Page 24 of Light in Your Eyes

Does this always happen every time they find an intruder inside Black Wings?

Everyone goes silent after that challenge from Kellan. No one moves. Luca doesn't move either, even though I can see him balling his fist.

"Anyone?" Kellan asks.

Still, nobody dares fight him.

Now, I see even more that everyone fears Kellan in one-on-one fights. The blind man is their martial arts trainer, and until now, I don't think that anyone here has ever beaten him.

"It's clear now," Kellan says. He turns his back to us to walk away. "Follow me, Layla."

I freeze on the spot. I don't know what to do. I might have escaped a devil, but I might just be walking right toanother one.

I'm supposed to take care of Kellan, but after what happened tonight, I don't think that I can trust him anymore.

"Now,"he barks, causing me to jump in fear.

My mind is wondering if he's going to hurt me, but maybe it's better than staying here with these animals. Maybe I'll still have a chance to escape Kellan, since he's blind.

Whispers and murmurs are still echoing around me when I finally take a step. My legs are shaking, and I'm afraid that I'm going to collapse.

Yet, I'm trying my best to walk. I follow Kellan back into the mansion that I can never call home.

Chapter 8

Kellan

I feel her behind me when I step into my room.

"Close the door," I command, and she does as I say.

What happened in the backyard angers me, but I must admit that it was my fault.

I still haven't turned around. I expect her to talk first.

"What the hell is this?" her voice holds pain and anger, the tremor in it letting me know that she's trying to hide her fear.

I turn around, which makes her immediately step back. It's bothering me that such a slight movement from me causes her to draw back instantly. It's obvious that she sees me as a threat.

"What is happening?" she demands. Her choked sob makes me imagine the tears running down her face.

I can't blame her for crying. I heard the sound of water splashing when I found her in the backyard. They must have tried to drown her. Not to kill her, but to build the fear inside her.

"Your brother hired me as your caregiver," she says, "but then you told me to get lost. Why didn't you tell your brother about that, huh? And now you're expecting me to be your slave?" The frustration is evident in her voice.

I don't say anything yet. I know that she still has a lot to throw at me.

"This place is fucked up." Her choice of words makes me off guard because it's so different from the way she spoke to me for the first time in the basement.

That time, she sounded tentative, innocent. Right now, she sounds like a mess, like she's falling apart.

Her ragged breathing lets me know that she is about to break down.

"This place—" Her voice is shaking uncontrollably. "What the hell is this place? I don't want to be here. I don't belong here. Please, just let me go."

If she thinks that it will be that easy to just step out of this place, she's mistaken.

"Unfortunately," I say, and I do feel that word. I want her to leave this place too. "It's not possible anymore."