52. Camille

Chapter 52

Camille

A week after Kage’s birthday, I was both elated and frustrated. My relationships with Kage and Dante were strengthening, my trust in them rebuilding, and I enjoyed spending as much time with them as I could between classes. However, classes were ramping up, which meant that time with them had been limited. Worse, we hadn’t made any progress with our investigation—limited as it was given what little we had to work with. Kage’s mafia connections had come up empty, as had Dante’s attempts to pry for information through his unique connections with CU faculty.

Bianca and I had started hanging out more, and not just to discuss things like whether the university president might be involved in murder and mayhem just because his driveway gates were etched with tree shapes. We had gotten to the point where we could laugh and share stories again, especially about Kage and Dante. Funnily enough, though, Bianca asked the most questions about Ty, who had spent the last week hunkering down for classes, too; at least, that’s what it seemed like when he was rarely at the chateau, and when he was, instead of taking time to bait, bully, or bewitch me, he merely acted politely.

Polite but distant.

Some might say that was better than bullshit and bullying, but I wasn’t sure.

I was struggling with studying for an upcoming math exam when my phone buzzed with a text from Bianca.

Theconciliantiscalled me to see her. I didn’t say anything, but she told me to pass on a message. She wants to see you in thirty minutes.

I bit my lip, remembering how I'd told Bianca we shouldn't trust the conciliantis . But she’d summoned me to her office, not her on-campus cottage, so unless she was planning on killing me where anyone could hear us, I was safe. Plus, I doubted she’d try anything since Bianca had passed along her message.

After changing and bundling up into a jacket, I made my way to the admin building and her office, wondering what she could possibly want to discuss. My steps slowed when I spotted Ty heading that way, too.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, but before he could answer, the door opened, and the conciliantis herself beckoned us inside.

“Come in, both of you.”

Slowly, we complied. I could tell how stiffly Ty held himself, his muscles tensed as if he was ready to spring into action at the hint of any threat.

“I saw your drawings from your art class,” she began, “and it’s clear there’s something intimate between the two of you. Can you tell me your history? You knew each other before CU, no?”

I looked at Ty, sure he was going to deny it since there’d be no reason for her to know the Ty I’d met in Italy was the same Matteo Serrello who’d later been accused of poisoning his family. Instead, Ty said, “We dated for a while, but things didn’t work out.”

I couldn’t help the hurt and annoyance that flashed through me. Dated for a while? I’d loved him and thought we were going to spend the rest of our lives together.

“Is that right, Camille?” The conciliantis and Ty both turned their gazes on me, his burning into me like he was daring me to contradict him. The way he'd minimized what we'd meant to each other made me reckless.

“I fell in love with Ty, and then he ended things,” I announced boldly, refusing to hold back. “A part of me still loves him, but I know I can’t have him because he doesn’t love me back. Plus, we’re both different. Irreparably changed. We’re not the same people we were when we were together.”

Ty stared at me, obviously stunned at my stark acknowledgment that part of me still loved him. For some reason, even though I’d just given him potential power over me if he ever chose to use it, I didn’t regret what I’d said.

“And now the two of you are just friends?” the conciliantis asked, directing the question at me.

“We’re more than friends,” Ty bit out. “I just can’t be the person she wants or needs. But I’d protect her with my life.”

I sucked in a breath at the vehemence in his tone. I knew he was telling the truth. He’d put his life on the line for me more than once since coming to Crimsonvale.

“I see,” the conciliantis said. “And what about Kage, Camille? You two seem very close, and your father has indicated he’d approve a match between the two of you.”

Jesus, my father. I hadn’t even heard from him, not even when he had to know what happened with Officer Davis. And he was still trying to marry me off? Of course, he’d put Kage on one of his lists of potential husbands, so why wouldn’t he still be whispering in the conciliantis’s ear about our possible union?

“Kage and I are just having fun,” I lied. Kage might have told Moira we were going to be together, but I was banking on the fact that his parents hadn’t said anything to the conciliantis or my father. Kage’s commitment to me was too new, too precious, and I hadn’t shared it with anyone. Not Dante. Not Bianca. Not Ty. I certainly wasn’t going to share it with this woman who could very well turn around and tell my father.

“In that case, there’s no reason we can’t talk about potential matches for the both of you.”

“Not interested,” Ty said.

“I’m not either,” I said.

“Just humor me. What would you both want in a match?”

The perfect combination of Kage, Dante, and Ty, I thought.

A Ty who let me in. A Ty who not only called out the darkness in me but let me be a light for him.

As the conciliantis tried to drag information out of Ty that he had no intention of giving her, my eyes fell on a piece of paper on her desk. There was a drawing buried beneath some papers, and I could only see part of it, but for some reason, it made me think of tree symbols. Exactly like the ones on the university president’s gates.

Holy shit. Maybe I hadn’t been so crazy to suspect him then. Maybe I was right to suspect we couldn’t trust her . I forced my expression to remain neutral as I listened to her talk about the importance of a strong match, but her words barely registered. I was too stunned about this possible breakthrough and unsure what to do with the information.

Other than tell the guys about it.

“I need to go,” I said suddenly, standing. “I’m so sorry, madam, but I just remembered an urgent appointment.”

The conciliantis narrowed her eyes at me, but Ty was already on his feet. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, leading me toward the door.

I craned my neck over my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, madam.”

Before she could reply, we were out the door. Ty grabbed my hand, and together we practically ran outside. “What is it? What did you see?” he said.

“I saw part of a drawing buried under some papers on her desk. It was of some kind of tree,” I rushed to explain. “I saw the same symbol on a gate at an estate not far from here. I’m pretty sure it matches one of the ones from the flag we found.” I took out my phone and showed him the photos of the gates. “The guy who owned the house came out and acted weird, trying to get me inside. He said he’s the university president.”

“Fuck. We need to meet with Kage, Dante, and Bianca.”

Right. Together, we left various texts and messages. Everyone got back to us, and it looked like they could all be at the chateau in the next half hour.

Ty and I were sitting on the couch in tense silence. I knew my mind should be on the clue I’d seen in the conciliantis's office, but instead, it was on what Ty had told her. “Why did you tell her about us? About our history? Why did you tell her we were more than friends, when we aren’t even that?”

He frowned. “We don’t have time to get into this right now.”

“They’re simple questions that should have simple answers.”

He snorted. “Nothing about us is simple, Camille.”

“This should be. You came here to find your family’s killer, not for me. The two of us being here is just a weird twist of fate. Ever since you’ve been here, you’ve pushed me away. So why tell her that?”

He raked his hand through his hair then stared at the floor for several long moments. When he finally looked at me, I gasped. The mask that Ty wore, the one that shielded his emotions, the one that made me believe he hated me half the time, was gone. In his eyes, I saw regret. Hunger. Agony.

“Ty?” I whispered.

“You want to know why I told her that? Why I couldn’t stand the thought of her, of anyone, truly believing that you don’t mean something to me? It’s because you’re right. I push you away because I’m scared. Because I want you. I want everything. And I know if I take it, if you give it to me, I’ll ruin you. It’s why I broke up with you before. But if I can’t have you, Camille, I can’t have anyone. It’s why I haven’t touched another woman since you.”

Shock reverberated through me. I gaped at him then shook my head. “You’re lying.”

He just stared at me. “Am I?”

“But… but why?”

“Let me ask you something first. You, Kage, and Dante. How does it work?”

I blushed. “We’re figuring it out as we go along. Dante gives me things Kage can’t. And vice versa. Only…”

“Only what?”

I was still struggling to accept what he’d told me. That he hadn’t been with anyone else since me. But if it was true…

“Only, as happy as they make me, there’s a void in me. A hole that will always be there. You broke my heart and while it’s been pieced back together, there will always be cracks waiting for you to fill them. I meant what I said to her. I still love you, Ty.”

“Christ, don’t say that! I’m hanging by a thread here, Camille. I have been ever since I came back from Italy. I’ve stayed away from you.”

“And I’ve missed you.”

“Hardly. Kage and Dante…”

“Yes, Kage and Dante have my heart, Ty. But you were the first boy I ever loved. And I’ll go to my grave loving you,” I said. All the hurt and anger I’d felt for him since he returned to Crimsonvale paled in comparison to the determination I felt. I needed him to understand I’d never gotten over him. If I died tomorrow, I’d die regretting that we weren’t together, but at least I wouldn’t regret not telling Ty how I still felt.

Ty grabbed my arm, his grip painful, but I could tell it was emotion that moved him, not anger. I raised my hand and cupped his face. “My Ty,” I whispered. “You’ll always be my Ty. No matter how dark you’ve gotten, I’ll always see the light inside you.”

He groaned then he was kissing me. Gripping his waist, I kissed him back, my tongue circling his. My heart thumped as my body begged for more. I pulled him against me only for him to push me back and jump to his feet.

“No,” he panted. “We can’t do this. I can’t?—”

I got to my feet too, surprised when he backed away from me. “Why? You said?—”

“I know what I said. But you don’t understand. I’ve changed since we were together. The things I want to do to you… the things I need to do to you…”

“What? You want to hurt me?”

He clenched his jaw. “I—I want to push the line. I want to push your lines. I want to punish us both, even though I know you don’t deserve it. And that’s why we can’t.”

“You might think you want to hurt me, Ty, but I don't think you will. At least, not without giving me pleasure, too," I said. "Touch me."

“No,” he said bluntly.

“Why, because the others are coming?”

He scowled. “I have nothing against your sister, but Kage and Dante have touched you plenty in front of me. If they saw us, I’d fucking love it.”

“Then do it, Ty! I want it. I want you. Forget everything that came before, at least for now. I’m here. I’m begging you. Let me prove to both of us that whatever you do to me, I’d relish it— because the alternative is being without you, and that’s an agony I can’t live with anymore."