87
AURORA
Lucian’s father is here?
The way Orion tenses like a board is enough to tell me that this isn’t a good thing. I’ve never met him, but what little I’ve picked up about his bloody reign from Cassian—and the horror stories from my mother, including the deaths of my own family—is enough to bring a surge of worry pouring to the forefront of my mind.
“He’ll want to meet you,” Orion says, pressing one hand to the small of my back as we hurry toward the study. “He always wants to meet everyone.”
“Why?”
“Fuck knows. Power trip. He’ll want to see Selene too.”
Despite the hesitation in my chest, there’s worry in Orion’s eyes which is enough to keep me from asking too many questions. Maybe he’s just a kindly grandfather looking to see how well his granddaughter is doing, and I have no intention of getting in the way of that. After all, even the cruelest people hold warmth in their hearts for their families, right?
“Selene?” I call, hurrying into the study. She looks up from her books with a smile, and Orion whisks the tutor away so fast that I don’t even get a chance to say hi.
“Aurora!” Selene thrusts a sheet toward me, but I glimpse only a few scribbles before I set it down.
“Selene, your grandfather is here so we have to go see him, okay?”
“Grandpa!” Her adorable face lights up immediately and the warmth brimming in her eyes is surprisingly soothing. If she’s excited to see him then he can’t be that bad, can he? Selene pulls away from me and runs a short distance to where her favorite books are stored on the lower shelves, then returns with a small notebook in hand.
“What’s this?”
“Daddy wrote this.” She pries it open with her tongue sticking out. “He wrote some rules because Grandpa is old and we have to be careful.”
“Careful?” Peering over her shoulder, the pages are indeed filled with neat handwriting stating several rules about how to act. Mostly, it’s about being careful and patient with questions and giving Grandpa time to respond because he suffers from Parkinson’s disease, which affects his speech and movement.
The man certainly doesn’t seem much like a threat anymore.
“Do you need to read through these?” I ask.
Selene chuckles and gives me the notebook. “No silly. I know the rules. You don’t.”
“Oh.” I huff out a small laugh. Selene is too smart for her own good sometimes.
“Aurora?” Orion comes running back into the room, and for the first time since we met, he looks visibly stressed. “Is she ready?”
“Yes. Is everything okay?” Running my eyes over him, he’s changed his outfit entirely and looks much smarter than he did when we left the gym.
“Vincent acting like he runs the place so nothing new there,” Orion scoffs under his breath. “Typical that he shows up when Lucian isn’t here.”
“What about Cassian?” I ask.
“He’s hidden in the conservatory and no one will speak of him.”
No one? I glance down at Selene, and she beams up at me. Then an idea strikes, and I crouch down to her level.
“Sweetie?”
She nods.
“We’re going to be playing a huge game of hide-and-seek, okay? To help your Grandpa have fun here and Cassian is hiding first, so you can’t tell anyone about him or where he is. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
Selene beams at me and nods so hard that her pigtails bounce. “Yes! What do we get if we win?”
“A surprise,” I tease with a wide smile. Selene rocks up onto her toes and laughs.
“Okay!”
Straightening up, I turn to Orion. “Does Lucian know?”
“I called him, but he’s too far away to do anything to help us. We just have to host him and keep his nose out of anything.” Orion leads the way out of the study. “He has a terrible habit of trying to overthrow his son every chance he gets as if he’s in any condition to lead.”
I bite back a snort of dry amusement. The bad luck keeps coming it seems.
“Oh, one more thing.” Orion pauses outside the study and faces me. “Try not to take what he says personally.”
Before I can ask for clarification, the door is suddenly jerked open and a tall man with a pockmarked face and twisted mouth glares at us both.
I flash him an awkward smile and tighten my hand slightly on Selene’s fist as we step inside.
Vincent sits by the fire, wrapped in a thick woolen blanket. His thinning gray hair is slicked backward and his weathered face twists slightly against the glare of the flames. Hearing our steps, he turns toward us and lifts one shaking hand to his chin to wipe away some drool. His lower lip trembles while thick, wire brows pull low over his surprisingly sharp eyes.
“I didn’t ask for the dogs,” he remarks in a haggard, wispy voice when those sharp eyes land on Orion.
He doesn’t respond.
“I’m surprised there are any mongrels left, given how soft Lucian runs things.” Another jab sets a sour note in the air as Vincent’s few personal guards chuckle dryly around the room.
Again, Orion doesn’t react. He remains by the door, ever the stoic guard.
Selene, oblivious to cloaked insults, slips free of my grasp and runs up to her grandfather with a bright smile spread across her face.
“Grandpa! How are you? I’m so excited to see you! Daddy said you wouldn’t be visiting for ages, but I knew you’d be back. Are you going to stay awhile? Can we play together?”
Despite Lucian’s rules, her childish excitement gets the better of her, and she sends so many questions his way that she’s a little breathless afterward. Given her enthusiasm, I expect him to react in kind, but my heart drops despite the nerves relaxing in my stomach.
Vincent barely even looks at her. He waves one hand in her face, irritated, and a sharp noise of disgust whistles through his nose.
“Do you not teach the brat any manners? What sort of upbringing is Lucian giving her, hmm? Get away.”
Selene’s face crumples, looking utterly crestfallen and my heart breaks for her.
“I hope you’re feeling well and comfortable,” Selene recites, her large eyes flooding with tears as her voice trembles.
One of Vincent’s guards steps forward as if to reach for Selene, so I dart forward first and gently usher her away. None of them are touching her while I’m here. She clutches at my thigh and hides her face, and I make a mental note to reward her for how well she’s keeping herself together.
“You.” Vincent’s eyes land on me. “Who are you?”
His words are forceful, giving the power of a shout without the raised voice, and warmth prickles down my spine.
“My name is Aurora. Aurora Blackwood. I’m the nanny.”
“Oh,” he scoffs and his teeth shakily clack together. “Right. The nanny and the whore. Do they pay you extra? I’ve always wondered if that’s extra or do they just include it in your pay?”
My mouth falls open and my cheeks flare hot as if I’ve just been slapped. Despite my shock, I slide one hand over Selene’s ear to try and prevent her from hearing such foulness.
“Excuse me?” I gasp, managing to claw my way through the shock.
“I’d heard about my son fucking the help, in the kitchen no less, but I honestly expect so little from him now that it’s hardly a surprise.” Vincent’s cold gaze is unwavering. “But I didn’t expect him to have such poor taste. It’s one thing being eager to get your dick wet, but I would have thought he would have some standards that keep his dick in his pants.”
My whole body is on fire, burning up with shame and humiliation. So, Vincent has someone here giving him information, does he? Not only that but he knows intimate information and any hope I have of making a good impression—or a forgetful one—melts away in the shame burning across my skin.
“I don’t know what you’ve heard,” I say, struggling to keep my voice steady. Even the tips of my ears ignite. “But your son does wonderful things. He is a good and caring man and you should have more respect for him while being under his roof. His decisions are his own.”
Vincent’s wiry brow lifts, anger flashing in those clear eyes.
“And you should be ashamed of yourself.” I finish as strong as I started despite my bones turning to jelly.
“Me?” Vincent’s laugh is like the crack of a whip. “Why?”
“You should know better than to talk in such a foul manner in front of a child, never mind talking down about a father in front of his daughter.”
I want to pass out. I want the ground to open up and swallow me whole so I can escape this situation, but my mouth has a mind of its own and it just runs. The words pour, digging me a deeper and deeper grave with this dangerous man but every word is the truth.
And whether Lucian fucks me or not should have no bearing on him as a leader.
“You should be more careful, my dear.” Vincent smiles wider, revealing a few gaps in his yellowing teeth. “The walls here have ears, so you better watch yourself. My son may be blinded but I see it as clear as day.”
I can’t look away. I’m trapped in his gaze and the longer we stare at one another, the more air seems to get sucked out of the room. My heart pounds. The only thing keeping me steadfast is Selene clinging to my leg.
“I can take care of myself.” And Vincent certainly doesn’t see as much as he claims to considering Cassian.
“Perhaps,” he sneers, lifting one frail hand to point at me. “But mark my words, no common whore is going to trap my son or threaten my fortune. I’ll make sure of it!”
