“Do you want to talk about what happened with Uncle Niles?”
His eyes snap up to meet mine, darkening like a tide pulling back before a violent wave.
“Do you think this is social hour?” he says slowly, with condescending lethal precision.
My eyebrows raise. “What the fuck have I done to make you hate me so much?”
“I don’t hate you, Spitfire.” His dark eyebrows pull together in concentration, applying a last bit of ointment to my temples. “I just really don’t give a damn about you.”
The ointment seems to have strong, medicinal properties as the throbbing pain in every section of my upper body dissolves into a low, thrumming irritation.
I sigh, stretching out my sore limbs as I’m able to get off the mossy stone floor, standing in a flowy, ivory nightgown. I tug at the satin ribbon around the empire waist. The fabric smells of vintage lavender. He must have stolen it from the house.
“Glad we cleared that up,” I say, nodding once then turning to exit. “Then you won’t mind if I return to our time without you.”
26. Rose Colored Glasses
Niklaus
“Hell no,” I mutter undermy breath.
I jog after Sapphire, tripping over a cluster of sharp vines on my way out.
The panic of being left behind could make me do many things in this moment. I’ll lie. I’ll steal. I’ll easily kill to make sure I’m not stuck in this fucked up part of history. If she left me, I swear on my life, I’d find a way to make sure she was never born.
But as I sprint to catch up, I find her standing in the middle of the garden, cloaked in midnight, staring at the second floor of my estate—my father’s estate.
“Hmm?” I follow her line of sight to a large window, glowing with candlelight. A tall figure pacing with a bottle in hand. The raven-black hair is easy to make out from this distance.
Sapphire exchanges a look with me.
“Let’s go back,” she suggests cautiously.
I ignore her, staring at the window with an irresistible urge building in my system. How often do people get to go back in time and see their dead parents? When will I ever get the chance again to watch the great Aurick Demechnef in real life? Not in history books. Not in stories I hear from his peers.
Right now, he’s so close.
I glance down at Sapphire again, then take off running.
I scale the side of the mansion with ease. The vines are thick like waxy ropes, and I know each and every nook and crevice to place my feet in to get leverage. Sapphire isn’t far behind me, wincing and hissing as she tries to climb without further aggravating her injuries.
“Go back to the greenhouse!” I whisper down to her, though I reluctantly hold my hand out to help her up to the balcony.
Sapphire’s entire body trembles in a misty, cool night air. Her face, usually a glass portrait of flawless symmetry, is bludgeoned. A deep scarlet and plum splotches her swollen cheekbones, increasing to a level of puffiness that nearly hides those striking heterochromatic irises.
I turn my head as her posture droops in pain.
“Let’s go back. We can’t risk changing any—”
I cut her off. “So, we can see your parents, but God forbid I get to see my dead father.”
At the sound of a muffled voice, Sapphire and I duck, crouching low to the black iron balcony floor. Sapphire shoots me a scornful glare as I slowly inch the door open so I can hear what’s being said.
The female voice is soft, gentle, and a little higher than what I’m used to. Over the years, my Aunt Skylenna’s voice has lowered. But she’s around our age here, and her tone resembles the lightness of a wind chime.
I’ve never heard my father’s voice before now. I’ve imagined what it sounds like. I’ve daydreamed about what kind of parent he would have been to me. But hearing it now has my stomach in knots.
“…do you find me attractive?” Aurick asks Skylenna in a lazy slur.
