Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)(89)

Fingers skimmed my bare arms from shoulder to wrist, then back again before trailing up my neck to tangle in the long strands of my dark hair. These kisses were different than before. Greedy. Laced with anger and passion and need. The intensity of it all scared me a little, but more than that, it drove me higher than I ever thought possible.

I wrapped both legs around his waist in an attempt to pull us closer together. No space. I wanted nothing between us. Suddenly, my jeans, his clothing, it all felt too restricting. I made a move to tug at the edges of his T-shirt, but he stopped me, instead capturing my wrists in his hands and tucking them away behind my back.

“No,” he breathed, lips against mine. “Just be still.”

I obeyed, a sharp thrill shooting like electricity through my entire body. I expected him to do the honors himself, but instead, his hands circled my waist again, fingers digging into the skin. I gasped—not in pain, but surprise—and nipped at his bottom lip.

“Just be…” he inhaled sharply, fingers flexing as I trailed a line of kisses down to the hollow of his neck. “…still.”

“We could…” I managed. “I want to…”

Heart hammering to match my own, Lukas tensed in my arms.

A moment later, an unwelcomed chill blew through the room. The scorching heat and tingles faded all too fast, and I realized he’d moved away.

When I opened my eyes, he was gone. Out the door and already making his way down the stairs.

I started to follow, but a flash of white caught my eye. Something folded—a piece of paper on the edge of the desk.

Unfolding it, my breath caught. In astonishing detail, a sleeping version of me was captured on the paper. One arm tucked under the couch pillow, the other wrapped around a large book. Several strands of hair lay across my cheek while the rest blanketed my bare shoulder. Lips slightly parted as if mid-whisper. The girl looked so young. So innocent. There was something powerful on that page. So deep. Was this how Lukas saw me? This delicate thing that looked so fragile? So breakable? At the bottom of the page, scrawled in elegant cursive, it said, My Serenity.

The paper slipped from my hands and fluttered to the ground.





Chapter Thirty-five




One hour left…

Rene Morgan and her husband opened the Morgan house the year I was born. Up until the fire several years ago, it was one of Penance’s only tourist draws. Apparently, some big travel magazine had done a spread on them. Now the formerly beautiful three-story Victorian was a pale, hollow ghost of its glory days.

We were about to start up the walkway when Lukas doubled over.

“What is it?”

He sucked in a deep breath and glared at the house. Straightening, he said, “We have to hurry. Time is short. The box is preparing to call us back.” With a quick glance at my bag, he started forward again. I followed.

I raised my hand to knock, but thought twice. This wasn’t a social call. The lamiae hadn’t knocked when she’d sent them to snack on us.

Adjusting my backpack, I turned the knob. Unlocked. Not a shocker. I stepped through the door, Lukas on my heels. There were a few candles lit around the room—witches lived for candlelight for some reason. They cast odd, dancing shadows on the wall that seemed to follow us with each step we took. I took a breath through my mouth in hopes it would help with the stench. The air was thick with dust, and the place smelled like burnt plastic and mold. It made my eyes water.

A few steps in and my sneaker came down on a creaky board. I cringed as the protesting wood announced our entrance with an echoing moan. So much for the element of surprise.

“What’s this?” Lukas stepped around me and picked a small yellow piece of paper from the floor. “Basement,” he read aloud and turned it around so I could see. It had a big smiley face on the front.

Creaking to our left announced the door—I assumed to the basement—opening.

Lukas snorted. “She always was all about showmanship.”

I couldn’t help smiling. Holding out my hand, I said, “Well, let’s go give her the ride of her annoyingly long life.”

We rounded the corner and started down the dark stairway. Flickering light at the bottom told me Meredith hadn’t bothered magically rebooting power to the house. It made navigation tricky—but not impossible.

“You made it!” she squealed as we reached the bottom. “I was starting to wonder which one of your parents I’d have to torture first.”

Under my T-shirt, the black crystal Valefar had given me lay warm against my skin. Not yet, a tiny voice inside my head whispered. Wait.

“Okay, so we’re all here. Now what?”

“Where are the other Sins?” she asked casually. She was leaning against the wall at the far corner of the room, grinning like we were all old friends. Around the edges of the unfinished basement were the other three Sins—Amari, Vida, and Kendra. Standing flush against the wall and still as stone, they watched us in silence. At the other end of the room, Mom and Dad sat in a corner side by side. Next to them, a woman lay crumpled and unconscious.

I held up my bag and nodded to my parents. “In the box. Let Kendra and my parents go.”

“Give me the box first.” She turned to Lukas, batting her eyes. “And you come stand over here by me.”

Neither of us moved. Meredith sighed and put her hand out, wriggling her fingers. “Come on. Hand it over. Time’s almost up.”