“The call”“What call?”Amazed by her sudden forgetfulness, Vincent stared at Jane in disbelief with his lips slightly parted. “Are you for real?”“Ohh, Samuel”All that talk about Elizabeth had made Jane to suddenly forget what they were initially supposed to do a short while ago.“Why are you staring at me like that?”“You forget your phone every single day yet I don’t react that way…..Jeez”Vincent wanted to say something to defend himself but he held back instead, it was only going to prolong the issue further and Vincent wasn’t prepared to take that route at the moment.And he certainly wasn’t prepared for another round of Jane’s banters, at least not until a few issues had been resolved with Samuel and Elizabeth.Jane went ahead to copy Samuel's number from the text that Vincent had sent her before proceeding to paste it on her dialer.One tap away from hitting the call button, she paused
The dimming of the sun and the slow darkening of the day was obvious enough to announce the gradual approach of the evening to anyone who looked up in the sky.Due to the presence of ashy looking clouds in the sky, she could already tell there was a slight tendency it might rain that day.Or maybe it was just an exaggerated indication of the evening’s approach.Still sitting on the swing bench in the garden with her left ear occupied by an active earbud, she had a book in her hand.The book she had sat there reading all morning.A soft cold wind blew Jane and sent chilly shivers down her spine.Because of this, the hairs on her arms began to stand, causing goosebumps to appear all over her body.This gave her a tingling sensation as she shivered and began rubbing both her arms with her palms, trying to warm up a little.It was almost as if nature was suspending her activity on the bench, sending her back into th
Jane sat in front of her large, door-sized window staring into oblivion when her moment of silence was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.The moment she heard this knock on the door, she discarded her thoughts, diverting her attention towards the knock coming from her door.“Who could that possibly be?“ She wondered to herself as she stayed put without moving an inch, thinking that the person would probably assume that she was asleep and eventually go away.For some reason, she was just not in the mood that evening.It felt as though her emotions were playing out in unison with the weather.Dark, cloudy, foggy…… She just wanted to relax.From the rhythm of the knock, Jane figured that the person at the door could only be Vincent.There were only three people who lived in that house; herself, Marie and Vincent.Ms. Marie had already dropped off her tea and obviously had no business with her until her ne
Vincent was right about one thing, the rain wasn’t much but Jane was more than certain about the other, Samuel wouldn’t make it to the Vincenzo mansion that evening. Jane turned on her phone and set up a timer that would count down from that moment till the evening had finally passed.She shut her eyes for a while hoping to fall asleep when she suddenly began to feel a repetitive vibration.It was her phone.She was very reluctant to pick the call but at the same time, she knew that she had to.Rolling over to the other side of her bed, she reached for her bedside table and took the phone from the table.“Hello?” Jane froze as a deep male voice resounded from the other end of the phone.The evening went by very quickly and there were still no calls nor signs of Samuel.“I guess he wasn’t coming afterall” Vincent thought to himself as walked into the kitchen.Feeling a slight wave of defeat, he knew tha
As far as Vincent knew Elizabeth she was not one of a kind, rather, she was one of the kinds to stay away from.Elizabeth was shrewd, hot headed and mannerless, the direct opposite of the calm, polite Samuel.Apart from her parents and siblings, Samuel was probably the only person on earth who was blind to all of her flaws.What exactly could Elizabeth have done to Samuel that warranted him to year for her so badly.Was he doing all of this on his own accord, was she blackmailing him, or has she cast a spell on him?“I see…….So you’re willing to do anything to keep her?”“Absolutely anything“This was getting even more serious than Vincent initially pictured it to be but none of this was really Vincent’s business.He just wanted to set things right so that he wouldn’t be stuck with a feeling of guilt.Whatever the outcome might eventually turn out to be in the end was all on Samuel.Clearing his throat, Vincent took a sip out of his glass before attempting to speak, “If that’s the cas
After their heartwarming conversation Vincent and Samuel discussed for a short while.Seeing how late it was, Samuel thanked Vincent once again and finally got up to leave The Vincenzo Residence that night.“Thank you Mr. Vincenzo, I really appreciate this……..This means a lot to me”With a simple hand gesture, Vincent tried to calm down Samuel’s hidden excitement “Don’t mention Samuel, it’s fine”“You’re leaving already?”“Yes Mr, Vincenzo, I’ll have to be on my way now”“By this time?”Samuel turned his head to the left, looking at the grand modern pendulum clock that stood by a corner of the room.Vincent was right, it was already pretty late.Just about an hour and thirteen minutes to more for the clock to hit twelve in the midnight.“Stay the night, to avoid unfortunate stories that touch the heart”“Don’t worry Mr. Vincenzo, I can take care of myself…….I’ll be fine”Almost immediately, Vincent interrupted him “Samuel! I insist”“There is no guarantee that the road outside the res
His Bugatti Veyron drove through a series of beautiful and luxurious looking houses as his car headed out of his residential area, readying itself to hit the road that led to the highway.Driving carefully in the quietness of the foggy looking highway, he had all his attention fixed on the road and nothing else but the road.Due to how early it was, there were only a few cars plying the road at that time of the day.It was still quite early, just 8:00 am at the time and a lot of people that reside close to that area had barely woken up by then.Most student’s were already either at school or on their way to their various schools.Most successful businessmen were still in bed at that time, men like Vincent who barely had anything important to do during the week.The drive to Vincent’s chosen branch of the consortium was a long one and a boring one at that.Usually, he would comfortably sit in the back of the car and keep himself busy with his phone while Vincent drove him wherever he w
This was an unbelievable reality.Richard's presence reminded Vincent of everything that had ever transpired between the both of them in the past.How Richard used to treat him, humiliating him and pushing him around like a worthless piece of trash.How he almost broke his limbs with the sole intention of rendering him cripple, how he stole Elizabeth from him, and many more that he could barely even remember.Yes, Richard had committed many atrocities against Vincent both personal and also illegal.If only Vincent had the means back then, even Richard's former power and wealth wouldn't have been able to save him from the wrath of the law, for all of his actions were generally considered outrageous and inhuman. Maybe fate wanted things to go that way. Maybe the table wouldn't have turned on Richard this badly.Whenever he remembered any of these terrible memories, Vincent would feel a wave of anger wash over him.He would grit his teeth and squeeze his palms into a tight fist, feelin
Closing her eyes, Irene unspooled her magic into a gentle, probing thread, and laid a palm on that splattered star atop his spine.The cold slammed into her, spikes of it firing through her blood and bones.Irene reeled back as if she’d been given a physical blow.Cold and dark and anger and agony—She clenched her jaw, fighting past this echo in the bone, sending that thread-thin probe of power a little farther into the dark.The pain would have been unbearable when it hit him.Irene pushed back against the cold—the cold and the lack and the oily, unworldly wrongness of it.No magic of this world, some part of her whispered. Nothing that was natural or good. Nothing she knew, nothing she had ever dealt with.Her magic screamed to draw back that probe, move away—“Irene .” His words were far away while the wind and blackness and emptiness of it roared around her—And then that echo of nothingness … it seemed to awaken.Cold filled her, burned along her limbs, creeping wider, encirc
“Will it be hours every day that you work on him?” Nesryn’s words were steady, almost flat, and yet … The woman was not a creature who took well to a cage. Even a gilded one such as this.“I would recommend,” Irene said to Nesryn over a shoulder, “that if you have other duties or tasks to attend to, Captain, these hours would be a good time for that. I shall send word if you are needed.”“What about moving him around?”The lord’s eyes flashed at that.And though Irene was predisposed to chuck them both to the ruks, she noted the lord’s simmering outrage and self-loathing at the words and found herself saying, “I can handle most of it, but I believe Lord Westfall is more than capable of transporting himself.”Something like wary gratitude shot across his face. But he just said to Nesryn, “And I can ask my own damn questions.”Guilt flashed across Nesryn’s face, even as she stiffened. But she nodded, biting her lip, before she murmured to Vincent , “I had some invitations yesterday.”
Vincent shot Irene back an equally displeased look the moment Kashin paused to sip his wine, and then launched question after question to the prince regarding his life. Helpful information, he realized, about their army.He was not the only one who realized it. Arghun cut in while his brother was midsentence about the forges they had constructed near their northern climes, “Let us not discuss business at dinner, brother.”Kashin shut his mouth, ever the trained soldier.And somehow Vincent knew—that fast—that Kashin was not being considered for the throne. Not when he obeyed his eldest brother like any common warrior. He seemed decent, though. A better alternative than the sneering, aloof Arghun, or the wolflike Hasar.It did not entirely explain Irene ’s utter need to distance herself from Kashin. Not that it was any of his business, or of any interest to him. Certainly not when Irene ’s mouth tightened if she so much as turned her head in Vincent ’s direction.He might have calle
Vincent waited until Nesryn had been gone for a good thirty minutes before he summoned Kadja. She’d been waiting in the exterior hallway and slipped inside his suite mere moments after he’d called her name. Lingering in the foyer, he watched the serving girl approach, her steps light and swift, her eyes downcast as she awaited his order.“I have a favor to ask you,” he said slowly and clearly, cursing himself for not learning Halha during the years Levi had studied it.A dip of the chin was her only answer.“I need you to go down to the docks, to wherever information comes in, to see if there’s any news about the attack on Rifthold.” Kadja had been in the throne room yesterday—she’d undoubtedly heard about it. And he’d debated asking Nesryn to do some searching while she was out, but if the news was grimhe didn’t want her learning it alone. Bearing it alone, all the way back up to the palace. “Do you think you could do that?”Kadja lifted her eyes at last, though she kept her head
She’d known his age, but Irene had still not expected the former captain to look so … young.She hadn’t done the math until she’d walked into that room and seen his handsome face, a mix of caution and hope written across the hardened, broad features.It was that hope that had made her see red. Had made her ache to give him a matching scar to the slender one slicing across his cheek.She’d been unprofessional in the most horrific sense. Never—never had she been so rude and unkind toward any of her patients.Mercifully, Hasar had arrived, cooling her head slightly. But touching the man, thinking of ways to help him …She had not meant to write the list of the last four generations of Towers women. Had not meant to write her mother’s name over and over while pretending to record his information. It had not helped with the overwhelming roaring in her head.Sweating and dusty, Irene burst into Hadiza ’s office nearly an hour later, the trek from the palace through the clogged, narrow str
He tried not to flinch. Even Nesryn blinked at the frank question.“Yes,” he said tightly, fighting the heat rising in his cheeks.She looked between them, assessing. “Have you used it to completion?”He clenched his jaw. “How is that relevant?” And how had she gleaned what was between them?Irene only wrote something down.“What are you writing?” he demanded, cursing the damned chair for keeping him from storming to rip the paper out of her hands.“I’m writing a giant no.”Which she then underlined.He growled, “I suppose you’ll ask about my bathroom habits now?” “It was next on my list.”“They are unchanged,” he bit out. “Unless you need Nesryn to confirm.” Irene merely turned to Nesryn, unruffled. “Have you seen him struggle withit?”“Do not answer that,” he snarled at Nesryn.Nesryn had the good wits to sink into a chair and remain quiet.Irene rose, setting down the pen, and came around the desk. The morning sunlight caught in her hair, bouncing off her head in a corona.She
So Vincent had, half paying attention to the meal unfolding before him, half monitoring every word and glance and breath of those around him.Despite their youngest sister’s death, the heirs made the meal lively, conversation flowing, mostly in languages Vincent did not know or recognize. Such a wealth of kingdoms in that hall, represented by viziers and servants and companions—the now-youngest princess, Duva, herself wedded to a dark-haired, sad-eyed prince from a faraway land who kept close to his pregnant wifeand spoke little to anyone around him. But whenever Duva smiled softly at himVincent did not think the light that filled the prince’s face was feigned. And wondered if the man’s silence was not from reticence but perhaps not yet knowing enough of his wife’s language to keep up.Nesryn, however, had no such excuse. She’d been silent and haunted at dinner. He’d only learned that she’d bathed before it thanks to the shout and slamming door in her chambers, followed by a huff
Hadiza ’s face darkened. Not with ire, but memory. “I was once asked to heal a man who was injured while evading capture. After he had committed a crime so unspeakable … The guards told me what he’d done before I walked into his cell. They wanted him patched up so he could live to be put on trial. He’d undoubtedly be executed—they had victims willing to testify and proof aplenty. Eretia herself saw the latest victim. His last one. Gathered all the evidence she needed and stood in that court and condemned him with what she had seen.”Hadiza ’s throat bobbed. “They chained him down in that cell, and he was hurt enough that I knew … I knew I could use my combat to make the internal bleeding worse. They’d never know. He’d be dead by morning, and no one would dare question me.” She studied the vial of blue tonic. “It was the closest I have ever come to killing. I wanted to kill him for what he had done. The world would be better for it. I had my hands on his chest—I was ready to do it. Bu
Of all the rooms in the Torre Cesme, Irene Towers loved this one best.Perhaps it was because the room, located at the very pinnacle of the pale-stoned tower and its sprawling complex below, had unparalleled views of the sunset over Antica.Perhaps it was because this was the place where she’d felt the first shred of safety in nearly ten years. The place she had first looked upon the ancient woman now sitting across the paper- and book-strewn desk, and heard the words that changed everything: You are welcome here, Irene Towers.It had been over two years since then.Two years of working here, living here, in this tower and in this city of so many peoples, so many foods and caches of knowledge.It had been all she’d dreamed it would be—and she had seized every opportunity, every challenge, with both hands. Had studied and listened and practiced and saved lives, changed them, until she had climbed to the very top of her class. Until an unknown healer’s daughter from Benjamin was appr