The silence that followed weighed on my chest. I was about to open my mouth and risk owing the General another answer when he suddenly turned down a dark hallway.
“Despite how it looks, I do quite like your mother.” His pace was so brisk that I had to pick up my skirt and run to keep up with him. “We have an…alliance of sorts. Unfortunately, I haveto keep Tyreon Elvar happy. We all have roles to play to keep the Dukedom secure.”
Between him laying on flattery like sheets on a mattress and the coil of red hair on his night table, he sent the message loud and clear.
Of course the richest man in Lycaster wanted the beautiful Little Diamond all to himself.
The General opened a panel in the wall and a soft, warm light filled the narrow hallway. The smell of soot and burnt fat filled my nose.
The kitchen—I had to get Derrick some food.
“I will ensure this goes to its rightful place,” General Hyton said, gesturing to the crown in his hand, “but if anyone is going to get my nephew to eat, it will be you. If you do not enter his chambers tonight, he might starve to death.”
My finger traced the bulls on the door of the Duke’s chambers. Why did the bulls always have to be rearing? Could they not have a nibble of grass or a nice walk with a friendly cow? Seemed exhausting to always be fighting.
I let out a breath. I needed to quit stalling. The cup of hunter’s root cream would get cold if I stayed out in the hall.
Derrick needed to eat. I needed to get into his mind and command him to free Fraleigh and sign a reformation for Brietta.
I had taken on the role of the Duke’s mistress to get close to him. Everyone expected me to, no,wantedme to go past those doors, but after what had happened between Derrick and I on the Darkest Night…I was still afraid to.
The sound of muffled sniffles crept through the hallway. A door flung open.
“Damn it, Pearl, stop crying!” Sapphira yelled from her room. “None of us are going to get any fucking sleep!”
The frame shook as she slammed it shut. Andtherewas my signal to quit stalling.
I stared down the largest, meanest bull carved in the center of the door. That pull that had tugged at my ribs the minute I caught sight of those carved doors intensified, beckoning me in.
I let out a breath. Whatever happened behind those doors would be for our freedom.
I gently knocked on the door. “Derrick?”
The door did not click open, but soft notes of a harp floated into my mind like dandelion seeds.
My white flame danced to the slow tune. Letting the music guide me, I slowly pushed open the door as I answered the call of Derrick’s inner self.
Even in the dark, I marveled at the starlit splendor of the Duke’s bedroom. The room was even larger than I expected, with multiple clusters of couches and chairs, but the gigantic canopied bed on the far wall stole my attention.
My feet whispered across the floor as I moved to the bed. The sheets and pillows were undisturbed.
“So, you found me.”
My heart nearly jumped out of my throat. My braid swished over my shoulder as I turned to find Derrick sitting on the floor in the shadow of a large wardrobe.
I furrowed my brows, but quickly smoothed my face. If he was spooked, I needed to calm him down.
Careful not to spill my cup, I squeezed between him and the wardrobe and joined him on the floor. I was in my nightgown, but he was still in his splendid outfit from the ball.
“What are you doing down here?” I asked softly.
He chewed on his chapped lip. “Uncle Ragnar said this is the safest place for me, but he is a liar. This is the room where my father and grandfather were murdered, and I am next. Iknowit.”
His inner self had beckoned me through the bedroom door, but his frightened delusions kept me out of his mind. Maybe a gentle correction was all he needed to quell the paranoia.
I placed my hand on his arm. “Your father was not murdered. He lost his balance and fell off the balcony.”
His throat trembled. “Even still, I want to be as far away from that damn balcony as possible.”
