CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
Ailsa
THAT HAD BEEN the most uncomfortable dinner of my life, and that was saying something. Now, we’d all been ushered outside for some performance.
The night air wrapped around me like a velvet vice the moment we stepped into the courtyard, thick with the perfume of roses.
The outside was just as impressive as the inside had been, evergreen hedges that were immaculately maintained, sculpted into circular shapes, while great stone planters overflowed with some sort of ivy that almost looked wet under the glow of the candlelight.
Beyond the manicured lawn, a structure loomed.
It was part glasshouse, part theatre—a sprawling conservatory crowned in arched panes that reflected the flickering light of hundreds of candles within.
The glow spilled outward, golden and hypnotic through the massive arched entryway.
I’d never seen anything like it, the opulence, the sheer display of wealth.
Davien had parted through the crowd, appearing next to me as we crossed the threshold and rows of seating arranged around a stage appeared, his hand the ghost of a touch away from mine.
I felt an odd sense of comfort by his presence.
He really had grown on me, despite his betrayal.
He was the only one in my corner. And that made him my only friend in a sea of sharks.
Before he could utter a word, I saw two of Valerius’s goons pull him back.
I couldn’t hear what they’d said to him, but his face was furious, so different from the expressions I’d grown used to.
This was his real anger. And honestly, if that was the face he had shown me in the beginning, I would have been terrified.
But the anger and rage he’d shown me weren’t like this.
He really didn’t hate me, and he never had.
I swallowed hard as I turned to look away from him. What was I supposed to do with that knowledge? He’d still betrayed me. And it’s not as though any of it mattered. We couldn’t be a thing, he’d made that clear, even if had wanted it. Which I definitely didn’t.
I was here for Claire and that was it.
I’d need to disappear once I got her back, we both would.
How was I going to explain all of this to her?
I was on the edge of a panic attack.
Leon appeared at my side again as if he’d sensed my rising terror, his presence oddly comforting. He escorted me gently but firmly toward one of the seats in the front row, his hand hovering just enough to steer without forcing.
“This way, sweetheart,” he instructed and I let him guide me to our seats.
I couldn’t resist asking about Claire again and this time to my surprise, Leon seemed to have recalled a brief sighting of her.
He’d claimed that he hadn’t known who she was at the time, but confirmed that she was alive earlier today.
That should have given me hope, some sort of reassurance. But the pit in my stomach only grew.
Where was she now?
“Sit,” he murmured.
I didn’t argue.
I didn’t know what to make of him. Sure we’d had that encounter at the club, but he didn’t know who I was and I certainly didn’t know who he was. We were never supposed to have seen each other again.
He owed me nothing, just as I didn’t owe him.
It was foolish of me to think that he might be on my side just because we’d had sex. But he seemed genuine.
I blew out air, I was really heating up. This was too much.
The moment I lowered myself into the chair, I realised how tightly wound I was. My leg bounced uncontrollably, my fingers trembling where they rested against my thigh.
I slammed my hand over my knee, trying to still it.
I was a ball of nerves and I was afraid I’d explode.
I couldn’t take much more of this.
“Who am I to him?” I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it. Hoping that maybe answers would distract me or provide me with some sort of relief.
“I honestly don’t know,” Leon whispered. “I’d tell you if I did.”
There goes that idea.
I wondered if that was true. Was he playing me, trying to get my guard down, or was he truly blissfully ignorant to what was going on around him? Davien had said he was of good heart. But I didn’t know if I could really trust him either.
I was alone with this and I needed to arm myself with as much information as I could. “What does he want with me?”
A pause.
Then he leaned in slightly closer, his voice even quieter. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t know. Only that it can’t be good.”
On that we could agree at least.
Where the fuck was Claire?
My eyes scanned every face that entered the space, yet she was nowhere to be found. I feared she wasn’t here at all. At least Leon had confirmed that she was alive earlier today. I held on to that thought. She was alive. I kept repeating that information in my mind.
Leon placed a hand on mine above my knee.
It was much larger than mine, but surprisingly soft and gentle.
He was calm and steady as a rock and some of that energy seemed to transfer to me, and my leg finally stopped bouncing.
I hated that it calmed me. But at this point, I’d take anything given to get me through this night.
The space fell into a hush, it wasn’t gradual, it was immediate. Like the air itself had been commanded to still, and that’s how I knew that he had arrived.
He moved with a quiet authority that seemed to bend the space around him. The candlelight flickered as he passed, shadows clinging to him like he belonged there. Every one of his steps was heavy, deliberate, oppressive.
His gaze swept over the crowd, slow and assessing, before it landed briefly on me. And in that single moment, it felt like he saw everything.
Every fear.
Every weakness.
Every secret I didn’t even know I had.
My breath caught.
A faint smile touched his lips.
“Shall we begin?” he said, his voice smooth, controlled, utterly devoid of warmth. “I have something really special for you all tonight.”
A ripple of anticipation moved through the crowd and the candles flared.
And as the heavy crimson curtains began to draw back, I leaned back into the chair with Leon’s hand still resting over mine, my heart pounding so violently I thought it might break from my chest.
Whatever this was.
It wasn’t going to end well.