Page 12 of Chain Me

Wait…I blinked, finally noticing the rest of the room. One far too narrow to belong in Gray Manor. Even in the near darkness, I could tell that the walls weren’t lilac, but made of stone. The bed beneath me was way too wide, the floors wooden. And Dublin…

Well, he looked way too at home in the center of the shadowed interior. Another step brought him closer still and I cringed against a wall of pillows.

“Where am I?”

“Your cough,” he started as though I’d never spoken. “How long have you—”

“Where am I?” I forced myself to sit upright and ignored him in my quest to deduce my surroundings. Beyond the doorway, I noted a clue that answered my own question—a wall of breathtakingly beautiful stained glass could only belong in one type of venue. “So, you were lurking here, after all? How nice of you to finally answer the door.” A full five days later. “It must have been hard to rearrange your very busy schedule.”

His silence gave me my answer—yes.

“Well, in any case, it’s a good thing you ignored me,” I said, shrugging. “Otherwise, I might have struggled to fit you intomy schedule. What withtimebeing such a precious commodity these days.”

The old Dublin I’d known would have scoffed at the bait and seen it for what it was—a deliberate reference to his contract book.

“Oh, I know,” he countered, deploying an unexpected change in tactic. “You’re a busy woman, it seems.” His gaze settled along the neckline of my dress as he nodded. “Why, it is a miracle that I managed to catch you alone at all.”

“So, youwerewatching me.” I pointed an accusing finger at him.Checkmate.“You were spying on me—”

“And why would I do that?” He turned away, disarming me like one would a screaming child. “Pardon me, Eleanor, but I’m already behind schedule thanks to your little visit. What do you want?”

“I…” Bit my tongue. As always, his motives were as elusive as he was. Why would he stalk me? Despite all my suspicions, I still drew a blank. So I improvised. “You and I both know why I’m here.”

“Oh?” His tone deepened further. “Do tell.”

“You can threaten me all you want.” I lifted my arms in a careless gesture. “Just drop the aloof act. Go on… Come out and ask me for it! I’d rather die than tell you, so prepare your poetic warnings—”

“What the hell are you talking about?” His eyes found me from over his shoulder, gleaming like hellfire. “Perhaps you hit your head when you fell?”

He sounded too damn serious.

“I…” My mind went blank. Could this be a trap? A trick?

Then a realization hit me with all the subtlety of a ton of bricks—he didn’t know. Or he was a damn good liar.Or…Raphael was a far more cunning game master than I’d given him credit for.

As the seconds passed, his expression remained guarded, impossible to read. Left with no other option, I tore a page from my mother’s playbook whenever someone had presented her with an uncomfortable truth.

I closed my eyes and willed it away.

“On second thought, it’s nothing.” I stood, shooing him with a wave of my hand. “I should really get back to Gabriel anyway.” By some miracle, I managed to take a step toward the door without making a fool of myself by falling. Ilimpedinstead, bracing one hand against the nearest wall for balance.

Just as I reached the doorway, Dublin called out, “Yourletters—”

I didn’t miss how he’d stressed that word. So, my blood had made an impact after all.

“I haven’t read them,” he added, shattering my suspicion. “In fact, I only arrived back in the country hours ago. Though I’m sure you’ve been far too busy to notice my absence.”

I bit my lip, tasting salt. So he claimed to have been gone all this time? It fit. The great and terrible Dublin Helos hadn’t disappeared out of shame for what he’d done to me or to plot on how to retrieve his contract book. He merely went on vacation.

“Did they convey anything important?” he wondered.

“I… They’re nothing. You can give them back.”

I held my hand out and jerked it away once I spotted the red liquid smeared over the palm. But I was too late.

He seized my wrist in a grip so strong that it yanked me toward him. Flashing, his eyes fixated on mine. “How long have you—”

“Well, I’m leaving,” I insisted, more than satisfied with this little reunion. Apparently, he hadn’t poisoned me, a fact I couldn’t dissect at the moment. So I snatched my hand back and continued to make my way to the door with my head held high and an air of indifference on full display. Things like “logic” and “reason” would only matter once he left me alone.