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“Where are the others?”
“Hidden. Marius keeps them that way. It has been years since he last let another soul manifest in the way I have. They keep to the shadows, doing what is needed, to set the scene of normalcy in this place.”
I felt my breath shudder as it all made sense to me. “It is you who prepare the food. Who fill the tub with water and provide me with clothes to wear. Why have you not shown yourself before?”
“Because Marius has forbidden it.” Victorya surged forward, a dusting of shadow left in her wake. “You must not tell him I revealed myself to you.”
It was not just her that pleaded to have her secret kept from Marius. And I sensed her fear as if it tugged on my own, overwhelming me.
“Just as you cannot tell him about me.”
“It seems we both hold leverage over one another,” she murmured. “As long as you follow your plans through.” There was something about the way she said it that screamed disbelief.
“You think I will not.”
“I have seen others fall into lust with Marius. You are following a similar path as they did. I fear that you may be our only chance to finally… move on. To wherever it is that waits for us beyond the boundaries of this place. Please…” Victorya’s light voice took a dive into something deeper, more feral and desperate. “You must finish this.”
I swallowed, audibly. “This is an act. A way to get close to him.”
“Is it?” Victorya floated back from me, inching towards the far wall of the room. “You will need to convince yourself first before you can convince me to believe that.”
I frowned, shaking my head in disagreement. But it seemed she was not ready to hear my counter for her comments. For she moved further away from me, as though she was a leaf caught in a gust of wind. Victorya drifted into the stone wall, her body passing through it in a single, shuddering breath. Leaving me alone, in silence, with nothing but the storm of anxiety blustering through my very soul.
13
“You have been avoiding me,” I accused, gripping the doorway as I studied the hunched figure of Marius in the plush, ornate chair behind his desk.
He hardly looked up from the quill that danced across the parchment before him as I entered his study. “No. You have simply not looked hard enough for me.”
I scoffed a laugh. “I did not realise we were entrapped in a game of hide and seek.”
Marius flicked his ruby stare my way, the corners of his eyes creased by a faint smile. “Oh, had I not made that clear? Why don’t you come in and close the door, you are letting out the precious heat.”
I did as he said, closing the door gently, feeling the welcoming warm kiss of the twin fires that burned. And I now knew who lit them. It had been short hours since Victorya had disappeared through the wall of the bed chamber, leaving me with that uncovered truth.
“Last night you left and did not return. Now you expect me to hunt for you?” I scoffed. “How entitled you are.”
“Yet you came looking for me?” Marius studied me as he dipped the quill into the ink pot. A single drop of black spilled onto the polished oak desk. “It would seem your hunt has been fruitful, for you have found me.”
I swallowed my reply, unsure why irritation roiled through me. “It was easier to navigate my way back this time.” It was. After Marius had explained his ability over the shadows and darkness I wondered if I would have made it back. But today, it seemed that the walkway was entirely lit by the candles in iron-wrought holders across the walls.
“I willed it so. I told you this study can be used for your… enjoyment. I felt no need to keep it hidden from you.”
I had mentally mapped out my walk back to my rooms the evening prior, keeping the direction lodged in my mind. Part of me expected to find the way lost to Marius’s shadows, but it was simple to find. How I had missed it before was beyond understanding. But so was his strange power.
I padded across the room, keeping my focus on the bookshelves before me, and not on the devilish creature that sat, muttering quietly, in his chair.
“Have you eaten, Jak?” Marius asked, face alight with concern.
“I am not hungry.” My appetite had not clawed its way back to me since seeing the walking spirit.
“Is something bothering you?” I turned from the shelf to Marius who no longer sat behind the desk. Now he stood inches behind me.
I inhaled sharply at his sudden closeness. “You need to stop doing that.”
“What?” he breathed; his white hair perfectly arranged. Not a single strand out of place.
I dropped my gaze to my feet, placing my hand on his still chest. “Please, Marius, give me space.”
