Read Online Silence: Part Two of Echoes & Silence by A.M Hudson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: A.M Hudson
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vampire lair. Tourists love it.”
“So you had me taken there to scare me?”
“Of course not. It just also happens to be where the Chamber of Business, my private study, and the Court Rooms are.”
“And the cells, clearly.”
“Dungeons, we call them, Amara,” he said. “We don’t sugarcoat things here.”
I looked back up at the clock tower. “I saw that—” I pointed up at it. “When I opened my eyes that night. I saw the clock tower, but it looked grey and menacing.”
“You saw the south clock tower. There are two.” He leaned in and held up two fingers, then popped both hands behind his back as he leaned away again. “Perhaps Her Majesty would enjoy a tour before refreshments?”
“No. Thank you. I haven’t eaten since dinner. I need food now,” I said. “And there’s no way I’m going to the southern wing. Ever!”
“Very well.” He walked onward with his hands behind his back. “Then we shall eat. Follow me.”
The steady walls of the castle loomed above me, made not of brick and mortar but of right or wrong, of yes or no, of then and now. My feet wanted to move, my heart and body wanted to go—to walk through those doors after Drake and find a way to kill him in his own lair—but it felt as if a wavering heat emanated off those cold bricks, barring me from entering. I knew why. I also knew it was healthy to feel the fear, the uncertainty. And even healthier to show it.
“My dear?” Drake turned back as he reached the front steps.
“I…” I made my jaw tremble, my brow crinkle and my mouth twist up. I could do this—I could walk in there and pretend everything was okay, but if I seemed too eager, if I didn’t show some display of emotion for the things he did in the past, he’d know something was up. “I can’t.”
He dropped his hands from behind his back and approached me, offering one. “Amara. Please. I give you my word that no harm will come to you here—”
“It’s not that.” I stepped back, scowling at his hand. “I can’t play this game, Drake. I can’t talk civilly with you. I just can’t… I don’t think I can even let you protect us.” My hands wrapped Bump. “We need to go.”
“Amara.” He ran after me as I turned away. “Why?”
I strode swiftly down the very long, very straight road out of there. “You killed them. All those innocent children. I can’t put that aside—not even for a little bit. I hate you, Drake,” I said factually, with surprisingly little emotion.
“Did you ever stop to think about that day?” he said, staying back. “Perhaps there’s more to the story than you care to see.”
“There’s not,” I snapped. “And I don’t care what you have to say about it. None of it matters. You’re a murderer!”
“What is eternity?” he called, his voice sounding plain in the denseness Nature applied to the outdoors.
“A bloody long time,” I retorted without missing a beat.
“Precisely. Now imagine losing someone you’ve spent centuries with. Or if you cannot imagine that—” he got louder as I got further away, “—then imagine never spending another day of that eternity with David.”
I spun around to face him. “Is that a threat?”
“No.” He appeared in front of me, his long cape swirling around his ankles with the arc of his vampire speed. “I would never take him away from you, Amara. I understand too deeply the pain of losing a lover.”
As he went to pat Bump to make his point, I jerked away.
He lowered his hand, then his head. “I wanted to kill him that day. When I got the call that he’d murdered Morgana—that he’d taken her life while I wasn’t there to protect her.” For a single breath, as his voice lost its steely command and he buried his face in the tips of his fingers, I actually felt sorry for him. “I lowered the phone from my ear and it crumbled in my palm as I imagined cupping David’s neck. And it took everything in me not to hunt him down and end his life.”
I
“So you had me taken there to scare me?”
“Of course not. It just also happens to be where the Chamber of Business, my private study, and the Court Rooms are.”
“And the cells, clearly.”
“Dungeons, we call them, Amara,” he said. “We don’t sugarcoat things here.”
I looked back up at the clock tower. “I saw that—” I pointed up at it. “When I opened my eyes that night. I saw the clock tower, but it looked grey and menacing.”
“You saw the south clock tower. There are two.” He leaned in and held up two fingers, then popped both hands behind his back as he leaned away again. “Perhaps Her Majesty would enjoy a tour before refreshments?”
“No. Thank you. I haven’t eaten since dinner. I need food now,” I said. “And there’s no way I’m going to the southern wing. Ever!”
“Very well.” He walked onward with his hands behind his back. “Then we shall eat. Follow me.”
The steady walls of the castle loomed above me, made not of brick and mortar but of right or wrong, of yes or no, of then and now. My feet wanted to move, my heart and body wanted to go—to walk through those doors after Drake and find a way to kill him in his own lair—but it felt as if a wavering heat emanated off those cold bricks, barring me from entering. I knew why. I also knew it was healthy to feel the fear, the uncertainty. And even healthier to show it.
“My dear?” Drake turned back as he reached the front steps.
“I…” I made my jaw tremble, my brow crinkle and my mouth twist up. I could do this—I could walk in there and pretend everything was okay, but if I seemed too eager, if I didn’t show some display of emotion for the things he did in the past, he’d know something was up. “I can’t.”
He dropped his hands from behind his back and approached me, offering one. “Amara. Please. I give you my word that no harm will come to you here—”
“It’s not that.” I stepped back, scowling at his hand. “I can’t play this game, Drake. I can’t talk civilly with you. I just can’t… I don’t think I can even let you protect us.” My hands wrapped Bump. “We need to go.”
“Amara.” He ran after me as I turned away. “Why?”
I strode swiftly down the very long, very straight road out of there. “You killed them. All those innocent children. I can’t put that aside—not even for a little bit. I hate you, Drake,” I said factually, with surprisingly little emotion.
“Did you ever stop to think about that day?” he said, staying back. “Perhaps there’s more to the story than you care to see.”
“There’s not,” I snapped. “And I don’t care what you have to say about it. None of it matters. You’re a murderer!”
“What is eternity?” he called, his voice sounding plain in the denseness Nature applied to the outdoors.
“A bloody long time,” I retorted without missing a beat.
“Precisely. Now imagine losing someone you’ve spent centuries with. Or if you cannot imagine that—” he got louder as I got further away, “—then imagine never spending another day of that eternity with David.”
I spun around to face him. “Is that a threat?”
“No.” He appeared in front of me, his long cape swirling around his ankles with the arc of his vampire speed. “I would never take him away from you, Amara. I understand too deeply the pain of losing a lover.”
As he went to pat Bump to make his point, I jerked away.
He lowered his hand, then his head. “I wanted to kill him that day. When I got the call that he’d murdered Morgana—that he’d taken her life while I wasn’t there to protect her.” For a single breath, as his voice lost its steely command and he buried his face in the tips of his fingers, I actually felt sorry for him. “I lowered the phone from my ear and it crumbled in my palm as I imagined cupping David’s neck. And it took everything in me not to hunt him down and end his life.”
I
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