Chapter 24 #3
Wilhelm stepped around her, blocking her path before she could retreat into the crowd. “So that is why you really ended things between us?” he said sharply. “Him?”
“What?” Victoria asked, disbelief pulling her features tight.
“Your father’s assistant, Innominatus.”
Her mouth fell open. “I did not end things between us,” she whispered, glancing around to ensure no one could overhear.
“I was forced to expose myself to save your wife from bleeding out. In return, you were forced to stop blackmailing me. That is not ending things between us, Wilhelm. There was never anything between us except manipulation and coercion.”
Across the room, Innominatus took a single step forward—and then another.
Wilhelm rolled his brown eyes, and when they settled on Victoria again, they were sharp with a predatory spark. “I think you enjoyed yourself.”
Her head shook immediately. She could not do this, not now. There was too much bearing down on her, too many fragile things already threatening to fracture. She could not shoulder Wilhelm again on top of everything else. “I assure you, I did not.”
His jaw tightened, eyes narrowing as though her denial amused him.
“Well, I enjoyed myself. I told you, there is something strange about you that I find captivating. I see it now in the way you move through a room. Your odd little habits. The way you look as though you are listening to something no one else can hear.” His gaze traveled over her with deliberate slowness.
“Even dressed differently, you are still unlike anyone else. Like a white raven. Strange and startling. Ugly, even. And yet something you cannot stop thinking about mounting—hanging above your fireplace, if only as a conversation piece. I need you, Victoria.”
Victoria swallowed down her fear. With wide, nervous eyes, she took a step backward, needing to get away from him. If she did not put distance between them immediately, something terrible would follow.
His gaze drifted over her face, his lids lowered, mouth going rigid as every line of his expression pulled tight. “Knowing he thinks he has you only makes me want you more.”
Her brows drew together, her mouth twisting in disgust. She was just about to attempt another escape without drawing attention when a deep voice cut cleanly into the space between them.
“Victoria.”
She turned, completely frazzled, breath catching as she found Innominatus behind her.
His sharp eyes swept over her face, taking in her expression, the way she was standing slightly back on her heels as though bracing for flight.
It was not curiosity in his gaze but assessment, as if he were reconstructing the entire exchange from the tension still vibrating through her body.
Relief hit her so fast it was nearly painful. It tangled with anxiety and worry, a storm of emotions crashing together in her chest. “Inno,” she said. “Is everything all right?” Something in the severity of his expression sent a chill through her stomach.
“I came to ask you the same question.” His gaze shifted from her without softening, locking onto Wilhelm with frank, unvarnished hostility. He did not bother to disguise it as politeness. He looked down at Wilhelm, who barely came to his shoulder, as though weighing him and finding him lacking.
“Oh yes. Everything is quite fine,” Victoria said quickly, feeling the murderous rage pouring off Innominatus. “I was just saying goodbye to Herr von Lichtenmarstein.” She dipped into a low curtsey, and as she rose, she tucked her arm firmly through Inno’s, claiming his presence without apology.
“Mr. Creatura,” Wilhelm said smoothly, though his eyes flicked to where Victoria had anchored herself to him with an irritated look.
“I am so pleased you could attend. It is all my father has been able to speak of lately. You do remember us from our visit to Dr. Frankenstein’s, who as I am certain he has informed you, is under my father’s protection and favor, yes? ”
“I recall,” Inno said, his low voice even and unyielding.
Wilhelm’s expression darkened. “It is unfortunate that the doctor could not attend this evening. My father had hoped to speak with him. His recent illness has prompted several important discussions. And as Dr. Frankenstein’s successor, it is essential that you understand that while he may choose his successor, the court ultimately decides whether or not you are aligned with us.
You are welcome here, of course, but your allegiance must be properly understood if you intend to assume his position. ”
Victoria’s nerves were already stripped raw. Her hands began to tremble with restrained fury, but Innominatus closed his palms securely around hers, quieting them. “This is not the time for such discussions, Wilhelm,” she warned, her voice tight.
Inno’s arm slid behind her back, his hand settling at her waist with deliberate care. Slowly, unmistakably, he drew her against his side.
The boldness of the gesture startled her. She lifted her eyes to his, gratitude flickering there before she could stop it. He did not look at her then. His attention remained locked on Wilhelm, his body coiled with restraint that felt dangerous in its stillness.
“I have never been an advocate of allegiance,” Inno said calmly with a lopsided, charming grin. “Not to countries nor to any authority that demands obedience without consent.” His angular chin tilted up, almost begging Wilhelm to push him further.
Victoria felt her nerves tighten, pressure building beneath her skull.
She knew that stillness, knew what lay beneath it.
He had died rather than swear loyalty to Russia, rather than kill on command.
Wilhelm had no concept of the fire he was stoking, and if Victoria wasn’t careful, she was certain it would burn them all.
“Victoria, waltz with me,” Wilhelm said abruptly, stepping forward and extending his arm. “I would very much like to finish our earlier conversation in private.”
“The waltz?” Inno interjected with a false tone of surprise.
“Are you not married, Herr von Lichtenmarstein?” He shifted Victoria just enough to place her fully out of Wilhelm’s reach.
His eyes held a subtle threat. “Surely you would not be so discourteous as to take my only dance partner when you have your own.”
“I would be honored to be your partner,” Helena said brightly to Innominatus as she approached with Johanna and Sophia.
Inno glanced down at Victoria with a raised brow. She gave a subtle nod, approving. Sophia loved to dance and would soon follow, taking Wilhelm away.
“This is Helena, Johanna, and Wilhelm’s wife, Sophia,” Victoria said, dipping her head. The women curtseyed in unison.
“Wonderful. Then Miss Helena and I will dance, and you may share the floor with your wife. Victoria and I will have the next,” Inno said as he held out the crook of his arm to Helena.
An absolutely giddy Helena wiggled her brows at Victoria as she took his arm and allowed him to guide her toward the dance floor.
Inno’s steps were unhurried, precise, but even as he turned with Helena, his awareness never fully left Victoria.
He seemed to track her by instinct alone, the way one knew a storm was coming.
Sophia smiled a practiced, sugar-sweet smile as she stepped up beside her husband and took his arm.
Wilhelm’s glare at Inno was sharp, venomous, before his mouth pulled into a devilish grin that did nothing to soften his eyes.
Without warning, he seized Victoria by the waist and hauled her sharply into him, steering her onto the dance floor and stepping past Sophia as though she were nothing more than a decorative obstruction.
When they passed directly behind Inno, Wilhelm leaned toward the taller man, squeezing Victoria’s side hard enough to steal her breath as he forced her into position.
“Sophia doesn’t mind sharing,” he murmured, casting a cocky wink in Innominatus’s direction just as the music began.
“Wilhelm, please don’t do this,” Victoria pleaded.
As Victoria turned through the first rotation of the dance, her senses sharpened.
She felt Inno before she fully saw him, a steady pull at her awareness that cut through the noise and music and chatter.
When her gaze lifted, she caught his eyes locked on her with an intensity that bordered on feral.
His expression was glacial, his jaw set, his attention fixed so completely that it was as though the rest of the ballroom had blurred away.
A flicker of warmth spread from low in Victoria’s belly, curling upward at the unmistakable protectiveness in his stare.
For a heartbeat she wanted to lean into it, to let it anchor her.
Fully feel how he was measuring every movement, every shift of her breath, as if committing it to memory.
Not even her father had stood against another for her sake, and certainly no one of this rank.
While Wilhelm made a spectacle of their dance, exaggerating his turns and holds, every time Victoria’s head angled toward Inno, their eyes found one another again.
It felt intimate and dangerous, a private line of awareness stretched taut between them across the crowded floor.
She alone was keeping him from striking out.
She knew with quiet certainty that if she faltered, if she signaled even slightly, he would reach her in seconds.
She could read in his face how much he wished she would.
Helena laughed freely, radiant and unguarded, unaware that her partner’s body moved with her while his attention remained fixed elsewhere.
“You would be wise to inform your friend of who he is dealing with,” Wilhelm growled.
Victoria swallowed the response that burned on her tongue. “Enough.”
His hand slid lower along her back until it settled just above her rear, possessive and deliberate. “I have decided I have not had enough.”