No relief. No warmth. Just a numb apathy spreading through me like ice in my veins. I shut down completely, unwilling to let my guard down. Vulnerability felt dangerous.
I swallowed hard. “Where is Balthazar?”
Mathias hesitated, just for a moment. But I caught it.
His gaze flickered before locking onto mine. “As I mentioned, he’s in my dungeon.” A pause. “Downstairs… beneath the house.”
Of course, he had a dungeon beneath the house.
It was probably filled with torture devices.
“I want to see him,” I said.
Mathias glanced at Roman.
I lifted my chin. “It’s not his decision. It’s mine.”
Mathias inclined his head. “As you wish.”
I turned to Roman, my voice softening. “I’d like to do this alone…without you.”
Roman’s brow furrowed. “But?—”
“I’ll be safe,” I assured him, forcing the faintest smile. “I’ll be with the darkest of the dark.”
Roman didn’t argue. He stood and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “I’ll check on Rosie and the friend we brought.”
“Thank you.” I hugged him, inhaling his scent, grounding myself in his presence before stepping away.
Then, without another word, I followed Mathias deeper into the estate.
With every step, fear coiled tighter in my chest.
Mathias was powerful—ten times more powerful than Balthazar.
So, what the hell was I doing, following him alone into a dungeon to face my worst enemy?
I couldn’t answer that.
We stopped before a carved wall, its surface decorated with slender, ethereal maidens prancing around horses and soaring on the backs of dragons. The porcelain gleamed as white as alabaster, eerily pure against the shadows curling around us.
Mathias pressed his fingers into specific indentations in the carvings, muttering strange words under his breath.
The wall groaned.
I flinched as it creaked open, revealing a dark passageway.
Of course. The darkest of the dark would naturally have a creepy secret dungeon.
Mathias turned to me, placing his hands firmly on my shoulders. His commanding gaze locked onto mine.
“Now, don’t be frightened,” he said. “Balthazar is subdued. He can’t harm you.”
It was strange looking into this man’s eyes—my grandfather.
What was I supposed to say? Thanks, Gramps. No problem, Grandpa? Appreciate it, Big Bad Darkness?
None of those seemed particularly fitting for a man who terrified me.
