the words, unable to continue.
“Listen to me, Greta. You’re of age and sound mind. This agreement is only binding to the men who made it. I’m guessing you did not agree to any terms? Did you sign anything?” If she’d signed a contract, things would be more difficult. I racked my brain for a Feiser but came up empty. Though having a name certainly narrowed the options down for possible responsible parties.
“Henrik said my agreement was not required. But I didn’t sign anything. I don’t think I verbally agreed to anything, either. I was quitedisagreeable, as a matter of fact. Nobody was very happy with me in that room by the end.” Her brow pinched as though she replayed every word of the conversation she’d had before arriving.
