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Silas stalked after me, working his jaw, his ruby eyes blazing. But he scoffed instead of replying, and shoved past me to storm from the library.
I was surprised he didn’t slam the door behind him in a tantrum. He was definitely the sort of man used to clicking his fingers and getting whatever he wanted. Well, hell would freeze over before I married him.
I exhaled a long sigh, the atmosphere ten shades lighter with him gone, and slumped back into my chair. I felt less self conscious alone in the quiet, but my hands shook as adrenaline still thumped through my system.
I needed to work off this energy, this deep, burning offense that made me want to cry and scream and punch Silas fucking Abraham in his smug face.
I shoved out of the chair and left the library for the training room, needing to exercise my body to exhaustion.
Halfway there, I paused, my attention snagged by an out-of-place white slip of paper hanging halfway out of the letter box in the front door.
Weird. We never got post at this time of night, not even a takeaway menu or a flyer for a new window cleaning service
“What now?” I sighed, stomping down the hallway to the door and ripping the paper out.
The adrenaline pounded faster through my blood as I unfolded the paper and read the words there, scrawled in thick, black pen.
PICK RIVER CORWIN, OR YOU DIE. YOU HAVE UNTIL SUNSET.
SIX
Ihad until sunsetwhen?Tomorrow?Tonight?It was already dark outside, but the note could have been in the letter box for hours. I was so distracted by nerves over my suitors, I might not have noticed it. My breath went faint, but the adrenaline-fuelled shakiness in my bones only intensified.
Maybe the first thing I should have done was go to River and show him the note. He seemed genuine and caring, and he’d probably be horrified to find the threat. But maybe … maybe he’d put it there himself?
I hated the doubt, but I couldn’t be stupid enough to fully trust someone I’d met this afternoon.
So instead of telling him, I fled down the hall to the manor’s wide, airy training room and flicked on the lights. I pulled every curtain shut with trembling hands, and scanned the room to be sure I was truly alone before exhaling in relief.
Safe—I was safe. Nobody was getting inside the house, even if they’d put a threatening note through the letterbox. The door was secure.
But there were three strangers locked in this house with me, and chances were high that it was one of them who’d threatened me. Maybe River was trying to push me towards him. Maybe it was one of the others making sure I’d keep my distance from River, a reverse psychology thing. Probably Silas, that cold bastard.
I let out a scream of frustration through my teeth, folded the note up small, and shoved it into my pocket.
I didn’t know what to do about the threat, but I knew I needed to be calm and level headed. Which meant getting rid of this panic, and pummelling a punch bag until I was exhausted.
I unleashed myself upon the bag in the corner, not even bothering to wrap my hands. I hit and punched and kicked until the adrenaline burned out, until I was gasping and weak and scared. So fucking scared.
With bloody hands, I took my phone out of my pocket and did the only thing I could think of. I called Mum and Dad.
“You’re calling already?” Mum asked in a rush of excitement. “That’s either a very good thing or a very bad thing.”
“Mum, I—”
“So, what are they like? Have you met anyone you’re taken with? Are they giving you hassle? You know we’ll come home if any of them are being too forward.”
Claude brushing his tongue over my pulse flashed in my mind, but I pushed it away, too shaky over the letter's threat to hold onto the memory.
A muffled voice sounded across the phone, and then Mum laughed. “I’m putting you on speakerphone so we can both talk to you.”
“Well?” Dad pressed. “Have any of them made a move on you? Your mum’s right, we’ll come straight home.”
“I—they … haven’t made a move,” I said uselessly. How did I explain a threat? Adeaththreat! I’d never had anyone threaten me in my life, and now six hours into a courtship, someone had sworn to kill me.
“Oh, don’t sound so worried,” Mum said brightly. “I’m sure they don’t want to overwhelm you. They’ll be completely charmed by you, Roxie, they won’t be able to help falling for you. Just give it time.”
I chewed my lip, my stomach twisted with dread. How could I burst her excited bubble by telling her about the threat? The paper burned in my back pocket, a deadly secret. Ineededto tell someone, and I fiercely wished I knew how to contact my brother Piers. I had numbers for my other brothers and sisters, but what I didn’t have was a guarantee they’d give a crap. We hadn’t grown up together, and were only tentatively family—them turned and me born. I didn’t have friends—my parents were my best friends, as sad as that sounded. I’d never felt the lack before.
