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The food didn’t taste as bold anymore. Still, I forced myself to eat, moving to the pears and slipped the sweet sliver in my mouth.

“You have a visitor this morning.”

I jerked my gaze to his. “Me?”

“Vivienne has been… insistent.”

My pulse sped as he slowly rose and adjusted his cuffs. “I’ll have morning tea set out for you. Prepare yourself for them to arrive at ten… sharp. I’ll be away, but Mrs. Reid has been notified if you require anything.”

He turned then. Took a step, then stopped. “You might want to be careful venturing out at night in the future. This house is old… and can be dangerous.”

He left me then. His footsteps echoing as he disappeared.

I turned to my plate of food and my cup almost empty—and knew.

Was it a warning?

No.

Something else⁠—

An invitation.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it as I finished eating, reaching for more of the pears.

The clock chimed. Eight am. Vivienne would be here. At ten, right?

Sharp.

A tremor caught my lips. I lifted my gaze to the empty doorway as his cold tone returned. So… Alaric.

But I had two hours.

Two hours to wonder why Vivienne was coming here.

I rose, drained the rest of my tea and turned around. But it wasn’t excitement that found me as I left the dining room for the library. It was something else. Something private. Something protective.

She wouldn’t understand what this place was.

Not really.

She’d see stony walls and empty rooms.

She’d see coldness.

Alaric’s face rose.

His piercing gaze.

Clipped words.

She’d see a reflection. But it wasn’t the truth. Not really.

I left the library behind—the shelves filled with secrets and entire worlds and cut through the foyer. I trailed my fingers along the walls, finding shadows clinging to the edges.

I glanced at the east wing entrance as I passed. This place was more than it seemed.

It was… private.