You’ve had your measure of joy. More than you deserve. Give up and leave Miles free to find someone who will make him happy. You want him to be happy, don’t you? He’ll never be happy with you.
The eyes flickered toward the door without releasing their influence over her. She knew that the voice, the eyes, wanted her to leave the bed now, to leave Miles’s side.
“No,” she said almost soundlessly, while forces she couldn’t see and didn’t understand tugged at her, compelled compliance. She squeezed her eyes shut, although some preternatural sense knew that the red lights still burned down at her like twin flames of hell.
You know this happiness won’t last. Don’t let your joy turn to bitterness. Come with me. I’ll give you peace.
“I’ve found peace.”
Again, that low, contemptuous laugh. The voice obviously considered her answer completely fatuous. Unfortunately, right now, so did she.
Still she fought back. When Miles had held her in his arms, she’d felt his love like a living entity. She couldn’t believe he’d been lying when he said he loved her. He’d been so tender, so passionate, so eager to show her pleasure.
Of course he loved her. He loved her.
Yes, he loves you now. But for how long?
“Forever,” she whispered, but both she and the voice knew she lied.
For long silent minutes, she and whatever malign spirit inhabited this room battled one another. And all the while, doubts scuttled through her mind like cockroaches.
She resisted until the pull became too strong to withstand.
Slowly she sat up. Miles’s arm fell away from her. Immediately she felt the absence of his protective embrace.
Even as what remained of her real self insisted that she still possessed an independent will, she tugged her nightdress over her head. It was almost a relief to give in to the voice’s power. She’d fought her doubts for so long. She found strange but powerful consolation in finally surrendering to them.
Come. Come with me. You’ll never be sad again. You’ll never have to see love grow old and hopes fade to nothing.
Now that she cooperated with its demands, the voice was no longer evil. Instead it was sweet. The sweetest sound Calista had ever heard, apart from Miles telling her he loved her.
Would she ever hear him say those words again?
Come with me, Calista. Come to a wonderful realm where you’ll never be sad again.
She could no more ignore the voice’s commands than she could make herself stop loving Miles.
As she rose from the bed, she heard Miles mutter something, but the ruby eyes prevented her from speaking to him or looking back. Instead she drifted toward the door, already open, although she knew it had been firmly shut when she and Miles lay together.
The moon floated behind the huge mullioned windows, showing her the way. Brighter than the moon, those two red lights lured her further along the hallway.
“Calista?” Miles voice behind her was thick with sleep.
She struggled to answer, but her trance-like state robbed her of speech. She faced toward the door, toward the freedom the voice offered her if only she obeyed.
“Calista, where are you going?” Through her daze, she registered that he sounded worried, loving. She heard the bed creak as he shifted.
He doesn’t really love you. You know that.
The voice no longer taunted. The words only pierced so deeply because they were true. Miles might believe that he loved her now. After what they’d just shared, even she believed that he loved her now.
But she was too awkward, too plain, too adoring, too clever. Too…Calista Aston for him to love her forever.
That’s right. That’s right. Better to save yourself a lifetime of pain. You know it’s what you want.
The voice promised tranquility, an end to the spiteful chatter that tormented her mind. She thought she’d found rest in Miles’s arms, but she’d been deceived. Only the ruby eyes could give her rest. She turned toward the twin red lights almost in relief, ignoring Miles calling after her. His voice seemed to come from far away, although he was mere feet behind her in the bed.
Purpose gripped her as she headed for the staircase. Her mind kept enough hold on reality to recognize that it was still dark, the middle of the night. But as she followed the dancing lights in front of her, she could see as clearly as at midday.