Chapter 5 The Shadow
THE SHADOW
The instant the words left my mouth, I saw the shock slam into Vivian as if I had punched her in the gut. Her eyes widened, a storm of emotions flickering through those hazel depths: disbelief, rage, and something that bordered on hysteria.
For a second, I thought she might launch herself at me, fists swinging, like some wild creature backed into a corner.
Instead, she started laughing. The harsh, unhinged sound had my shadows twitching in response.
She was on the edge. Maybe she had finally snapped, and if I was being honest, I didn’t give a damn.
Let her break. It would make it that much easier to control her.
But damn it, her defiance was… enticing.
Even now, covered in the remnants of dirt and sweat from the event, her chestnut hair tumbling messily around her face, she looked like an untamed force of nature.
She shoved her hair back behind her ear with a jerky motion, as if it were a persistent adversary.
Tears had tracked lines down her cheeks, but that did nothing to diminish the fire in her eyes.
It would make extinguishing her spirit so much sweeter.
Her laughter eventually died as she took a heaving breath, and then she did the most ridiculous thing. She sat down in the middle of the floor like a stubborn child and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m not moving. Not until you explain what the hell you mean by... by... marrying me?”
I let the silence stretch between us, savoring the absurdity of the scene.
This woman, who had thrown herself in front of an executioner’s axe for a fool of a boy, was now reduced to throwing tantrums on my pristine marble floor.
Part of me admired her spirit. The other part of me wanted to crush it beneath my boot.
I pushed out of my chair and took slow, measured steps until I was right in front of her, studying her with cold detachment. She looked up at me, defiance still sparking in her eyes, daring me to force her to her feet.
“You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, Vivian,” I said, somewhat bored. “I needed a wife, and you needed rescuing. So, here we are.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she shook her head like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “That’s it? This is some twisted business transaction?”
“Yes.” My voice was as flat and unfeeling as the stone beneath her. “A business transaction. You will fulfill a role I need filled, and you have saved your… Will.”
“Why?” she demanded. “Why the hell do you need a wife? What’s the benefit for you? For your precious territory?”
Her sarcasm was almost enough to coax a laugh out of me, but I held it back. No. She would not get the satisfaction of seeing any reaction beyond what I wanted her to see. I was the monster lurking in the dark, the man everyone feared. She needed to understand she was no exception.
“You will help me solidify an alliance. The details are irrelevant to you, but suffice it to say, this marriage will benefit me... greatly.”
Vivian rolled her eyes, a bitter smile twisting her lips. “Oh, well, why didn’t you say so? If it benefits you, I’m all for becoming your blushing bride.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and shot off a text to one of my guards. Enough of this. She would learn soon enough that resistance was futile.
“One of my men will take you to your room,” I said, slipping my phone back into my pocket. “It’s in my wing of the estate where I can keep an eye on you. We’ll dine together this evening.”
She gazed down at her tattered black dress, and I allowed my eyes to linger on the expanse of her bare legs for a beat longer than necessary. “As much as I enjoy the view, I suggest you get cleaned up and put on more appropriate clothing for a formal meal. I’ll have my people bring you some.”
A sharp knock echoed through the room, and the door swung open to reveal one of my guards, a burly shifter with a perpetual scowl etched into his features. He crossed the room in a few heavy steps and pulled Vivian to her feet.
“No!” She twisted in his grip, her eyes wild as she looked back at me. “You owe me more than this. You owe me a full explanation of what you plan to do with me.”
My shadows flickered ominously as I allowed a sliver of my power to bleed into the room. “I owe you nothing, Vivian,” I growled. “You’re here because I decided to save your life. Don’t mistake my mercy for kindness.”
A tempest of rage and fear swirled in her eyes, making the shadows inside me writhe with dark delight.
I nodded at the guard, and he dragged her out of my office, her angry protests fading into the distance as the door closed behind them.
I stared at the door. Vivian would fight me every step of the way—that much was clear. But in the end, she would bend.
Everyone under my watch always did.
I walked back to my desk and tapped a button on the side panel, summoning my assistant.
My guards didn’t know who Vivian truly was or why she was here.
Apart from me and my personal assistant, everyone else would only see the illusion I wanted them to see—a prisoner of war, a rogue vampire living out her sentence of servitude in my castle.
I had chosen to keep her in my wing for my purposes.
The illusion would keep questions to a minimum and would also keep my father from recognizing a human woman living on the estate.
The thought of him finding out I was marrying a human chilled me to my bones. He would kill her and leave me to deal with the repercussions of his fury.
There was a soft, almost imperceptible knock on the door.
“Enter.”
Eldora stepped inside. Her gaze swept over the room, then those piercing pools of silver-flecked lavender landed on me.
“I noticed we have... a guest,” she said cautiously, her smooth voice laced with an infuriating undercurrent of curiosity. One pale eyebrow arched ever so slightly.
“Don’t give me that look, Eldora,” I warned, though we both knew the threat held little weight with her. Eldora had served the Gallanti family long before I was even a thought in my father’s twisted mind, and fear was a weapon that did not work on her.
She pressed her lips into a thin line, though the faintest twitch at the corners betrayed her amusement.
“Forgive me, my lord, but I’m afraid to ask what you plan to do with the girl,” she said, her tone carefully neutral.
But I knew that look in her eyes—an expression of silent judgment, as if she could force me into making the right decision simply with the intensity of her stare.
I leaned back in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’m going to marry her.” I watched her for any sign of surprise. Eldora was notoriously difficult to catch off guard.
Her eyebrows shot up, the first real crack in her otherwise stoic demeanor. “Marry her, my lord?” she echoed, her disbelief almost tangible. “Forgive me, but how exactly do you plan to force that young woman into marriage?”
I rolled my eyes and resisted the urge to snap at her. “It’s simple. I saved her life—she owes me a debt. If she wants to keep that precious boy of hers alive, she’ll comply. This marriage will solidify my alliance with Altair. It’s a means to an end.”
Eldora’s expression hardened. “And you believe that being forced into a marriage with a man she fears is any better than the execution she narrowly escaped?” She shook her head. “Is that truly what you’re telling yourself, Raffaele?”
I winced at her use of my birthname. Eldora was one of the only people who called me by that name. The Shadow had a much more terrifying, overbearing ring to it.
A wave of annoyance, frustration, perhaps even guilt passed over me, but I buried it under layers of indifference.
I rose from my chair, the shadows in the room curling toward me as they sensed my rising agitation.
“I didn’t summon you here to question my decisions, Eldora.
I’ve made up my mind. Now, I need you to handle the practicalities. ”
She studied me for a moment, her eyes narrowing as if weighing whether or not to push further. Then, with a resigned sigh, she dipped her head in a slight bow. “As you wish, my lord. What would you have me to do?”
“Vivian will need clothes. Most pressing would be something appropriate for her to wear to dinner this evening. With me.”
Eldora nodded and turned to leave. “As you wish.” She paused at the door, a maternal softness in her gaze. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Raffaele. With Lord Thorne lurking in the shadows, waiting for you to falter... this is a dangerous path you’re treading.”
The mention of my father sent a chill down my spine, though I refused to show it. “I always know what I’m doing, Eldora.”
“Be that as it may, you know how Lord Thorne complicated matters for me. I’d hate to see the same misfortune fall onto another innocent woman. Of course, I chose this life. Vivian, however, is not choosing it.”
Tears filled her eyes, and my guard dropped. “I’m not my fucking father, Eldora. Please, give me a little credit.” Surely she knew I’d never go to the same extremes he had. “This is a business transaction, nothing more, nothing less. Vivian will not be harmed.”
“This is not the way to accomplish your goals.” Her gaze lingered on me for a heartbeat longer, as if she could see every dark corner of my soul, every doubt I kept hidden even from myself. Then she simply nodded and slipped out the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I ascended the winding staircase, each step echoing through the cold stone halls.
The chill in the air seemed to seep into my bones, and it had nothing to do with the draft.
When I reached the top, I paused outside the door of the room where Vivian was locked away. The silence from within was deafening.
I pressed my ear against the door. Nothing. No sobs, no angry shouts—just silence. For some reason, it was more unsettling than her weeping would have been.
With a flick of my wrist, the magical wards parted, allowing me access. The door creaked open, and I stepped inside.
She stood in the center of the room, wrapped in nothing but a towel, her hair cascading down her back in damp waves. The sight of her—raw and vulnerable and nearly naked—was distracting. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and she instinctively tightened her grip on the towel.
“Don’t you know how to fucking knock?”
I ignored her outburst as my gaze drifted over her form.
Since she couldn’t see my eyes through the veil of shadows, I let myself drink in the sight of her.
For a moment, I wondered what it would be like to see her without the anger, without the fear.
What would it take to break that fiery spirit of hers?
“Has my personal assistant been here to measure you yet?” I asked, forcing casual indifference into my tone.
“No,” she snapped.
That was unlike Eldora. I would have to speak with her. “I’ll send her straight up,” I said, turning to leave.
Before I closed the door, I couldn’t resist one last jab. “I’m proud of you for following my instructions like a good little wife,” I mocked.
Her glare was hot enough to melt steel, and I couldn’t help the dark chuckle that escaped me.
Vivian grabbed a vase from her bedside table and threw it at my head. I took a step to the side and shook my head as the crystal crashed into the wall, shattering into hundreds of tiny shards.
“Quite the temper you have, Vivian.” I smirked. This woman had more tenacity than half my staff combined.
I shut the door behind me, her muffled scream of frustration bringing a twisted smile to my lips. She was a firecracker, but in the end, all fires burned out.
And I would be there to watch her flames die.