Chapter 15
DARCIE
My brief moment of reprieve ends when Gregory lowers me onto the massive bed at the center of my room.
The instant my body meets the cool, lavender comforter, a bolt of electricity jolts through my body. Nerves fire. Muscles spasm. I cry out.
Gregory rears back. His already pale face turns white.
Eshe races to my side. “Darcie?”
“I’m okay.” I pant, struggling to prop myself up on my elbows. My vision blurs, but the alarming sensations begin to dull with each breath. “Can you help me sit up?”
She leans forward and slides two pillows behind me.
“Thanks,” I murmur, sinking into the soft support. Exhaustion tugs at my mind, but the residual pain keeps me conscious.
“You’re welcome.” She fluffs the corner pillow.
Eager for distraction from the fact that my mother is downstairs, I murmur, “You really should consider being a nurse or something.”
She snorts a laugh. “Hardly. Nebet was more suited to the task of caretaking.”
“Nebet?”
“My sister.” She settles on the edge of the bed.
Gregory claims the chair by the door. He props his elbows on his knees, and his eyes bore into me.
I keep my attention on Eshe, “I didn’t know you had a sister. Was she younger?”
“Older by two years.”
“And she was the more nurturing one?”
Eshe’s features warm with a memory. “Without question. Nebet was the best of us.”
“I always wanted a sister,” I admit. “Or any sibling, honestly.”
I had a great childhood with Dad, but it would have been nice to have someone else to grow up with.
At least I had Kayla and Kevin.
A pang hits my chest.
I hope both of those relationships will mend with time, but I have no idea how. Especially while I’m trapped in the middle of this Immortal conflict, unable to see or talk to them.
An amused lilt enters Eshe’s voice, “I had three siblings, and let me tell you, it can get pretty crowded. I tried to spend most of my time outside of the house rather than be suffocated by Sabaf and Ruia.”
I tilt my head at the unfamiliar names.
“Sabaf and Ruia are—” She stops, then corrects gently, “were my younger brothers. They were twins.”
The small, quick shadow that crosses her face twists my heart.
“Two brothers and one sister,” I repeat back. “Did Lome ever meet them before—”
Cue putting foot in mouth.
“Before we were wed?” she finishes for me.
I nod.
“Nebet and I actually met Lome the same day. Well… We both saw him the same day, but I met him first.”
My brows knit together. “What do you mean?”
“I was outside doing chores by the river near my house,” she says, tucking her legs up on the bed and wrapping her arms around them. It’s the most relaxed I’ve ever seen the stoic Immortal look. “Lome appeared and introduced himself after noticing me in the market.”
A wry twist finds her mouth. “He had to go out of his way to find me. I was not the most social girl in Alexandria.”
I’m not surprised.
“So Lome saw you somewhere and then engineered a casual run-in? Classic stalker.”
Eshe actually laughs.
It takes all my effort not to let my jaw drop.
“I found him strange at first, but you know Lome. He is charming. He slipped into my family’s life like he’d always belonged.” A wistful look flows into her dark eyes.
“My brothers adored him,” she adds. “My father, too. Even Nebet could not believe I’d been so fortunate to catch his interest.”
I don’t move. I don’t even blink. I don’t want to interrupt any of the information coming my way. I’m eager to learn more about the mysterious Immortal.
“They were all overjoyed when Lome announced our engagement.” Her gaze unfocuses, thrown into a memory from all those centuries ago. “Had I not known better, I would have thought they were happy to be rid of me.”
Every instinct screams to ask the elephant in the room.
What happened to break the couple?
Why is their relationship so strained?
What did Lome do?
The questions crawl up my throat, but the door swings open. And the opportunity vanishes like a puff of smoke.
Des stomps into the room. Alex is close behind, looking just as agitated as the Original Immortal.
Eshe rises from the bed but stands close.
My arms tremble as I push myself a little higher. “Um…hi?”
Neither responds.
Alex closes the door behind them with a precise click while Des is already halfway to the bed, gaze locked on me, the casual composure he wore in the ballroom absent.
His shoulders rise and fall with ragged breath.
Did he run here?
Even so, he’s Immortal… He shouldn’t be out of breath.
My eyes snag on his form-fitting shirt, tracing the bulge of muscle beneath the fabric. Up close, his attire looks even more like a uniform. The gold thread gleams in the room’s light.
“Leave.”
My brain stutters, then my eyes snap back up to his. “Excuse me?”
Des isn’t looking at me.
“Leave,” he repeats, voice rough. “Now.”
“Des…” Eshe’s lips turn down. “Are you sure that is a—”
“Get out.” He scowls. “All of you.”
I stare at him, stunned. I’ve never heard him speak to Eshe like that.
Eshe’s hands curl at her sides. Her dark eyes narrow, but she walks to the door without another word.
Gregory is already standing. He shoots me a wary glance before following Eshe out.
Only Alex remains, watching Des with dangerous stillness.
Des’s jaw tightens. “I need to speak with Darcie. Alone.”
Something unspoken passes between them.
A warning. A calculation?
Alex scowls, but eventually tips his chin at me, before he slips out.
The latch clicks, and the room shrinks.
Des turns back to me and stares.
Hard.
Like he’s cataloging every freckle, counting every labored breath passing through my lungs.
My mouth parts.
Is he mad?
At me?
“Des?” I lick my dry lips. “What is going—”
I don’t finish.
Des dives forward.
I gasp.
His hand curves around my neck.
His eyes flash a brilliant green hue.
Then, his mouth crashes into mine.