Page 66 of Empire of Dark

An hour later we had the canvases propped against the stone border that lined the stark rock face of the mountainside stretching upward into the sky, close to blooming edelweiss that was heroically growing out of a crevice in the rock. Sitting on the patch of grass that ran along the wall, both of us attempted to paint the flower, the yellow buds surrounded by delicate starbursts of white petals.

Venetia’s painting was turning out much better than mine, which made me happy. Anytime someone showed a natural talent at something new, I was excited for them.

Her wit was back about her, her quips about the Picasso she was painting telling me her mood had swung upward and that she was actually enjoying herself.

I felt Damen’s presence prick the skin on the back of my neck before he actually made an appearance, walking around the south side of the labyrinth and stopping once he was standing directly behind us.

A devastating heat sank into my chest at his proximity, and I glanced up over my shoulder at him and smiled.

“Where did you get these?” The line of his jaw was taut, his mouth pulled into a grim line.

Not good.

A paintbrush in my right hand, I set down my palette and swung my legs to the side so I could fully look up at him.

“From that room in the south tower. Clearly, no one was using them, so I thought it would be okay to bring some canvases and brushes down.”

“No one wasusingthem?” The chill in his voice scattered icy pinpricks into my skin.

“No. I don’t think so.” My brow furrowed. “The dust on everything—I thought it was clear they weren’t being used.”

His hands curled into fists that were just above my head, the height of him towering over me. “You’ve made yourself more than welcome in my home, Ada, but now you go too far. Nothing but a rude ingrate. You had no right to go up there to take his things.”

Venetia stopped painting and turned toward Damen, then looked to me, panic on her face.

Dropping my brush onto the palette, I scrambled onto my feet, trying to block Venetia from his view. “Whose things? I didn’t know someone was using the supplies.”

“You had no right.” He shifted to his left, his look slicing into Venetia.

I grabbed his arm, inserting myself fully in front of him. “No. I was the one that took the supplies out of there. I’m making Venetia paint. So whatever is going on right now, we will go elsewhere to discuss this.”

“Put them back.”

“What?” I glanced back at Venetia still on the ground. “No, Venetia, just keep painting.” I turned back to Damen, myfingernails digging into his arm. “We’re going to go discuss this elsewhere.”

“We are doing no such thing. Not until you return it all back to what it was.”

He was acting like a damn madman and I pushed on his arm, trying to make him take a step back, to move away from his daughter before he freaked her the hell out. “No, Damen, we need to go elsewhere and talk about this.”

His glare skewered me. “Don’t order me around, Ada.”

My look flickered back and forth between them. He wasn’t moving, and Venetia was growing agitated, her hands twitching, terror brewing on her face.

She’d just been so damn calm.

And now this.

He was the one setting her off.

Desperate to get him away from Venetia, I released his arm and started to back away from him.

His glare gouged into me, trying to poison me from the inside out, but I didn’t stop my retreat.

Close to the castle door, I yelled out. “Then I’ll just go take everything out of there so you can drop this ridiculous request. There’ll be nothing to go back to the way it was.”

I opened the door to the castle and ran.

His growl thundered in the air behind me.