Running through the halls and up the stairwell, I make my way to the room she occupied, just down the hall from my own. Taking a deep breath before opening the door, I try to prep myself for what will be behind this door. It swings open with just a push, exposing the expanse of her sitting area. My mind instantly goes to the night I fell asleep with my head in her lap as she ran her fingers through my hair. It was a first for me, nobody before her has ever shown me any affection of the sort.
My steps carry me farther into the room until I enter the sleeping chamber. The linens are rumpled as if thrown back in a hurry and there’s a chest sitting on the floor at the end of the bed. A layer of dust is sitting on top of it, as if it’s been sitting here forgotten for some time. Immediately I try to open it, but it’s locked. I know it’s hers though, there’s no mistaking her scent all over it.
Without thought, I begin pacing back and forth in front of her chest. Things aren’t adding up—no one remembers her being here, her chest covered with a layer of dust that didn’t have time to accumulate on its own... then there’s the sensation in my chest telling me her existence is missing from the world when I know she’s still here.
This could be a good thing. Silas not remembering her existence will protect her from his attention, especially if he turns around and doubts what I told him about burning her body. His memory gap will also account for him not being peeved at my disappearance from the castle, instead of helping him figure things out.
Being constantly in the dark from knowing what’s going on in my own life is becoming tiresome. At least with Cecily, I saw a glimmering light beginning to flicker to dispel the darkness surrounding my life, but now she’s no longer able to help me learn the things I need to know. Well, except for her journal. Every morsel she’s given me, I’ve been devouring and committing to memory.
Silas has books on magic as well... I need to learn everything I can get my hands on. As of right now, it’s up to me to figure out how to help Cecily come back to me.
Chapter 13
Cecily
Present
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I question Klaus. Was he trying to hide the fact he became matched with someone? He doesn’t know his mark matches mine. How was he not driven to start searching for his fated mate right away? Everything seems to be happening way too fast since I’ve woken up. What is going on with my mark being on several men at once? I can’t handle this... the world feels like it’s closing in on me.
Trying to keep my face blank is becoming more and more difficult as my thoughts continue spiraling out of control. I finally get an inkling Derrick can be trusted with knowing everything, and was about to let Klaus in on knowing everything too. Now, I’m not so sure if he can be trusted. Fool me once... Fates take my soul if it happens a second time, because I can’t handle the fallout if it happens again.
Klaus halts my thoughts suddenly when his hands grip both sides of my face, tilting my head up so I’m left with no choice but to gaze at him. His lips smash against mine in a hard, decisive kiss, nothing like the first kiss we shared not too long ago. Pulling away from me so he can stare in my eyes, he says, “I knew from the moment my mark showed up that it matches yours, Sunshine. Your soul speaks to mine, there’s no way I would be matched with someone else.”
His words are like a soothing balm to my frayed nerves, calming my mind instantly. My soul speaks to his? Somehow it makes complete sense to me. How he always knows just when I need his comfort and the exact thing to say. He continues on with his explanation when he sees I’ve calmed my running thoughts, “You weren’t ready to find out yesterday when it showed up, so I thought it was best to wait. Trust me, I wanted nothing more than to shout it from the rooftop that I found my mate.”
We’re already standing closely, but he takes another step forward, closing the gap between our bodies. His lips brush against mine with his words. “I can’t wait to get to know everything about you. My soul has belonged to you for centuries. Now, it’s time for you to own my heart as well.” Speaking of hearts, mine has just melted with his words. How well he read the situation yesterday proves even further what a match we are.
Derrick’s presence hovers right behind me, and I reach for his hand. What might he be thinking about all of this? He takes my offered hand, and I pull him toward me. The need to manage so many intermingling relationships is becoming overwhelming. I need some fucking answers myself. Starting with what the hell happened after I became stuck in my soul form. I know they have questions themselves, but I find myself unable to give a reply when I don’t know the answers either.
Finding a missive portal needs to be a priority; they’re typically disguised to appear like old tree stumps, so we’re in the perfect place to be able to find one. In order to use them, a person must be linked to the network through an intensive process that involves several spells. Due to the process needed to link with the network, it’s mostly only used by my family. Knowing them, this is the method they would’ve used to try and get in contact with me when using a spell to send a letter to me directly failed.
Ever since I woke up this morning, there’s been butterflies close by. Although the day started off with three, now there’s five of them flitting around the air above us. I turn my head up toward them, hoping not just the guys next to me but even Marcus and Alex will hold off until I can sort through some answers.
“Good morning! Could one of you direct me to the closest missive portal? I would greatly appreciate it.” I present my question to the butterflies overhead, each one unique in its coloring and pattern. Our kind has always had a distinct relationship with fairies, and I love that their shifted form is a butterfly. I asked one of them to pass a message to Thea yesterday, if they’re able to find her. I really miss my snarky best friend.
All five butterflies come toward me, four of which land on my head while the fifth floats in front of my face. Its tiny head gives me a nod, letting me know it’ll lead me to where I need to go. Of course Marcus and Alex choose now to realize we aren’t with them and come back for us. Marcus lets out a sharp bark showing his displeasure.
Both Derrick and Klaus grunt at the same time, the former putting a hand to his head. Klaus mumbles out, “No need to shout, dude.” I just give them all the side eye and continue on with my own plans. They can come along or not, I don’t really have any fucks to give. I need answers before my brain ends up exploding.
Marcus has other plans and tries to get in my way, working on herding me in the direction he wants me to go. My irritation level skyrockets, but before I can express myself, Derrick is already getting between Marcus and I. Derrick grabs him by the scruff, pulling Marcus away from me.
“Back off, Marcus,” Derrick says to him in a clipped tone. He carries on the conversation as if Marcus had responded to him, “I don’t give two shits about the mission right now. Ce... Precious here needs to find something.” I appreciate him remembering to keep my name to himself for now.
Now its Klaus who’s growling out a reply to Marcus, “Shut the fuck up, Marcus. Anything our girl needs trumps whatever your command is. She’s in charge around here, try to catch up.” A smirk appears on my face before I can stop it, thankfully they’re all behind me now.
Periodically, the butterflies on my head flap their wings as I walk through the underbrush of the woods. I’m not sure if we’re heading farther away from where we were heading originally, or if we are getting closer. All I know is I’m being led to a potential source of answers. I’m not above admitting my desperation to get them either.
Alex appears at my side, keeping pace with my footsteps. His adorable wolf face peers up at me with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth as he pants. It’s clear as day he has a smile on his face and joy in his golden eyes. He lets his head rest on my leg as we walk and I can’t help but run my fingers over his head and into the light brown fur along his neck. Fuck... he’s growing on me.
Glancing up, I spot the butterfly sitting on a stump. Letting out a squeal of excitement that makes Alex jump in surprise, I set off at a sprint to get to the magical mailbox just a little bit quicker. The moment I’m close enough, I slide down to my knees without any concern over what I’m kneeling in. The stump before me resembles any other, brown in color and covered in a fluffy green moss in splotches. Rings proclaiming the tree’s age are displayed on the jagged top of the stump. You would never know the stump is magical unless you knew what to look for. Sure, any person walking by could notice the lack of a rotting trunk laying close by, but they would probably just write it off as an anomaly.
“Does anyone have a knife?” I ask the guys, peering back at them. Derrick bends down and pulls up his pant leg, revealing a knife in a sheath around his ankle. Huh, I never saw him put it on this morning. He flips it open for me before handing it over. Giving him a smile, I gently grab the handle and prick the tip of my pointer finger, allowing a drop of blood to land on the top of the stump. Without any words, my blood activates the spell to deliver the items sent to me.
With a pop and a stale puff of air, the top of the stump releases and I’m able to pull it off, revealing anything inside that was sent to me. I let out a breath of relief upon seeing several letters laying inside. Reaching in, I retrieve them all and clutch them to my chest as soon as they’re in my hand. My eyes fill with tears when I catch my mother’s calming scent of lavender coming from the magically preserved letters. I’m filled with a sense of longing for everything I’ve lost over the last five hundred years.
I wipe away a single tear marking its path down my cheek. Hopefully, no one noticed. As much as I want to immediately rip into them to find my answers, they’re quite personal, and I don’t want such a large audience around while I read them. There’s no way for me to know what kind of news or information these letters may hold.
With a shift of my weight, Klaus holds out his hand to help me to my feet. He’s such a gentleman. “What’s everyone looking at? I thought we had someplace to be?” My words cause Marcus to let out a whoosh of air like a wolf’s scoff paired with an eye roll, and he turns around, leading us off into the woods again. My steps are lighter now with the potential answers at my fingertips.
