Chapter Thirty-Five Damien
Chapter Thirty-Five
Damien
I ran to Wren’s home first.
Scaling the tree outside her window, I jumped onto her sill and lifted the glass.
An unholy quiet greeted me once inside, and for a moment, I feared the same thing that had overcome Everett manifested here, too.
I ran through her room and out into the hall, uncaring if her parents saw me.
I had to tell her. Had to warn her. But the house was empty, her parents’ room vacant.
Aside from her sister’s desk having being opened and rifled through, nothing was amiss or out of place.
Racing down the stairs, I almost collided with the cook, a stern scowl on her face.
“Who the hell are you?” she shrieked, snagging the nearest knife.
I didn’t answer. I was too busy running through the rest of the empty house and toward the front door, my vision still shrouded with death and gray.
If Wren wasn’t here, maybe she’d come to find me. Maybe—
Maybe was all I had to go on.
The Broken Wing was lively, and I found Ruby and Grayson slumped at the bar, both a drink away from falling off their stools.
“Ruby.” I grasped her shoulders, staring into her glassy eyes.
“Where’s Wren?” Fear clutched my throat and squeezed, the unfamiliar sensation nearly making me double over.
She was in trouble. I knew it. Could feel it in my bones.
Fuck my sight. Fuck being arrested or accused of murder. She was all that mattered.
“Umm.” Ruby glanced at Grayson, who hid behind his hands. “She m-might’ve come here looking for y-you.” Each word was slow or slurred, and I shook her gently.
“Where is she?”
Grayson peeked out from behind his hands with a wince. “She ran out of here s-so quickly. But I…I don’t think she w-went home.” He shook his head. “She may have turned right. Yes, she d-definitely turned right instead of l-left.”
I cursed. Wren was in the Void, alone, and Ruby was drunk off her arse with her newest friend.
Grayson elbowed Ruby then, his eyes narrowing. “Ruby, maybe you should t-tell him,” he intoned with a hint of remorse.
She sighed, running a hand through her curls. “Look, Damien.” She couldn’t meet my gaze. “I m-might have l-let it s-slip you took her gift.”
I yearned to reach out and strangle her, but…it was the truth. It was my own damned fault this had happened, and I should’ve told Wren about it sooner. Fire burned in my chest, an unbearable ache yawning there. She knows. She fucking knows.
“You said she ran out of here?” I asked Grayson, unable to look at Ruby. I was pissed at her, even when I had no right to be.
Grayson nodded. “Yeah. She s-seemed like she w-was in a rush.”
I pounded the bar with my fist, causing several patrons to look my way. Even Cap growled at the end of the counter. Screw them all. I shot out of the tavern, my boots pounding the grimy stones. Wren didn’t know this place or its dangers, and if someone cornered her—
A longing to scream and yank out my hair made my hands twitch.
I’d come to care about her. Care in a way that could mean something real. Hell, I was already there.
I didn’t stop running until an insane thought occurred.
Last night she’d seen me race off toward the Black Dahlia. I’d told her what I found. Who I found.
Wren wouldn’t just sit around and wait. She’d want to investigate, and with that name on her mind, she’d go there alone. Especially since she learned the truth of what I’d done.
Without a second’s hesitation, I headed in the direction of the club, hoping to get there before the woman from last night or Everett had the chance to corner her. If they did, I doubted she’d survive the encounter.