Page 121 of No One’s Daughter

​I couldn’t take much more of this.

“Who am I to him?” I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it. Hoping that maybe answers would distract me or provide me with some sort of relief.

“I honestly don’t know,” Leon whispered. “I’d tell you if I did.”

There goes that idea.

​I wondered if that was true. Was he playing me, trying to get my guard down, or was he truly blissfully ignorant to what was going on around him? Davien had said he was of good heart. But I didn’t know if I could really trust him either.

​I was alone with this and I needed to arm myself with as much information as I could. “What does he want with me?”

​A pause.

​Then he leaned in slightly closer, his voice even quieter. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t know. Only that it can’t be good.”

On that we could agree at least.

Where the fuck was Claire?

My eyes scanned every face that entered the space, yet she was nowhere to be found. I feared she wasn’t here at all. At least Leon had confirmed that she was alive earlier today. I held on to that thought. She was alive. I kept repeating that information in my mind.

Leon placed a hand on mine above my knee. It was much larger than mine, but surprisingly soft and gentle. He was calm and steady as a rock and some of that energy seemed to transfer to me, and my leg finally stopped bouncing. I hated that it calmed me. But at this point, I’d take anything given to get me through this night.

The space fell into a hush, it wasn’t gradual, it was immediate. Like the air itself had been commanded to still, and that’s how I knew that he had arrived.

He moved with a quiet authority that seemed to bend the space around him. The candlelight flickered as he passed, shadows clinging to him like he belonged there. Every one of his steps was heavy, deliberate, oppressive.

His gaze swept over the crowd, slow and assessing, before it landed briefly on me. And in that single moment, it felt like he saw everything.

Every fear.

Every weakness.

Every secret I didn’t even know I had.

My breath caught.

A faint smile touched his lips.

“Shall we begin?” he said, his voice smooth, controlled, utterly devoid of warmth. “I have something really special for you all tonight.”

A ripple of anticipation moved through the crowd and the candles flared.

And as the heavy crimson curtains began to draw back, I leaned back into the chair with Leon’s hand still resting over mine, my heart pounding so violently I thought it might break from my chest.

Whatever this was.

It wasn’t going to end well.

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

Ailsa

THE FIRST NOTE hit the air like a breath drawn too slowly.

​Soft.

​Delicate.