“Vivian,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Stay with me. Look at me.”
Her eyes fluttered open, glassy with pain and exhaustion. “Raffaele...” she croaked.
“I’m here,” I said, my tone firm despite the raw fear clawing at me. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
I scooped Vivian into my arms, shielding her with my shadows as I turned toward the door. My father’s magic lashed out from behind me as he awoke, dark energy arcing through the air toward us.
I twisted, letting my shadows absorb the brunt of the attack. The pain seared through me, but I didn’t care. My only focus was getting her out of here.
“Hold on,” I whispered, tightening my grip on her as I bolted for the exit. My father’s screams echoed behind us, but I didn’t look back. The walls of the chamber groaned, cracks spiderwebbing through the stone as the destabilized wards began to collapse.
Vivian whimpered in my arms, her blood staining my clothes as I carried her through the halls as my father’s illusions and wards crumbled around us.
“You’re going to be okay,” I murmured, more to convince myself than her.
36
RAFFAELE
Vivian’s sobs were soft, choked, but every sound cut through me like a blade. The bond between us thrummed with her pain and fear, an unbearable echo of the torment she’d just endured. That I had allowed her to endure. My shadows coiled restlessly around us, feeding off my fury, but I forced them to settle. She didn’t need to feel my anger. She needed calm and safety.
My father had crossed a line I could never forgive. This wasn’t just about power or dominance anymore—it was war.
As we passed the sitting area, I grabbed a throw blanket from the back of the worn leather couch and wrapped it around Vivian’s shivering frame. Her tears soaked into my shirt as I cradled her closer, her fragile warmth a reminder of just how much she’d suffered. A growl built in my throat, low and dangerous, but I swallowed it down. Later. Right now, I needed to get her out of here.
I barked orders to the nearest guard. “Have a car pulled around and tell Eldora:Apricots.”
The guard rushed off without question. Eldora would know I was leaving for the safehouse. I’d devised this plan years ago for the day my father finally lost control. That day had come.
A black SUV was idling in the driveway by the time I got outside. I opened the back door and gently eased Vivian onto the seat, her body curling instinctively into herself.
“Raffaele…” she whispered, her voice hoarse and broken.
“I’m here,” I said softly, brushing damp strands of hair away from her face. “I’ve got you.”
Her tear-streaked eyes met mine, filled with confusion and despair, and through the bond I felt her fear, her shame, and an ache so deep it stole my breath. I wanted nothing more than to stay there, to hold her until those emotions faded. But I couldn’t. Not yet.
I slammed the door shut and rounded the vehicle, my shadows trailing behind me like smoke. The driver stepped out, and I waved him off. “I’ll drive.”
He hesitated for a fraction of a second before bowing slightly. “Yes, my lord.”
Sliding into the driver’s seat, I gripped the wheel tightly, my knuckles white against the leather. The SUV roared to life, and I guided it down the long, winding driveway that led away from the estate.
The road was dark, the dense forest on either side swallowing the moonlight. Vivian’s sobs had softened into uneven breaths, but the bond still pulsed with her pain. Every mile put more distance between us and my father’s wrath, but it wasn’t enough. Not until I knew she was truly safe.
“Where are we going?” she asked after a long silence.
“Somewhere he can’t reach you,” I said, my tone firm but not unkind. “A place I prepared years ago, just in case.”
I felt her confusion through the bond, a flicker of uncertainty mingling with her lingering fear.
“It’s a safehouse,” I explained, keeping my eyes on the road. “Hidden deep in the mountains, warded with every type of magic imaginable. It’s not tied to me. It’s independent. He can’t touch you there.”
“Lord Thorne can leave the estate?” she asked, fear lacing her every word.
“Unfortunately, yes. Even though his soul is tied to some godsforsaken object within the estate, he can still leave as he pleases. He’s just not as powerful the farther he travels from the object. He doesn’t venture very far because he would be powerless.” A bitter laugh escaped me. “I’ve always known what my father is capable of. I hoped I’d never need the safehouse, but I wasn’t foolish enough to believe I wouldn’t.”
Her gaze burned into the back of my neck, but I didn’t dare look back at her. Not yet.
