Haeven Read Online Free Page A

the end of the hallway there was only one way to turn
and that was left again. There was a wide doorway set a number of
feet back from the turn. It was closed and there was a man standing
in front of it and I couldn't tell if he was either guarding it or
just waiting for us to arrive.
    "Is he in?" Carah asked the man.
    "Yes," he replied.
    "Will he see me?"
    The man closed his eyes and concentrated, "He
wants to see the girl first."
    Carah's jaw visibly clenched, "Of
course."
    The man nodded back down the hallway
indicating to Carah that she should leave. Again, I started to
panic; my heart was racing and though I didn't like her and
distrusted her completely I clutched at Carah not to leave me.
"Please," I begged.
    She shook herself free from my grip and after
giving the man a vicious glare callously whirled away. I started
after her but only got a step or two when suddenly my feet wouldn't
obey me. I tried to move but was frozen in place and unable to do
anything but watch as Carah rounded the corner and disappeared from
my view.
    "Emily."
    I spun around though it was not of my own
volition.
    The man opened the door, "Go in."
    "No," I whispered and willfully tried to
stand my ground.
    The man smiled, "Strong," he said, "good." He
looked hard at me and the next thing I knew I was walking through
the doorway with him close on my heels. I heard the door whisper
closed behind me.  It was dim and I had a hard time making
anything out.
    The air seemed cold and the room somewhat
dreary compared to everything else I had seen so far. I felt myself
trembling both from my fear and the chill of the room itself. My
eyes slowly adjusted and I got the impression that we were in a
living room though it was much larger than any I had ever seen.
    There was a huge fireplace and furniture
scattered around it; coffee tables and chaises and lounge chairs.
Some of the walls had bookshelves and others had portraits,
pictures and paintings hanging from them. Though there were no
windows there were drapes at appropriate intervals cascading from
the ceiling to the floor to give the impression that there
were.
    As we approached the fireplace I noticed a
man standing in front of it with his back toward us. It looked as
though he was staring down into the flames and that he was quite
engrossed by their flickering light.
    My heart caught in my throat and I stopped
short staring at him across the distance between us. Slowly the man
began to turn and I could see a bit of his profile. He seemed to
pause for a moment, hesitant to face us for whatever reason. As I
gazed across the short distance to where he stood I felt like I was
looking at something that was divinely made; something magical and
unearthly.
    He visibly composed himself, or that was what
I imagined him to be doing and turned fully around.
    I took him all in at once – his black hair,
grey-green eyes, thick brows, firm jaw and full lips. I couldn't
breathe I was so captivated by what I saw. He looked just like
Daemon only...only...I couldn't put my finger on it because
something seemed to brush the thought aside.
    "Emily," he smiled with a warmth and
affection that implied he knew me and that we were dear friends. He
reached for one of my hands and brushed a kiss across their
knuckles. "I'm so sorry to bring you here like this," he looked
down at me and examined me from head to toe. "Carah told me what
happened," he sighed. "It was very..." he paused as though he was
searching for a suitable word, "unfortunate."
    "How..." I started to ask.
    "I know everything Carah knows," he assured
me.
    "Where are..."
    "Let's sit," he glanced over his shoulder,
"and I will tell you everything you need to know for now."
    I followed him to one of the chaises and
rather than sitting down beside me he drew one of the lounge chairs
up and sat directly across from me.
    "Wait outside, Avery," he called over his
shoulder to the man who brought me in.
    When we were alone he pulled his chair in
somewhat closer to me