Page 51

So it wasn’t just me noticing it then. Lukas hadn’t moved from his reclined position but had tilted his chin down to look at Dominic.

If Dominic heard Sebastian, he didn’t show it.

I took a chance, leaning down to speak just between Lukas and I. “What’s going on with him?”

Lukas turned to look at me with narrowed eyes, his brows drawn together. “His wife is missing, Daphne. What do you want him to do, jump around for joy?”

Lukas stood abruptly, scraping our skin together. His anger was churning again, bubbling up to the surface. I wanted to figure out why, but I was too distracted by watching him. He walked over to the table, pouring a glass of whiskey and tossing it back quickly before pouring another glass and walking over to Dominic.

Dominic drank his in one sip, grumbling out somewhat of a thank you.

“You good?” Lukas asked.

“You know why I’m not. This feels too familiar,” Dominic responded. My mind took off, trying to figure out what Lukas had seen. Had he been there after Rose’s attack?

He didn’t tell me that.

Not that he was supposed to. It was only a reminder of how distant we’d grown.

Lukas grabbed the glass back from Dominic and went back to the table to grab more. Right as he set the glasses down on the table, noise started barreling in from the hallway.

The whole room went still, trying to listen to what it was.

There were voices, tangled in an argument but with no discernible words. But they were loud enough to pinpoint one voice, familiar to everyone in the room.

Rose.

Dominic’s entire frame fell an inch in space, his head dropping on a disbelieving laugh.

As Rose approached the door, she said, “I mean, seriously. No one thought to check the library?”

“New guards, Rose,” the other voice—Marcus—said. “It just took them a second.”

The door opened a moment later and Marcus pushed Rose through quickly, visibly annoyed that this little test was taking longer than expected. At least now all the gods were accounted for.

Rose huffed and smoothed her hands down her dress then lifted her head. Her gaze zeroed in on Dominic in a heartbeat. “Sorry that took so long. Apparently, the back of our library is quite soundproof.”

Dominic didn’t say anything, didn’t lift his head either.

Rose’s eyebrows lifted in the center, and she scurried over to him. Right as she got to Dominic, she asked, “Baby, are you okay?”

Dominic’s hands shot off his knees when she was within arm’s reach, clamping down on the backs of her thighs and pulling her on top of him. He wrapped her in a crushing hug, turning his head into her shoulder.

“You promised,” he grumbled, speaking the words directly into her skin.

“I know,” Rose said, her voice as soft as the hand she stroked over his shoulder. “Technically didn’t break my promise, though. I’m not bleeding.”

Guilt flared low in my stomach. Her attack was still fresh on both their minds.

Dominic gripped her tighter, lifting his head to take her mouth in a desperate kiss. Rose leaned into it, holding on just as tight.

The kiss escalated quickly, neither of them seemingly aware people were still in the room.

“Can you not fuck in front of everyone?” Sebastian said, somehow having grabbed an entire bottle of wine without anyone noticing.

“I don’t think I’ve seen Dominic show this much emotion in years,” Sabina said, walking by to join Corrina on a cot.

“You do realize they can’t hear you,” Julian said to Sabina.