Wildes, Emma by Dangerous Beauties 1- Mortal Melody

Author:Dangerous Beauties 1- Mortal Melody [Melody, Dangerous Beauties 1- Mortal]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-12-24T00:07:33.363000+00:00

Chapter 8

The fire flickered, sending macabre shadows everywhere. The night was quiet, almost unnaturally so, without a breath of wind and hung with expectant shadows. Inside the great castle, the atmosphere was both subdued and tense, reflecting the world outside.

Leaning against the mantle of the fireplace, Dare grimly reflected that buried secrets were appropriately unearthed on a night like this one: under the suspect light of a wafer moon and the brooding darkness of the surrounding forest. The fire crackled, breaking the silence in the room and making Susanna jump. She was lovely in a cream-colored gown that emphasized her slender waist and full, tempting breasts. Her golden hair shone in the flickering light and her long lashes set shadows across her high cheekbones.

She sat in a wing chair, her skirts gathered demurely around her. First, she glanced at him and then back at Gabriel Palmer who sat a few feet away, his face set and his booted legs outstretched. It was a clear signal for one of them to begin.

Though it was the last subject he wanted to discuss, it needed to be done. Too restless to sit, Dare stood by the fireplace. His brooding gaze followed the dancing flames. “There were seven of us,” he began without preamble. “Your father gathered us, you might say, recruited could even be more accurate. Seven young men who possessed various unusual abilities that intrigued him were invited to take a special class. We all were different, but tied to together with a common thread."

"I think we all needed that particular communion, for a lifetime of feeling outcast can make even someone of privileged birth have an unhappy youth,” Gabriel murmured.

Dare glanced at Susanna's face, meeting her luminous violet gaze. “You may guess, from what you know of your father's studies and my own historical works, what our common interest might be."

"Magic,” she said slowly.

"Yes.” A cynical smile twisted his mouth. “In retrospect, we were damnably arrogant. I suppose for myself, having been forced all my life to try to conceal a part of me that was nearly impossible to hide, so Gabriel is right. It was refreshing to find a group of friends, comrades who admired my abilities, rather than feared me because of them."

Lifting a brow, Gabriel laughed. The low sound held no mirth. “Oh, we feared you, my friend, but for different reasons. However, I second what you are saying. I think we all were relieved to find others of our kind. Had we simply left it that way, been brothers in our mutual exile from the ordinary world, it would have been harmless."

"But what happened was far from harmless.” The words were unpalatable, and Dare spit them out quickly. “I do not blame your father, Susanna, nor should you, for what I am about to tell you. We fascinated him, and in turn, he instructed us in the history of men like ourselves. Men who he believed dabbled in an alternate reality of the human senses, and in course, changed history.

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