Reborn Deceit

CHAPTER FIVE

Damian

"I am getting quite fed up with you, Mira." Damian called over his shoulder. Standing in front of the window in the living room, he was silently brooding, arms folded across his chest and brows furrowed. His muscles ached from the tension he held in them. The night sky was overcast, the stars hiding in fear of facing his wrath.

"And I am getting quite fed up with your attitude, Damian." Mira retorted from where she stood in front of the sink, slipping the dirty dinner plates into the dishwasher.

Even with an army full of housekeepers at their service, Mira was still determined to take part in the everyday chores of life. Dirty dishes included. Despite a lifetime of growing up in a castle with people at her beck-and-call, Mira loved the little details that humans seemed to dread. Laundry, cleaning, mowing the lawn. You name it, Mira had done it at least once.

"You are not to invite guests over without the permission of every member of this household." Damian continued, ignoring the attitude his sister slipped into her words.

One sneak attack from Mira and her friend was enough to nearly send Damian over the edge. But two? That was outrageous. Damian wasn't sure who to be pissed off at; Mira for inviting the girl over, or Rose for having the nerve to look that damn good.

"Everyone's permission, or yours?" Mira snipped, slipping the last cup into the machine before closing the door. After pressing a few buttons, she wiped her hands clean on a towel then turned to look at her brother. Feeling her gaze on his back, Damian turned around, glaring at Mira as she copied his stance. Arms crossed, brows furrowed. It was obvious they were siblings. Mamas looks, dads temper.

"She's not ready to learn the truth yet. You know that, right?"

Mira leveled her look, her face stone serious. "Of course I know that. I don't have any intention to tell her. Not yet, anyway."

Damian believed her. His sister may be bullheaded and aggravating, but she wasn't stupid. She knew just as well as he did the danger that would be initiated if she spilled the beans too early.

With a heavy sigh Damian turned back to the window. When his family purchased this property, it was done so with the intention of this home being a vacation house. A getaway to relieve stress and ignore their daily lives, if only for a short amount of time. Now it was just a hideaway and a grave reminder of all that they were running from. Even the grass itself was too scared to live fully. Before the sun had fully set he had noticed the life had been scared out of it and it now sat covering the lawn in ugly green and yellow patches.

Mira's voice cut through his thoughts. "She's stronger than we give her credit for. When it's time, she'll be ready."

Damian knew she was right, but he would never admit that.

"Yeah, well, I'm not ready. So, drop it." Damian was starting to get annoyed. His short temper was made even shorter every time he talked to his little sister, it seemed.

Not that he claimed to be any sort of level headed person. Because even he knew he was the very opposite. But who could blame him after all that's happened? He'd seen things that nobody deserved to see, and lived through things that would have killed others, both emotionally and physically.

"You weren't the only one who lost her, you know?" Miras words were a slap to his face, but he refused to let her see the damage she inflicted. Mira continued, her voice strained. "I loved her too. When you lost the love of your life, I lost my best friend. My sister." She clearly wanted to say more but she stopped to choke back her tears.

Damian didn't give her a chance to continue though. With a hard shove he pushed open the back door to the house and charged outside. Mira didn't understand. No body understood. When he lost her, he didn't just lose his love. He lost his life. He lost his soul.

He lost the one person who made life worth living.

Stalking through the back lawn in the pitch dark, Damian came to a halt in the middle of the huge property. Turning around and glancing back at the house he could see the light still shining in the guest bedroom. The shades weren't drawn and the balcony door was open, so when Rose strolled by in only a white fluffy robe, Damian had to rip his eyes away.

Running a hand through his hair, Damian let out an aggravated sigh. He knew he should be more considerate of his sisters feelings. He had seen firsthand the grief she went through. He should have been there for her, comforting her instead of throwing his adult sized fit.

When he was traveling the world in search of his lost love, his sister was alone with their grieving mother. He had left a fallen kingdom in the hands of two of the most important women in his life, a move that most surely disappointed his father. But even his dad had been in love, and Damian was sure that if his mother went missing, his father would have gone searching every nook and cranny of the world for her. That was exactly what Damian did.

Damian had more conversations with strangers than he ever thought possible. Every new town held at least one person who claimed to hold answers about his lost princess, yet they all turned up empty handed and full of lies. He had promised himself that he wouldn't stop until she was back in his arms. So how had he found himself back at home, search over, with no answers?

It didn't matter how much anyone disliked him, because those feelings were nothing compared to the hatred he held for himself. He had vowed to protect her at all costs, and he failed.

Glancing back up at the guest room, he watched as Rose shut the balcony doors, her eyes unknowingly glancing over him as the dark shadows protected him from her view. The lights flicked off in her room.

Damian sighed. He was in trouble.