My feet crunch on the stone, my lungs expanding as I breathe.
I’m startled when a shadow steps out from the building.
My gasp is louder than I intend, and Dare looks up.
He’s dressed in dark jeans and a black shirt. The pieces fit him so well, they look tailored specifically for him. It seems that no matter what he wears, he’s perfectly at home in the clothing.
He arcs an eyebrow as he pauses on the path.
“Are you lost?”
His tone is careful, almost abrupt. He’s giving me space, trying not to crowd me, just like I requested. He’s hesitant to open himself to me now, because I’ve already rejected him.
It feels odd, like he’s a stranger, and I don’t like it but I don’t stop it.
Because it has to be.
It has to be for now.
I shuffle my feet nervously.
“No. I’m just looking around.”
“Would you like company?” he asks, and he’s poised to join me.
It would be so easy, to just say yes.
But…something is in his eyes.
Something that I’ve seen before, but I can’t remember.
The fear swells back up in my stomach and I shake my head.
“No, thank you,” I answer finally, and Dare’s dark eyes close. He’s guarded now so I can’t hurt him. “I think I’ll just explore on my own. I don’t want to waste your time.”
“You’ve never been a waste of my time,” he tells me, and his tone is oddly formal.
He walks on, past me, and for a minute, I’m panicky.
Don’t leave me alone.
“Wait,” I call out, without even meaning to.
He stops, but doesn’t turn around.
“Yes?”
“Will you be at dinner tonight?”
My question is breathless and I internally kick myself. Stop acting so eager. You’re sending mixed signals. But my heart is mixed and I can’t help it.
Dare starts walking again.
“Of course.”
I watch him walk away, the way his broad shoulders and slim hips move.
He’s everything to me, everything I’ve ever wanted and ever will want.
It makes me want to scream in frustration, because is there really something so bad about him that I should be pushing him away?
My heart thumps and I think there is… I just can’t put my finger on it.
Yet.
Dare disappears over the hill towards the house, and it’s a few seconds before I realize that I’m being watched.
The tiny hairs stand up on my neck, and goose-bumps form on my arms. I look around, scanning my surroundings, but no one is here.
I’m alone.
Or am I?
It seems… it seems… it seems like there is someone standing at the edge of the house. There is a movement, and was that a flash of gray? But then it’s not there and I’m imagining it.
For a moment, as I’m dwarfed by the shadows, and as the silence envelops me, I feel more alone than I’ve ever felt in my life.
It’s not a good feeling.
It’s actually terrifying.
St. Michael save me.
Save me.
Save me.
My fingers find Finn’s necklace, buried under my shirt. I grasp it in my fingers, as I pray to the archangel.
St. Michael, protect me.
Protect me from the snares of the devil, because somehow I know the devil is here.
He’s here and I’m in danger.
I just don’t know what the danger is.
But you do.
Protect me til I know.
Protect me.
Protect me.
Protect me.
Chapter 6
There is a whispering in the hall, and I pull on my clothes, eager to leave this room behind. I throw open my doors to find Sabine in the hall, speaking with Jones.
They both look up at me, surprised at my abrupt appearance.
“Can we help you, Miss Price?” Jones asks, his tone so formal and stiff.
He belongs here, I think. Here in this stiff, stiff house.
“No, thank you,” I say. “I’m just restless.”
Sabine notices the book beneath my arm.
“We have a magnificent library here,” she tells me. “Come with me and I’ll show you.”
We pass through the quiet halls and the silent rooms, and always, always, always, I feel watched. Invisible eyes stare through me, into me, and I hate it.
There is something here.