Chapter 6 Monsters - Livvy's POV

He ran for miles with me hanging over his shoulder. I never made a sound, because I didn’t know what to do and, well, I was trying not to get sick.

All I could see was the ground blurring beneath his feet, which was enough to make nausea churn in my stomach.

When he finally set me down, I still had my eyes closed as my head spun. “What…what are we doing?”

He dropped the bag to the ground and turned to look behind us, holding onto my shoulders. “We’re far enough away. I thought you might need a break.”

“A break?” I asked, my throat going dry. “Do you mean we’re going to run like that again?”

I thought about the nausea and seeing the blur ground, instantly getting sick again. No, I couldn’t handle that again. I wobbled on my feet, swaying though he held me. Dorian’s gaze moved to mine as he sighed.

“You’re sick.”

“A little,” I groaned before coughing. “I’m not built for…this.”

He looked over his shoulder, checking the area. We were in the middle of the woods with only the trees to hear us or so I thought. With the way he was acting, by looking around and eyeing everything, I wondered if someone was nearby.

“We’re safe for the moment. Do you need more than a minute?” He asked, turning back to me. “I can spare one more, but then we must go. It’ll be light soon.”

Flashes of something came to mind. I remembered a man standing in a doorway, saying something about ‌his pet. Something about it was me.

“Dorian, when I fainted, before you took me home, did you…take me somewhere else?”

His eyes widened. “You were asleep.” He paused, then shook his head. “Why would you ask that?”

“No, you don’t get to ask that,” I snapped. “Who was he? And what do you mean I was asleep?”

He rolled his eyes. “Look, I took you home. My home, that is. We spent the day. It was the only way I could keep you safe. But I let you return home and—”

“Oh, you let me?” I laughed. “That’s what you did. You let me. I’m no one’s property and certainly not anyone’s pet.”

He tilted his head to the side. “That—” he growled. “I told him he shouldn’t have compelled you.”

My head snapped to the side. “I was compelled.”

“My brother,” he groaned. “I’ll deal with him later.”

I shook my head as a feeling I didn’t understand washed over me. Hurt, I thought. I was hurt that I had been compelled while I was already vulnerable. That’s what it was. 

“No, take me home. Let me have my bag back and take me home.”

“No,” he said directly. “You can’t go home.”

“Take me home,” I demanded. “I want to go home. I can clean up my house and lock the door, okay?”

He stepped forward, gripping both of my shoulders in his hands. “Do you want to die? If that’s all you want, then I can do it right here. I’ll snap your neck and end it quickly, because if they get their hands on you, it won’t be as nice.”

My eyes widened in alarm as I tried to jerk out of his grip. “Let go of me.”

“Do you not understand?” He asked, his voice tinged with anger. “If I hadn’t stopped that demon, he would have taken advantage of you in that very room. No one would have heard your cries for help or the screams.”

“I would have stopped him. He wouldn’t have touched me like that.”

He shook his head, then looked at the night sky, muttering something under his breath in a language I didn’t understand. “No, you wouldn’t. He was faster and stronger than you. You wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

“I don’t believe you,” I said, though I knew I was just in denial.

As I moved, turning my face away, he reached up, his fingers slipping under my chin to make me look at him. His gaze locked onto mine. It was so sharp and piercing that I shuddered.

For a moment, it felt as though he was looking through me and reading my thoughts. Or maybe he was listening to the frantic rhythm of my heartbeat.

“We have to go.”

“What? No, I’m not—”

My words were futile. He had me slung over his shoulder with my bag in his other hand before taking off before I could even take a breath.

I shut my eyes, knowing nausea would soon follow, and it did even quicker than last time. For the longest time, I stayed like that, holding onto his waist with all my strength and hoping that I didn’t slip off and hit my head.

As soon as he stopped again and set me on my feet, I swayed, but he caught me instantly. 

“We’re here.”

“Where’s here?”

I finally opened my eyes and looked up at the looming estate in front of me. The mansion was massive with dark towers and brick that was painted black. The grounds around us were still dark, though there was the faintest bit of light in the east.

Sunrise.

“Home. Welcome to the Vane Estate.”

“You have an…estate?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“Go inside now,” he murmured, pushing me with his hand against my lower back.

I did so, though it was unwillingly. He continued pushing, making sure that I went up the steps and was at the door before I could turn to run. The giant cherry wood doors groaned as they opened, revealing a dimly lit entryway. 

Though a bit brighter with the white cream paint, I could hardly see a thing. 

“What is—”

The doors behind us shut so fast that the breeze blew my hair.

“I told you what this place is. Now stick close to me.”

“Stick close?” I moved to his side, eyeing the hallway to see what might jump out and surprise me, but I found nothing. “Is something here that I should fear.”

Dorian laughed under his breath. “You should fear us all.”

“All?”

“My four brothers also live here,” he whispered. “And we’re all monsters in our own way.”

I trembled before him, fear striking my heart. “Then why would you—”

“Because we’re not the same monsters as those who wish to do you harm,” he interrupted.