Chapter 22 #2
She was roughly my age with jet-black hair and bright blue eyes like Arielle’s. She curtsied deeply before offering us a wide smile.
"Welcome home, Sir Thayden and Lady Grayson.”
Lady Grayson.
No, that’s not me anymore.
I was Lady Nightblade. I repeated the mantra a few times in my mind, pushing aside the feeling that my life with Wolfe was being erased.
“Thank you, Mira,” Thayden told her with a dip of his head.
Mira looked at me. “My Lady. Your chambers have been prepared."
“Thank you,” I replied.
“I will show you up.”
“And I will see you in an hour for lunch,” Thayden added.
I looked at him. “Sure. Are you going to be around the house? I mean… in case I need you.” I clasped my hands and held them close to my chest, as though the thought of being away from him unsettled me.
He smiled, reached forward, and brushed his thumb across my cheek. “I’ll be in the study. Come and find me whenever you need me.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks.”
Gods. This was really working. He looked like he believed he had me right where he wanted me.
I turned back to Mira, and she led the way up the stairs. Thayden watched me until we reached the top. Only then did his footsteps echo against the floorboards as he walked away.
Mira guided me through a maze of hallways until we reached a room on the opposite side of the house.
It stood at the end of the hallway. She pushed open the solid oak door, and we strolled into a beautiful chamber fit for royalty.
Cast-iron chandeliers with glowing candles hung from the ceiling.
A four-poster bed sat at the center, and wine-colored drapes hung heavily from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Stunning. Like everything else. And likewise, it lacked warmth.
It wasn’t Vyrenth Hollow. Nothing came close.
Funny how I first went there as a prisoner and never felt like one.
This was captivity.
"The bath has already been prepared," Mira informed me, motioning toward the bathing chamber. "The servants will bring up your bags, so you’ll have your things by the time you finish.”
“Thank you.”
“Is there anything else you need, my Lady?”
“No. And please call me Elariya.”
She dipped her head graciously and left, closing the door behind her with a soft click.
The sound released the tension that had been living in my body since leaving Stormfell and I released the breath I was holding. The whoosh of air was a weight off my lungs.
I looked around the room, taking it all in and wondering how everything was going to play out.
It was hard to believe I was actually here. Here at the place I’d feared for so long.
Of all the horrific places I’d been to, this—very normal, mortal—home was the most unnerving.
Now that I could remember the events of the past few years, I recalled the pressure my mother had been placed under by those like Chancellor Blackthorne and the Lords of the South. I understood why she’d arranged my marriage to Thayden.
Reading my journals and having my family fill me in on what took place gave me a deep understanding of how scared she must have been. But remembering was a different story. I lived it right alongside her.
A marriage to a man like Thayden was the answer to keeping us safe and preserving our home and land in Father’s absence.
That was still the plan. Things had just grown on a wider scale.
Everything I did next had to be played by ear. I had no solid plan other than to snoop around the manor and get close to Thayden.
As unsettling as that was, I didn’t think I could have planned better for this. You can’t plan for what you don’t know. All you can do is keep your eyes open and your head above water.
Quickly, I went to the bathing chamber and got cleaned up. By the time I was done, my bags had arrived and the servants were unpacking my things. I stopped them, offering my thanks before sending them away. I didn’t want anyone going through my stuff.
Apart from my sword, that Thayden already knew about, I had nothing to hide. The idea of his people handling my things just rubbed me the wrong way. Like another claim of ownership I never asked for.
I changed into a dark gown and made my way downstairs to the dining room, where the aroma of roast meat greeted me.
Thayden was already seated at the head of the table. On his right was Mattieu. Their dark blond heads were close as they spoke in low voices, scheming, no doubt. Like father, like son.
Mattieu smiled on seeing me, gazing at me fondly as he always had. Gone was the sour look of disgust he’d thrown my way when I was handed over to Wolfe at the wedding.
He’d always been nice to me, but most of the time, it was a facade. A front he showed to sway me in his favor depending on who was watching.
“Mattieu,” I crooned, keeping voice light and warm.
I moved toward him. He stood and met me halfway, pulling me in for a hug. “My dear Elariya, look at you.” He scanned me from head to toe and smiled wider. “It’s wonderful to see you.”
“And you.”
“How are you doing? Your memories are…” Concern filled his eyes. I wasn’t sure if that was fake or not, though I supposed everything was fake when you were dealing with people who only looked out for themselves.
“I’m okay. I miss my family, but I think I’ll be okay.” I made a show of glancing nervously at Thayden, who nodded.
“She’ll be fine, Father. She’s in good company,” Thayden told him, taking a sip of his wine.
“Of course.” Mattieu nodded. “And you will see your family soon. The wedding isn’t that far away. Once we get the paperwork all done, we’ll be ready to get you two married.”
Paperwork. You mean to annul my existing marriage from the husband I already have?
They were both bastards alike.
“Certainly.” I smiled.
“Come and sit.” He waved a hand toward the chair on Thayden’s left.
I made my way there and sat, giving Thayden a polite smile. It twisted my stomach to think this was how our lives would be if this were real.
I’d never known two people who lacked chemistry more than us.
“First order of business,” Thayden declared, pulling a small vial from the inside of his pocket. It was the power-stripping potion.
Great, how romantic; he was going to serve it to me at lunch.