Page 67 of Enchanted Kisses
“This way. Quickly.” Dagan grabbed my hand and pulled me through an open door on the opposite side of the room.
My heart raced. We sped through dark tunnel-like hallways.
“He can’t know you’re here,” he said. “He’d never allow you to leave.”
“Who?”
We pushed through a door and entered a spacious area filled with grayish-purple light. A winding staircase flanked with windows stood before us. Dagan charged up the steps, dragging me behind him. The stunning view slowed my pace.
“We’re almost there.” He tugged my hand.
We traveled down a slate-paved hallway with dark wooden doors on either side. Dagan stopped at a dead end and waved his hand over the stone wall. A hidden door revealed itself. Once it opened, he gestured for me to enter.
Hesitant, I stepped into a room filled with silver furniture that looked like glass. The pieces reminded me of the ice sculptures in the courtyard.
White silk accented the furniture and draped from tall windows at the far side of the room. Between them, two glass doors opened to a balcony. My gaze caught on every intricate detail as I took it all in. Raysa’s story about the King of Death kidnapping the Queen of Life halted my exploration. He had imprisoned her in a room like this. A poem in my book described it asIce-sculpted quarters fit for a queen.This had to be it.
My muscles wound tight again, and I turned to face Dagan. “Are you going to keep me here, in this room?”
“Not exactly. Though I would suggest you stay in it as it’s the only room my father won’t enter.” He sauntered to the bed and pounced onto a mound of white silk bedding. “Do you like it?”
“It’s…different.” I didn’t want him to know I thought it was amazing.
He propped himself up on his elbows. “It could be yours. If you wanted to stay.”
Was he giving me a choice or was he playing with me?
His gaze followed the length of my body. “There’s a closet full of dresses over there.” He nodded toward two sets of silver doors. One set was closed but the other was opened, revealing a glamorous bathroom.
“Why would I change? I’m not staying.” I tucked my hands into my pockets to keep them from shaking.
“Guess you won’t be stripping then. Pity.” He laid back and stretched his arms above his head. His black shirt rose, exposing smooth skin and toned abs. He lifted his head and caught me staring. “Why don’t you join me?” He ran his hand over the silky comforter. “You know you want to.”
I spun around and bumped into one of two wingback chairs near a mirrored fireplace. I walked around one and dropped onto a firm cushion, happy the chair faced away from Dagan.
What was wrong with him? He’d changed from hot-creepy-guy to hot-flirty-guy in one cross. Was it this place? Or was this just another side of him? “Are you going to keep me here?”
“You already asked that.” He appeared in the chair beside me and lifted his black boots to rest on the low glass table in front of us.
I shook my head and leaned back, hiding behind the wing of the chair. “Why am I here then? And who did we run from?”
He hesitated before answering. “My father. As for you being here, I wanted to be alone with you, without worry of interruption. And to get your thoughts on something.”
I leaned forward until I could see his face. “Thoughts?”
“Look there.” He pointed to the wall above the fireplace.
An image appeared, like a TV reflected on the wall. I glanced behind me in search of a projector but stopped at Dagan’s outstretched arm. His hand pointed to the wall.Heprojected the image.
“How are you doing that?” My gaze swung from the image to his hand.
“Watch.”
I focused on the faux TV above the fireplace. A hospital room appeared, showing a greasy-haired teenage girl lying on a bed, with an adult on either side of her. Her parents, I assumed, by the way they embraced her limp body.
“No. Please, no.” The mother wept and lifted her tear-soaked face to the ceiling. “I’ll do anything to get her back. Give anything for one more day.”
The mother’s desperate tone squeezed my heart, and tears of sympathy filled my eyes. “What happened to the girl?”
