To Vanquish Darkness (Le Sombre #1)

Chapter 13

13

1824 BLOIS, FRANCE

R achel sat upright in bed at the metallic click of a latch. She pulled her sheets to her chest, her breath coming in quick bursts as her window swung open, sending chilled night air sweeping across her skin.

She threw her covers off and leaped from the bed, then worked to untangle her nightdress as she bolted for the door. “Or—” Her brother’s name disappeared under a warm palm clapped over her mouth.

“Shhh, Rachel. It’s me.”

Rachel stilled, her fingernails still digging into the man’s skin. Florent? But how had he gotten to the second story? The house spanned the river and the walls were sheer. She worked to draw air into her lungs as he dropped his hand and settled it on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he whispered, brushing a kiss across her temple.

Rachel spun to face him. “You came in through my window in the middle of the night.”

Florent grinned. His hair was loose as it always was. His skin looked almost velvet in the moonlight spilling in from the window. “I had to see you.”

Rachel’s heart fluttered, but she pushed him back toward the wall. “You can’t be here.” For so many reasons, Florent couldn’t be there. Amalie and Bethany were sleeping in the next room over, for one. Oren would kill him, for another. And Florent still hadn’t answered her questions, for the last. “I told you I wouldn’t meet you again?—”

“That’s why I’m here.” Florent grasped her wrists and held them in front of her. “I knew you wouldn’t meet me in the gardens, and I owe you an explanation.”

Rachel searched his eyes, her pulse quickening. “You’re going to tell me why nobody knew your name when I stopped by the abbey? Why you will only see me after dark?”

Florent held her gaze and nodded. “I thought—well, I’d rather show you.” He pulled her closer to the window.

Rachel stopped in front of the open shutter and shivered. The thin fabric of her dressing gown did nothing to fight off the damp breeze. She stared into the shadows, broken only by reflected moonlight on the river. “What is there to see?” Florent slung a leg over the window sill, and Rachel gasped. “Don’t, you’ll fall?—”

“I won’t fall.” Florent tugged on her hand, pulling her against his side. He wrapped her arms around his chest then gripped her waist. “Hold on. I promise I won’t let you go.”