Not much time remaining in his contract with Gordon, I realized.
What are their plans?Gordon had asked.
I wondered too. I even worried about it. And not just because of the convenient, in-house workforce.
The floor creaked as I crept forward, telling myself it was perfectly legitimate to check on my patient.
A patient who’d fought for me — ferociously. A man who’d followed me all the way to Paris and back out of a sense of duty.
Philip, one of my many regrettable mistakes, would have followed me too — but only to ensure I wasn’t seeing anyone he didn’t approve of.
Brandon would have as well, on the grounds that he couldn’t live a minute without me.
So would Nate, in hopes of scoring a few freebies on my tab — a meal here, a drink there, all while dropping hints at leather jackets or shoes he would look good in. The man had been sure I had secretly inherited millions.
Yes, my track record was pretty dismal when it came to men. Still, I was resilient, and I was damn proud of that.
Roux probably had much better judgment, and thus had zero interest in me.
The notion cut deeper than a naga wound.
Roux lay on his side with one arm over the blanket. That favored his injured side, though the gash was already healing. I pulled the blanket gently over his shoulders, then stood there, wondering why my heart felt a size or two bigger than yesterday.
Then I padded out and made the long trek over to my room in the east wing.
A single light glowed in the drawing room, and I nearly went in to flip the switch. Then I spied Henrik in a chair by the windows, reading so intently, he didn’t hear me.
Instinctively, I made a clutching motion, and darkness closed in, forming a cloak around me.
I backed away, quiet as a mouse. I had no idea why Henrik was there, but I knew better than to disturb a vampire.
“Someone there?” he called, looking right at me.
I froze, but somehow, he didn’t see me.
Holding my breath, I retreated quietly. Then, a few steps down the hallway, I stopped and looked around.
Everything was different. I saw the world as if through a bottle — a little blurred, colorless, and even dimmer than a moment before.
When I drew my fingers together, darkness tightened around me like a cape. When I opened my palms, the darkness inched away.
I grew a little bolder, stirring the air with one hand. Shadows rippled, mirroring the motion.
Shadow-weaving.My grandmother’s voice echoed in my mind.A handy trick, making you impossible to see.
She’d attempted to give Mina, Dora, and me lessons in various types of magic, but none of us had shown much talent. Mina could shadow-walk, which involved erasing your image from one spot and casting it to another. A trick way, way out of my league.
But shadow-weaving was easier. You “just” collected darkness that was already there and melted in with the shadows.
I’d never pulled it off before, but now…
I stared down at my body — perfectly clear — then my surroundings, which were dark and blurred. Then, poof! I flicked my fingers out, and the shadows flew back from whence they came.
Wow. I’d done it — shadow-weaving. For real!
“Hello?” Henrik called suspiciously.
My breath caught, and I inched away. Slowly at first, then faster. When I made it to my room, I turned the lock and stood, listening. Slowly, I backed away, thinking back over the past few hours. The intruders. The chase. The magic that had saved me at the pavilion.
