“Your sister who you almost sold to the devil. Who you were complicit in tormenting for years!” Damien shouted.
“Careful, Damien. I love my sister. I always have. Whatever problems existed between us are in the past.”
“Yeah, right,” Damien accused. “Your love for your sister is beyond questionable.”
“I will let that slide, given your distress. But this conversation is finished. You may want to control your lunatic friend before he finds himself in trouble,” Celeste advised Alexander before stalking out of the house.
“I don’t trust her,” Damien stated, staring after Celeste.
“I agree with you. But in this case, I do not understand what benefit Celeste gains from Celine’s disappearance.”
“Payback?”
“For her vampiric condition? Doubtful.”
“Why?”
“Celine is the most invested in restoring Celeste. Other than Teddy, no one else cares. With Celine gone, Gray and I aren’t chomping at the bit to help her.”
“Perhaps Teddy has found a solution for her. And she doesn’t need Celine, so she got rid of her.”
“If Teddy has found a solution, Celeste wouldn’t still be in her coffin.”
“Good point,” Damien admitted, stalking away, sighing.
“I understand your distrust of Celeste. And I don’t disagree. But I am not sure it helps us in any way. I doubt Celeste harmed her sister for revenge or any other selfish purpose.” Damien didn’t respond. “I don’t care for her either, Damien, but she does have half a heart when it comes to Celine, particularly now that the Duke is gone.
“Yeah, I guess you have a point. I just can’t trust her. Every time we’ve been around her, she’s been siding with that monster. I guess she can’t side with him if he’s not here though.”
“Shall we return to the house? You and Michael should rest.”
“I guess,” Damien sighed. “Rest. Yeah, right!”
“I understand how difficult this is, nevertheless, you must try. Celine will have our heads if she returns and you are ill.”
Alexander’s comment earned a chuckle from Damien. They exited the abandoned house and took the path to Alexander’s house. Gray and Michael waited there.
“Well?” Michael inquired as they entered the sitting room.
“Nothing,” Damien answered. “Just like Gray said. Celeste spoke with Celine. Celine left, and no one has seen her since.” Damien collapsed onto the couch.
“I don’t trust her,” Michael said.
“Same thing I said,” Damien confessed.
“Neither of us trust Celeste either,” Gray replied. “But this time she isn’t lying.”
“We should follow her! Perhaps she’ll lead us right to Celine!” Damien offered.
“Do you honestly think we haven’t tried that?” Gray questioned. Damien shrugged his shoulders in response. Gray rolled his eyes. “Of course we followed Celeste. She led us nowhere.”
“Perhaps she realized you were following her and did that on purpose,” Michael conjectured.
“You two really deem us amateurs, don’t you?” Gray asked. “We’ve been dealing with these problems for centuries. Don’t presume that anything we do is ineptly done.”
“Okay, okay!” Michael answered, holding his hands up in defeat. “Just trying to offer suggestions.”
“We’re all tired and anxious. Perhaps everyone should rest,” Alexander suggested.
“You mean perhaps you should drug us and force us to rest?” Michael snapped.
“No, I mean rest,” Alexander corrected.
“Assuming you can be trusted to rest,” Gray added.
“We’re not children,” Michael contested.
“No, you’re not. But you are human. You’re vulnerable. The last thing we need is one of you to disappear, become hurt or distract us from the search for Celine.”
“He makes a good point,” Damien admitted. “We can’t waste resources or be distracted from Celine’s disappearance. The longer she’s gone, the less chance we have to…” His voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
“We’ll find her. But we need to be smart and sharp to do it,” Gray replied. “Let’s head back to the house.”
Damien and Michael agreed. Alexander suggested he accompany them and stay while they searched for Celine. The quartet traveled the path to the main house, disbanding in the foyer. Michael and Damien navigated upstairs to their rooms. Michael expressed his wish that Damien have a restful night, admitting he was exhausted and would likely sleep.
Damien pulled his door shut behind him. He stared at his bed. He would never sleep. Instead, he paced his room, stopping to stare out the window every few minutes. He searched for any sign of Celine as though she may appear wandering through the woods. He laid in bed, attempting sleep. Within minutes, he popped his eyes open. It was no use. He could not rest. He felt trapped, smothered, as though the walls were closing in on him. He had promised to rest, but he would go mad in this room.
Perhaps fresh air would ease his nerves. He sneaked from his room and down the stairs, pulling on his jacket and entering the night air. Damien meandered to the cliffs, drawn to the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below. He stood for several moments, staring out over the dark ocean. His thoughts were a jumble. Upset over Celine clouded his reasoning. He failed to understand how they would find her. Perhaps it was his tiredness overcoming him, but he was panicked. He saw no way forward.
Movement on the path drew his attention. Gray emerged from the trees. “You’re supposed to be sleeping,” he chided as he approached Damien.
Damien returned his gaze to the darkened horizon. “Yeah, yeah, I know,” he admitted. “Couldn’t sleep, so I figured I’d try some fresh air.” He slid his eyes sideways, eyeing Gray. He’d never gotten comfortable with Gray. Gray intimidated him, though he never had given him any reason to dislike him. Other than the jab to the arm last night. “You’re not going to sedate me again, are you?”
Gray chuckled. “No. But I am going to insist you return to the house and rest.”
They stood for a few moments in silence, each staring at the ocean. Gray spoke again. “Celine would hate you running around the property at night alone.”
Damien smirked. “Yeah, I bet. She told me that once
