SWNOVELS Queens and Monsters: Chapter 9
“Wine?” he asked as he stared at the key in my hands.
“I’d love some.”
He grabbed another glass and poured some dark red liquid into it. “I take it the bookworms introduced you to the library.”
I stepped toward the table, wary of the unease coming off Dray. He came here to escape. Whether it was the party or me, I was intruding. “They did. It’s a beautiful space.” I tucked the key into my jeans pocket and picked up the glass of wine. “How did you get down here?”
He pointed to another door on the other side of the space. “Stairs go up to the pantry in the kitchen.”
That explained why there was food stored down here. “The wine is good.”
“I opened an expensive one.”
“That bad of a day?” I didn’t dare look at him.
“Just overwhelming.” I felt his eyes on me during the pause between sentences. The heavy, tortured gaze.
Torture I was causing.
“I love my family, but I can only take so much of their constant conversations before I need a break.”
He didn’t mention needing some space from me, but it was implied. I examined the room. There were hundreds of bottles of wine, a few shelves with different kinds of liquor, garlic, onions, potatoes, and more. And then my gaze fell on the other wall.
It hadn’t occurred to me until just then that somewhere on this property there’d be a place where swords and armor were kept. High on the wall, on full display, was a large, ornate sword.
“That’s Dreadnought, my family’s sword from the dark times.”
“What are the dark times?” A large green stone was embedded into the ornate silver, just above the dark wood of the hilt. The blade itself was a dark metal I couldn’t identify.
“Thousands of years ago our world and another were at war. War is dark so I assume that’s why we call it that.”
I stepped closer so I could get a better look at the armor. One set in particular seemed to be made of the same metal. “What other world? Like aliens?”
While I moved from piece to piece, Dray stayed locked in place at the table. “No. I mean our metaphysical world and another. A world with ghosts and dragons, demons and angels.”
I shuddered to think those stories were true as well. “What happened?” I turned to see if Dray’s expression had any clues, but his eyes were unfocused, his mind somewhere else entirely.
“There’s always a little overlap where sometimes you think you see or hear something, but when you look again, it’s gone. There are special places where our worlds are so close you can step through.”
“Have you stepped through?”
He shook his head slowly. “No one has since the dark times. We pushed them back and sealed the doors forever.” Pain washed over his face.
There was more to this story.
“Why does everyone keep the armor? Why did my grandfather’s guards wear it?”
He blinked and brought his focus back to this room, to his wine. He took a sip and let out a slow breath. “Like I said before, we’re a species that is very tied to our traditions and rules. Sometimes that’s a good thing. It means everyone follows the same code. But it also means sometimes we’re stuck in the past. All rituals and holidays, we put the armor on. Any meetings between the houses, the armor goes on. The House of Axl is the most traditional. They wield the past over the other houses as a reminder we aren’t human and we need peace to survive.”
I went back to Dreadnought. “What is this metal?”
“The stone is a dragon’s egg and the metal is said to have been forged in the fires of hell. Our family history calls the metal Izi. It means fire in Sumerian.”
Just as I felt walking down the stairs, every minute I seemed like I was drifting further and further from everything I thought I knew. “Dragons?”
He chuckled. “Of everything I said, that’s what you picked out?”
I drifted back to the table and set my wine down. “It’s the funnest?” I didn’t want to tackle the idea there were really ghosts, demons, and angels.
“Dragons are terrifying,” he said, his voice low. “According to the histories.”
There was something off about that statement. “So these doors are closed and we’re all safe here?”
His focus changed again and his eye twitched. “That is certainly the hope, but nothing is guaranteed in this life.” His hand slid across the table to mine, moving the tips of his fingers over mine.
The barest of touches and yet I felt it everywhere. I had no choice but to close my eyes and take a moment to recover.
“There is so much you don’t know about me, Rhysa.” His voice cracked a little at the end. “You should get to know me before you make choices you might end up regretting.”
That sounded like a totally reasonable course of action. And I hated it completely. “What won’t I like?”
Our gazes locked again. “Who I really am.”
I had no idea what he meant by that. I knew he was insinuating something, trying to tell me without actually saying, hoping he could scare me off, but it was all lost on me. “Maybe you won’t like who I really am.”
He covered my whole hand with his and ran his thumb over my skin. “You’re like a magnet. I can’t help myself. No matter how hard I fight it, I end up losing. I get closer, I touch you, I want more.”
I felt the same way.
But I hated how much it hurt him. The last thing I wanted was to force myself on him against his true will, all because I couldn’t control my natural instinct to be with him.
“I’m tired. I should go to bed. It’s been a long day.”
He didn’t move his hand. It was as if he couldn’t. So, even though it took every ounce of willpower I possessed, I slipped my hand out from under his. “Good night.”
“Good night, Rhysa,” he gritted out.
I somehow managed to get through the door and up the stairs. I slipped the key back on its hook and closed the bookcase. I skirted the stragglers remaining to drink and socialize.
The moment I slipped into the soft bed exhaustion hit me. As I drifted off to sleep I thought of the gorgeous armor, of Dreadnought, and of how Dray said dragons were terrifying like he knew from experience.