Chapter 21

ROSE

I woke up to the sound of Eleanor’s padding feet. Upstairs, I heard her in the kitchen, struggling with the fridge.

My eyes flew open, and for a second, I didn’t know where I was. My new room was very different from the one at the cathedral.

It was larger, with a marble floor, painted walls with hanging paintings. There were two wardrobes and a large deck with a laptop resting on it.

It had a private bathroom with a glass door, and one of the walls was covered in full bookshelves.

Demetrius and I lay in the center of the room in a king-size bed. He was still asleep, so I slipped out of bed silently and wrapped a silk kimono around my body.

I slipped out of the room and entered a large living room with a dangling chandelier not a foot from the top of my head. It was empty.

I heard the twins fast asleep in the room across from mine, and Aric was reading, the pages filling quickly.

“You going to Eleanor?” his voice hummed through the closed door.

“Yeah, the sun’s down,” I replied, breathing in the cool air.

“I’ll be up soon,” he answered, turning another page.

I smiled slightly and moved out of the room and into a short corridor. At the end was a magnificently large room with a large fireplace where an ancient cell had been.

On the wall, I could see the small lines of a prisoner counting his days locked up.

I dug my toes into the thick rug and glanced around. There was a door facing mine, leading to Selene’s family’s room. I could hear they were all still asleep.

I walked toward a large, bolted door and slipped through, closing the door behind me quietly. I walked up the tight winding staircase and pushed a small, bolted door open.

I appeared in a long hallway leading toward the entrance hall. Instead, I turned right and headed deeper into the castle toward the kitchen.

It was a large room, complete with all the kitchen supplies a human could dream of.

The floor was tiled with large beige stones, and the walls were made of clay that had been painted over by a fading beige paint. The oven was still a hole in the wall.

No one had bothered to change anything since the eighteenth century. However, there was a modern fridge, and I could smell the cupboards were full of food. A gift from Selene, I was sure.

I spotted Eleanor sitting on the ground sorting through boxes of cereals. She looked up and grinned at me.

“Hey, honey. Did you sleep well?” I asked, moving to her side.

“Yup, the bed was comfortable. And the room was nice and light. Look, I found cereal!” She waved her hands at the boxes at her feet.

“I can see that. Selene must have bought them.” I smiled.

“I suppose, but now I don’t know which one to choose! They all look so yummy.” She squeezed her small fists and grinned.

I laughed and sat down next to her. “Let’s narrow down the choices,” I suggested.

She nodded eagerly, rubbing her hands together. She sorted the boxes by colors, then chose the one with the most red, Fruit Loops, or something of the sort.

I watched as she poured her milk into a large bowl, then her cereal. I put it back in the cupboard while she ate.

“Aric said he’ll teach me to ride tonight,” she grinned at me.

“I’ll be glad, but you’ll have to listen to him, okay? A horse is not a large puppy that you can roll around with. It can be dangerous.”

“Demetrius said they’re great companions.” I smiled at her, shaking my head slightly.

“He’s right, but they’re dangerous.”

“To a human,” she added, shrugging one shoulder.

“You are human,” I reminded her.

She glanced at me and nodded. I gazed at her, my brows pulling together.

I reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “Are you okay, honey?” She lifted her head and met my eyes solemnly. The serious expression didn’t suit her round, dimpled face.

“Yup,” she dismissed, taking a bite of her cereal.

“Eleanor.”

“I’m in danger, aren’t I?” she blurted, scowling.

I leaned back and shook my head. “You’re not in danger because I’m here, and Demetrius is here.”

“And Aric?”

I smiled and nodded. “Of course, Aric, who loves you like the best little sister.”

I paused, watching her smile spread across her face. “You know that you will always be a temptation for us, but the temptation is always drowned away by our love.

“We will never hurt you, Eleanor. As long as we’re around, you’re safe.”

She nodded, slowly scowling again.

“That doesn’t mean you’re weak,” Aric’s voice echoed from the doorway. I’d been so concentrated on Eleanor. I hadn’t heard him arrive.

“Aric!” Eleanor beamed up at him, her whole face lighting up.

He grinned at her and swooped her up in his arms, twirling her around and laughing with her. I smiled as he set her back in her chair. She lolled her head around, giggling and babbling.

“You’re not weak,” Aric repeated, stroking her hair. She was giggling too loudly to hear him. His gaze met mine, and he smiled sadly. I blinked back at him.

Eleanor got decked out in a small, tailored riding habit from the early nineteenth century Selene had found in one of her trunks.

We agreed she could keep the deep green jacket, but I changed the heavy skirt into a pair of fitted riding pants. Eleanor pulled on a pair of high boots.

I could hear Aric, James, and the twins in the barn, discussing the arena. Demetrius and Orion had disappeared hunting while Selene and I prepared Eleanor for her first lesson.

Eleanor had never had the attention of two people gushing and dressing her at the same time. It was obvious it was annoying her. She squirmed and craned her neck to peer out of the tower window.

When Selene tried to give her a riding helmet, Eleanor turned to face me, her eyes wide and pleading.

“Fine, no helmet. There’s no way Aric will let you touch the ground anyway. Come on.” I held my hand out. Eleanor breathed out a long sigh of relief. Ignoring my hand, she ran past excitedly.

Selene put the helmet down and shrugged one shoulder sadly.

“She would have been adorable,” she sighed.

“I know, a little sugar plum.”

“Cute enough to eat,” she agreed, smiling. “Ah, shit!” She bit down on her bottom lip. “That just came out, sorry.”

I smiled, shaking my head at her. “No worries. It’s funny.”

Selene and I followed Eleanor out into the forest. I could hear Aric chatting with Eleanor about the arena. I smiled as I stepped into the clearing they’d made into the shape of a circle.

The barn was open, the horses were out, feeding in the forest, some down by the lake.

The twins were in full riding habits cantering off on two bay mares. Aric was wearing a pair of jeans and nothing else as he stood facing Eleanor.

I recognized the small gray dappled horse that had no name. It shifted its weight, gazing into Eleanor’s eyes.

She stroked its muzzle softly, then took another step closer and put her small arms around its neck.

She giggled suddenly and leaned back, grinning up at Aric.

“I think we’re going to get along! She’s beautiful!” Eleanor shrieked happily, gripping the filly’s mane.

“She doesn’t have a name. Do you have one for her?” Aric asked, kneeling to Eleanor’s height.

James appeared on the top of the barn, crouching down. Selene and I sat down on two tree stumps to watch.

“Any name I want?” Eleanor asked excitedly.

“Yes.” Aric stroked the filly’s rump. Eleanor paused, tapping her finger against her chin then beamed at the filly.

“Whisper. I want her name to be Whisper,” Aric smiled.

“Why Whisper?” James asked from the roof.

“Because she’s quiet and timid and cute, like a whisper.”

James arched one brow and smiled. He was still a little confused.

“It’s a good name,” Aric said, smiling. “Now, let’s see how you two work together!” He picked Eleanor up and settled her into the small black saddle. She held the reins and grinned.