Darkness Rising

CHAPTER [ 21 ] LESSON TWO

He was here.

Lenore knew the moment she woke up that morning. Kaiser had returned to the manor. The bond had a chokehold on her heart, those roots digging in a bit deeper. She reached up and clutched at her tank top, trying to ignore the wild, fluttering frenzy in the pit of her stomach.

Her muscles tensed with anticipation. It was alarming that her body was prepared for her to fling herself from the bed and race down the stairs to his side. And a part of her wanted to do that. Lenore bit into her cheek, tightening her grip on her shirt. Her reaction to his presence was concerning. She couldn't decipher if it was of her own making or the bond between them. 

The over stimulation of the bond was hard to ignore. But Lenore didn't intend to be controlled by it. She would deny and defy its urges as long as she could. Breathing deep, trying to settle her nerves; her gaze focused on the chair that Kaiser sat in a day earlier and the clothes she wore yesterday a crumpled pile on the cushion. In the pocket of her sweats was the letter her mother wrote. It burned in her mind. Her mother intended to turn the offering over to another person, someone she was certain had no ties to the gods.

Questions swirled but the two prominent ones were: Why did her mother steal the offering? And why was she trying to hide it far from the family's grasp?

There was a lot that she didn't know. Too much, in fact. With a heavy sigh, Lenore threw back her blankets and rose from the bed. Kaiser had the answers to these questions, she knew it deep in her core. But he wasn't going to share them.

She could hear him in her head already, you know what you need too. Which translated in Kaiser speak to: you know as much as I think you should.

And maybe he was right in not sharing with her. Perhaps not knowing was better. Lenore never sought to stick her nose where it didn't belong, but this was an exception. This was something she was deeply entrenched in and was from the beginning—long before Kaiser showed up.  

With hollow confidence, Lenore dressed herself and headed down to join the others. Her gaze gravitated to Kaiser the moment she stepped into the dining room. It was involuntary, much like the relief that rolled through her at the sight of him. She chided herself for the loss of control, tearing her eyes from him—hands tightening into fists at her side. 

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Camila greeted with a playful wink.

"Morning."

Emilio and Patrick were stuffing their faces with food that, no doubt, Camila prepared. She eyed the empty seat near Kaiser and debated about turning back around and returning to bed. He caught her gaze, leaning forward to grab a steaming mug. The subtle smirk that teased his lips before he took a sip was enough to tie her stomach into knots. It wasn't fair that he should be so good looking on top of everything else.

"Are you going to join us?" His question grated on her nerves.

Lenore didn't reply but she stomped over to the empty seat and plopped down. She flinched at his soft rumbling laughter that filled the room. He was enjoying himself too much to her liking and at her expense, as well. She glowered at him as she grabbed a piece of toast and buttered it.

"Did you find anything useful for me?"

"An empty box—"

"A letter talking about the offering," Camila replied at the same time as Lenore.

Lenore tensed. She planned to use that to pry information from Kaiser but Camila offered it up without a second thought. His gaze burned into the side of her face but she focused on her toast, taking a large bite to keep from saying anything.