Chapter 7

I t was strange being back at Branwood, strange in the sense that it felt like I’d never left. The Gothic castle welcomed me into its gloomy halls with eager whispers.

It felt like coming home, and I hated that.

Ordell had driven us here, and Hemlock had accompanied me in the carriage, barely speaking two words to me. The easy camaraderie that we’d been building seemed to have evaporated, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it. Did they have an easy camaraderie with Ariella now? How much time had they spent with her? Had she taken my place in their affections? What was I even thinking? None of this should matter. And yet it did. And I hated that as well.

Walking through the halls of Branwood toward the dining hall, the brothers trailing behind me, I suddenly felt as if I was being led to my execution. A knot bloomed in my belly, but I did my best to ignore it. I was here upon Ezekiel’s request to have a meal, nothing more. There was nothing sinister about that.

The nerves stemmed from not having seen him for so long. If I was honest with myself, then I’d missed the contrary fucker.

What did that say about me?

I entered the dining hall to soft music, candlelight, and the aroma of roasted meats and fresh breads. The long table was laden with dishes, but I barely registered the food because Ezekiel was in the room, and the air was suddenly too thin.

He sat at the head of the table as always, dark hair pulled back from his face, honey eyes fixed on me, a small smile playing on his beautiful lips. Perfect except for the woman sitting to his left.

Dressed in a dinner gown, dark hair piled up high on her head to leave her slender neck bare and unadorned, she was a vision.

Ariella.

Sitting in my seat.

Heat flared in my chest, a lick of anger that I squashed quickly, fixing a smile on my face.

I directed it at her, and she sat up straighter, returning it warmly.

Some of the unease in my belly ebbed.

She had a sweet face and kind eyes, and she deserved to sit in that seat nearest to Ezekiel.

“Miss Lighthart,” Ezekiel said. “So good of you to join us, and punctual too.” He rose and approached me. I tensed, a rabbit in the headlights as he gently gripped my shoulders and leaned in to press his cheek to mine. My heart lurched as his evergreen aroma filled my head, nostalgia digging in its claws. I resisted the urge to lean into him. “Thank you for coming.” He inhaled through his nose and then drew back with a smile. “We have a feast prepared.”

He reclaimed his seat and leaned in toward Ariella conspiratorially. “Miss Lighthart is a punctual thing. Comes with her Order upbringing, no doubt.” Then to me, “Please, sit.” He indicated the seat directly to his right, but there was no way I was sitting that close to him.

I took a seat two down from the one he’d offered, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Ordell took the seat beside me, and Hemlock placed himself across from me, on the same side of the table as Ariella.

I could feel the heat of Ezekiel’s regard on the side of my face, but I kept my attention on all the food. “Wow, you really had Ingrid and the cooks go to town, didn’t you? What’s the occasion?”

“Do I need an occasion to host a small dinner party?” Ezekiel said smoothly.

“You never do anything without one.”

He smiled thinly. “You know me too well.”

I waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t, so I set to loading up my plate with some food. Eating with the knots in my belly would be a feat that I could focus on to get me through this meal because the way Ariella was looking at Ezekiel, all googly-eyed and enraptured, made me want to puke. She’d been here less than a heartbeat, and look at her acting as if she owned the place, as if she owned him, and now, she was touching his sleeve with her slender fingers. Looking up at him from beneath her lashes.

He responded by covering her hand with his and smiling down at her.

Oh God, how was I going to get through this bloody meal?

I stuffed bread into my mouth and chewed with determination and desperation, then gulped some wine to wash it down

“Hungry?” Ezekiel said, a hint of amusement in his tone.

“Starving.”

Hemlock cleared his throat. “Try the spiced rice.” He leaned across the table and spooned some onto my plate. “It’s delicious.” His gaze snagged on mine, and for a moment, my inner turmoil was silent, but then anger flickered to life, because how dare he ignore me all the way here and now act like he cares?

“It is delicious,” Ariella said, as if she’d cooked it herself, and oh God what was wrong with me? That poor girl…She hadn’t done anything to deserve the awful thoughts I was having about her.

I needed this meal to be over so I could get out of here.

“So how have you been spending your time these past weeks?” Ezekiel asked.

“Working,” I said around a mouthful of rice, uncaring of etiquette.

“And…”

“And…none of your business.”

His eyes narrowed. “ Everything you do is my business, Miss Lighthart.”

“Not anymore it isn’t.”

His mouth tightened, a flash of annoyance lighting up his features before leaving them dark and forbidding. “Of course,” he said, “you're my watcher, not the other way round, and I may be needing your services in the coming weeks.”

“Oh?” The thought of having to spend time with him again evoked a cocktail of contrary emotions.

“My dear Ariella wishes to see New Town. I’ll be taking her to the Royal House for dinner and some late-night shopping.”

Her cheeks grew pink, and he smiled, showcasing teeth in a real smile in her direction.

I spooned more rice into my mouth, chest burning. Indigestion probably.

“Well?” He fixed his golden gaze on me, waiting.

I swallowed my mouthful. “Sure, just tell me when and the boys and I will be there.”

“Good. Tomorrow night. At seven.”

So soon. Dammit. “Fine, I’ll be there.”

But his attention was on Ariella as he lifted her hand to his lips while holding her gaze. Her chest rose and fell faster, a sure sign that she was affected by his touch and his proximity.

Would I ever forget what that had felt like?

“Ariella needs friends also,” Ezekiel said smoothly. “You will fill that role.”

Like fucking hell would I. “No.”

He arched a brow. “Excuse me?”

“I may be your babysitter, but I’m not hers.” I flashed Ariella an apologetic smile. “No offense. I have a job to do, other than trail after you while you enjoy dinner.”

He watched me impassively. “Are you saying you don’t like Ariella?”

Ariella shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Ezekiel, maybe?—”

“Hush, sweetness,” he said to her. Then to me, “Well?”

“I don’t know her well enough to form an opinion.”

“Then I would wish you to make that effort.”

“Why?”

“Because I order it!” His voice boomed around the room, and Ariella flinched, but I held my ground, held his gaze. Held my wits and glared back at him.

It was time to reestablish some boundaries. “We’ve had this conversation before, several times if I’m not mistaken. But allow me to reiterate and refresh your memory. You are not my king. You do not own me. You do not get to give me orders. So having reminded you of those facts, let me tack on another. You don’t get to dictate who I’m friends with, and you don’t get to order me to spend time with your lovers.”

Ariella opened her mouth to speak, but Ezekiel beat her to it.

“A request, then,” he said with enough grace in his tone to halt my mental tirade.

I stared at him. A request? “When do you ever request anything?”

“I’m requesting right now,” he replied. “Please, would you show Ariella around New Town in the daylight hours sometime?” He flashed his most charming smile, fangs and all, and my stupid heart fluttered.

Setting aside the butterflies that had no right to be in residence right now, how could I say no when he was asking so nicely. I looked to Ariella. “I would be delighted to show you around town.”

Ariella relaxed in her seat. “Thank you.”

We ate in silence for several minutes, and I was beginning to relax, beginning to think that maybe I would make it through this dinner without any more requests from Ezekiel when he broke the silence once more.

“How are things with Kaster Black?”

I felt Ordell tense beside me, and across the table, Hemlock’s coin stopped coasting along his knuckles.

I wasn’t fazed because part of me had been expecting this question. He obviously knew I’d been seeing Kaster. Been spending the night there even. He’d sent a Raven to me after all. It would have been strange if he hadn’t questioned me about Kaster. But I didn’t want to talk about my relationship with the other vampire. Not to Ezekiel anyway. Still, I doubted he’d let it go if I didn’t give him something.

“It’s going great.”

He sipped his wine. “I'm happy for you. Now that I have my own bliss, I understand how important it is, and I could never deny another person the chance of finding theirs.” He smiled softly at Ariella. “The past few weeks have been eye-opening. I must confess I’m a changed man.”

My gaze tripped from Ordell to Hemlock because this was good. Surely it meant that we were close to breaking his curse. How quickly things could progress with the right person to push them along.

Ariella had done this.

Not me.

I was glad. Truly. And the hollowness inside me had nothing to do with Ezekiel. It had been a long day, that was all.

Now, if Ariella could control Loviator’s darkness that resided inside her and not try and kill Ezekiel, then all would be well. And maybe I could help with that. Help keep her calm and relaxed…

I set my spoon down. “I’m glad that you’re happy. Both of you, and thank you for inviting me to eat with you. And Ariella, I just had a thought about what we can do on our day out.”

Her eyes lit up. “You did?”

“Yes, there’s a great spa not too far from my office. They do massages and nails, and there’s a heated pool. We could get a late lunch after.”

“I would love that.” She beamed at me, then at Ezekiel, and her happiness was infectious, lightening my mood. But when I glanced at Ezekiel, it was to find him watching me with a strange intensity I hadn’t seen on his face before. It made my nape prickle and unease flare to life in my belly once more.

“On that note, what’s for dessert?” Ordell asked.

I picked up my spoon and got back to work on my food. The sooner I finished, the sooner I could leave.

Neither Ezekiel nor Ariella stayed for dessert, excusing themselves with conspiratorial glances before slipping from the room. Once they left, I had no appetite. In fact, I felt positively nauseous. Probably shouldn’t have stuffed my face with food to avoid more polite conversation.

I sagged in my seat as soon as the door closed on them. “Well, that went well. I mean, things are moving, right?” The hunters exchanged veiled glances that I couldn’t read. “What?”

“Do you want dessert?” Hemlock asked bluntly.

“No…”

“Good, then let’s go.” He stood and clicked his fingers, jerking his head toward the exit.

What the fuck? Did he think I was a dog? “Hey, what’s with the attitude? I might not be the golden girl any longer, but that does not give you the right to talk to me like I’m nothing.”

“Why does it matter to you how I treat you?”

I shoved my seat back and stood, matching his confrontational stance. “Drop the ego. It’s not just you, I don’t let anyone treat me like shit.”

“Stop being a dick, Hem,” Ordell said. “It helps no one.”

“And to think that a few weeks ago, you both promised to be nice to me.” I meant it to come out lightly, but the catch in my voice gave me away. Because this…them being assholes, it fucking hurt.

Ordell’s chest rumbled, a soothing apologetic sound, but Hemlock’s expression dropped into a look of pure devastation. It was so brief I could have imagined it.

He stormed from the room. “I’ll be with the carriage.”

I sank back into my seat, picked up my goblet, and drained the contents.

“How are you feeling?” Ordell asked softly.

“Do you even care?”

“Of course I care, Orina. You know how much, I just…”

Any residual anger toward him melted away. Ordell and I had our own battle. Something that was separate from the watcher deal. I could understand him avoiding me. He did it to protect me, and at least he wasn’t mean about it, but Hemlock… The way he’d been acting toward me cut deep, especially because I’d been so sure we’d formed a connection of our own.

“You do understand, don’t you?” Ordell asked.

“Yeah, I do.” I smiled, but it slipped. I was too tired for this…us… “I’ll meet you at the carriage. I want to see Ingrid real quick.”

“Ingrid’s not been seen for a few days,” Ordell said. “She hasn’t been manifesting. One of the other specters has taken over the kitchen. This meal wasn’t her doing.”

“What? Why isn’t she manifesting? And why didn’t Ezekiel say anything when I mentioned her earlier?”

“I don’t know about Ezekiel, but this happens with Ingrid. She dips out to recharge from time to time. From all the specters, she’s the one who has to manifest the most, and it takes a toll.”

In that case, it made sense that she might need to recharge. Shame it coincided with my visit. “If you see her before I do, can you tell her that I miss her?”

“Of course.” He stood slowly, unfurling his powerful frame in a stretch that drew my gaze to the hem of his T-shirt and the strip of golden skin exposed there.

The urge to touch him tightened my grip on the stem of my goblet. God, I missed him.

He exhaled and fixed his stormy gaze on me. “I miss you too.”

My pulse jumped and my stupid eyes heated. “Thank you.” Because he had no idea how much better that made me feel.

His shoulders slumped. “I distanced myself too much, but now I understand the balance. I won’t be absent. I’m here, Orina. And if it gets too much for me, then I’ll let you know.”

My throat pinched. “Thanks.”

If I had him on my side, if I could talk to him, even a little the way that we used to, then maybe the rest of the year watching Ezekiel fall in love with Ariella wouldn’t be so awful.