“And I promised I’d never do that.”
I rubbed my face, a nebulous fog clouding my thoughts. “Tell Viktor I just need a few days and I’ll be better than I was before. I’ve got a fire in me now, and I won’t stop until every lowlife in this city is either dead or incarcerated.”
The music box suddenly played seven notes, and I jumped.
“It does that sometimes,” Christian said. “Must be jammed.”
The jewelry box reminded me of Fletcher’s threat. “My father… I have to see if he’s okay. Fletcher threatened to—”
“I’ve taken care of it. I knew that Fletcher would know where to find him.”
I jerked my head. “How did you know my Creator had me? The auction was anonymous.”
That perked Christian right up. He gave me a smug grin and put his thumbs in his pants pockets. “Your maker told me his name. I knew straight away that your Creator was the only person who would have bid that high for a girl with mismatched eyes.”
“So Houdini gave you information?”
“Aye. And I informed him that he’d sold you to the devil himself.”
My gaze drifted down. “Then he wanted you to find me. He wasn’t just going to leave me there without hope.”
“This charade is more than I can fecking take,” he bit out. “Why are you defending the man who turned you over to a torturer?”
“He couldn’t have known. You just said yourself you had to tell him the nature of our relationship. It’s not right what he did, turning me Vampire all those years ago, but he said that he really did want to keep me and make me a companion. Fletcher took me before that could happen.”
“You’re defending a man who sells women for profit.”
“But he never planned to sell me. I know it’s fucked up, Christian, but he doesn’t mean me any harm.”
Christian drew in a shaky breath and blew it out slowly.
I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to keep my thoughts away from that dark place I’d spent the past month. The warm fire and soft bed were familiar… and yet not.
After a few minutes of silence, Christian sat down beside me. “Are you sure Houdini didn’t feed you his blood? Your loyalty makes me think otherwise.”
“It’s not loyalty.”
“But you don’t hate him anymore.”
“I just have a better understanding of him now, and maybe because of that I don’t hate him the way I hate Fletcher.” I rubbed at an invisible scar on my wrist. “Don’t tell anyone. About Fletcher, I mean. I’m sure they can guess, but I don’t really want to talk about it anymore. It’s over, and they don’t need all the sordid details.” My eyes flicked down to his lap when something caught my attention. “I’ve never seen you wear a ring before.”
Christian’s hand clenched into a tight fist, and he leaned forward. “Why did Houdini leave your memory of him? What did you give in exchange for that?”
I found it strange that Christian kept circling back to Houdini instead of Fletcher. “I don’t know, he just did. I begged him to let me keep my memory.”
“Think about it, Raven. You have knowledge of his crimes, his description, possibly where he lives, and how he’s related to you. Why would he set you free with all that valuable information? Just because you asked?” Christian glared over his shoulder at me. “Think hard.”
When I did, another headache came on. All I wanted was to sleep and find a way to fill the hollowness inside me. Being here was still surreal, and I kept expecting to wake up from it and find myself chained to a wall. I dreaded the inevitable conversation with Viktor and whether or not I still had a place on this team. Worst of all, I didn’t have anyone I could confide in. Not completely. “I’m tired, and I want to be alone. Can we talk about this in the morning?”
He sat up straight, hands on his knees. “I don’t wish to quarrel on your first night back. When you’re rested, we’ll discuss the matter.”
“I might not want to discuss the matter. If you have something to say, get it over with already.”
A knock sounded, and Claude peered inside. “I thought you might be hungry, female.” His nostrils flared in his attempt to pick up my emotional scent.
“Leave it on the bedside table,” Christian said. “Wait in the hall. I’ll be out in a minute. And stop flashing your fangs everywhere you go. You’re scaring the help.”
Chitahs usually showed their teeth as a means of aggression, but sometimes when Claude was being overprotective, they came out. He retracted them and flashed his golden eyes at me. “I’m here if you need anything.”
I touched my wet hair. “Thanks.”
When the door closed, Christian stood up and turned the ring on his finger. “Can I ask you something before I go?”
I stared at the metal puzzle box on my desk. “Depends.”
“Do you remember what I said to you in the graveyard?”
I frowned. “When I found you in the crypt?”
He looked toward the window. “No, the other time.”
Pain lanced through my temple. “I don’t remember another time. Can we do this tomorrow? My head is killing me, and I just want to sleep.”
Christian clasped his hands behind his back and bowed. “Don’t worry yourself about it. You need rest. Eat every bite on that plate, and if you want anything else, I’ll be outside the door.”
I turned to watch him go. “All night?”
He turned the knob and showed me his profile. “I’ll make it right again, Raven. I vow that every wrong will be made right, even if you don’t know what was done to you.”
“I’m well aware of what was done to me.”
His face hardened, and with a quick bow, he left the room without another word.
Chapter 26
Two weeks later.
I anchored my left foot on a hold and gripped a larger one above me. Maybe I should have worn a harness since we didn’t have crash pads on the floor, but in our rock-climbing room, there were no rules. It was one of the few rooms with overhead lights since scaling walls by candlelight was insanity. It wasn’t the most professional layout, but whoever built this room put a lot of work into the high walls, attaching holds of all sizes and shapes throughout. The activity had gotten me through the past couple of weeks, training my focus, patience, and endurance as well as rebuilding lost muscle. Moping around wasn’t my style, and nothing felt more kick-ass than scaling to the top.
After my rescue, I’d shoved aside my emotions and worked on conditioning my body back to its original state. That meant rest, eating in my room, and working out privately. That was the great thing about Keystone—no one hovered.
“You’re going to break your neck up there,” Christian said from below.
I peered over my shoulder when I saw one of the ropes next to me whipping around. “I like the challenge.”
“Viktor wants to speak with you.”