For a second, it seemed Roman wasn’t going to speak, gasps garbled, but then his trembling voice said, “For leaving my room without permission. I went to the forest—it’s the third time. And I ate something when it wasn’t dinner.”
Tyler had to take a breath to process that bullshit. What did that have to do with anything? “What were you doing in there? The forest, I mean.”
“I was using my magic,” Roman confessed.
Bingo. “Using your magic for what?”
“I was Listening.”
That threw Tyler off. Roman had Listening Magic? “Listening to what?” he pressed.
“To the trees. To—to the forest.” Roman was trembling, his whole body shaking with violent tremors. Tyler didn’t know why that was happening, but he had to push aside his instincts to comfort the man below him.
“For what? What were you searching for?” Roman wasn’t answering the fucking question, acting dumb about what Tyler was actually after.
“For…for my own selfish purposes. For…” Roman choked on nothing. “I don’t know. It’s weak, I need to stop. I’m sorry.”
This wasn’t going anywhere. “Okay, stand up.”
Tyler hadn’t realised exactly how much Roman was shifting and flinching until all movement stopped. He simply crouched there, bent over his knees like a statue.
“Roman…” Tyler warned.
Roman sprang into motion, scrambling to his feet. He was dirty across his front, his hair, his face, but he didn’t even try to brush it off. He just stood there, gaze down, face paler than Tyler had ever seen it.
“Roman,” Tyler said, keeping his voice steady. “Have you hurt anybody? Or an animal?”
Roman’s eyes widened, although he still didn’t look up. “No.”
“When you came out of the forest, you were scared. Why?”
“Because…because you didn’t give me permission to leave my room today, and I did anyway,” Roman whispered.
“What does that even mean? You don’t need my permission to leave your room. You know that, right?” A sick feeling was taking over his stomach as Roman didn’t reply. “Roman. You know you can leave your room without my permission.”
“I wasn’t sure. I should have checked with you. I’m sorry.”
“No, that’s—you didn’t have to check in with me. You can go anywhere in the coven. I’m not your keeper.”
Something strange passed over Roman’s face, like a pained wince, but then it fell into the nothingness Tyler was familiar with. “Oh.”
Tyler stared at him for a long stretch. His heart was pounding with adrenaline. Was that why people had barely seen Roman?
Suddenly, something else Roman had said a few moments before struck him. ‘I ate something without your permission.’
“And you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want. You’ve been going to meals, right? Or, like, eating?”
There was a long stretch of silence. “I’ve been having dinner,” Roman said eventually.
“And…?”
“And I had a hot chocolate and croissant at the bakery. I’m sorry.”
Why was Roman apologising?
What the fuck was going on?
Tyler was cut off by his phone buzzing to life, making both men jump. He looked at the screen. It was Connie.
“Shit,” Tyler cursed. “Just…” He picked up the phone. “Hey. Con. Let me call you in a sec.”
“But—” Connie’s voice cut off as Tyler hung up.
“Okay,” Tyler said, pressing a palm to his head. “I think there’s been some misunderstanding. You’re not in prison. I’m not your warden. You can do whatever you want as long as you don’t, you know, do any shady shit like hurt anybody. And you should definitely be eating at least three times a day. You…” Another terrible thought dawned on him. “Those first days, before I made you go to dinner. Did you eat?”
Roman opened his mouth, but he appeared stuck, no noise coming out.
It was enough of an answer. “Fuck,” Tyler cursed, regretting it as soon as Roman flinched. “Not at you. I mean, I’m not mad at you or anything. I’m just…”
Tyler’s phone started buzzing again. He bit down a curse, declining the call.
“I—are you okay? You’re covered in dirt,” Tyler pointed out, at a loss for what to say.
Like a puppet being controlled, Roman brushed himself off with jerky movements. Tyler watched him, something like despair and a lot like guilt curdling in his stomach.
“Okay. I think there’s been a misunderstanding here somewhere. I didn’t mean to scare you. You just came out of the forest looking shifty and I just…I jumped to conclusions. I’m sorry.”
Roman shook his head vehemently.
Tyler sighed. He was getting the impression that his presence wasn’t doing Roman any good. “How about you go get cleaned up, and I’ll check on you in like twenty minutes, okay?”
Roman nodded and, after a second of hesitation, headed to the Main House.
Tyler had to take a moment to just stand there because… What the fuck.
What the fuck?
Tyler couldn’t banish the image of Roman falling to his knees like that. The way he’d been shaking. It was such a departure from Roman’s usual demeanour that it already felt incredible, like someone else’s memory.
If all of that had been an act…
His instincts were telling him that had been real—a sub in distress. The logical part of him, though, pointed out how convenient that reaction had been to immediately throw Tyler off the scent.
He pressed his palms to his forehead. His insides were all scrambled up. It’d be impossible to sort through all of what he was feeling right now.
He focused on doing what Archie had requested—called Connie back and ignored her pissed-off attitude at his dropped calls to tell her he’d be coming over. Contacted Lark to see where Cross was. Found Cross in the dining room and asked him if he wanted to go to the farm.
By the time Cross had agreed, it’d nearly been twenty minutes.
“Okay. Can you wait for me here? I won’t be long,” Tyler said.
Cross nodded, and Tyler went up the stairs slowly, his stomach heavy.
He knocked on Roman’s door, dreading what would be on the other side. The very thought that the sub might Drop because of what Tyler had done was too much to even think about.
When Roman opened the door, though, he seemed…fine. His hair was in wet curls, clothes neat and clean. He went and sat on his bed like always, face blank. There wasn’t a hint of distress—Roman wasn’t fidgeting or tense. His face was placid. Indifferent.
At that moment, Tyler simply couldn’t tell if this was the mask, or if Roman’s supplication had been an act.
“Uh…” Tyler struggled to find the right words. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. Thank you,” Roman replied promptly. “I’m sorry about before. I haven’t been sleeping well. I don’t know why I did that.”
Tyler searched his face for a lie, but there was nothing there—not truth or deceit. “Okay.” He could turn around, leave Roman. Report back to Archie later and tell him what happened, have him Listen in the woods for corruption.