“Listen to me, little one,” his deep voice warned as heat scorched through Elara’s veins. “I have not demanded an apology from you for breaking into my home. I have not demanded one for rifling through my things. I have not even demanded one for the damage you are trying to inflict on my reputation by accusing me of having a hand in your brother’s death.”
“However, speaking of that baby is something I willnottolerate from you. You breatheone wordof his existence toanyone,and I will make your life a living nightmare. He is innocent, and I will not allow him to fall victim to your crazed vendetta against me. Am I understood?”
Elara did not speak. Did not breathe. She simply looked into his eyes, captivated by the fierce protection glittering there.
“What is the matter?” the Duke goaded, smirking devilishly as his grip on her chin tightened. “Did I finally scare some sense into you?”
Elara broke from his eyes and wrenched her chin from his grasp.
“You donot scareme,” she insisted, taking a step back. “I am just surprised that someone like you could care so much about someone other than yourself.”
“Again, I must insist that you do not speak as if you know me,” the Duke warned. “You know nothing about me, just like you know nothing about who Evander truly was.”
Offense flared through Elara’s mind as she opened her mouth to argue, but Constantine cut her off.
“No,” he snarled, holding a finger up to her face. “It is my turn to speak. You miss your brother, and I can empathize with that, but I miss my brother as well, and he is in exile for the rest of his life because of what Evander did to him! Did you know that?”
Elara’s mind whirled with the new information. She had always seen Evander as her hero. Was it possible that she had been wrong?
“I...” she breathed, taking in the pain and anger in Constantine’s eyes. “No, I did not know that. But it does not make sense.Evander would never... He was...isa good person.”
Constantine tsked his tongue as he looked away from her and shook his head.
“Perhaps to you, Lady Elara. I assure you, though, he was not as kind to others,” he stated, his tone just as bitter as before. “It is no coincidence that so many people were glad to see him dead.”
Elara pressed her lips together, as if trying to find a way to keep the conversation going. She had come at him hard and aggressively, but perhaps now, a little sweetness might be useful.
“I am... sorry that this happened to your brother. But regarding the baby, you need not worry. I will not mention his existence to anyone. Despite what you think, I do not wish to cause harm, but simply to discover the truth of what has happened to my brother. I did not know that your brother was exiled, but now I understand that you must know how I feel.”
Something passed through his hardened eyes. A softness. An understanding, perhaps, that yes, he knew exactly what it felt like. Then it was gone. Wanting to chase that clue, Elara chose that moment to show him the note she had found in his home.
“Look here,” she commanded, pulling the folded note from inside her glove. “This is a note I found in your home. It is dated a month after Evander’s presumed death, yet it states that whoever received this note was going to meet him!”
The Duke snatched the note from her hands. His eyes roamed angrily over the words on the page, his expression growing more intense with each second. Elara watched him closely as he read; watched his sculpted jaw tighten, watched his surprisingly plump lips press shut as more sparks flew from his green eyes.
It truly is a shame he is so handsome,Elara mused.
Startled by her own thoughts, Elara shifted away from him at once, wondering what on earth was coming over her. She had had similar thoughts while they had danced as well. He was quite good, for someone who did not even attend his own parties, and she could not deny that his hands had felt particularly delightful as they smoothed over her waist to lift her into one specific spin of the dance.
“I have never seen this letter in my life,” the Duke said, his gruff voice yanking her from her thoughts.
She dragged her gaze up to his, her anger toward him instantly renewed by his denial.
“What room did you find this in?” he demanded, waving the letter before her. “How do I know you actually found it in my home? It is not addressed to me or to anyone who lives there.”
“So you deny it again?” Elara asked. She let out a bitter scoff, snatched the note from his hands, and folded it back up.
“I am denying that I had any knowledge of it,” the Duke agreed. “For all I know, you could have forged it.”
“And you think I would do all that to frame you?” Elara asked.
“Well, you are certainly determined to place the blame on me despite my assurances that I had nothing to do with Evander’s death,” he quickly retorted.
“His disappearance!” Elara snapped. Feeling as if something had just broken inside her, Elara blinked back tears as she raised her fists and pounded them into his chest. “He is not dead. I know he is not!”
“Lady Elara, stop,” he warned, not even flinching as her much smaller hands rained blows on his broad chest.
“No! I hate you!” she sobbed, ignoring his command. “Why cannot you just tell me the truth? Why cannot you just admit it!”
