Page 2 of Duty Unbound

Better to let her float effortlessly, while I stayed grounded, making sure everything didn’t fall apart beneath her. I could handle it. I was used to keeping everything running.

Then as if the universe heard my thoughts…the lights flickered once, then—darkness. A heavy silence settled over the house, thick and absolute.

Nova let out an immediate groan, her frustration echoing off the marble walls. “Oh, come on! This is so killing my vibes.” Water sloshed as she shifted in the tub. “Mel, fix it.”

I exhaled, gripping my tablet a little tighter, as if sheer forceof will could bring the power back. “Just wait a second. It might come back on.”

I counted silently. One. Two. Three.

Nothing.

Damn.

Nova huffed. “Ugh. This is ridiculous. Can you get someone to fix it?”

I turned toward her shadowed outline, barely visible in the dim glow of the scented candles scattered around the room. “Who exactly? You sent everyone home, remember?”

She hesitated for a moment. “Okay, well… What about the guard?” she suggested. “He’s security. He can handle it.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming. “Ron is at the front gate, Nova. His job is to make sure no one gets in. Not to trip through the dark, checking circuit breakers.”

“Then you do it,” she said impatiently, as if this were the obvious solution all along.

I should’ve seen that coming. I sighed and pushed to my feet, my muscles aching in protest. I grabbed my phone, clicked on the flashlight, and stepped out of the bathroom into the hallway that now felt infinitely larger and more ominous in the dark.

The house was too quiet. Usually, even at night, there was a low hum of activity—assistants, housekeepers, dancers moving through the halls. Nova rarely liked being alone. She usually needed an audience, a constant buzz of people catering to her every whim.

But tonight, it was just us.

The silence pressed against me as I walked deeper into the house, my footsteps echoing off the hardwood. My flashlight bounced off high ceilings and polished surfaces, sending warped reflections into the dark. The shadows seemed to stretch and twist, playing tricks on my eyes.

I made my way past the kitchen, toward the downstairsutility room where I thought the breaker box was. It took me a minute to find it, then my fingers trailed along the cool metal until they met the handle, and I opened it. I looked at the switches, trying to figure out which one had been tripped. I flipped the first switch. Then another.

Nothing.

I tried a different one, but still nothing. A prickle of unease crept up my spine, raising the hair on the back of my neck. I told myself it was fine. Power outages happened, especially here outside of Dallas. The breaker wasn’t the problem, but that didn’t mean something was wrong. The security guard would’ve called if there was a real issue, right?

Just as I was convincing myself to let it go, a soft, subtle sound broke through the silence.

A rustle? A door? My pulse jumped as I turned, my flashlight sweeping through the dark.

Nothing.

I swallowed, shaking off the unease. It was nothing. It had to be nothing. Just the house settling or the wind outside.

I stepped back into the main section of the house, mentally preparing myself to tell Nova that the power probably wasn’t coming back anytime soon since it didn’t seem to be a simple blown fuse. She was going to lose it, and I’d be the one dealing with the fallout.

I quickened my pace down the hall, my phone flashlight throwing warped shadows along the glossy floor. I needed to get back to her before she started acting like this was some kind of personal attack from the universe.

Then came the high-pitched scream, splitting through the silence like a knife.

Chapter 2

Mel

My heart slammed against my ribs as I bolted in the direction of the scream. I rounded the corner into the kitchen, too fast on these damned heels Nova insisted I wear, and slid hard into the rolling serving cart parked just inside the door.

I ignored the pain that blasted up my arm as it took the worst of the impact. Was Nova hurt? Had she seen someone? Was there still?—