Roses Wither: Into the Darkness

Chase

“We had a bit of an issue a few hours ago, while you were out.” Matthias was all amusement as he entered my office.

“Is Rose okay?” I dropped my books, not finding anything on Azazel, and looked up to my brother. “I have been around the house all morning, if Rose needed anything-”

“Oh, she’s just dandy,” He snorted, “Maybe a little pissed, but dandy.”

“What happened?” I bit out, not willing to play his game when it came to Rose.

“Fallon was so pleased to be allowed to come home, that she went to your quarters,” He began laughing, full on laughing, “Wearing nothing but a smile.”

“Fuck.” I knew that woman would be a problem, it was why I waited to bring her back in, until it was necessary.

I had just assumed that she would come in, account to her duties of tending the grounds before we opened for the season, and she would meet Rose, with no problem.

I stood from my desk, I needed to find Rose. She was talking, even joking some. I didn’t want her to recoil, we’d come so far in the past week.

“Where are you going?” Matthias continued to laugh.

“I need to punish Fallon, for entering my rooms without my consent," I told him, "Then find Rose and make certain she is okay.”

“I wouldn’t look for Rose right now, she does have her knives.” His cheerfulness didn’t dissipate, but his laughter did, “And I definitely wouldn’t meet with Fallon before Rose, once again, because Rose has her knives and Fallon’s scent on you, might set the Queen on a killing spree.”

He began to fully laugh again, "You should have seen it, whatever Fallon was thinking... If that woman could kill with her looks, poor Fallon would be dead."

“Not amusing.” I sighed deeply. That was what she did to Swanson, almost decapitated the man without even touching him.

“Fully amusing.” He snorted, “Rose was so pissed that the windows started to rattle.”

“The wind.” I nodded.

“I will say, we feel the tension between you and Rose, but none of us knew that you and the Queen were sharing a bed this entire time. We thought she was staying in your spare until she healed.”

“She seemed comfortable in my bed, Matthias. That is all.” I looked away from him, I needed to find Rose, I needed to explain. I had no intention of anyone being in my bed.

I had given him the cliff notes on what had been done to her, he only knew of her hair being cut and that she had been abused, but I felt the need to tell him now.

“Azazel had the doctor that helped birth her." I told him, "He had the man run experiments on her, starting with cutting her hair, then her markings. He drowned her, burned her, they beat her, drained her blood and three of Azazel’s men raped her right before I arrived.” I finally told him, "One being Swanson. The man that is held at her father's estate."

“Those bastards!” He shouted, his new found anger evident, “I knew something was very wrong. She has not been her normal self.”

“I killed two of them, the other one was sent to her father before she took her revenge and the glass caved in, from the winds she created. The shards severed my neck with the same accuracy as her throwing knives.”

“That was when you fell.”

I swallowed hard, “I saw the pain in her eyes, I saw her anger and the blood lust. I know I should have been there sooner.”

“We need to find Azazel, so this doesn’t happen again.”

“Do you think I do not know that?!” I hissed, “He is after me, Matthias! He used her to get to me, and it was well planned in advance. I need to question the remaining guard.”

“The one that raped her?!” He glared at me as he shouted, "He should be dead!"

“I need to find out what he knows,” I told him, "Once I know why Azazel is after me, I can track him and kill him."

"He could come after Emie next." Matthias whispered.

"We will stop him before it goes there." I left him with my final word and found Rose.

She was in the sparing area we had outside, throwing her knives into a wooden dummy, with striking accuracy.

She didn’t turn to look at me. Although with our acute awareness of each other, I knew she felt me.

“I’m glad you’re back to practicing.” I crouched and leaned on the cement pillar of the gazebo we used for sparing. Our spars never got bloody and didn’t need to be done in a stone room, like in her father's home.

“Did you eat today?” I looked at the sandwich on her plate, already knowing the answer.

No doubt, she had been out here for a while and someone had brought her the food, but she hadn’t touched it.

“Not hungry.” She shrugged, not looking at me, then continued with her knives.

“I know what happened.” I told her, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Nope.” She threw one at once, that landed right in the dummy’s jugular.

“Who told you?” She asked, picking up another.

“Matthias. He seems to think it’s funny.” I closed my eyes in exhaustion.

“He would.” Another one landed in the dummy’s forehead, “Especially since she was naked and I was shirtless in your room.”

"Our room." I corrected her, "I will talk to her. It won’t happen again.”

“Mmm...” She gave me a once over, and didn’t say anything else, but I could see in her eyes what she was thinking.

“It’s been months since I utilized her, and I never went looking for women. They came to me.”

“It’s none of my business.” She looked out onto the landscape around her and grabbed two more knives, one in each hand. Each went to where each eye would be.

She was so devastatingly beautiful that it broke my heart to see her like this and to know that she was now thinking of me with another woman. Especially one as shallow and self centered as Fallen.

Sure, the woman had pleased me for a spell, but that was it. She was nothing more than an acquaintance with good timing. Well, before Rose.

“What is on your agenda today?” I tried to change the subject.

“Finding a new room until I return to my father’s.” She shrugged, not turning back to me, picking up two more knives, these went to the wrists.

“Why?” I watched as she picked up two more. How many did she have?

“Because I don’t want to see any other naked conquests of your’s.” When she threw those, they landed in the crotch, almost in the shape of a cross.

“Shit.” I mumbled.

“Truth be told, I’ve seen a twiddle about you.” The lightest of smiles touched her features, almost like a wisp, before sinking two more knives into the knees, “Apparently you are quite the ladies man.”

That little teasing twinkle that I’ve seen again recently, touched her features.

“No.” I shook my head, “They are there because they want to satisfy my need. I do not take them out, I do not introduce them to people and they know from the beginning that there will be nothing more. I am not a ladies man.”

“Taking the soldier’s approach?” She began to nod now, and her smile grew, “The big bad warrior, coming off the field ready for a tumble in the hay.”

“Are you serious?” I cocked a brow at her.

“Were you serious with her?!” She threw back at me, flailing the knives in her hands around.

“Are you jealous?” my brow furrowed, "You are everything to me. How can you be jealous?"

“I'm not,” She shrugged, “Her tits were too small.”

“True.” I gave a lithe smile, “So, where do we go from here? Do you want to return home?”

“I’m not ready.” She whined.

“You can take my room, I will take my guest suite.”

She was silent for a moment, then she spoke again, almost cautiously.

“That bed is huge, you know.”

“I am a big man.” I gave a nod.

“Apparently Fallen thinks so too.” She mumbled, then went on, “Tell me, Chase; How many women have fit in that bed with you? At once? Because, in her memory, I counted three.”

My lips went tight as my mouth and throat drained of all saliva, “Why does it matter?”

“Because I can’t hear your thoughts.” She teared up, looked out to the lake again, “I can’t see your sins, and I don’t know what kind of man you are. I don't know if any of this is real and it's eating at me.”

"You are everything to me." I told her, "You are my light. I saw nothing before you. How could you think that my feelings aren't real?"

"Because, I can put two and two together." She gaped at me.

"That makes no sense." I ground out.

"You don't let me in." She she threw the two knives she now held and they landed in the heart.

“Are we changing the sleeping arrangements?” I asked with a tight lip. I was not going to share my past, my history with her. She would turn away from me.

“No.” Her tone was curt.