Set in Stone: A Contemporary Adventure Romance Novel (Legend Book 1) Read online

  “You may go home whenever you like—I just thought it would be nice to have accommodations for you here. I’m sure you get carried away with your art, and time becomes something unimportant.” That was so not true of our current situation. Time was against us. We had so very little of it.

  “You would also like to take me to charity events for me to network?” I watched her eyes narrow on mine.

  “It would be of great importance to your career.”

  She mulled over the thought and then nodded. “Very well.”

  As she uncapped the fountain pen, I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. It pounded like the drums of war.

  Am I one step closer to my goal?

  With a flourish, she signed her name at the bottom of the contract where I’d already placed my signature earlier. I rested her hands on the document. I could see the strain in her face. My reassurances weren’t enough to keep her intelligence from overthinking my intentions. She started playing with the uncapped fountain pen, nervous. My eyes narrowed; was she going to recant? Recant and run away?

  “Ouch!”

  Her outburst brought me out of my head and back to reality. She held her finger up to her mouth; the sharp-tipped fountain pen dropped to the table. M was at her side instantly.

  “Are you all right, Ms. York?” M would still be formal. It was his way.

  “Yes, I’m used to it; it’s fine. I cut myself on my tools all the time.” She gave M a reassuring smile. “I’m just a klutz.”

  “No worries, Ms. York.” M seemed pleased with himself as he looked at the contract. “I just wanted to make sure.”

  A memory flashed before my eyes.

  “Promise me!” a panicked voice called out to me.

  I watched helplessly as the tall, broad-shouldered man forced her into a chair.

  “Avalon!” She sobbed. “Promise me one day you’ll bind us together! So we can never part!”

  “I swear!” I replied. “We shall make a promise that will never be undone, Christine.”

  That had been one hundred and sixty-two years ago.

  My head reeled. I realized what had just happened. I had to move or grip the chair in front of me to keep from falling to my knees. I had to see. I had to know.

  M’s cool eyes met mine, and I glowered at him. He had gone too far in assuring me this time. We had never discussed this.

  Too. Damn. Far.

  I looked at the contract. Cursing in my head, I saw the small blood droplets next to our names.

  “Are you hurt?” I took her finger to inspect it myself. I pulled the handkerchief from my pocket and wrapped it around her finger.

  “It’s just a cut. Why?” She gazed back up at me with confusion.

  M quietly slipped the contract out and away from us both.

  He had been there that day as Christine had been erased from my life. He’d heard our exchange and had vowed to find a way to make that promise a reality for me. But we had never discussed it for Alexandria in this lifetime.

  If I could have turned back time, I would never have brought her here. I would have kept her at a distance and let the time wash us out until next time. But this, sealed in blood, meant sealed to the death. Should I never succeed in breaking my curse, I would fall into an endless sleep. Should I never succeed, Alexandria would be bound to take my place, walking the Earth for all eternity.

  Seven

  Alexandria

  I had just poked myself on a damn fountain pen; I didn’t know what the huge deal was. Avalon was staring at me as if I had just slit my wrists, and M was quietly tucking away the contract. I took control, trying to steady the situation.

  “When would you like me to start?”

  It took the man before me, who was still studying my hand and blinking as if arguing with himself, a moment to answer.

  “Avalon?”

  I leaned my head toward him, and his eyes jolted upright to look at me. His gray eyes were clouded.

  What’s with him?

  “Forgive me, um, whenever is comfortable for you.” He gave a tight smile. “Just let me know if you are coming to stay for a while or for a weekend, so I can have your guest suite ready.”

  “I can start this coming weekend if you’d like?” I had nothing else going on. Elaine could handle the classes, and there were no upcoming shows. The check I’d just cashed from this man alone for the Legend piece would keep me set for months. Not to mention, the amount I would get after I finished this Eros and Psyche project would be more than enough to survive on for a almost a year.

  “Oh, of course. If you would like to start that soon, that is just fine.” Avalon’s face melded into a tight smile.

  His smiles never reached his eyes, which I found quite strange. My grandmother always told me that a person’s eyes told one everything one needed to know about who a person was. Avalon seemed kind but also slightly cold.

  No, very cold and distant. I would have to keep my guard up with him. I nodded and stood, exhaling through my nose. “Then I shall see you on Friday.”

  Avalon gave a tight-lipped smile.

  “I will be staying, so I can get a good start on the piece and set up. I will need a proper place to build.”

  “We will have everything you need. I take it you are leaving?” Avalon settled his arms over his chest.

  For the first time, my eyes noticed the flash of silver around his neck.

  He must be wearing a necklace of some kind.

  “Ms. York?”

  My attention was brought back to the smooth, resonant voice that was getting louder the closer he got to me. As I looked up into his face, I froze. I hated the way he made me feel. My hands balled into fists, and I willed myself to speak.

  “Yes, I am going to head back into the city to drop off the van. I will be in touch.” I backed away, my tension evaporating with the space I put between us.

  Avalon followed my movements, stalking step by step with his hands clasped behind his back, and a devilish glint in those clouded eyes.

  “I look forward to seeing you hard at work. M, please show Ms. York out.” He bowed his head with a flagrant grace.

  I nodded before walking a few steps ahead of the butler. My eyes couldn’t help but scan the walls as we walked back to the grand staircase.

  “Have a safe trip, Ms. York.” M bowed, much lower than his employer had.

  I decided I liked M. He seemed much easier to get along with than Avalon.

  “See you soon, M. Thank you.”

  Everything seemed like a dream. The estate, the inhabitants, the treasures hidden inside—everything was like a fairy tale. I was Alexandria York, up-and-coming sculptor, and was already being commissioned by dukes and huge corporations. I smirked a bit, my thoughts racing.

  Perhaps the queen is next.

  It was a quiet drive back to London until I got to the outskirts. I sighed as people darted in and out of the lanes mindlessly. I couldn’t wait to soak in a bath up to my nose. Though Caliburn Estate was up-to-date with heat and electricity, the dampness of the air outside had chilled me.

  Elaine was on the couch, watching a program, when I came through the door. I saw her red head bob as she turned off the telly.

  “So how was it?” She sat on her knees, leaning against the back of the couch.

  I ran a hand through my hair. “It went well. I’m going to start on the commission piece for him this weekend.” I put my jacket on its hook, and I headed toward my room. “I’ll be gone for a while.”

  “He’s letting you stay there?” Her ginger eyebrows arched. “Are you sure that’s professional?”

  I shrugged. “It beats driving back and forth on the weekend. I only plan on staying for the weekend, nothing more.”

  Elaine nodded, but her eyes still full of worry. “All right, I trust your judgment. But if there is any funny business, get out as soon as you can or call me.”

  I leaned against the door to my room, crossing my arms. “Why are you so concerned?”
/>   My friend was slow to answer.

  “I just saw the way he looked at you, Allie. I wouldn’t put it past him to make a move on you.”

  My stomach flip-flopped. So it wasn’t my imagination. Elaine saw Avalon’s intentions just as I had. A part of me grew fearful and the other part—daring. It had been a while since a man tossed me a line of intrigue.

  “I’m sure he means me no harm. He was a complete gentleman today.” Perhaps a bit of a flirt and purposely trying to seduce the idea of working for him, but nothing he’d done or said had held malicious intent. Well, he had gotten heated when I answered him honestly about what I thought of him as a person.

  “I trust ya, Allie.” Elaine turned back around and flipped the program back on.

  That was all I needed to make an exit.

  I closed myself off from the rest of the world in the safe harbor of my own room. I flopped down onto my bed and just lay there for a moment. Mixed thoughts prodded my mind as I stared up at the ceiling. If I went through with this Friday through Sunday, I would be at Caliburn, and Avalon would be there. We would have the ability to talk, eat together, go riding together . . . or he’d stay away and leave me in peace to work.

  Rolling over, I huffed.

  Do I want him to leave me alone?

  My stomach twisted again with the memory of the way his eyes bore into mine. How could one look make me feel so heated and so cold at the same time? It was as if he was challenging me on one hand and enticing me on the other.

  What did he want?

  Did he even know?

  He had had a wife. She had cheated on him, and Avalon had tossed her out. Did he regret it once she’d grown ill and died? How badly did he still hurt from the loss of her and her betrayal?

  “You’ll have to go find out . . . ” My voice was a whisper as I spoke to myself.

  I surveyed the room around me as I sat up. Pictures plastered the wall in organized, sleek frames. Smiles from my mother and father made my heart ache.

  Dad had worked for a hush-hush, government-run organization. He was a scientist while my mother was a painter. They made a dynamic pair . . . the best parents a girl could ask for. Both created intricate things for a living, but their lives had been cut short. I forced the negatives out of my head, and clapping my hands together, I strode to the bathroom.

  The deep Jacuzzi tub was perfect for soaking, and I was in need of relaxation. I lit a few candles around the edge while running the hot water. I kept a small fridge in my room, and I took a sparkling water in with me, shut the door, clipped up my hair, and stripped. After testing the water with my foot, I eagerly sank into the hot bath. Propping myself up with a towel behind my neck, I uncapped the sparkling water and tried to relax.

  In a week, I’d be living in a castle turned estate, working for a duke who either hated me or wanted me—for whatever his reasons. I thought about Avalon and the way he had asked me to call him by his given name. I was sure he had a true birth name, but something was mythical and sexy about the name Avalon. He was everything and nothing, all at the same time.

  Then there was that stranger in my dreams. The one I couldn’t see but wanted oh-so-badly. His touch was demanding and firm but controlled. This brute of a man wanted to take me, and I needed him to take me. I wiped my face with a wet hand. I hadn’t been with a man in over a year. Not since Lancer.

  Not since the one man I had thought would make me his wife. Maybe the dreams were a sad, sick way to fill a void. Sure, it was strange they had started right after meeting Avalon. A man like Avalon—with his looks, eyes, jet-black hair, wealth, grace, poise, the list went on and on—would cause any woman to fantasize. No matter how much of a mystery he was underneath it all, the duke left me wanting him in the dark corners of my mind.

  I sat at the old, oak table in the kitchen of my grandmother’s well-kept country home in Norfolk. After a day of lamenting the what-ifs of living with the Duke of Avalon, I had called the closest family I had—Margaret York. I hadn’t been able to sleep well. Nerves weren’t allowing the time I had awake to be pleasant either.

  So I had called Grandma. Watching her bustle around the kitchen, I grinned as she set tuna fish sandwiches on a plate followed by mugs of tea. Even at seventy-nine, she didn’t slow down. Finally, the older woman turned, graying blonde hair and bright-blue eyes twinkling at me.

  “So tell me about this job that has you all in a knot.”

  I took a mug of tea and smiled my thanks. She cut the sandwich in fourths just as she’d always done when I was a child. I took a sip of the heady tea. It soothed my nerves, and I was able to focus on the task at hand.

  “I am commissioned to do a very large piece of artwork for one of the nobility.”

  I watched for her reaction. Grandmother took a drink of her tea.

  “Who?” Her voice was soft, unchanging.

  She’d steadied me throughout the entirety of my life.

  “The Duke of Avalon has asked me to work on a piece.”

  The mug halted halfway to her pursed lips. Blue eyes studied me carefully, the wrinkles at the corners tightening as barely noticeable eyebrows furrowed. That was not the reaction I was hoping for.

  “Avalon? When did you have the chance to grace him with your presence?” She watched me carefully, the wheels turning in her mind. I could sense they had met before.

  “Elaine and I went riding out in Kent and stumbled upon a trail that accidentally led us to Caliburn Estate.” I shrugged. “He was nice about the mistake.”

  “How did he know you are an artist?” Her thin brow arched higher.

  I set the mug down, pursing my lips. “He is a patron of the CAC and came to my art show last week. From there, he asked me to create a piece for him. It’s fine, really.” Though I was having a hard time believing I would be fine.

  With a small huff, she leaned back in her chair. “I have been around for a long while now, and if there is one man I always knew to be cautious around, it was the Duke of Avalon. Your grandfather ran in high-society circles, as you well know, and bumped heads with him on more than one occasion.”

  “You mean with his father?” Eyes narrowing, I suddenly became suspicious. My grandfather had bumped heads with Avalon?

  Her face grew solemn and then she cracked a smile. “All of the Avalons are the same, my dear—always looking out for them.”

  My nerves picked up again. This wasn’t what I needed to hear! I needed to hear that my doing a commissioned piece for a noble was a fantastic kickoff to my career! So why did I think I had just sold my soul to the devil?

  “I already agreed to work for him and signed the contract. I start this weekend.” My voice was low, more of a mumbling sound as I was losing faith in what I thought I believed.

  My grandmother reached over and patted my hand.

  “I’m sure you will be able to deal with the Dragon.” With a wink, she stood.

  She walked out of the room for a few moments before coming back with a small piece of what appeared to be leather. It was a dagger housed in a gorgeous, chestnut-colored sheath. Weathered hands held it out to me.

  “What’s this?” I took the small weapon from my grandmother. I admired the intricate tooling of the sheath. Patterns and symbols ran over and over while the handle was just as decorated. I drew the blade out slowly; the steel looked like new.

  “It belonged to an ancestor of ours.” She sat back down next to me. “The dagger’s name is Pridwen. Should you need any extra arms against the duke, this should do the trick.”

  “Do you truly think he’d attack me? I don’t want to go, if that’s the case.” The panic that surged through my body was overwhelming. Did Grandmother know something I didn’t?

  “No, child, you’ll be fine. You could end up using it against a street urchin for all I bloody know. You’ve already signed; you must see it through to the end.” She settled back down in her seat carefully, as her old bones didn’t move well anymore. “You will also need this.” She pulled o
ut a velvet box from her apron pocket and slid it over to me. “They were mine.”

  Carefully, I opened the box to reveal a set of blue sapphires surrounded in diamonds. The necklace was heavier than I was used to, and the earrings were oval drops. I had seen pictures of her wearing them whenever she and Grandfather were out at galas or parties. They had been a very well respected couple. I bit my lip to hold back tears.

  “Why are you giving them to me?”

  “Every lady needs a good set of gems.” She reached across again and pushed a strand of hair from my face. “Besides, a woman never knows when she could be making a public appearance with a duke.”

  I chuckled. “The Black Duke. I’d be the Black Duchess . . . the Dragoness,” I joked, but looking into wise, old eyes, I quieted.

  “You will be the light in his darkness and the master of his demons. Just don’t lose your heart, and all manner of things shall be well.” She patted my hands.

  I forced a smile. The Duke of Avalon was just a client—an important client but a client just the same. I would go, do my job, and leave. I would keep his gifts . . . believe he’d given them in good faith. I wouldn’t let him treat me like a servant or allow him to get too close. I couldn’t let him get too close. He already burned me with his gaze—God only knew how much damage he’d inflict with his hands.

  Eight

  Avalon

  The chain moaned under the swinging bag as hit after hit landed in an angry fury of strikes and kicks. I put everything into my fists. Sweat coated my body, and my limbs screamed for me to stop, but I kept going. The anger, the guilt, the shame . . . it was all too much. I twisted my body and heard the force of my roundhouse land with a sickening crack as the bag fell to the floor. That was the third bag of the day.

  I glared at the bag, cursing it for being weak. My hands were wrapped, but I could already feel the bruising. My hair matted against my forehead, and I didn’t bother to wipe away the trickles of sweat that stung my eyes. He was watching. I could feel him. Every muscle in my body coiled in bitter anger. I reached for a long sword that hung on the wall, withdrew the blade from its sheath, and steadied my stance. I swung the blade around the crook of my thumb and index finger. Holding a sword in my hand was as natural to me as breathing.