Page 32 of Red Masquerade

“I don’t want to hear it.” I shook my head. “I can’t.”

“Helena—”

“Adam, Ican’t.” My hands shook. “Don’t you get it? I’ve grieved for you. I buried you long ago.” I avoided his eyes, couldn’t bearlooking at him, couldn’t bear the weight of his stare. “And now, here you are, as if nothing ever happened.”

Lucas.

It was all his fault.

Adam never would have left if not for Lucas.

Tears pricked at my eyes.

A flash of pain darkened Adam’s, but he didn’t speak. He nodded once, hesitantly, then again, more sure. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Just promise me—”

I shook my head. I had promised, years ago, to remember him as he crossed the sea to fight in something bigger than him. And I didn’t know how, didn’t know why, but he stood there before me again, and I wasn’t sure if it was a miracle or a curse.

“Promise me you’ll come back.”

There was pleading in his eyes, a pull to his brow that seemed directly tied to my heartstrings.

I wanted to snip them, to cut them, like the threads of fate.

Without an answer, I grabbed the door’s handle. He didn’t stop me, didn’t tell me to stay, didn’t pull me further into his web. He only nodded once more. His dark eyes watched me as I slipped out the door, and they were the only thing I could think of as I let the tears fall, escaping down the corridor like a princess wronged in one of those fairytales from long ago.

I didn’t wait for my driver to return that night.

I ran down the lawn, shoving my way through the throngs of people, all oblivious to the monsters upstairs. Images of bodies bathed in blood swarmed my mind, and I had to grab one more glass of champagne, throwing it back quickly, to try to push the thoughts away.

He was back, he was back, he was back.

Repeating in my head like a skipping gramophone.

Cars lined the mile-long driveway. Various Fords, Duesenbergs, and others, models I didn’t care to keep track of, most roofless. Black polished exteriors gleamed in the starlight, reflecting the moon high above us. A few white autos thrown in, looking just off the factory floor.

Men stood all about, a few women giggling and hanging on arms.

A group whistled at me as I passed, but it was jarring more than endearing, the sharp tone ringing in my ears.

What I had seen tonight was sobering, and all I wanted was to get home.

He was back.

I ignored the group and walked on, but that wasn’t enough.

“Hey!” one guy shouted.

I waved him off, not even turning to look as I stumbled down the paved drive.

But harsh fingers gripped my arm. A growl nearly ripped from me, wrenching myself away.

I wastiredof being grabbed and led around like a dog.

He saw the veracity in my glare and let go, raising his hands in a pose of surrender. “Sorry, just wonderin’ if you wanted to join us?”