Chapter 26

Time had almost run out.

They arrived at Mr. Dahl’s home, and while anyone else might have gawked at its size and splendor, Cosette was horrified. This was not a home but a prison.

Terror coursed through her veins as she clutched Leif to her side.

Sarene began sobbing the moment they stepped foot in the building, which did nothing to quell Leif’s fragile disposition. He, too, began sobbing, which caused Cosette to tear up. She was afraid. For herself. For Sarene. For Leif.

For Oriel…

Oriel was surely dead, and she could not completely process the shock or heartache of it. She…she loved him. And she’d never told him. A childhood fancy had turned into something far more, and she lost it before she even truly had it.

She clutched her hands to her chest, but her fingers weren’t enough to stop the gush of pain from her wounded heart.

“What is this?” Mr. Dahl asked as he walked into the room to find all three of them crying. “I don’t believe I purchased a banquet of tears. The first time is always unpleasant for the female, but you will quickly get over it.” His eyes darkened as he rounded on Cosette, towering over her. Her heart ceased to beat altogether as she backed away from him but found herself trapped against the wall.

“You seem overly fond of the boy,” Mr. Dahl said with a dangerous undertone in his voice. “I do not have much use for a boy servant. You will meet me in my bedchambers. If you are not there in five minutes, I will kill him.”

Her heart collapsed with fear. No longer for herself. But for Leif.

Mr. Dahl spun away and left the three of them alone. She quickly crossed the room to look out the window. No guards patrolled the estate. Servants, yes. But no one to stop them from escaping. If they fled now, then perhaps—

She hissed as she touched the door handle leading outside. The metal seared her skin. For a moment, she stared dumbfounded at the burn on her hand. Vampires couldn’t enter a building or room without permission. But leaving was never an issue.

Until now.

“What is it?” Sarene asked, and she, too, touched the handle and hissed.

“We can’t leave,” she said, wide-eyed. “We’re trapped here.”

Despair washed over her. She had desperately hoped they would find a way to escape. If she had been here alone, she would have tried more to ensure her safety. But when Leif’s life was being threatened…

I don’t have a choice.

A choked sob escaped her, and she took a few moments of deep breathing to try and push back her panic. This horrid man… Mr. Dahl… He would become her mate. And she had no choice in the matter.

“Please look after Leif for me,” she whispered as she turned to face Sarene. “Don’t let anyone hurt him.”

Sarene threw her arms around her, and they held each other tight. The embrace helped keep her together, if just barely.

Cosette stooped down and placed a kiss on Leif’s forehead—she had grown fond of him in the short time they had known each other. “Would you like to play a game with Sarene?” she asked, and Leif nodded, rubbing the tears from his eyes with his small fists. “It’s called guess the magic number. Do you know your numbers?”

Leif nodded. “Papa taught me. I know all the numbers. I can count to twenty.”

The pride in his voice brought a flicker of a smile to her face before it disappeared just as quickly.

“Very good. Sarene will play with you, and I’ll be back soon.”

She followed the direction Mr. Dahl had disappeared in, her gaze trailing the walls, the furniture, and anything else within view. The picture frames were nailed to the wall quite thoroughly, which meant she couldn’t use them as a weapon. The furniture was too heavy to lift. Nothing else was heavy or sharp enough to even hurt Mr. Dahl. For having vampire mistresses, he certainly was thorough in making sure they could neither escape nor fight back.

“Please save me from this fate,” she prayed, but she felt as if no one listened.

It wasn’t difficult to find Mr. Dahl’s bedchambers, as she located the scent of cruelty and evil and followed it. His eyes raked over her hungrily as he crossed the room and closed the door behind her.

Her hands trembled, her legs nearly refusing to keep her upright.

“The Diamond in the North,” Mr. Dahl said. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she instinctively flinched away. His grip tightened, his expression contorted with anger. “You will be a willing participant, otherwise the boy will forfeit his life.”

She held back a sob. How could anyone be as cruel and unfeeling as this man?

Again, she scanned the room for something to use as a weapon, but she found nothing. Without this bracelet, she could likely easily overpower him.

A crash sounded downstairs, and her eyes widened as she thought of Leif. She darted toward the door, but Mr. Dahl grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

“Let go of me!” she shrieked.

Fear sparked in her heart when he became rough, his fingers clamping so hard around her wrist she let out a screech. When he pulled her closer, she tried to push away. She hit him repeatedly, but he didn’t budge. He crushed her against him, his lips finding her cheek. Again, she screeched as she tried to pull away, but he was much stronger than her.

The door splintered open, and her eyes widened with disbelief when she found Oriel standing there, struggling to breathe and a murderous glower in his eyes.

“Get…your hands…off…my mate…” he said, breathing hard. And then faster than she could follow, he burst forward and wrapped a seething hand around Mr. Dahl’s throat, squeezing tight. The man tried to fight back, but Oriel was unaffected by the kicks and the scratches. Perspiration beaded his forehead as he squeezed. When the shock of seeing him faded, she started to cry, backing up against the wall to put distance between her and Mr. Dahl.

Through the tears in her eyes, she noticed Oriel struggling, as if weak, and it alarmed her. What had happened to him?

However, he didn’t struggle for long as he delivered a kick aimed right at Mr. Dahl’s chest, and he stumbled backward, straight through the window. The glass shattered before he fell to the earth below. She strained her ears, but she didn’t hear him get back up. Was Mr. Dahl…dead?

Her question was answered a moment later when her bracelet fell off on its own accord, and her strength flooded back to her immediately. He truly was dead.

Oriel moved away from the window as if satisfied before turning to look at her. The moment their eyes met, his hardness melted, his gaze becoming softer. “Cosette.”

“Oriel!” She sobbed as she flew into his arms. Her tears fell faster as she realized if he had come even five minutes later, it might have been too late. She gripped tightly onto his arm, a desperate pleading in her eyes. “I don’t want to be taken by another. Then I wouldn’t be yours. Do it now. Please, Oriel. Please.”

His lips parted as if speechless. She had been terrified beyond belief, and she was desperate. He was right here with her. He was alive. And if he quickly got it done, then she would be his forever, and no one else could take her.

“Dearest Cosette.” He trailed his fingers through her hair, caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, and then nuzzled his nose against hers. “I love you. But I don’t want you to become mine out of fear. I will always be yours. No matter what.”

Tears trailed down her face as she latched on to his wrists. Sobs wracked her entire frame, and he pulled her closer, wrapping both arms around her shoulders as she cried into his chest.

“I was terrified.” Her sobs were muffled in his shirt.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, his touch soothing against her hair. “I am so very sorry. This is all my fault. I never should have brought you here. I’m so sorry, Cosette.”

She sniffed and wiped her tears away. She felt safe in his arms. There was no other place she would rather be.

But when she glanced up, her heart missed a beat. Oriel looked…haggard. Dark circles lined his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days. He held her in a gentle manner, but there was something missing from it. His strength.

Even more, how had he entered the house, let alone the room, without permission? No vampire would ever be able to accomplish the feat.

She gasped as she spotted the intense burn on his hand. She held his hand tenderly and turned it upward to inspect the wound. His entire palm and fingers were blistered with burns. What, exactly, had he gone through to get here?

“Oriel,” she whispered as she looked into his weary eyes. “What happened?”

“I killed a few vampires,” he said, his lips twitching, yet the humor didn’t reach his eyes. He looked pained to have done such a thing. “And now a human too. Though, I don’t regret it one bit. You’re not hurt, are you?”

She shook her head. “No. Thank you for coming after me. I thought…I thought you were dead.”

“I’m not dead,” he said, but something flashed in his eyes. Uneasiness churned in her stomach. What wasn’t he telling her? “But I don’t care to linger any longer than necessary. Let me take you home.”

“Wait!” she cried. “There are more. We cannot leave without them.”

It physically pained her to not be near Oriel, so she grabbed his hand and pulled him along, but not before noticing his sluggish gait. A newfound worry for him crept up inside her. Something wasn’t right, and she planned to inquire further when they reached the safety of Ichor Knell.

“Are you all right?” Sarene asked as they entered the room, her eyes darting from Cosette to Oriel and back again. “Where is Mr. Dahl?”

“Gone.”

Sarene’s shoulders slumped with relief. “I’ll admit you gave me quite the startle there, Mister…”

“Oriel Covaci,” he said with another weary smile.

“Oh!” She hastily dipped into a curtsy. “A Covaci. I did not realize. My apologies, Your Lordship.”

Now Cosette wrung her hands as she waited for him to notice Leif, who peeked his head out from behind the sofa across the room. His wide eyes stared at Oriel, both curious and cautious. Following her gaze, Oriel glanced toward the sofa.

“Oh,” he murmured, surprise in the lift of his brows. He cleared his throat and approached the child, crouching low as if trying not to scare him. “What is your name?”

“Leif,” the boy replied in a timid voice.

“Where are your parents, Leif?”

“They’re gone.”

Dead, Cosette mouthed, and Oriel nodded in understanding.

Leif crept out from behind the couch, slowly at first, but then he approached Oriel as if realizing he wasn’t one of the bad men. Oriel held out his hands, and Leif wrapped his small arms around his neck, allowing him to pick him up. She frowned as she noticed the toll it took on Oriel just to hold the boy. Sweat beaded his brow, and even though he seemed to try to hide it, she heard his labored breathing.

“Would you like to stay with Cosette and me for a little while? At least until we can find you a good home.” When Leif nodded into his shoulder, he took Cosette’s hand, and in turn, she took Sarene’s. “Is there anyone else? I am only making one trip. No more.”

She shook her head. “Just us three.”

Although she wanted to help the other females sold at auction, she didn’t know where they were.

The next moment, Oriel materialized, and they shot through the window in a flurry of silvery powder. Only minutes later, they stood in the entryway of his estate. At the late hour, none of the servants were about except Mr. Chaplin, the head butler, who snorted awake from his chair at their sudden appearance.

“My apologies,” Mr. Chaplin said as he bounded to his feet. “I was not expecting your return quite yet.”

Cosette watched as Oriel set Leif down and began scribbling on a piece of parchment before sealing it with wax and handing it over to Mr. Chaplin. He spoke in a quiet voice, though she heard every word. “Please get this to Mr. Zachariah Degore. Immediately. And wake some of the servants to make up a bedchamber for Miss Sarene and the nursery for Leif.”

“Yes, milord,” Mr. Chaplin said as he bowed out of the room.

It wasn’t until Oriel approached her again when she realized her hands still trembled. He wrapped his arms around her, and she reciprocated by holding him close. It didn’t stop her trembling, but it helped. Her heart sighed with relief as she buried her face into his chest. Not too long ago, she had believed she would never see him again. How glad she was to be proven wrong.

“How are you faring?” he whispered, his fingers trailing through her hair.

She tried her best to hold back her tears—apparently, they weren’t done with her yet. “I will be fine. I am glad you are alive. I was terrified for you.”

She closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead. “I am stubborn where it counts, remember?” He chuckled, referring to a letter he had given her in their earlier correspondence.

“And I am glad for it.”

He kissed her forehead once more. “You’ve had an eventful night. Please get some rest, Cosette. I promise you will be completely safe here. I swear it.”

“I know.”

She swallowed hard as she stepped out of his arms and watched him walk away, but not before he glanced back at her one more time. He still looked haggard. It was he who needed rest.

Trying her best to be brave, she turned to Sarene and Leif. “Let us all get some much-needed sleep, shall we?”