A Terror Thereafter

When Ember said nothing in response, too shocked to utter a word, the Duke proceeded to walk back into his manor.

"You have two days."

"But why are you doing this?"

The Duke halts, regarding her with a quirk of his brows. 

"Why did you call me to the garden that night, at the ball? Why did you look so murderous when my brother announced my engagement to Viscount Bryne to you? Why are you forcing me to do something ludicrous as calling off my engagement? What do you want from me?"

Certainly, Ember hadn't believed she would muster such courage to finally face the Duke and throw all these questions at him.

Dallas suddenly wandered towards her, trapping her against the brick walls of the dark alleyway.

"I want to make you mine." The Duke breathed harshly, running his hand down her face. "I want to look at this face, and each time, be assured that you belong to me and no one else."

Ember sucked in her breath.

"B-but w-why me?"

'There are many beautiful ladies in the ton', she wanted to add, but she couldn't gather the strength to. 

"I don't know. You just occupied my heart at first glance. You invaded my senses from the moment I laid my eyes on you. You drive me mad, Ember. You make me want to do things I've never done before."

He drove his thumb along her lower lips, stopping at the scar.

"I want to do things to you. I want to put my mark on you. I'm obsessed with you."

Ember watched the Duke with slightly parted lips, and she wasn't aware of the tears she had gathered in her eyes until they fell freely down her cheek, staining his thumb that was placed gently on her lips.

He inched forward and caught the second tear in his lips, kissing it tenderly and wiping it off her cheek. She shivered in response.

"Say you want the same and be mine forever. And I swear to protect you and honor you with a lifetime of passion."

He inched forward for another kiss when she planted a tiny slap on his chest to stop him.

"I-I-I don't know, Your Grace. This is—I'm getting married soon. It's a request from my late father I'm afraid I have to follow."

Ember watched, blurry-eyed, as the Duke stepped backward.

"Whatever this is, I need it to stop. My brother is close to suspecting something, and he would if you don't stop this. He is smart. He would figure us out." 

Ember let out a shuddering breath. 

"Very well then." He began to step backward, heading to the opposite side of the alleyway. "Tell your Viscount to watch his back."

He threatened then, stalked away, disregarding the entrance he had led them through and turning a corner by the left-hand side.

Ember sighed, feeling air settling properly in her lungs again as she crumpled against the brick wall. It felt as though she was going to collapse right before him from suffocation.

She never prepared herself for the hurdles of confessions the Duke dumped on her.

She straightened, preparing herself to appear back in the gathering in the Duke's library. 

Side to the brick walls, just about to head for the door she and the Duke had burst out of a while ago, something rolled out of the corner the Duke had dashed into.

She was inclined to ignore it, but the thing looked rather catchy.  

So, she ambled towards it, gathering her red dress in her hand.

The more she moved closer, the faster her heart pounded against her ribcage because as she got closer, it began to look more like a human head than just a "thing," as she had thought.

She arrived at the corner and, when her eyes settled on a human head and a body it detached from, lying lifeless in the corner, she let out a loud shriek.