2
Luci
Seven and I are waiting down the hall in silence when Dante steps out of the bedroom and locks the door behind him.
“My office,” Dante orders, gesturing for us to follow as he strides past us.
I share a look with Seven, but say nothing as we both move to shadow Dante back through the halls.
As we walk, I take note of the way Evelyn’s scent still faintly lingers even after all these days, trailing along the right side of the hallway. I secretly track it as we walk, partly out of curiosity, partly out of habit, and partly out of concern as to where she might have gone.
Her scent always disappears just outside the darkroom, and I can’t help but wonder if she somehow managed to get inside.
I’d tried to check a couple days ago when her scent was still strong, but the door was locked. Only Seven has the key, and it wouldn’t matter if I could unlock the door anyway. The chemicals he uses are far too powerful for her scent to be traceable anymore.
The only thing I do know for certain is that she tried to open the door, but that’s to be expected. After all, she touched every single door up until this one.
“Have either of you been in the darkroom the past few days?” Dante suddenly asks, as if reading my thoughts.
“I’ve been stuck here,” Seven says. “What reason would I have to go in there?”
Dante glares at him for a moment before reaching for the door handle. Turning it, he seems relieved to find it doesn’t budge.
Locked.
“And you haven’t lost your keys again?”
“No.”
“Are we done here?” I ask, glancing between the two.
Dante gives Seven a strange look and then nods as he turns to lead us back through the halls toward his office. He takes a seat behind his desk, leaning back in his chair as Seven and I move to stand opposite him.
“So?” Seven presses.
“I’ll start training her tonight, and I expect you both to kick things up a notch.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I ask, my eyes flickering to Seven briefly as I shake my head in disbelief. “What makes you think she’s ready?”
“She’s not, but we have no choice. She’ll never be ready if we continue to coddle her.”
“Why start now?”
“Because she’s asked me to, and she’s right. I’ve been holding us back. Time is running out, and she needs to know the truth depth of what she’s up against.”
“So, what’s the catch?” Seven asks.
“The catch is making sure we don’t push her too far,” Dante says, “and that she’s actually capable of following through with what we need from her. I have no doubt she intends to use this change of plans as a means of escape, but we know that can’t be allowed to happen.”
“As if escape is even possible given Valentine’s past,” Seven spits.
“We all know how risky the situation is.”
“I doubt Evi does,” Seven says, his jaw tightening.
“And that’s why training her well is so important. She must learn to be obedient, submissive,andresilient if she’s going to survive. We can’t let my father think that hecan’tcontrol her.”
I frown at him for several long seconds before it suddenly dawns on me what he means.