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“I’m going to believe otherwise.” I laughed. “But she has been cold since he went into hiding.”
We separated and explored but I felt Roman’s eyes on me every few minutes.
“Journals,” he noted near a small bookshelf and desk. “We should throw these in something and take them back out with us.”
“Agreed,” I said as I pulled open a wardrobe, shocked to not find clothes, but monitors. “Roman.”
There were eight small monitors, each focused on a different part of Dark Haven. The top row was the four corners of the building taking in every inch of the grounds. Meaning he was likely directing the demons where to strike.
On the bottom, the first was the women’s shower room. My stuff still in there from this evening since I didn’t have to hand it back over like before. Rules had gone out the window completely.
My stomach churned, knowing he watched us shower, saw me fuck my men, there was no where he wasn’t watching.
The second was a better view of my room. It was likely in the light fixture so there was no corner I could have hidden from him. Not only did he violate my body, he was repeating the process every fucking day without my knowledge.
The third was the common room. Right now I could see Monty, Kol, and Drake all arguing. Drake’s hands flew wildly as he ranted back at the other two.
The fourth and final camera was the courtyard. Or it had been. The moment I glanced, it changed, shifting to a hallway inside, then a few minutes later to another. He had every inch of Dark Haven at his fingertips.
Vane was controlling this building without even having to leave his little lair. But why was he so focused on me?
“You were important to them,” Roman answered the question I hadn’t even realized I asked out loud. “They’ve said that all along. He kept an eye on you so he knew when and how to strike. To bring you down and listen in, to know what we were planning.” He tapped a pair of headphones and sure enough, as I shifted the jack to the common-room monitor, I could hear their argument rising.
“This is your fault!” Ivar yelled. “Trusting her was not what she needed. Being alive is far more important!”
“She would have gone anyway,” Kol growled. “She’s stubborn, independent, and she is holding herself responsible if something goes south here.”
“I won’t lose her to that fucking trash,” Drake added in as if he were in his own conversation. “I’ll kill him myself if I have to.”
“You’re right,” I said, taking them off. Roman didn’t respond, and I gasped as I turned, taking in Vane holding him with a knife to his throat. A small trickle of blood already trailed down his throat.
“You’ve finally figured it out, I see.” Vane’s taunt had my rage building. The only satisfaction here was that the man looked tortured. His eyes were lined in dark circles, hair shaggy and ragged, even his clothes hung off him like he’d recently lost weight.
“You look like shit,” I said with a laugh. Inside I was freaking out but with a knife that close to my man’s windpipe I would not do anything rash. “Let him go, Vane. This is between us.”
“Us, Hel, Demons, Gargoyles,” he mused. “Fate.”
“What do you know about fate?” I snorted. “We’re fucking human.”
“I know that Hel saw your future. This is all because of it,” he said, waving his free hand around carelessly, but the moment Roman shifted, he was holding him tight again.
“You know as little as I do.” I realized at his vague words. “So another pawn. You know she’s already phasing you out of the mix, right?”
“I’m too important,” he said with a dismissive laugh. But I shook my head, refusing to believe that for a second.
“No, you’re probably the one with the littlest amount of use. Who is directing your demons now, Vane?” I raised an eyebrow and waited. How I was being this cocky and confident was beyond me, I felt like I was going to puke and cry at the same fucking time.
Hallucinations danced in my peripheral. Not just shadows but figures. They felt different now, thanks to the demons. No cold accompanied them, no heaviness to the air, just figures and smoke my brain conjures.
“Me,” he said but the way his voice wavered wasn’t at all convincing. Vane was losing his grasp on reality and right now, his calm. I’d have to act fast if I wanted to save Roman.
Wait. Hiro. I could see the shift happening, the way his head lolled to the side, digging the blade deeper before he startled and Vane gripped him again.
Why Roman left me, left him to come out to this, I had no clue.
“No, you’re not. Is it the adviser or the warden?” I mused, tapping my chin as I pretended to think it over. “Or maybe Hel?”
“I said it was me!” he thundered, slamming Hiro to the wall behind him. I couldn’t react, couldn’t move forward and help.
