Page 19 of Oh, Sacred Dark
“Okay. Can you wait for me here? I won’t be long,” Tyler said.
Cross nodded, and Tyler went up the stairs slowly, his stomach heavy.
He knocked on Roman’s door, dreading what would be on the other side. The very thought that the sub might Drop because of what Tyler had done was too much to even think about.
When Roman opened the door, though, he seemed…fine. His hair was in wet curls, clothes neat and clean. He went and sat on his bed like always, face blank. There wasn’t a hint of distress—Roman wasn’t fidgeting or tense. His face was placid. Indifferent.
At that moment, Tyler simply couldn’t tell if this was the mask, or if Roman’s supplication had been an act.
“Uh…” Tyler struggled to find the right words. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. Thank you,” Roman replied promptly. “I’m sorry about before. I haven’t been sleeping well. I don’t know why I did that.”
Tyler searched his face for a lie, but there was nothing there—not truth or deceit. “Okay.” He could turn around, leave Roman. Report back to Archie later and tell him what happened, have him Listen in the woods for corruption.
But…something stopped him.
“I’m going to see Connie at her farm. Why don’t you come along? Cross’ll come too.”
Roman blinked. “Okay,” he said agreeably, like it was nothing. Like he hadn’t had what looked like a panic attack less than half an hour ago.
“Okay. You good with leaving now? Actually, let’s grab some food, and then we can go.”
Roman twitched at the mention of food but stood up with a nod.
Something in Tyler relaxed. It had been hard to leave Roman after seeing him like that. Tyler had wanted to…he didn’t even know. Offer aftercare? Do what he could so the sub didn’t Drop?
Romanseemedfine, and Tyler wasn’t even sure the kneeling-and-shaking scene had been genuine, but having the sub nearby still calmed him.
Tyler waved Roman towards the dining room, veering off to grab a few things from the kitchen before joining him and Cross. Roman ate what Tyler put in front of him without protest, but Tyler wasn’t sure if that was because he was genuinely hungry or if it was because…
Shit, Tyler thought. He was pretty sure Roman had done absolutely everything he’d asked for without verbal complaint.
He tried to think back to anything he might have said to give the impression that Tyler was Roman’s Dom, or in charge of what heate, for fuck’s sake, but nothing came to mind.
There had been no cases of the Imber coven terrorising the people in their own community. Tyler wasn’t fully informed on what had gone on, but hedidknow all the murder victims had been from outside the coven.
And, sure, not every member of Imber had held the dagger that slit all those throats, but they must have felt what was going on through the coven bonds.
Not to mention Roman was the leader’sson. He’d been part of the inner circle. And if Cross had been the whistle-blower, then it was only logical to assume Roman hadn’t exactly been an angel.
Maybe he’d given information that had exonerated him, or jumped ship when he’d seen it was sinking.
How Roman had reacted by the woods, however, didn’t fit with that picture. Not unless he was the best actor Tyler had ever come across.
That kind of instant fear was hard to fake.
“Right,” Tyler said when Roman had finished his food. “Let’s get going.”
Roman didn’t even attempt to go for the car’s passenger seat, waiting until Tyler and Cross had gotten in before climbing into the rear.
Roman’s flat expression communicated huffy reluctance to Tyler, like a teenager silently protesting an outing. It wasn’t like the sub’s face was just at ease—it waspurposefullystony. It was difficult not to read that as a clear ‘I don’t want to be here.’
But what if it was something much different? What if Roman’s refusal to engage with his surroundings, his lack of effort to get to know the people around him, wasn’t an attack, but a defence?
Tyler put on the radio, needing to fill the unbearable silence in the car. Fuck, the day had gone to shit, and it wasn’t even lunchtime.
Something inside Tyler relaxed as Connie’s farm came into view, a long, dirt path big enough to fit a horse trailer lead to the red gates that delineated the entrance. He rolled his car to a stop, winding his window down and leaning out of it to punch in the code needed for the big metal doors to open.
