Chapter 14

ORINA

E zekiel was gone by the time we got back to Branwood Castle. Annoying as hell because I’d prepared myself for a confrontation where I’d make it clear he wasn’t to leave the castle without me and the guys.

My confrontation would have to wait till he returned, which would probably be sometime before dawn, which meant I’d have to stay awake, and I’d be shattered for work tomorrow. Something would have to change. I’d speak to Padma and adjust my hours to come in at noon maybe. That way I could be on Ezekiel watch, do my Order job, and still get some sleep.

I didn’t have the mental and emotional battery to join the guys for dinner, so I took a packed lunch, courtesy of Ingrid, and shut myself in Ezekiel’s memory room.

There were paintings and line sketches obviously penned by Ezekiel when he was a child. I found a leather ball, ragged and worn, and a clay cast of a paw print with the name Lance etched into it. There was a small box with baby teeth in it wrapped in a purple ribbon and a wedding dress carefully packed in a box. So many things from the time before. From his life.

He‘d been a man once. A husband and a father. A brother, although there was no evidence of that in this room. But he’d had a life before his curse.

The sketches of the woman I’d found the other night told me that Ezekiel had loved once. But the vampire king was not this man. Not anymore, and I doubted that I could ever make him so.

I’d just taken a huge bite of my crusty roll sandwich when the door slammed open, and a gust of air blew through the room, extinguishing the candlelight.

Ezekiel loomed in the doorway, his shoulders high and defensive.

I chewed fast.

“What are you doing in here?” His tone was low and lethally soft.

I held up a finger then pointed at my mouth, chewing frantically.

He stepped inside and into the moonlight, his brows coming down low. “You’re eating?”

I nodded and swallowed. “I was hungry.”

He blinked sharply, and his shoulders dropped slightly. “What are you doing in here?” he asked again but with less threat this time.

“I was snooping.”

He blinked again. “That’s bold.”

“I know, but do you care? I mean you don’t come here anymore, right?”

“These are still my things.”

“It’s not the east wing. You said that was the only place out of bounds.”

His eyes narrowed. “This room was locked.”

“Was it?”

He lifted his chin. “Don’t play games with me, Miss Lighthart.”

“Okay, but only if you stop playing games with me first.” I took a swig from my flask of tea.

“You fail to understand the dynamic here. I’m?—”

“The big bad vampire who could snap my neck at any time, right? The one that killed a bunch of innocent people to prove a point and then rubbed it in my face? Right? I get it. I know. And now I’m totally desensitized to your bullshit. You want to grab me by the throat and threaten me? Pin me to the bed and make me come? Or host a ball and kill some more people? Whatever. I’ll deal with it because that’s my fucking job. To deal with your bullshit, and that means being by your side.” I stood and dusted off crumbs from my fingers. “So from now on you do not go anywhere without me, are we clear?” Why was he looking at me like that? Like he was fascinated and amused at the same time? “Well?” I lifted my chin. “Are we clear?”

“Do you want to know what my favorite part of my bullshit was?”

“No.”

“It was making you come. Watching your face as you unraveled.”

Do not react. Do not fucking react. “Glad I could give you a show.”

He smiled, and my blood filled with ice chips.

“You want to come everywhere with me? Fine. Be ready to leave for a weekend away at sunset tomorrow.”

“A weekend? What? Why?”

“A summit has been called for the heads of all houses. It’s a residential event.” He arched a brow.

He expected me to back down. “Fine. I’ll let the Singers know.”

“Oh no, Miss Lighthart, this is an exclusive event. Your presence will be tolerated as my watcher, but the hunters will not be welcome.”

“But—”

“Or you can remain here while I attend.”

The thought of going away for the weekend with him made my skin crawl. “No. I’m coming with you.”

“Very well. I’ll see that Ingrid provides you with the appropriate attire.”

“Wait a second. I’m not wearing?—”

“You’ll wear what I tell you to wear!” His eyes blazed bright gold. “Do not confuse my tolerance with weakness, Miss Lighthart. There are protocols and etiquette in my world, and you will observe them.”

I swallowed past the heartbeat in my throat. “Fine.”

His gaze skimmed over the room, a dark look crossing his stern features. “If you hope to forge some kind of understanding of my nature by examining the objects in this room, then you’re wasting your time. The man that these things belonged to no longer exists.” He swept out of the door, and the candles flared back to life on his departure.

I fell back into my chair. A weekend away with Ezekiel…What had I just signed up for?