Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
I woke close past midnight to a shadow over my face. The moonlight cascaded into the room through the thin curtains. My eyes adjusted to find a man over me. Maaier’s hand pressed over my mouth. My heart thundered in my chest as the panic set in. He pressed a gloved finger to his lips. A brief shush filling the silence. My body obeyed the demand despite myself. His dark eyes searching my wild ones. Lungs catching with the lack of air.
“Come.” He ordered, slowly removing the gloved hand from my mouth.
“Where are we going?” I said warily. My voice cracked from the almost scream that had built in my throat.
Maaier just smiled darkly. The gleam in his eyes brighter than the stars in the sky above. If time stood still, I would happily gaze into their abyss for eternity. Despite the man they belong to.
He held out his hand for me to take. I took it slowly, hesitation stalling my movements.
I pulled my cloak on before following him out into the hall. Maaier’s hand held mine tightly. Holding me tight as he led me down the stairs.
“Where are we going?” I whispered. Maaier remained silent, gently tugging me down the hall. The halls feeling like winter roamed the narrow passage. The air like a fogged haze hanging over the portraits, made worse by their disapproving gaze bearing into me.
I whispered Maaier’s name only to be tugged into the east rooms of the manor.
Soft light reflected under the doorway of the ballroom.
“Why are we here, Maaier? It’s the middle of the night and I can’t play. It’ll wake everyone up.” I hissed as we entered, keeping my voice as low as possible.
A single candle sat on top of the piano. Why was I here? This man exhausts me. What was his game? The only way I could find out more was to be around him. The thought of that made me nauseous. I stifled a shudder.
Maaier led me to the piano, stopping just before the bench. His hand still held mine.
He dropped it slowly. His hands found my waist. My body met the piano as he sat me on top of the bench. Right next to the candle flickering with the disruption.
“You really are a curious little one,” He purred.
“How so?” I quirked a brow.
“You stare at me like the most fascinating thing in the world but you run off with strange men into town.”
“Victor is not a strange man.” I snorted. “He’s my friend.”
“Are you sure about that?” He smirked. His gaze dark in the brief candle light. I opened my mouth only to close it shortly after. Victor hadn’t hurt me. In fact he had been the kindest soul to me, seemingly always interested in anything I did or said. That could be a facade but I highly doubted it. He didn’t strike me as an overly skilled actor. The man could barely stand Dorian. How would he bear to be around the crazy beings of the theatre. The stories people shared about the acquired tastes of the local theatre group both terrified and intrigued me.
Maaier chuckled and the candle flickered as he reached behind me. .
Maaier’s breath fanned across my face as he leaned in close. His fingers closed over my neck. A thrill ran through me, sparks awakening in my veins. I clenched my fists closed, desperate to hide my desire to run them through his hair. Why did this man have this effect on me?
“Do you remember what I told you the other day?” He said softly, an undertone of menace lining his words. I shook my head, too breathless to speak.
“Look at you, pretty little bloom, too stunned to speak.” He tightened his grip but it didn’t scare me. Only sending another thrill through my body. “I warned you not to go out without me again.”
An apology whispered from my lips. Maaier’s eyes flashed before he released his hold. His free hand slowly pulled the gloves off his fingers. One by one, achingly slow.
“I don’t appreciate you disobeying me,” He said, his voice low with warning.
“I’m sorry.” I managed.
He released a pent up breath. “It’s fine. But really do try to keep yourself out of trouble.”
“Why should I?”
“Because you have people who care for you. People who want you to see the next dawn.”
“Right and as my bodyguard you believe you have a say in my life?” I raised my brows, daring him to fight me on the matter.
“Yes. As your personal guard, it is my job to make sure you survive.” He narrowed his gaze, staring me down as I stood from the piano. There was truth in his words.
“I shouldn’t have been so daft. I shouldn’t have ran into the town but I felt safe. It was silly and immature, I know. But I couldn't be trapped here any longer.” I stared up at him, meeting his eyes. “It’s one thing when you have the freedom to leave but chose to stay but when that choice is taken from you, it is another.”
“I understand,” Maaier said after a beat “Truly I do.”
“Now why did you bring me down here?” I asked, trying desperately to change the subject.
“Well I was trying to think of a punishment for you. And the only thing I could think of was the most horrific thing you can imagine.”
A lump rose in my throat, fear cooling my warm skin.
“You will teach me how to dance.”
“What?” I burst out laughing, surely he was not serious.
But he was. Maaier stood with an unimpressed look on his face.
“Wait, you are serious?” I sobered.
“I was never taught.”
“You’re a lord. Surely someone would have-”
“There was no time.” Maaier cut me off. A twinge of sadness crossed his features before he schooled them back to his usual cocky smirk.
“Alright,” I said slowly, “where would you like to begin?”
“From the beginning?”
He was not wrong. Maaier’s dancing level was below that of even my father’s. Someone who could not dance to save his life. Maaier held my hand in his with one on the small of my back as I guided him through a simple step. No music playing in the background only by brief instructions. I praised him gently after each correct step he did.
After what felt like an eternity of silence on his part he looked at me and said “Have you often danced with men, Vespera?”
I shook my head, pulling my gaze from the flush lining his cheeks.
“No,” I said as I stepped back, “No one really comes out here unless it is for a big party. And even then it’s just to see if the rumours are true.”
“What rumours?” Maaier said as he stepped back into me.
I smiled before offering a small laugh. “Rumours of ghosts and madness.”
Maaier chuckled, the sound like a summer breeze. “But of course they would think that. How could they not?”
“Exactly. They are all as daft as the next, I say.”
Maaier grinned as he spun me around. The movement caught me off guard, causing my breath to hitch in my throat.
He spun me around and tilted my body back in his strong grasp. A small gasp escaping my lips.
Maaier’s eyes shone with mischief as he looked down upon me. His hand was still cupping my back as the other reached up to smooth my hair from my forehead.
“All ever so daft,” He smiled before lowering his face to mine. My breath caught once more. His spiced cologne tingled my nose.
His lips brushed my forehead ever so softly.
“Please do take care, Vespera,” He said gently as he pulled back, pulling us both upright.
Without a word, he dropped my hand and walked out the door. My forehead warmed where his lips had graced my skin.
My gaze fell to my heaving chest. Why had that small moment affected me so my whole body was alight with warmth. As if a fire had been lit from within. My stare caught on the scar crossing my chest. The cross now redder than I had ever seen amongst the grey.