“Night, Fina.”
In my room, I shower and change before slipping into bed rather than go downstairs. The room is quiet. Too quiet. There’s no noise to quell the noise in my head.
Yet, with thoughts of the woman next door, its silent enough that my body slips into a half-decent sleep.
The best in my own bed since the night she was in it.
28
SERAFINA
Despite overhearing my future last night, I shower and dress the next morning like nothing’s wrong, because that’s exactly what everyone’s expecting from me. If Zeno doesn’t want me to know yet, I’ll pretend exactly that to avoid making this worse.
Even if the thought of the Commission siding with my near-rapist makes me literally puke in my mouth.
There still isn’t a response from Amara, which is the first thing I checked when waking up. This time, I opted to not message again. Maybe it’s petty, but I have bigger things to concern myself with than her drama.
With the help of mouthwash and cold water, I head downstairs in jeans and a simple cardigan over a plain tee. An ideal outfit for learning yet another university campus.
In the kitchen, Vanessa’s pouring coffee into a travel mug. “Morning. I’m heading out. Coffee’s fresh; help yourself. Eat anything you find. I’ll be getting staff to restock soon. Good luck today.”
“Thanks.” My reply is only heard by the ghost of her presence, as she’s gone so quickly.
After a bit of poking around in the attached pantry, I’m seated at the island counter with oatmeal and coffee, the latest episode of one of my shows on my cell. I should have brought my laptop down.
A moment into the recap of the previous episode, a deep, “Fuck. Sorry,” rumbles from the doorway. When I look up, what I was eating—if I was eating—is forgotten for the sight I’m met with.
Lev lingers, dressed in only a pair of cotton black pyjama pants. Shirtless, his muscles stand out in the morning sun. He’s the perfect blend of soft and hard, a toned body that does things to my brain. I’ve seen him shirtless a couple times, the first being when he was getting patched up, but concern for his well-being was more important. In Rome, he always wore a shirt, minus that instance I woke before him.
His tattoos draw my attention, usually hidden by his clothing. They’re never sohere, and my eyes try to make sense of the different images all patchworked together into something grander.
“It’s okay.” I finally find my tongue.
Lev crosses the room, seemingly unbothered by the fact that my brain is short-circuiting. He pours himself coffee before turning to lean against the counter, reminding me of the morning after sleeping in his bed. Long fingers wrap the mug, and his eyes shut with his first sip.
Like he’s trying to destroy me.
He notices cell propped up on the fruit bowl. “What are you watching?”
I comment the name of the show, adding, “It’s what I went looking for last night. I didn’t notice a TV when being given the tour of this place, but we were in and out of the rooms so quickly, I’d hoped I missed one.”
“You’ll be looking for a while. We’re not really TV-watching people around here. Ursin despised them, and the rest of us grew up doing anything else.”
Damn.
Abruptly, he shoves off the counter and walks out of the room. His steps are paced but lithe, and then he’s gone without a word.
“Leave in an hour?” I call after him, hoping he hears before getting too far.
“I’ll meet you out front.” Then, there’s silence, and I return to my show, wondering what exactly that was about.
An hour later, I head out the front door, disoriented by at the vast property. The late morning sun has grass shining with dew. The property is walled by thick woods, and to my right is a multi-car detached garage larger than my Ostia home with who knows how many vehicles inside.
Steps approach from my right, but they don’t belong to Lev. A guy nears, with buzzed hair and dark eyes that scan me up and down. He stops beside me, his hand lightly resting on a gun strapped to his belt. He reminds me a bit of the soldiers Zeno commands.
“Hi there. You must be the Volkovs’ guest?”
“Um. Yeah.” Vanessa mentioned keeping my identity quiet but also that she’d have people on the grounds. She never said how I was to respond to them.
