A Grave Exchange (3 page)

Chapte
r
Three

We ascended the porch steps together, and I walked into a house where time stood still
.
Even
though I had little
experience
in home décor,
I knew that each piece of furniture, each painting on the wall, had to be priceless or very close to being class
ifi
ed as a rare
and costly
antique
.
I didn’t know where to
stand;
I was so nervous I’d
break or damage
something and
ruin
it forever
.
Lucius took my hand and pulled me into the living room
.
I felt my jaw drop
. T
he room was huge, bigger than my
entire apartment, which wasn’t saying much
considering
I lived in one of the tiniest flats available in a
part
of
town
where the poor could find affordable housing
.

“Sit down
,
please
. R
elax
. T
his furniture has stood the test of time
. I
t truly is a lot more durable than you think it is.”

I relaxed slightly and sat down on the edge of a fancy
,
high
-
backed chair with a fleur de lis print
.
Th
e design
was
one of the few
thing
s
I recognized
,
and suddenly
,
I felt out of my league
.
Swiftly
,
Lucius knelt in front of me
. H
e lifted my chin and gazed into my eyes
.

“Ivy, never again think so little of yourself
. Y
ou are worth far more to me than any piece of furniture or painting in this house or any other house I own around the world.”

I
smiled weakly in return, but his kind words did little to ease my insecurities. If anything, his mention of owning other homes around the world only made matters worse. I
squirmed
in my seat and avoided his intense gaze.

Lucius
rose,
“I will be back in a few moments
. P
lease make yourself at home.”

As soon as Lucius left
,
I stood
and began pacing and w
ringing my hands
. The
circumstances were so
extraordinary
;
what was I to do, to think, to feel
?
In the space of just a few hours,
a man
had
turned my world upside down
. M
y beliefs
—
what
few I had
—
were
suddenly conflicted, my emotions in turmoil
.
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths,
only
then notic
ing
the throbbing coming from
the
scar on my wrist
.
I looked down and gasped
. The living room light showed clearly
how angry and red
the mark had become. W
hy
was it inflamed
now, so many years after the attack
?
I stood there troubled, and to distract myself
, I
took to wandering around the room
.
Never in
all
my years had I seen such beauty in a house, such care for each chosen treasure, for surely there was love in this house.

I
stood near a low table,
admiring a Tiffany lamp
,
when Lucius came back in
to the room. H
e stopped and smiled at me
.

“I procured
that while
on a shopping expedition in Paris.”

I
returned his
smile and shook my head
.
A shopping expedition in Paris, hmm
? We obviously lived in two different worlds. What I wouldn’t give to experience such things.

Lucius sat down on a loveseat
, and I chose
the chair
nearby, realizing the time had come for us to talk. He’d said he had much to tell me—had brought me here so we could speak alone, in comfort—and so I settled in, praying I had the nerve to listen to what he had to say.
I took a deep
,
slow breath and looked into Lucius’ eyes
.

“Ivy
,
what I’m about to tell you
may be difficult for you to accept. It concerns
me
and my religion, and as with any religion, it will require much faith on your part to believe. I’m asking you to have that faith—faith in
me
, if nothing else. Do you think you can do that?”

I did not know what to say
, so
I simply shrugged
. R
eligion
was a very sore subject
with
me
.
In my darkest hours
, I had
cried and screamed
, asking
whatever God
that might be
passing by
to hear
my pleas
, to save me from
certain
downfall
. But
,
a
las
,
my cries went
unheeded
.
No
,
I did not believe in any
religion
;
I
only depended on
myself
.
I felt a hand
on my arm, the pressure
pull
ing
me back to the reality of my situation
.
Again
,
I found myself looking into Lucius’ warm eyes
.
I tent
at
i
vely smiled and found myself holding my breath
.

“Many, many years ago, a
m
an struggled with his soul
. H
e had a job to do
, one which
required
him to have
complete faith in his
k
ing
. I
n order to do his job he had to
harden
his heart, for if he
did not,
he would never have done the cruel things required of him
.
Back then
,
it was not all that unusual for a
m
an to act out of loyalty to his
k
ing and do everything that was required
of him
.
Those were very dark times
,
Ivy
. And so, t
his man became a hardened man, a man who ruthlessly killed when asked, all for the love of his
k
ing
. H
e left his family and friends
;
he responded to no one
,
unless a
summons
came
from
court
.
He travelled under darkness and carried out acts so heinous that even the devil himself would have bowed down in reverence to this dark
k
night
.
My dear, it pains me to admit to you . . .
th
at
man was me.”

The breath I had been holding left my body on a sharp exhale
.
I didn’t know what I expected to hear from Lucius
,
but I found my heart
opening as I’d listened to
his tale
.
F
inally
, I
found someone
who
may well understand darkness and depravity
.
I reached up and touched
his
face
. T
enderly
,
I stroked his cheek,
and
he gave
me
a heartbreaking
ly
sad smile
.
So much pent
-
up pain flow
ed
from Lucius to me, unspoken pain
emanating from
both
of us. T
ruly
,
we were connected
,
somehow
.

“I killed many people, people who were not necessarily bad,
because
I believed in my
k
ing and
his c
ourt
.
I sold my soul to the
k
ing, never once questioning his power and leadership
.
I was so wrong
,
Ivy
.
I soon
discovered
what the devil
’
s face
look
s
like
. . . I saw him every time I looked in the mirror
.”

I shiver
ed
, whether from the cold evening or
from the emotions brought on by
Lucius’ tale
,
I was not sure
.
He
moved off the loveseat
,
knelt between my legs,
and
gazed up into my eyes, his stare hypnotic
.
I reached out and stroked his cheek
. Leaning
into my hand
, he
kissed my wrist
. O
nly then
did
I notice the scar had taken
shape
, and
now look
ed
like a blood red teardrop
.
I gasped
,
and Lucius
straightened
.

“What is going on
?
W
hat is wrong with me
?
How and w
hy
has my scar changed into the form of
a teardrop
?
”

Lucius took both of my hands in his and held my gaze
.
“
You will understand everything very soon. Allow me to finish my story, to
tell you more about where I came from and what
your
marking truly means.”

I held Lucius’ gaze
,
but I could not stop shivering
. H
is touch felt like a bolt of lightning striking my skin
. G
oose bumps pebbled all over my
flesh
,
and
my
sensitive
nipples hardened
.
Lucius’ eyes widened
,
and he leaned into me
. B
rief seconds passed with our lips barely touching, our breaths caressing each other’s mouths
.
I moaned
,
and Lucius
closed the distance
and kissed me
. He pulled my
upper lip
between his and
suckl
ed. Have mercy, the
man
could
kiss
!
I
pressed against
him,
and in one smooth
motion
, he stood and lifted me. He moved back, sank onto the loveseat, taking me with him.

I straddled his knees and wrapped my hands around his head
,
caressing his thick
,
dark
,
curly hair
.
Oh
,
how could a man give so much pleasure with so little effort
? M
y
body’s
heat
made me feel uncomfortable in my clothing
.
Itch
ing
to feel Lucius
naked
against me, I pulled at his shirt
. B
uttons
popped and flew through the air,
hit the wooden floor,
and bounced away. A
ll the while
,
Lucius played havoc with my lips, sucking them, biting them
,
licking them
.
I
ground against his hardness, so obvious between my spread legs.
D
ear Gods
,
th
e
man
i
s huge
.
I
could suddenly imagine myself staying with
this man
—a man I’d only just met—for the rest of
my life
.
I felt totally out of control
.