Page 12 of Night Fall
“I hope that one day you will be able to trust me and tell me what happened to you.”
Mya shook her head and grabbed her brother’s arm. “It is not that I do not trust you. I just do not want—”
“I understand,” he said, but Mya saw the hurt in his eyes, as if he had failed her in some way.
“Gregori, I trust you. I swear I do!”
“Perhaps you do in some things, but you do not trust me to take the correct actions. Maybe it is because you know me, and maybe you are correct. Maybe you are trying to protect me the same way I have tried to protect you. Still, without the knowledge of what you have suffered, I cannot attempt to assist you with your pain. I have created a space between us in which you do not feel that you can come to me.”
He leveled her with his gaze. “I know that is why you did not ask me of Erik’s whereabouts when you knew I would know the answer.”
If it was possible Mya would have made herself as small as a mouse and scurried away from that gaze, because her brother was correct. She did not trust him, but it was not because he had done anything to her. She realized now that it was because she did not trust herself, and as such could not trust others completely.
“I hope that one day that will change,” Gregori said. He squeezed her hand and patted it gently before lowering it to her lap. Then his voice grew firmer, although tinged with a sliver of sadness. “At the southeast edge of the property lies a large oak tree wrapped in ivy. It is near a large field of clover. Do you know it?”
Mya knew by his voice that their conversation was coming to a close, so she nodded.
“Good. Cross the clover field into the woods. Continue through the woods until you hear a river. Make sure to keep it on your right. From there you will see a cabin. That is where Erik is staying.”
Gregori watched her, waiting, and she gave a single nod of understanding.
“Settle whatever this is between the two of you. Once you have,” he said, his voice softening, “come and talk to me. Can you do that for me, little sister?”
“Of course,” she murmured.
Gregori dropped a kiss on her forehead and tucked a wiry strand of hair behind her ear. “Go at night. If I do not see that you have returned by the morning, I will go and find you. Please, whatever you do, return. I do not want to have to chase after you and find you both … indecent.”
“Gregori!” she objected, but he was already walking away, his laugh echoing down the hall at her blush.
FIVE
The cabin was well hidden in the forest, under a deep canopy of trees and surrounded by brush. Ivy and vines grew along its sides, as if the forest was trying to reclaim it. If it were not for her enhanced senses and her brother’s instructions, Mya would have missed it entirely.
When she had first set out for the cabin, Mya wondered what she might find, debating whether the cabin might be decrepit and cold. As soon as she saw it, she felt a rush of admiration for Erik’s skill. The cabin might appear abandoned to others, but Mya knew better. It was lush and wild. It was alive. It was clear that Erik loved this place and took great care of it, and Mya felt a sense of honor in knowing its location.
She walked up the steps and paused at the door. Mya could not smell Erik in the cabin or the surrounding area, which meant there was a possibility he had laid a trap at the door to ensure no one entered while he was away. Still, she had to try. She was a vampire and could heal quickly should anything happen, and she was certain that he would come to her aid immediately if she triggered anything that could hurt her.
She tried the door and found it unlocked, so she opened it slowly. Relief washed over her when nothing exploded or hurled itself at her face. Surveying the room, Mya found a hearth, bed, basin, wooden storage chest, a small table, lantern, and a chair. Several of the furnishings appeared handmade. Had he built and furnished this place himself? How often did he use it as a quiet retreat? Was this why he always smelled of the forest?
Mya mulled over those questions, realizing she had far too many now, and decided to light the lantern while she sat and waited for Erik to return.
As time went by, her emotions grew, but none more so than the nervousness at Erik’s reaction to seeing her. She was concerned that perhaps he had not only stayed away due to complications with protecting her, but that he may have been avoiding her as well. Yes, they had crossed a line neither of them could return from, but Erik had always sought her out in the past. Still, what if he regretted everything and that was why he had stayed away, because he did not know how to communicate that to her?
She shook her head. Something in her screamed that was not the reason. But then what else could be the cause? Mya was so inexperienced and unprepared for this situation, and it frustrated her. She gripped her gown, nails biting into the material, and decided it did not matter what the reason was. She would wait here for as long as it took to get the answers to her questions, and she would not give up until she did.
She had spent the past five days rationalizing Erik’s actions and trying to understand everything that had happened, but it was all too much too soon. As she sat in the light of the lantern, Mya thought of her life and her choices. She analyzed what she was proud of and pictured what she hoped to achieve. She thought of her brother, of how much she loved and adored him and of the weight on his shoulders. She wondered if her cousin had the same weight or if he had been spared some of the responsibility by being the youngest between the three of them.
Then her thoughts turned to Erik, of how much he must have gone through to create the life he had. There was much she did not know about him, but that thought did not diminish her feelings toward him. In fact, it strengthened them. But just as she felt wonderment toward Erik, she felt guilty for not already having the answers to the secrets he kept.
She wanted to know those secrets, but had she ever truly asked? Mya reasoned that she could not ask what she did not know, but that was not entirely true. The truth was, as foolish as it may be, she was jealous of the years she had not known Erik. Those years had helped to make him into the man he was today, the man she loved completely, and yet she was jealous of the influences that had created that man, of the time other beings—both immortal and human—had spent with him, of those he may have cared for or even loved before her.
It was selfish and stupid, but it was how she felt nonetheless. She had to acknowledge those feelings honestly. She wanted to know Erik’s secrets, his thoughts, his past, because she wanted to understand him and to know him in all ways.
As she looked around the cabin, taking in its simplicity, she wondered if Erik felt the same lack of balance she did. They lived in something akin to a castle, and yet he had a cabin hidden away from prying eyes. Did he crave the separation from the lies that embroidered their lives in the same way she did?
A soft click brought her focus back to the room. It was a sound no animal or insect could make, and her breath stalled in her chest. A moment later the door opened, and there Erik stood like a shadow, a creature of the night.
He did not move when he saw her, but she could feel his eyes on her even as he refused to meet her own. Then he entered the cabin, closed the door behind him and walked past her as if she did not exist.
