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Darien was the first to break her stare. He was only several feet away from her when he stopped and blinked his Sight into place.
“Any idea who did this?” Black eyes picked apart the wreckage, searching for any hints. That deep voice never failed to send heat dripping down her spine, even now—even with that cold edge to it that made her hate herself for the trap she had fallen into.
Erasmus found his voice before Loren could find hers. “Not even the slightest inkling, I’m afraid.”
“Did you have spells on the house?” Boots pounded as Darien walked into the living room, scanning the walls, the windows, the doorways.
“It wasn’t the best protection,” Erasmus admitted, scratching at the back of his neck. “But I did have s-some.”
“How much did you pay?” Darien demanded, stooping low to sift through the mess at his feet. The dusky light of the stormy day streamed through the windows, making his slicked-back hair shine like fresh tar.
“Fifty thousand.”
Darien pinned him with a stare from under dark eyelashes. “Fifty thousand,” he repeated, looking disgusted. “You were practically fucking asking for it.”
“Darien,” Loren whispered, his name floating off her lips before she could stop it.
The glance he spared for her was so short, it could hardly even classify as one. She tried not to feel hurt by this, reminding herself that she was the one who’d left him at Hell’s Gate last night—the one who hadn’t returned his call or initiated conversation with a simple message.
How would she have felt if the roles were reversed?
Darien pushed up from the floor, glass tinkling against his boots. “I’ll get you some security spells from the Umbra Forum,” he said, blinking the Sight out of his eyes. “Once those are installed, it should be safe for you to come back here, but I would keep an eye out from now on, if I were you.”
Erasmus was shaking his head. “I don’t want you to spend your m-money on me, Darien.”
“And I don’t want my girlfriend coming into a house that’s poorly protected,” Darien replied icily. “You were willing to pay three million gold mynet to find your daughter, but you can’t even be bothered to take the necessary precautions to protect her now that she’s been found?”
Erasmus dropped his gaze to his feet. Shame colored his cheeks.
“It’s okay,” Loren tried, her voice a croak. “We all make mistakes—”
“Yeah, we do, don’t we?” Darien interrupted flatly.
She supposed she deserved that, but she hated how empty his eyes looked as he stared at her. Not blinking. Not moving. Barely breathing.
Finally, the ice on his face thawed. She wasn’t sure what her own face looked like, but he must’ve seen something there, because he stopped pressing her father about the matter and stepped out of the living room, walking so close as he passed her by that his sleeve nearly brushed hers.
“You need money for a hotel too?” Darien called over his shoulder as he started down the hallway. This time, there was no trace of hostility in his question. The door was still ajar. Rain pounded the front steps, the palm trees across the road whipped about by wind.
“I think I can manage that on my own,” Erasmus replied politely.
“You want me to call this in?”
“I c-can.”
Loren’s feet drifted toward Darien. She had to force them to stop, and just as she managed it, she saw Darien slow his own pace. He lingered halfway down the hallway, hands now in the pockets of his jacket, looking around at the house but not really seeing anything.
She knew the break-in was of very little concern to Darien, and a very small part of the reason why he’d come here.
Erasmus came up beside her and settled his hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to give you two some space. I need to pack some of m-my things anyway.” He lumbered for the staircase before she could reply.
With her father now gone, and Darien only feet away from her, she found that she couldn’t lift her gaze from the floor. She was at a loss as to what to do. Because her tongue was frozen, she couldn’t tell him the truth, but she didn’t want to lie to his face either. Talking to him would guarantee questions she couldn’t answer, but she couldn’t bear this silence any longer.
Darien spoke before she had a chance to say anything, which was well enough, considering she had no idea what might come out of her mouth at this point. She didn’t know how much power the imperator’s spell had over her speech, and she was reluctant to find out.
“Hey,” Darien said softly. The one word was a deep rumble she felt in her belly. It skittered across her skin and made her heart somersault in a way she knew his sharp hearing would pick up on.
Slowly, she raised her eyes to his face.
