“I’m not afraid of your pain. Only of losing you to it.”
He held her gaze a few more beats, then finally relented. “Gabriel and I interrogated some of Rogozin’s demons today, hoping to net a bit of useful information. It was… unpleasant, to say the least. We left none alive.”
“What happened?”
He closed his eyes and shook his head like he was trying to loosen whatever terrible memories had gotten stuck inside.
“Through all those gruesome hours,” he said, “all I could think about was coming home to you. Coming home tothismoment, right here. To your soft skin, to your perfect…everything.” He drew her close again, burying his face against her neck and inhaling her scent. “You are the only good thing in… I can’t…” His voice crumbled. “I’ve done things, Charlotte. Dark,terriblethings I don’t wish to bring home to the bed we share. Please don’t ask me to.”
The pain in his voice nearly broke her heart. She knew it’d cost him something to admit eventhatmuch—something she wasn’t sure he’d meant to lose.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, because in all the things hehadn’tsaid, the truth shone as starkly as if he’d written it in blood.
Whatever Dorian had done today, whatever brutalities he’d administered, whatever hell he’d put himself through… He’d done it for her.
She closed her eyes and lay her head against his chest, taking comfort in the strong, steady beat of his heart. Dorian slid his hand into her hair and stroked her head, and they held each other close, seconds turning to minutes, time slowing to grant them this momentary reprieve.
When the darkness finally began to abate, Dorian pulled back and glanced down at her face, his gaze sweeping to her mouth. The warmth had returned to his eyes, chasing off his earlier torments.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. “Any pain?”
“I was a little sore this morning, but I’m actually doing okay. Colin did a good job patching me up. I was hoping to thank him, but I didn’t see him around today. Is he staying somewhere else?”
“I’m afraid Colin is still spending most of his time in the crypts. My father left a number of medical journals in his laboratory there, and—”
“Wait. Your father had a medical lab? In thecrypts?” Charley laughed. “That’s what I get for skipping the official tour.”
“The lab isn’t part of the official tour. But if you’d like, I could put in a word with the owner.” He brushed a powder-soft kiss across her lips and whispered, “I hear he likes you.”
“Don’t tell my vampire boyfriend. He’s kind of the jealous type.”
“Your vampire boyfriend isdefinitelythe jealous type.”
“Why do vampires even need crypts? I never understood that.”
“They’re a holdover from the original manor in West Sussex—all part of Father’s re-creation. He used them for his own special projects—his medical research, mostly. Ironically, Augustus Redthorneisdown there—what’s left of him, anyway. Probably the only vampire in history to be interred in an actual tomb.”
“Really?”
“He died there, Charlotte. We simply allowed him to remain.”
“But… How did he die? I mean…” Charley sighed. They’d never really talked about his father’s death, and she wasn’t sure if that fell into the realm of dark things he didn’t want to discuss tonight.
But before she could change the subject, he said, “My father thought he’d found a way to reclaim his humanity. A cure for vampirism.”
Charley gasped. “There’s a cure?”
“So long as you’re okay with the side effects. Namely, death within a matter of months.”
“Holy shit,” she breathed. “And your father… he discovered this cure?”
“He did.”
“But… but what if someone found out? Couldn’t your enemies use it against you? I mean, they could totally wipe out the vampire race!”
He held her gaze, his own stern and severe, his silence once again speaking volumes.
Demons, rival vampires, human hunters… Any number of enemies would probablykillto get their hands on that cure.
