Page 49 of Made in Malice

He smirks and folds his fingers over my little black heart keychain.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes since I opened my door for that lawyer a few weeks ago, but trusting him right now might be the biggest.

I don’t even look at the guard in the shack as Lucian pulls up to the bridge, centimeters from the gate blocking the entrance to the island. I’m too busy trying to catch my breath. He drives like he’s the only person on the road, or maybe it’s just that he thinks he’s the most important person on the road and assumes everyone else will get the hell out of his way.

I didn’t bother asking him to slow down. For some reason, I feel like it would have just made him go faster, so I silently gritted my teeth and held onto the door handle.

The gate lifts without the need to speak to the attendant, making we wonder if he took note of my car and plate the other day, or if it’s the fact that Morningstar is driving that allows us quick entrance.

“Where are we going to talk?” I ask, hoping he’s not really expecting me to go to his house.

He looks over at me. “At mine. I know my security is good.”

“We could go to campus,” I offer. Alden once implied that Lucian couldn’t hurt me on school grounds, and that sounds smart right about now.

“Scared?” He flashes his teeth at me while coasting down the road in the direction of our houses at a reasonable speed. It makes me even more nervous.

When he slows and turns to the left, my heart starts thundering in my chest. “Why can’t we talk here?”

He hits some buttons on the box, and the gate rolls back slowly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Says the guy who almost ran me over when I was walking.”

“Lie, and you know it. I was nowhere near you.” He sounds defensive.

“You revved your engine.”

“I changed gears.” I can’t really argue with him, considering I did overreact.

“You tripped me.”

“That was an accident. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.” His tone is incredulous.

“You didn’t apologize. Why does it need to be here? Are you going to let me leave when I want to?” I turn to look out the back window as the gate closes us into the Morningstar estate.

“Not if that’s right now. You made a promise.” He glances over at me briefly before watching the long winding road. “It’s safe here, and there’s no one to interrupt us or listen into our…conversation,” he finishes as if there was something else he was going to say instead.

“Where’s your family?” Surely his parents, or even his grandparents, might be around.

“It’s just Nox and me. We have some staff, but everyone’s gone home for the night.”

I swallow as a big Victorian house comes into view. Unlike the Umbras’ estate, there’s no drive in the front. Instead, there’s a lush green garden lit up with tiny lights, making it look like something out of a fairy tale. The grass looks like plush green velvet with islands of plants creating an oasis among the heavy forest.

Lucian parks my car at the side of the house near a garage and a smaller entrance decorated with a covered porch hung with even more greenery.

Tiny shimmery shells crunch under my feet when I step out, but the opalescent color disappears when the headlights turn off, leaving only a lighted path to the house.

Lucian’s dark figure is standing on the edge of the drive, waiting for me, and I have the distinct impression that I’m being tracked, though I can’t make out his face or if he’s even looking in my direction.

“What happened to your family?” I ask the darkness.

“The Umbras killed them.” He says it so plainly, I must have heard him wrong, but as his words sink into my mind, I know I didn’t.

I swallow the denial and the questions burning on my tongue. How? Why? Is that why you hate me? Will you do the same to me?

“Come, little lamb,” he instructs, and I’ll be damned, I listen.

NOX

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