Page 68 of Eternal Surrender

“Miss police detective believes he has.”

“Ingrid’s obsessed with this place.”

“Ingrid?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Inspector Jansen⁠—”

“Is obsessed with you.” He ran his hand over the curve of the banister. “She’ll come back.”

“Perhaps.”

“I can help you.” He took a step closer. “I’m dying to know more about you.” He cringed. “Dying in a metaphorical sense, not in becoming one of your cadavers sense.”

“Seb, there are no dead bodies here.”

“So what’s up with that coffin?”

I caressed my forehead.

“I want to repay you,” he said. “You saved my life.”

Peace seemed so far out of reach, and there came that familiar dread that the castle’s safety was threatened; our once private domain was slipping from our grasp.

“Come on.” I headed down.

“Where are we going?”

“Thought you might like to check out the dungeons. It’s a good place to start.”

“Start what?”

I waited for him to catch up. “The tour.”

“Why the sudden change of heart?” Sebastian sped up, following me down the east corridor.

“I like you, Sebastian, and I trust you.”

Moonlight flooded in through the dusty windows illuminating the way ahead with a grayish tinge, weaving along the mutated white hallway.

“This place is over a thousand years old. It has a rich history.” I glanced at him. “It’s worth saving.”

“It’s under threat from the inspector?” he asked.

“There may be some inheritance issues that need straightening out.” Which wasn’t so far from the truth.

He drew in a sharp breath, as though only now grasping what I was. “How old are you?” He spoke softly, reverently. “You’re a walking historian, aren’t you.” He looked at me with wonder, a tremor of fear, yet he could not look away. He was mesmerized, and he was right. I had seen more than any soul should have been allowed to see, more than memory could bear without consequence. Centuries pressed quietly behind my eyes, and the unspoken weight of wars, lovers, endings, and beginnings that no mortal could truly imagine.

We soon came upon an ordinary-looking door, and I twisted its well-worn handle.

Sebastian peered into the blackness. “Am I going to regret this?”

“Regret anything so far?” From inside the doorway, I lifted the halogen lamp and with a flick of a switch readied it to light our way.

Sebastian took his first step toward the belly of the castle and said, “My stay at law school only lasted a year but it might prove invaluable.”

“Have a feeling it might.” I guided him downward. “That’s why I’m going to show you everything.”

“And tell me everything, too?”