Michael.
He’shere. Oh, thank darkness. Even if it is torture to see him again. Joaquin glances at me, as though he can sense my emotional turmoil. I can barely breathe as first Oliver, then Jacques, kneel before me, kissing my ring. The crowd is silent, as though they know what this means. As though they can see this is so much more than just fealty.
Finally, it’s Michael’s turn. He kneels, looking up at me.
And there is a world in his eyes.
He takes my hand, his thumb rubbing lightly over the inside of my wrist. A small gesture, hopefully nothing that anyone would notice. But I know what it means. I have to fight to stay cool and calm, to not betray my human emotions, even though my traitorous heart is reaching out to his.
I think of my mother meeting my father, of how in that single moment of him kneeling before her, everything changed.
It seems I am truly her daughter, after all.
ChapterTwenty-Seven
SNOWFALL
We return to the coach just before sunrise. I go straight to my room, close the door and sit on my bed with my knees hugged to my chest.
Michael is here.
It shouldn’t mean anything. He walked away. He didn’t trust me. He chose his brothers over me. I’m with Joaquin now.
So, what in darkness happened when he knelt before me?
I flop back on the bed, covering my face with my hands. Oh God. How can I possibly have him as my lieutenant? My mother’s warning rolls through my mind.We’re more alike than you think.Maybe I should just choose Deryck and deal with the fallout afterwards.
My phone buzzes. I grab it, hoping it’s Sophie. Perhaps she’ll have some advice on how to handle this. But it’s a message from an unknown number.
Meet me outside. Near the rocks.
My first reaction is to tell him where to shove it. Because of course it’s Michael. It’s light outside and everyone else here is a vampire, unless some random blood dancer has managed to get my number. But something in my chest seems to tug at me, telling me I need to do this. Maybe it’s a good opportunity to talk, with no one else around. Darkness knows I’d like the chance to scream at him. Sighing, I reply.
Fine.
I shrug on my jacket, shove my feet into boots, then head downstairs. My reaction meant nothing. It was the shock of seeing him, that’s all. I’ve shut down the Challenge, I’m two nights into my Anointing, I have a hot new vampire boyfriend, and I’m going to sort this out too.Emelia Raven, getting shit done. I should get it on a sweatshirt.
‘I’m going outside.’ My parents, playing cards with Varin, look up, my mother’s mouth an ‘o’ of surprise. ‘Need some air.’ I wait until they’re at a safe distance to open the door, stepping out quickly, gasping as I’m hit by a blast of cold air.
It’s snowing. Fat feathery flakes of white, twirling and dancing in the dawn light, the strange yellow-grey of a snow-filled sky. It’s starting to settle, lining the rocks with silver, the dark mass of forest below crowned with white like a wave breaking against the hillside.
It’s beautiful, the way snow blankets the world. Making it quieter, smoothing out the rough edges, hiding the flaws. I perch on a rock, staring out across the trees. It’s as though the snow is soothing me, too, like ice-cream for my soul. I catch a few flakes, watching them melt against the warmth of my skin, their tiny, intricate designs lost for ever.
‘Hey.’
I jump, my head whipping around. Michaelstands a few feet away, hands in pockets, wearing jeans and one of his frayed jumpers that I know are so soft to touch, his broad shoulders even more so under a leather jacket.
My resolve melts like the snowflakes on my hand. It’s hard to breathe.
I wait, though. Let him speak first, then I can decide where to take this. I keep my expression neutral, but my heart beats wildly, traitor that it is.
He sits next to me, bracing his hands against the rock. And it’s heaven and hell combined to be so close to him again, to smell his familiar scent, see those beautiful eyes turned on me. I have to clench my fist to stop myself reaching for him.
‘I’m sorry,’ he says. ‘I should never have treated you the way I did.’
‘No, you shouldn’t.’ Keeping cool, like the snow. Trying to hide my breaking parts, my angry flaws. I watch the rapidly whitening landscape, my every sense on high alert. The cold grit of stone beneath my clenched fists, the endless dark mass of trees disappearing beneath a veil of white, the twisting dance of the snowflakes. The warmth of the man next to me. And the fact I can’t touch him.
‘You should have told me about my father.’ The pain in his voice cuts me.
