Page 129 of A Wild Darkness

I slide my phone back into my bag, but keep my face turned away from Sebastian. The warmth of the fire heats my skin, but the shame of being dismissed keeps my focus away from him.

“Did he want to check on you?” Sebastian’s steady hands rest on my shoulders, and the closeness is comforting.

“Uh.” I lean into his chest. “He was calling to check in on my sister, actually.”

“Is she not talking to him?”

I sigh. “It’s been a few days since he spoke with her, so he was calling me to check in.”

“We spent the weekend together, and it didn’t seem like you spoke with him either. Maybe he was worried about you, too,” Sebastian offers in earnest.

If that were only the case…my dad rarely asks about me or my life. He’s hyper-focused on his world, and Lux fits into that with him.

“Nah.” I shake my head. The backs of my eyelids sting with tears, leaving me surprised by my sudden eruption of emotion. “We don’t have much in common, and he knows if there was anything to tell him, I would. So, he doesn’t ask.”

Sebastian calmly twists me around, bringing my front to his, then he dips his head to capture my eyes. “I think you and your dad have a lot in common, Stevie.”

I chuckle, scoffing him off. “Like what?”

“Your need for justice.”

“Yeah? Lux has that, too.”

He’s silent for a beat, his forehead knits. “I know something that will make you feel better.”

I wipe a tear from my cheekbone. “You do?” The kindling on the fire crackles behind us.

“Yeah.” His eyes brighten. “Follow me.”

Then he turns, clasping my hand in his, and leads us through the hallway next to the kitchen. We approach a pair of large French doors leading outside at the back of the manor. The rain has slowed down, but as soon as Sebastian opens the doors, the moist, cool air floats across my face. It’s refreshing.

I take a deep breath, enjoying being buried in the mountains, away from the city.

“Where are we going?” I step onto a pebbled pathway.

Sebastian leads me under arched trellises where vines cover every inch. “I’ll show you.”

My eyes bounce around the expansive property covered with tall trees and a few stone statues placed between overgrown bushes. It’s a little eerie, but oddly romantic. The yellow lights from the manor behind us and the full moon are the only light we have to navigate.

I could easily get lost out here by myself.

A deep, throaty croak from a raven echoes amongst the trees. “If this is going to be another chase me through the woods and fuck me thing, I’m not feeling it right now.”

Sebastian steps aside, revealing two wrought-iron gates attached to a low stone wall that covers the perimeter of an enclosed area. A raven sits perched on the curved top of the gate.

“What is this place?” I whisper, letting my eyes scan the area. Then, between the shadows, I spot not one, not two, but multiple white headstones.

“A cemetery?” I ask, stunned.

“Yeah.” Sebastian pushes open one gate. The creaking startles the raven, and it flies off into the night. “The old graveyard was on the property when River and I purchased it. We didn’t have the heart to tear it down, so we let the dead remain peacefully in their places.”

My heart swells. I can’t stand still any longer—I leap into the graveyard, heading to the gravestone nearest the entrance. “1855 to 1899,” I mutter, running my fingertips along the engravings. “These graves are so old.”

“Most of the headstones date back to the mid- to late-1800s,” Sebastian tells me excitedly.

I squat to get a better look. “Sebastian, this is incredible.”

He lowers next to me. “I thought it would make you feel better after the conversation with your dad. I’m sorry you feel that you’re not as important as your sister, because you are.”