Evermore, an Arotas Novella (The Arotas Series) by Amy Miles Page B

a hand and waves toward Sadie, plastering on a smile for her
benefit. “She can hear us, you know.”
    “Of
course. As can Gabriel.” She smiles as he looks up. She can see
the tension in his shoulders, but he continues his casual
conversation with William, who appears to be completely in the dark.
Sadie struggles more than Gabriel to hide her growing anxiety.
Roseline can tell she longs to be near Nicolae again and she doesn’t
blame her. She wouldn’t mind being in Gabriel’s arms
right now either.
    Placing
a hand on Nicolae’s shoulder, she forces herself to say, “We
will sort this out. I promise.” The hows and whys are left
unspoken. They both know this issue won’t be so easily solved.

    Dinner
that night is a somber affair. The long rows of tables are filled
with bowed heads and the sound of forks tapping idly against the
sides of plates hardly touched. No one feels like eating.
    Even
Williams's earlier carefree demeanor has shifted. His lips are
pressed tightly together and pale, his face slightly ashen in
appearance.
    All
around her sit immortals and hunters alike, each still fully armed.
There is a haze of unease in the castle tonight. Roseline doubts
anyone will sleep well, if at all.
    The
thought of who might be targeted next hangs heavily on everyone’s
mind. She has old and new friends in the field, spread to the far
reaches of the globe. The day after Costel Petran signed as one of
the founders of the newfound truce, he shipped off to England to head
up a group that chose to hole up in what remained of Torrent. The
former pub hasn’t recovered since she turned it upside down by
her torture and mutilation of Malachi. No one dares go into that room
even to this day.
    Some
of the hunters wounded during the battle at Bran Castle have remained
behind. Some to heal as humans, others continue to learn how to
control their newfound abilities after being turned. None were forced
to make this decision. Roseline saw to that.
    Katia
sits beside Gabriel, her own head bent low and her hands clasped in
her lap. Roseline knows how hard this transition into the world has
been for her. Most of her life was spent alone or with Seneh in the
frozen forests of Russia. At first she hid out in her room because of
Gabriel’s death, trying to find a way to come to terms with
losing a brother she had only briefly known. After his return for the
dead, Roseline quickly realized her withdrawal stemmed far deeper.
    It
was the noise that bothered her at first. The constant drivel of
conversation and the clashing of steel in the courtyard not far from
her room. As the weeks passed, she began to emerge from her room for
short spells. Now, half a year later, she has fully adjusted to life
in the castle, but her reclusive personality has not changed much.
    A
wallflower is what Gabriel kindly calls her. Roseline has seen
several of the men casting curious glances in her direction as she
passes in the halls, noticed the warm flush along her cheekbones as
she ducks her head and moves swiftly on.
    Katia
is not a wallflower. She’s just shy around men. Having Gabriel
home seems to have perked her up a bit, at least until Nicolae’s
rousing speech this afternoon that left everyone with a boulder of
bile firmly seated in their guts.
    “This
sucks.” Sadie growls, shoving her plate aside, right into her
water glass. It tumbles over, soaking the center of the table. The
white cloth darkens as the stain spreads, but no one makes a move to
help. “Why are we just waiting around here like something is
going to happen? The fight is out there.” She stabs her finger
toward the floor to ceiling windows that line the dining room. “That
is where we should be.”
    “It’s
not that simple,” Nicolae mutters. Roseline casts him a warning
glance, but he shakes his head. “They have a right to know.”
    “Nicolae…”
Gabriel starts as his friend rises. Roseline laces her fingers
through his. “This isn’t the time.”
    “No,”
Nicolae