327- Trembling in the Dark
POV Seraphine Valerian:
The order was dry and impersonal. He went to the immense, sovereign bed, with four posts and a blood-red velvet canopy, those black sheets and quilt like a stormy river. He pointed to his side:
“Now.”
My legs felt like jelly. There was nowhere to run.
I weighed my possibilities. Obey and wait for the worst. Run around and make him angry. Neither was good.
Viktor lay down, attentive to me. Nervous, I began to approach slowly and went straight to the point:
“What are you going to do?”
“Sleep.”
It was a lie, of course. He wouldn't demand that I stay in his room, share his bed, if it weren't with some intention. And I imagined the worst possible ones.
I settled in slowly, on the edge, stiff and trembling. He just watched me. Then he turned off the lamps, and the room fell into semi-darkness. It wasn't totally dark; light came from outside, from the side towers. I could see the outline of his body and part of his face outside the shadows. His eyes glowed into mine.
I tried just to breathe without fainting. I felt touched, my little hairs standing on end, even though he wasn't touching me. He had this absurd power, a kind of enchantment. The same one that made me walk toward him when I first saw him near the village.
“Why am I here?” I murmured, too confused.
“We're going to find out.” He remained still. “Today one of the gypsies told me a story.”
“Did you kill any of them? Along with the wolves?”
“No.”
I believed him, relieved. Somehow, I knew he wouldn't lie. He didn't seem the type to care about using subterfuge or giving baseless explanations. Perhaps I was wrong, but for the first time on that cursed day, I managed to feel less guilty.
“What story?” I asked softly.
“That your father knew about me. He sent you away because of me, since you were in your mother's womb.”
His voice had a hoarseness that mixed with the deep tone, shaking my insides. However, the words caused even more revolt.
“You ruined my life.”
“I prefer to think I saved it.”
“Saved it?” I clenched my fists, anger giving me courage. “I was forced to live far from my father and my people! I thought it was a legend, a fantasy of superstitious gypsies. But no. That wolf he saw, with blood and death, was real. You appeared in his visions!”
“It wasn't a vision. I went to your village twenty-two years ago. I saw him.”
“What?” I retreated further, almost to the point of falling off the mattress. My breathing uneven, the confusion growing. “Why?”
Viktor didn't answer, just stared fixedly at me. Serious.
“I can't understand. Did you go to threaten my father? Did you want to kill me while I was still in my mother's womb?”
“You're here in my bed, very much alive.”
“But... then...”
“I just felt like going there. And now, I felt like going back. You seem to be important to a lot of people. Especially to Konrad.”
“He wants to save me.”
“Interesting. First he splits your head open on a tree, now he wants you back.”
“I know it was you.”
Viktor got irritated, letting out a low growl that scared me. I slipped and fell on my bottom on the floor, frightened. I lay back down, my heart racing, fear and anger fighting inside me. He remained impassive.
“What do you know about Konrad?” he asked, somewhat threateningly. “Any secret?”
“No.”
“Are you his girlfriend?”
“I am. And he's going to get me out of here!”
“Go to sleep, damn it! I'm tired of this conversation that's going nowhere.”
He turned his back to me, facing the other side. I didn't move, disturbed, not expecting that. Was that it? He wouldn't assault me or take me by force?
I stared at his broad shoulders, the muscles between the shadows and the silvery light coming from outside. His disheveled hair in its rich shade of brown.
He was going to sleep?
I didn't close my eyes, paralyzed in my corner, waiting for a sudden attack. Nothing. Minutes dragged by. Everything quiet.
I wanted to ask many questions, but I was afraid of awakening his beast. So I just waited, not knowing if he was sleeping or attentive to me.
He was so powerful that it didn't even matter if I attacked him there. I could break a glass and slash his neck. Look for where the door key was. Cause some problem. Of course, none of that would affect the creature! According to the legends, they only died with silver in the heart. Maybe not even that!
I weighed all the possibilities, rethought everything that had happened since I met him, but I reached no conclusion. My only chance was to observe everything around me, look for a way out, and escape.
As I devised plans and strategies, I was overcome by exhaustion and fell asleep.