Alexia's nightmares become reality: a dead baron, red-eyed wraiths, and forbidden love with a man hunted by these creatures. After an attack close to home, Alexia realizes she cannot keep one foot in her old life and one in this new world. To protec...
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Twenty-Eight
Going Free
Brilliant fog encircled sleeping Alexia. The haze pulsed, condensing into a solid form. Gleaming clear skin caught the light...
A hand fell over Alexia's mouth. Her eyes popped open.
"Shh." Bellezza's face came into view, glossy white against the dark room.
Alexia sat.
The girl grinned. "Let's go." She stepped to the open door, glancing back and forth out into the hall. She returned, tossed an arm around Alexia's waist, and braced her up, alarmingly strong. "We don't have far."
"How did you—?"
The child's glare stopped her.
Out of the room they staggered, into a narrow, dark hall. They arrived at a shadow-strewn and treacherous stairwell.
Alexia gasped. She'd never left the old Stark house. They stood on the second floor, the one she'd neglected to explore.
Bellezza stepped down the first incline and Alexia had no choice but to follow. They progressed slowly, eventually reaching the final step. The girl pushed the exit open to the white stones and ghostly grass of the once-stately patio.
"Good luck to you, Alexia."
"Come with me. You do not have to stay here."
"But I like it here." The imp-child smirked. "There is a gap in the east wall. Tread lightly." She disappeared into the house.
***
The unnerving Miles found Alexia wandering the streets beneath a sliver of the moon and delivered her to the inn where Sarah had been staying.
Her aunt squeezed the life out of her. "I have been so frightened! What happened to you?"
"I fell." Alexia indicated her knee.
"And?"
Her lips snapped tight. What would Sarah do? Send men out to the house of Stark? Beat down the doors and seek to imprison the occupants? And how many of them would end up dead at Bellezza's whims?
"I am sorry, Sarah. I have been unconscious."
Her aunt's mouth squeezed in frustration, in disbelief. She shook her head. "After two days of searching, I sent a letter home. Charles will be out of his mind. We must return immediately."
Alexia shuddered. Yes, take her away—far, far away and never let her come back. She had no desire to be anywhere near that house or face the terror of moonless nights, especially if it meant never having to see him again.
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