Max

As if this stupid event couldn't get any worse, I had to go and bump into Lucretia of Narcia.

"She's a witch, an ancient one. We go a long way back," I say, steering Vee towards the back of the marquee where I've spotted another exit.

"And she owed you."

"Many Lowerworlders owe trolls."

"That doesn't answer my question." Vee's coat rustles as she folds her arms, eyebrows raised, fiercer than ever.

I've never been shaken in my boots more than the time I've spent with her.

"Like I said,"—I lower my voice and take Vee by the elbow, moving towards the door, given the ice sculptures are unsettling me—"she is ancient. She needed a favor, like all witches do when they reach a certain point in their powers. I was in a position to give it to her, it was a gamble which didn't pay off."

We reach the door and I open it, ushering Vee outside, relief flooding over me at having left the ice tomb.

"What exactly did you gamble on?"

I take in a deep breath of good clean air. Vee studies me carefully. I have so many secrets, so many hidden crevices. I want to expose them all to her, but at the same time, I don't want her to know what I am.

"Troll blood has special properties for those with magic. But it can only be given willingly."

"And what did you get in return?"

I shake my head. This is a place I didn't want to go, not yet.

"I got a promise."

Vee looks away from me, down the lengthy lawn towards the ornate fountain surrounded by box hedges. It's clear from what I understand, so far, of human body language, she isn't happy.

I hate her being unhappy. I hate it so much I want to explode, do some damage to this stuffy place. Make her feel better.

"Let's go see if they have anything to eat," I grumble.

Vee says nothing. Instead she hunches her head between her shoulder blades and walks past me, heading towards the house. I follow close behind, wishing I'd told her the truth.

Because, as I learnt the hard way, the truth will set you free. Lies only kill you slower.

The door we enter through is into another wing of the house and it's warmer. A young human male stands next to it and offers to take our coats. Vee hesitates, but then she takes hers off and hands it to him, as do I.

There is the scent of a buffet somewhere nearby. I usually hate such things, but the idiotically wealthy family hosting this event will have ensured they have the absolute best of the best.

Putting my hand in the small of Vee's back, I walk her through several rooms, furnished in such a way it makes me think the items have been hired in, until we reach the library where the buffet is set out.

It's then I spot Vee studying me again.

"Not quite up to your standards?" she asks.

"It's in a library," I grind out.

Vee's lips quirk at both corners, but she gets control of them.

"Food looks good though."

"Library," I growl, fists clenched. "I've had quite enough of this. Let's fucking go."

Vee grabs a kir royale from a passing tray and takes a sip. "I don't know, this is just getting interesting," she says. "Perhaps after a couple of these, you'll tell me what really happened between you and Lucretia."

Females! I growl under my breath. "I'm going to get our coats, pay my dues, and we're leaving."

I'm pretty sure I hear a chuckle from her as I march out of the library. The place isn't anything like mine, not at all. I spent more than a small fortune on crafting my library to be absolute perfection. But to see books, to see any library, treated as a dining room is wrong.

Regardless of whether my ire has amused my mate or not, I have no time for anyone who treats a library in such a fashion.

As if to irritate me further, all the staff seem to have disappeared, and there is no one to arrange the formalities with. I stride through multiple rooms where there are only guests, until I reach a huge staircase. Right at the top, I see the back of someone, arms filled with coats, and after a sigh, I start to climb.

I want rid of this place, of the risk of bumping back into Lucretia and all the questions her presence throws up. I want to be back home, with my little Vee, eating good food direct from Gravin's and looking forward to stripping her bare.

Dusty old buildings like this one can go all the way back to the Underworld as far as I'm concerned.