Chapter 8: Silent Shadows

The rest of the morning dragged by. I stayed in my room for a while after Mrs. Hale left, sipping the tea she brought until it went cold.

Eventually, the walls started closing in. I needed air. Anything but sitting here.

I slipped out of my room and started wandering the mansion. It felt strange to explore without permission, but no one stopped me. I passed several closed doors, including what I assumed was the entrance to Lucian’s forbidden west wing. I didn’t dare try the handle.

Downstairs, the living areas were just as intimidating. I felt small. Out of place. Like a guest who had overstayed her welcome before she even arrived.

My feet eventually carried me to the library. It was the first room that didn’t feel completely sterile. For the first time since arriving, something inside my chest loosened just a little.

Settling into one of the chairs, I opened the book and tried to lose myself in the words. But my mind kept drifting. To Evelyn. To the way Lucian had looked at me last night and this morning, like he was fighting some war I didn’t understand.

I glanced around to make sure I was alone, then pulled out the phone Evelyn had slipped into my suitcase before I left. She’d insisted I keep it hidden. My fingers hovered over the screen for a long moment before I dialed her number.

She picked up on the second ring.

“Aurora?” Her voice was low, careful. “Are you okay? Is it safe to talk?”

“I’m in the library,” I whispered. “No one’s around. Evelyn… what is going on? Lucian is… he’s cold one minute and then he looks at me like…” I trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence without sounding crazy.

She was quiet for a beat. “I know it’s hard right now. He’s not an easy man. But trust me, sweetheart. You’re safer with him than you ever were in that house with Reginald and the others. I wouldn’t have pushed you toward this if I didn’t believe it.”

“But why?” I pressed, keeping my voice low. “You keep saying that, but you won’t explain. He laid down all these rules this morning. I can’t even contact you without permission. He grabbed my waist during an argument and…”

I stopped, cheeks heating at the memory.

Evelyn exhaled slowly. “He did what?”

“It wasn’t violent,” I said quickly. “Just… intense. Like he was trying to prove a point. Then he let go like I burned him and stormed off. I don’t understand him at all. One second he acts like I don’t exist, the next he looks like he wants to…” I couldn’t find the right words.

“Listen to me,” Evelyn said, her tone turning serious. “Lucian Draven is complicated. More than you know. But he won’t hurt you. Not the way they did. Just keep your head down for now. Survive. I’m working on things from this side. I’ll get to you when it’s safe.”

“Working on what?” I asked, frustration rising. “Evelyn, please. I feel so lost here.”

“I know, baby. I know. Just hold on a little longer. You’re stronger than all of them combined. Remember that.”

The call ended too soon. I sat there holding the phone, staring at the book in my lap without really seeing it. Her words helped a little, but they also left me with more questions. What did she know about Lucian? Why was she so sure this place was safer?

I lost track of time in the library.

I flipped through pages, occasionally glancing at the door, half expecting Lucian to appear and scold me for being in here.

And then he did.

I felt his presence. I looked up from the book and there he was, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, watching me.

He must have come home early. His eyes were fixed on me with an intensity that made my pulse jump. He didn’t say anything for what felt like forever. Just stood there, studying me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out.

I closed the book slowly, suddenly self-conscious. “I… I was just looking around. I didn’t touch anything important.”

Lucian pushed off the doorframe and stepped inside. “Dinner,” he said. His voice was quieter than usual. “Join me.”

It wasn’t really a question. More like an order wrapped in the attempt at politeness.

I stood up and followed him to the dining room. The table was set for two this time. Mrs. Hale served quietly. The silence between us was thick enough to choke on.

I cut into my food, hyper-aware of every small movement he made. He didn’t look at me much, but I could feel him noticing me anyway.

Halfway through the meal, our feet brushed under the table. My leg had shifted while I reached for my water, and suddenly his shoe was resting lightly against my ankle. Neither of us moved. The contact was small, barely anything but it sent a spark up my leg.

I held my breath, waiting for him to pull away.

He didn’t.

For several long seconds, we stayed like that. Then, slowly, he shifted his leg, but not before his calf brushed mine again, deliberate this time.

I glanced up. His eyes were already on me, dark and unreadable.

He reached across the table for the salt at the same moment I moved to pass it. His hand lingered for half a second longer than necessary, thumb brushing the side of mine before he took the salt shaker.

The tension crackled between us. My breath caught. Lucian’s jaw tightened, and for a moment I thought he might say something. Acknowledge it. But he just set the salt down and went back to eating like nothing had happened.

The rest of the meal passed in that same heavy silence. I kept stealing glances at him, trying to read the man who had cornered me against the wall this morning and was now pretending we hadn’t just had two tiny moments of contact that left me flushed and confused.

When Mrs. Hale cleared the plates, Lucian stood.

“Goodnight, Aurora,” he said, voice low.

He left without waiting for a reply.

I sat there for a while after he was gone, staring at the empty chair across from me.

I made my way back upstairs eventually, mind spinning. Lucian Draven was a contradiction I couldn’t solve.

I laid down, ready to sleep but somewhere else in this house, Lucian was probably working late, pretending I didn’t exist.

But I wasn’t sure either of us believed that anymore.