Page 31

“Poor girl hadn’t bathed in days, so I took her to get cleaned up,” Josephine said upon seeing Sebastian’s questioning look. “How could you just lock her in your room before letting her bathe? You should be ashamed!”

Sebastian rolled his eyes and chuckled rather than being offended. “I had important things to discuss with Victor, and I wanted her to feel safe. There was plenty of time for things like bathing today.”

“You’re such a man,” Josephine replied. “But I can smell that you brought us food, so I suppose you can be forgiven. What do you think, Aurora? Er, Isabel?”

“Depends on how good the food is,” Isabel said. Sebastian and Josephine began to laugh, and the trio stepped up to the counter. He slid the to-go container to Isabel, while Josephine picked up the vials herself.

The rich scent of seafood risotto filled the kitchen and Isabel began wolfing it down like she hadn’t seen food in days. Which, he realized, wasn’t too far from the truth. He patted his pocket where he’d stocked up on dried fruits and nuts, crackers, and various other things he could feed her as snacks. She wouldn’t be hungry with him any more.

Meanwhile, Josephine put a pot of water over the fire to boil. Once it began to bubble, she moved the pot to the stone floor and dropped the vials in to warm. “Cold blood is so gross,” she murmured while staring at the warming meal.

“That’s something we can agree on,” Sebastian replied, taking a seat next to Isabel. “Did you enjoy your bath,dolcezza?I’m sorry I didn’t realize you might have wanted one when we arrived last night.”

Isabel nodded, though he couldn’t help feeling that she acted a little on edge over the question. He heard her heart speed up and she remained firmly staring at her food. For a moment he considered questioning her further, but decided interrogation while she was already uncomfortable would do nothing to bring them closer. When she had relaxed and they were alone, he could try again.

In less than five minutes, the women were finished with their meals. Josephine threw the paper container from the risotto into the fireplace and rinsed the blood vials. “I should finish this batch of cold remedy and get it up to the shop,” she said and turned away from Sebastian and Isabel. “There has been a summer case going around and I can barely keep the remedy in stock. Victor is pleased, though. It means more money for the coven so we can hopefully fix up some of the collapsed tunnels.”

“This place was ready to collapse around our ears five hundred years ago. Victor really should have had it fixed before humanity became obsessed with using currency. Has he at least eased up on allowing human labor, then, instead of insisting that we Turn the craftsmen first?”

“A little bit. But only for the newest technology. Once he learned about the internet, though, he started sending family members to research new skills. We’re to the point where we have some pretty good stonemasons and engineers! We just have to buy supplies to do the actual work.” Josephine seemed quite proud of this, and Sebastian found himself feeling the same way. It made much more sense to teach the existing coven trades than to steal away tradesmen and convince them to be part of the family.

Sebastian smiled at Isabel and gestured to the door. “How about we go get your hairbrush now that you’ve finished eating, and I’ll brush your hair for you? You’ve always loved that in the past.”

“I do want to get my hair brushed before it becomes a tangled mess, but I don’t think we’re quite to the point where I’d feel comfortable with that.” Isabel pulled a face and shook her head. A pang of sadness shot through Sebastian’s chest, but he did his best not to allow it to show on his face.

“Fair enough,dolcezza.” He stood and Isabel followed suit, waving goodbye to Josephine. “We’ll see you later, little sister. Oh, and don’t tell Remus that Isabel is here, okay? Victor made me swear I’d keep the two of them apart.”

Josephine shot Sebastian a knowing look and nodded. “I’m with Victor on that one. Don’t worry.”

Relieved, Sebastian left the kitchen and began leading Isabel back to their quarters. His head spun with everything that had happened in the last 48 hours and everything he still had to do. As such, neither of them spoke until they were back in the bedroom.

Isabel began rummaging in her bag, then looked up at him with pleading in her eyes. She gestured with a handful of undergarments and he realized what she wanted. “I’ll just go in the other room while you change,” he offered. She nodded and he walked over to a blank space of stone wall. He pressed a stone at waist level and a softclickcould be heard. A rectangular section of wall slid backward at his touch and then along a track to the right, revealing a second room.

This room was much larger than the bedroom. It contained a sofa and two wing-backed chairs, a fireplace, a dozen floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and countless paintings. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, which Sebastian set about cleaning up while he waited for Isabel to get dressed.

The nightmare he had last night flashed through his memory as he dusted, as hard as he tried to banish it. Had he really damned his soulmate? Some part of him still wanted to believe that Victor was wrong. That his paintings were nothing more than magically lifelike pieces of art, and the whole soul-capturing thing was a myth. After all, if so little was known about his magic, whatwasknown could easily be wrong. Couldn’t it?

The question burned the inside of his skull until he nearly couldn’t stand it anymore. What would happen if he just carried on the way he had for centuries? Would his Muse eventually have such a short lifespan that she stopped being reincarnated at all?

He needed a glimpse into the future. But the only way to do that was with blood-paint, which would require convincing Isabel to willingly bleed for him. In past lives that hadn’t been a problem; he just waited until their relationship was built on a foundation of stone. But this time, that felt like a luxury he was not afforded.

Sebastian paced back and forth, so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Isabel had entered the room until he heard her voice. “Sebastian?” she asked, and he jumped at the sudden sound. She collapsed in on herself and covered her face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s okay,” he assured her, forcing himself to stop pacing and sit down on the couch. “Why don’t you come sit with me? We can talk while you brush your hair.” He gestured toward the brush she held with his nose and smiled as softly as he knew how.

She did so, choosing to sit as far away as possible while remaining on the sofa. She sat quietly and began running the brush through the bottom couple of inches of her hair, focusing entirely on it. Sebastian could tell something was still off, but instead of pointing it out, he asked, “Did you like the risotto?”

Isabel nodded and Sebastian smiled. “Good, I’m glad. It was one of your favorites in the past, so I figured it was a safe choice. Can you believe the little shop we used to buy it from before we left for Vernazza still exists? Obviously a few generations have passed, but it still smelled the same as it used to.”

There was a period of silence as Isabel continued to brush, and Sebastian watched. He blessed the way the torchlight reflected in her eyes and how softly her lips pursed as she brushed. “I think I saw some memories from other lives. Even though I’m still having a hard time believing they happened…” She glanced up at Sebastian and he felt his breath catch in his chest. She was so beautiful he could hardly stand it. “Did I know someone named Joshua?”

The question was like a bucket of ice water and embers dumped over his head. “Yes, you did,” he replied, doing his best to keep the disdain he felt out of his tone. “But I won, even though he’d been working on you since childhood. I really thought that would be the lifetime our thread was broken and I’d lose you forever.” The misery of that time came rushing back, knocking him into the couch.

“Damn. I really hoped it was nothing more than a dream or hallucination brought on by sheer exhaustion.” Isabel pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. It was so adorable that Sebastian couldn’t help reaching out to stroke her knee, the only part of her he could reach. She stared at his hand, but didn’t pull away. “You’d think that after everything I’ve seen and how many things have been true, that I’d just believe everything now. But it’s just not that simple.”

The frustration in her voice pulled at Sebastian’s heart. “It’s okay. I have no doubt that you’ll get there eventually. I’m happy to start with trust, and work our way up to belief from there.” He scooted a little closer and reached up to brush her cheek, his fingers stopping millimeters away from her skin. They stared into each other’s eyes for a long time, until Isabel lifted her chin and closed the gap.

Sebastian slowly caressed her cheek, his delicate fingers trailing down her skin until they rested on her jawbone. Her eyes remained fixated on him as if entranced. He raised her chin further and began leaning in. The stolen blood in his veins stirred and he longed to taste her soft lips for the first time in nearly a century.