Verum (The Nocte Trilogy 2)

Losing my brother.

But that already happened, and I survived, and I’m still here.

But the fear still owns me, because I can’t let him go.

“I’m fine,” I tell him confidently. Because it was just a dream.

Just a dream. The worst already happened.

He nods and starts to get up, but I tug at his hand. “Stay.”

Because maybe it was a dream, but it was so real.

There is understanding in my brother’s eyes and he curls up next to me without a word. There are no words needed, just his soothing presence. Real or not, he calms me and I’m not ready to give that up.

It’s not long before Finn’s breathing is soft and even and I know I’ve imagined him into sleep.

I watch him, the way his chest pulls deep breaths, the way his mouth is slack. The way he’s my other half and I have no idea what I’ll do without him, even though I know I have to try.

My chest is still aching from the dream, my heart still skipping beats. I’ve never had such a real nightmare before. It rattled me to my core.

It made me never want to sleep again, for fear of having the same dream again.

So I climb from my bed and roam the halls of Whitley.

Something about this house disturbs me. It’s as though there is darkness in its heart, as though it has a soul, and it wants to absorb mine. I realize just how crazy my thoughts are, and I fight to suppress them.

Treading lightly, I quietly pad over the marble until I get to the massive glass doors of the library.

I only hesitate a moment before I open them and head outside.

I don’t know why.

I just know that I need some air. I need to be away from the pressing confines of the house. Something in here stifles me.

It’s not until I’m halfway down the path to the stables that I realize I’m barefoot. I’d walked from the house without any shoes.

What kind of lunatic am I?

I’m just turning to go back to the house when two headlights appear down the driveway. They shine into me, illuminating me through my nightgown, exposing my every line and curve. I wrap my arms around my waist, attempting to conceal myself in vain. But the car, a dark Porsche, doesn’t stop. It rolls past me toward the garage, and as it passes, Dare’s dark eyes stare at me through the driver’s window.

It must be 3 am and he’s only just now getting home?

Where in the world has he been?

But with a sinking heart, I know that it’s not my business, because I told him I wanted space. Because he’s an adult and he can come and go as he pleases and this is what I wanted.

It starts to rain so I pick up the pace, but it’s a wasted effort. By the time I make it to the gardens, it’s pouring, and I have to stop in a gazebo to wait it out. The wet winds blow across the moors, howling in a hauntingly chilling moan, and chills run up and down

my spine.

I’d thought living in a funeral home was creepy. This estate makes that seem like child’s play.

Shivering, I huddle under the roof, the wind cutting through my wet nightgown.

What was I thinking coming out here?

“You know, most people wear shoes. And clothes.”