Page 124 of Nightshade

“Yes, I suppose it is. Though, in retrospect, I was probably just looking for a connection between me and my father. I thought, maybe if I was good at it, he might be proud … wherever he was. In my world, or another.”

“There is a part of you that always believed you’d find him, then.”

The humor from before shifted to a somber gloom. “Believed is a strong word.” Smiling, I lowered my gaze and mindlessly touched the locket at my chest. “I always hoped, but … I guess I never pictured myself wrapping my arms around him and telling him how much I missed him.” The image painted inside my mind brought tears to my eyes, perhaps my emotions getting the best of me. “I’ve thought about finding him in this place, but … I don’t know what I’d do if he’d completely forgotten who I was.”

A fingertip lifted my chin, and I stared up at Jericho. “You are unforgettable, Miss Ravenshaw.” His thumb brushed over my cheek, wiping away the tear there. With his other hand still propped on the tabletop, he leaned down over me, as if to kiss me.

My heart hammered inside my chest, pounding like a wild stampede. Only a whisper of his lips across mine before he stopped himself, and brows knitted in what looked to be frustration, he pulled away.

“I’ll let you get back to your reading.”

Hands curled at his sides, he strode off, back toward the staircase, and I exhaled a held breath.

Utterly disappointed.

* * *

Not wanting to fall asleep in the library again, I brought the book back to my room. Lying in bed with it propped on my bent knees, I read by the light of the lantern, running my fingers over my lips where Jericho’s had barely touched. Much as the near kiss was a distraction, I’d become all the more engrossed in the budding friendship between the young baron and the adopted daughter of the church. The book went on to describe how he’d confided in her all the many abuses he’d suffered at the hands of his father and the bishop, and how his mother was quite ill, progressing in her sickness every day.

It was clear in the writing that Lustina had become essential to him, to the point that he’d become so smitten with the girl that he shunned every other young maiden who pined for his attention.

He wanted, dreamed only of Lustina, the girl with the stardust eyes.

At that, I paused.

The book didn’t describe them in any particular way that left me to think they were similar to my own. It was only the celestial reference that’d caught me off guard. Reminding me of my father.

A soft knock at my door had me scrambling to tuck the book away beneath the pillow beside me. Not really sure why, except that I had become so invested in the story and characters.

Aurelia slipped through the door, closing it behind her, and padded swiftly toward my bed. “I have to tell you something,” she whispered.

The urgency in her voice set my teeth on edge.

Taking a seat on the mattress beside me, she stole another glance toward the door and back. “I think … I think we are in danger here.”

“How so?”

With her hands fidgeting in her lap and the incessant bouncing of her knee, she reminded me of an addict going through withdrawals. “I heard whispers. About that room in the undercroft. And they plan to lure you to the woods and drown you there.”

Lure me to the woods and drown me?

“Room in the undercroft? You’re not making any sense, Aurelia. Who is planning to lure me?”

“The Pentacrux.”

A cold sensation brushed across the back of my neck. “Wait … Pentacrux? What do you know about them?” It was possible that she’d overheard me talking to Van Croix about it at some point. I hadn’t been all that careful about making sure no one was near. Which then made me wonder if she was using that to get me to help her escape.

“I know they are quite dangerous.”

“Is Mister Van Croix associated with them?”

“Oh, no. Not at all. He despises them.” Pupils too dilated, eyes rimmed in red, something wasn’t right about her. “Perhaps even more than we do.”

“Is anyone in this house a member of the Pentacrux?”

“Not that I know. What does it matter?”

“Where would you have encountered them?” I asked, wondering if maybe there were members of Pentacrux here in Nightshade.