Dark Solace by Tara Fox Hall Read Free Book Online

Lash said quietly,
breaking my thoughts.
    I turned it on, and booted it up. Soon, I was
printing him out pictures of the scaffolding I had described to
him.
    “This might save us a lot of time,” Lash
hissed, studying the sheets. “I’ll see if I can’t rent one of these
instead of building wooden scaffolding. It’s a waste of
lumber.”
    “You talk like you’ve worked construction,
too,” I said, looking over at him curiously.
    “Like you, I wasn’t always what I am now,”
Lash replied. “I did construction in my youth.” He cracked a smile.
“But unlike you, I did build things.”
    An ideal job if you were a snake in Florida.
Lash would have been out in the sun all day, and he was certainly
strong enough. “I’m glad to help out,” I said, flicking off the
computer. “If you need help with those trees, I can bring my
chainsaw. One more blade cutting can make a huge difference.”
    Lash looked at me like I had to be joking. It
was also obvious that he didn’t think I would be much benefit. “If
you want to help, we are doing it this coming Friday. It’s supposed
to be clear that day. The equipment is being delivered the day
before.”
    “I’ll come,” I affirmed, standing up. “But
now I’d better start on my filing.” Heading into the records room,
I began looking through the last non-white box.
    Lash leaned against the door and watched me.
It had been a while since he had done that, but it was familiar
enough that I didn’t worry about it. I was surprised, though, after
his admission that watching me wasn’t necessary.
    When I finished the last box, I thought about
starting on the white boxes, but couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Instead I leaned on the open drawer, running my fingers aimlessly
down the files I’d marked. I didn’t want to file anything else. I
wanted to go curl up somewhere. I really, really didn’t want to
face Devlin.
    There was a furtive movement behind me. I
turned around fast, startled to find myself looking straight into
Lash’s flat eyes. To my surprise, he wasn’t as tall as Danial, or
Devlin, or even Theo; he was just over my own height. I’d never
noticed that before.
    “Sar, come have dinner,” Lash offered,
something close to affection in his tone. “Devlin will be home
soon, and you should eat something. He will not be letting you
leave the bed, once you say you want him back.”
    “I thought you wanted me to work,” I said
shortly, trying not to shudder at his words. “I thought—”
    Lash reached out and hugged me, making me
freeze. “You don’t have to eat with me,” he hissed hesitantly. “But
you should eat something. Your body is still recovering from giving
life.”
    I smelled his scent again, autumn leaves,
leather, and musk. And earth, under them all. “Want to take me for
sushi?” I said softly. “I haven’t been, since that day with
you.”
    “Sure,” Lash hissed. He made to withdraw from
me, but I held onto him.
    He stopped pulling away. “What is it?” he
hissed, shifting uncomfortably.
    “Do you know what Annabelle looked like? I
was curious.”
    Lash eased out of my embrace. “Come with me,”
he said, taking my hand. He led me back to Devlin’s study, past the
bookshelves to a small recessed alcove in the far wall. There hung
a large portrait done in oil, illuminated with a soft spotlight.
“That is Dev’s Anna,” he hissed. “The only portrait he keeps out.
The rest are hidden away in his vault. He goes there sometimes to
remember her, but he’s stopped doing that so much since he met
you.”
    I’d imagined Anna a goddess. Instead, I was
surprised to see she had not been traditionally beautiful. Her hair
was mousy brown, and fell around her shoulders in corkscrew curls.
Her eyes were also brown, a tad small, though they shone with
happiness. Her face was round, more than a little plump, which made
her look friendly and comforting. Her lips were a dark pink, like
mine, and not generous. At her throat was a gold