She pulled back. “No. I need to find the reversal spell. I must and then perform it before it is too late.”
He grinned at her. “They know that as well and are only here to help.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “I will be there too, but the men will be otherwise occupied.”
She frowned. “What will they be doing?”
“Building me a cage.”
Panic shifted within. “It will not be needed. We already know that.”
“It may for the few moments that I am a wolf. For the protection of everyone else.”
Oh, she hated that he may need to be locked up every midnight. It simply was not fair.
Philip stood and held out his hand. “Shall we go to the vault and continue our search?”
“Yes,” she finally said after another sip of her tea.
They needed to find the spell today. They were already running out of time. There were only ten days until the full moon and two of the waxing crescent moon.
When they reached the cellar, Antonia heard voices coming from the vault and male voices coming from a different corridor. There were so many directions one could go and if the lower portion was as long and wide as the house, there was much more to discover down here. However, she was only concerned with the large vault, which was at least a third of the size of the foundation.
Philip frowned and stepped away and toward the male voices. Antonia wanted to go into the vault, but his curiosity had her accompanying him down a long corridor until they stepped into the center of a large room.
“Did you know that Nightshade Manor contained a dungeon?” Simon asked with humor.
There were three cells, a table but nothing else. Had there been torture devices or anything like that, they were long gone.
“And there is a door to this room, assuring us of your privacy.” He grinned.
“That is a comfort,” Philip answered dryly.
Orion pulled on the doors of each cell, none of them gave, which was good, she supposed, if they were meant to hold something as strong as a werewolf.
“I wonder where the keys are?” Orion asked.
“Would the key you were given as Keeper of Nightshade work?” Lord Harcourt asked. “It is supposed to open every door in Nightshade Manor.”
“That is true, but I’d rather find the key that was intended for these doors.”
“Perhaps father knows,” Lord Harcourt answered as he glanced up and around. “We should also ask someone to come down and clean.”
It was rather dirty with cobwebs and dust.
“Yes, we wouldn’t want the wolf in a dirty environment,” Simon said.
“Would you quit referring to him as such,” Antonia snapped before she realized what she was doing.
Simon chuckled. “I only tease, Lady Antonia.”
“Yes, I know…it is just…”
“She is rather sensitive as to this particular topic,” Philip offered.
Simon sobered. “I apologize. I only meant for my words to bother Philip. Never you.”
He was sincere, and it warmed her heart, but didn’t lessen her fear for the future. “I understand.”
