Chapter Forty

Lucianne folded the music score and tucked it into the pocket inside her coat before she stood back up. Looking down at the mess, she didn't even blink or bother to clean it up before she brisk walked to the door and left the room. She was rushing down the staircase and at the top of the one that faced the front doors when she saw Gabriel at the foot of the stairs.

He put his hands in the pockets of his trench coat and gazed up at her, a happy smile on his lips. She descended the stairs down to the ground floor and he came up to her.

"Lucianne," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just visiting."

"Do you want to come up to my room?"

She shook her head. "I have somewhere I need to be."

"Where?"

"I need to go back to my tower."

"Can't you stay for a while?"

"I want to, but - " she said as he cupped her cheek, brushing the back of his finger across her skin there. "Gabriel."

"I miss you."

"I miss you too," she said and he closed the distance between them. Pressing his lips to hers, he kissed her repeatedly, and the pit of her stomach twisted.

"You're always on my mind," he said to her.

"I'm always thinking about you too."

"You taste so intoxicating," he whispered, then kissed her again. His hands inched inside her coat, wrapping around her waist and pulling her in. His hand found the small of her back and caressed her there. "You're like a drug."

She ran her fingers through his hair, her cheek resting against the side of his head. "You're like wine," she moaned.

His hand reached from her back to her hip, and he nudged her there. The back of his hand scraped against the inside of her coat. Her hand flew to his arm and she grabbed onto it, pulling it away from her body.

"What's wrong?" Gabriel asked.

"I really need to go."

"You can't stay even for an hour?"

"No."

Disappointment flashed across his face. "Alright, then. I'll see you again."

"Bye, Gabriel," she said, then left his mansion. Thunder rolled above her as she made her way back to her tower. She opened the tower door, ascending the stairs, not even bothering to lock the door behind her. When she was at the open area outside her room, she removed the music score from her coat and went for the grand piano.

She opened it and placed the music score on the stand. Placing it side by side, she read through it, preparing herself for the melody that she would play. It echoed in her head, and her fingers begged her to touch the piano keys.

She touched the piano keys, and her fingers moved like they were possessed. They flew across the keys, churning the haunting melody out like they have been playing that melody for years. She felt like her soul had heard it before, but she couldn't recall where she had heard it from. Her fingers continued to drift, and her muscles relaxed. Soon, the melody neared the end.

And she hit the extreme button at the end of the piano.

She sat there, heart in her throat as the button sank down under her finger. It remained fixed there, pressed in. The sound that came out was deep, instead of the shrill sound it was supposed to be. Slowly, the piano key regained its original position, filling back up to the height of the other keys.

Nothing happened.

She stared at the button, a million questions in her head. She was sure she had pressed the piano key. Her finger found it again and she pressed onto it, but it was like before she had played the melody. It was stiff and frozen in place. She pounded her fist into it, trying to get it to sink back down like it had when it happened.

A loud boom echoed through the tower.

She jumped in her seat, then lifted her head up to see what had caused the sound. Right before her on the wall was a section of bricks that puffed dust out. The section caved inwards with a booming groan, smoke enveloping the area before it.

Lucianne's jaw dropped. The edges of the section were jagged, the bricks in a staggered fashion. It continued to move inwards until it parted to the side, revealing empty space inside.

It was a secret pathway.