Blood Luster

Chapter Fifteen

The door opened to two expansive white staircases that circled the foyer and met to create an overlooking ledge. Magnolia looked down as she stepped inside, admiring the marble floor. The walls were painted light rose, the rose gold chandelier brought the room together. Definitely out of my league here.

Benjamin placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her to large white double doors to the right of them. Without hesitating he pushed the doors open, then led her inside. The lighting was dimmer in the room compared to the foyer. The walls were covered floor to ceiling with bookshelves containing at a minimum five to six hundred books. A large wooden desk sat to the right of the room stacked with paperwork and a luxury office chair pushed into it. Two burgundy sofas faced one another in the center of the room and matching chairs placed in random spots of the room –one pushed into a small table, one against a bookcase, one beside an end table and lamp. Wow.

All the chairs were occupied. The woman sitting in the chair against the bookcase had shoulder length blonde hair, her face was round with distinguishing cheek bones and plump lips. Her welcoming smile helped to slightly sooth Magnolia's nerves.

The woman stood and walked toward them. "This must be Magnolia." She gathered Magnolia's hand between hers and squeezed. "I'm Addeline. We've heard so much about you. It's so very nice to meet you."

"You too," Magnolia replied.

An older man sitting in the chair at the table, pushed from the chair and stood. He was medium height with a soft build. He had brown hair with a receding hairline, but somehow remained attractive. His demeanor was serious while remaining relaxed. His expression remained the same as he approached them.

"Giovanni." He lightly shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Thank you."

"This idiot told you everything, didn't he?"

Magnolia shifted to look at the man with his elbow leaning on the end table with the lamp. His posture was lax as his finger ran across his bottom lip, attempting to hide his smirk.

"Jarred," Addeline scolded.

"Ah, Benny here knows it's all in good fun." He waved his hand in their direction.

"We do not need to make her any more distraught than she already is. If you cannot behave yourself then you need to leave." Giovanni stated.

"Please, have a seat." Addeline reached for Magnolia's hand.

"I'd like to go lay down –if that's okay," she responded.

"Of course." Addeline shifted away from her.

Magnolia followed Benjamin as he walked toward the door, but not before catching a glance at Jarred staring in her direction. They walked in silence down the hallways. Right. Left. Right again. Her shoes clacked on the marble flooring, causing echoes through the halls. Benjamin halted and opened the door to the right of her, she was entranced when she walked in. A four-poster bed sat in the center of the room with what appeared to be white satin sheets and a thick white comforter to match.

The walls were white excluding the beautiful accent wall behind the bed, it had splashes of blue with a mixture of silver. The sofa matched the white walls while the accent chair was blue, pulling the room together. Her eyes landed on Benjamin as he stood to the side, staring at her.

"This is beautiful," she whispered.

"You can stay here as long as you like." He walked toward her and wrapped his hands around her waist.

"Where do those doors lead?" She pointed to the right of the room.

"The one on the left goes to a walk-in closet and the one on the right goes to the bathroom. Do you want to see?"

"Actually, can I lay down? I'm exhausted from today. I just need to nap for a little while before jumping into everything. I don't think my mind could absorb anymore information."

"I'll leave you to it." He kissed her forehead and released her.

"Could you stay?"

"Absolutely."

He walked to the bed and pulled the covers back, then climbed in behind her and pulled her into him. Even though her body was riddled with exhaustion, her mind still raced with the events of the morning. Flare. Annalise Vernin. Ricky. Blood Lusters. Spells.

Benjamin shifted and pulled her tighter into him. "I hope you know everything I've done has been for you."

She ran her hand softly up and down his arm. "I know. But I need you to be completely honest with me going forward, I can't feel like you're keeping things from me or this won't work."

"I'll be as transparent as possible, I promise."

She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep, pushing her fears from her mind. The only thing she still knew to be true was that Benjamin was the safest place for her to be. Her limbs felt as though they melted into the mattress as she drifted off to sleep.

*Much love to all of you! 

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***Next Chapter Available 10/26/2022