“You are being held by Ambrose,” she says. “His magic is potent, but mine is older. Calmer. Stronger when guided. Focus. Open your mind. Let ussee.” She places her hand on my forehead.
My heart slows. My breathing evens. And the dark starts tocrack. I wake up in my room.
The fire’s gone. The sea air is still. My legs are tangled in the sheets, and I know—know—they had me. They werehere.
Athanasius’s voice cuts through. Not like a sound, more like a blade slipping into thought. “Where is he?” he growls.
“I don’t know,” I whisper, hands shaking. “He disappears at night. But today—he let me out. He showed me the castle, the gardens, the beach…”
Idon’ttell him about the kisses. Lord no, he'd be hellbent on killing him and not focused enough to get me the fuck out of here.
Idotell him about the potion. “There was a vial,” I say. “In the potions room. Labeledlocator. Maybe it can help.”
The old woman appears again, voice calm and grounded. “Perhaps… but I mustseeit.” Then her face tightens. “He’s coming. We have to stop. He must not know.”
Athanasius turns to me. All fire. All fury. But for me, there's gentleness in his touch. My eyes go dark and once again I'm wherever he is.I can see him, his face in the firelight. His knuckles brush past my cheek. “I’m coming, rabbit. Do you hear me? I’m coming.” He kisses me again—deep, hungry,real. Then again, slower, his hands sliding down my body like he needs to memorize every inch. “I love you, Ione.”
My body sinks into the bed as if he's laying me there himself. Another kiss. Warmth. Safety.
Knock knock.
The door swings open. I bolt upright in bed. Breath caught. Body still tingling from the dream—or thevisit. And there he is. Ambrose. Leaning in the doorway like he’s got nowhere else to be.
“That look,” he says, grinning. “He came to visit, didn’t he?”
I stare at him, silent.
Ambrose tuts. “Wecan’thave that again. Come with me, pretty Ione.”
Chapter thirty-four
Sleeping With the Enemy
Ione
"Huh?"Mybodyisstill thrumming like a live wire. "I-"
"I-uh-duh-" He rolls his eyes. "Get out of the damn bed, Ione." He walks over, sleep pants low on his hips, his robe is open exposing his chest. "Trying to pretend like he wasn't just here, it's my house, I have wards everywhere." He grabs my arm and lifts me up until I'm standing. "Apparently, someone can go toe to toe with me, interesting." His eyes scan mine. "I hope you didn't get in a fuck." He smirks. "I'd be jealous."
I don't know what to say, I'm still reeling from the fact that Athanasius lives somewhere in the deep ocean, and had me walking around while a goblin shark and god knows what else was around me. "Let me rest a second." My eyes are swimming in my head and I'm starting to feel nauseous.
"I bet," He lowers me to the bed, crouching in front of me with his hands on my knees. "Astral projection isn't nice when you don't know you're doing it." He sighs. "Coming back to your body can feel like waking up in someone else's." He puts his palm to my forehead. "You're clammy."
The slick bastard then stands up and lifts me over his shoulder. At least he has the grace to make sure his shoulder isn't stabbing me in my stomach. He carries me down the hall and to the right, if we went left we'd be going downstairs. No, there's a short hall and two doors on the right. The farthest one is his bedroom. Ambrose lays me on the bed, and sighs. "I'll be right back."
He returns shortly with a bowl and a cloth. Climbing on the bed, he presses it to my head. "I feel sick."
"If you puke in my fucking bed, I will make you sleep in it." He snaps. "I'll get you some tea."
Why do I feel so weak? "So you can drug me?" My stomach is rolling. "Just help me to the bathroom so I can puke."
His tone softens. "Cutie, I'm not going to drug you," The cloth moves over my forehead. "How low do you think of me?"
The corner of my mouth lifts and he begins to laugh. "Ok, just because I've done it before doesn't mean it's consistent." He helps me up as soon as I'm in front of the toilet everything comes up.
Without a word, Ambrose makes sure my scarf stays on my head. He rubs my back gently, and grabs a cup of water for me to rinse my mouth. "Thank you." I mutter weakly, sitting on the floor. "You're taking good care of your captive," He raises an eyebrow. "Sometimes."
"Sometimes," He repeats. "Well, I'll think about doing better." He runs a bath, dropping herbs and a few salts into it. "You need to soak in that for a while, I'll come get you in a few."
