A Vampire's Life Book 6

Chapter 25

The sounds of soft murmurs whispered throughout the corridors, staff cleaning and mindlessly chatting. Zane could smell something intoxicating coming from the kitchen, breakfast was being prepared. He could feel the hunger pangs biting at his stomach but ignored them, he was far too intrigued about what Ariella wanted to show him. They passed the main entry, one of the maids sweeping by the doors to the parlour. She didn't notice them as they quietly passed and continued with her humming as she mindlessly went about her duties. Zane hadn't ventured far through the grand house. He had a mental map of the place from his time spent gardening around the exterior of the place, but as for venturing inside, his time had been limited. The visit to her father's study, the meals in the dining room, the pre-dinner drinks that were in either the parlour or the formal lounge. He had spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen, smooth talking Frankie into parting with some information about Ariella. And then there was Ariella's room, he had investigated that far more than he cared to admit. But learning that Harvey had been here long enough to find his way to this so called safe made him realise how terrible his attempt at finding the heart really was. Zane had no clue where this safe was, or what it was. He had been blinded by Ariella and her beauty, his heart had been snatched by her love and all he could think about was her. It didn't matter if it was time under the sheets, walking in the gardens, swimming in the lake or maybe a meal with her. All he wanted was her by his side.

Zane knew this part of the residence; he had walked this path not so long ago. His heart had been hammering hard that day, fearing the man he was going to see. How could you look a man in the eye, while in your mind you know you've done some very dirty things to his daughter? Zane still feared to look him in the eye. Ariella did the cold and menacing look rather well and her teacher was her father, the king of the death stare. Lucas was brooding and quiet which in Zane's opinion made him a lot scarier. The way those blue eyes stared at him, it was unnerving and a little freaky. He hadn't made his way into Lucas's good books yet, Zane figured that it was a very long way away, if he ever made it there. They reached an old door, the wall it sat on turned a corner, sitting just around this corner was an open area. It had several closed doors and one very flash set of stairs. Zane stared at the rich red wood banister that curled around and up to the next floor, the wood steps were covered in a carpet runner. It was detailed with little flowers and swirls, a golden rod fixed it to the back of the step. Below the staircase was a door that had a keypad on the wall beside it, Zane frowned at it.

'The safe.' Ariella whispered 'My parents room upstairs.'

She tugged his hand closer to the door. Zane frowned as he looked at the door that he knew was her father's study, then back to the door in front of him. He didn't remember this door. Even though he was pretty nervous, he thought that he would have remembered seeing this door. It was far different from the others. In fact, the door in front of him looked out of place. The other doors were like every single door in this residence but this one looked old. Long hinges were firmly fixed to the door unlike the other modern versions that were neatly hidden. The handle was an o shape whereas the others were a standard door handle. Old wood that looked like it had been in the weather, in dire need of restoration and the others were painted or varnished to perfection. Zane couldn't figure out what the deal was with this door, it was peculiar. Ariella opened the old ornate door, behind it was darkness. The light flickered on revealing a spiral staircase tucked into a tiny circular room. As they ascended the stairs Zane wondered what it was that he was about to be shown. Ariella opened another old ornate door at the top of the stairs. The room was dark; the only light was from the staircase. He couldn't see her as she moved through the room until she flicked open the curtains, letting the morning sun pour into the room.