Alex sticks to my side again like glue. While I find his human form a bit abrasive, his wolf form is comforting. For this reason only, I don’t force him to leave Derrick, Klaus, and I alone. Hopefully, I don’t regret my decision...
Oh, I know! With my magic now topped off, I can use it again without worrying I’ll pass out from depletion.
Snapping a soundproof bubble around us, I make sure it doesn’t include Alex. Both Derrick and Klaus glance around having felt the magic slide into place. “Soundproof bubble,” I explain.
“I’m sorry, a what?” Klaus questions me. Shit, I forgot they seem to have lost a connection to their magic. He probably has no idea what I’m talking about. Ugh, I need to give them lessons in how to use their magic again. They’ve been at a serious disadvantage not using it.
Too much to do, fuck, I should’ve heeded the warnings to be careful what you wish for. Spend five hundred years alone wishing for companionship, finally get it, and now it’s way too much. I just want to be left alone to figure things out, damn it!
Ignoring Klaus’ question, because honestly a soundproof bubble is self-explanatory, I open the bottom letter from my pile. Hopefully, this is the oldest and I can read things in a chronological order. My finger traces the royal seal stamped into the wax keeping the parchment closed. Derrick leans in, staring at it, inspecting it in a scholarly manner.
My finger slides under the wax, causing the seal to release so I can unfold the paper. Everyone around me is silent as I read through the words and each subsequent letter my mother sent me. Each one showing her increased panic over not being able to find me, not even being able to feel my existence in the world.
The pain I could perceive in her letters makes my heart break. Holding up a finger horizontally, I pause my reading, as one of the butterflies who was still resting on my head flits its wings until it lands on my finger. “I need you to find my mother with all due haste and let her know of my return.” I tack on a “please” as an afterthought. The purple and pink butterfly shoots off into the sky with a magically enhanced speed.
According to the letter in my hand, the Fates came to her in a dream, giving her a few instructions. She was to take the rest of our family and trusted household to a safe location and abandon our home. The second thing they told her to do was wipe our existence from everyone’s memories. Well, not our entire existence, she left them with the vague memory of missing royals, and of course the loophole that will enable the spell to be unraveled.
This explains so much! Thankfully, our magical counterparts—fairies—escaped the spell’s effects. Which is how I knew the butterfly would know who my mother is to deliver the message. I can’t let her spend any more time than necessary wondering where I am and what happened. Without the herbs needed to send a letter to her directly, and no idea how often she would check the missive portal, sending a fairy is the quickest option to reach her.
I continue reading through her letters until I reach the one giving me the answer to what’s currently plaguing my heart the most.
When your fated mate developed his mark, unstoppable events were set into motion. It automatically initiated a series of magical events, beginning with me no longer being the anchor to our magic. It was to hang in a limbo while you got to know your mate, and the moment you sealed the bond with your mate, you would become the anchor.
The magic having no anchor shouldn’t have any effects on our people, when it’s a short-term phenomenon. With your disappearance, more and more consequences are beginning to appear. As an intermediary, the power behind our magic sent out a safety line to your mate to act as a grounding line. He wasn’t enough though, because the longer you aren’t present to act as an anchor, the magic has been building in larger amounts to the point where one mate wasn’t enough.
All signs point to the Fates giving you additional mates as the need has arisen for more safety lines. As soon as you’re found again, it’s imperative for you to find your mates and to seal the bond with each of them to stabilize the anchor. I can’t be sure how many you’ve acquired, but by my estimation is around four.
The letter continues on with her once again expressing her concerns for me, but I can’t handle any more emotions being thrown at me after the bomb she just detonated. Four mates? Holy shit... how am I supposed to handle managing that many emotions of the men around me? It’s hard enough with just Klaus and Derrick. Ugh, fuck me... I guess literally.
Sex is all fun and games until you’re commanded to perform, then all of a sudden, it doesn’t sound as appealing. At least now I know both Derrick and Klaus having marks isn’t because I fucked something up. A relief, I suppose. Hopefully, the guys don’t put up too much resistance to our new dynamic when I tell them.
Having noticed that I’m lost in my thoughts, Derrick speaks up, “Well... what did they say? Who are they from? Damn it, you promised me answers, Cecily! You can’t keep me on the hook forever.” His frustrations are clearly building as I take my time reading the letters from my mother.
No time like the present I suppose. “What would you like to know first?” My question is spoken softly, knowing soon enough my words are going to detonate their world. My fingers return to Alex’s head to find comfort from him, even though he can’t hear the conversation we’re having.
“For starters, how is it possible for us to both have your mark? I’ve never heard of more than two people being in a relationship before, and I’ve researched everything there is to find about fated mates.” Derick is quick with his response, as if he planned out his list of questions in order of importance. Can’t say it surprises me.
I hold up the letter I was just reading. “According to this, it’s because the magic needed a pseudo anchor while I was out of commission and couldn’t complete the transfer of magic. Apparently one mate wasn’t enough to ground it for the duration of my absence.”
Klaus, without missing a beat, says, “Wait... what?” Yeah, buddy, I find it hard to believe too. Although, I don’t think his words were said out of surprise.
“It’s not just the two of you with my mark either, apparently there are four of you. And I already know Marcellus is one of them. Shit, Marcus, whatever the fuck name he wants to go by now. So I’m guessing Alex could be the fourth to round out the merry band. Makes sense since you’re all friends and found me together.” Now I’m rambling, this is just peachy.
Derrick reaches out an arm over Alex to grab a hold of my shoulder. My steps falter and come to a stop to see what he wants. He nudges Alex out of his way and brings his hands up to brush my hair out of my face. “Deep breaths, Precious. Take a moment to clear your mind, we’ll get through all of this. No need to stress yourself out.” His smile helps to calm me down, and before pulling away, he gives me one of his forehead kisses. I love those.
Okay, clear my mind... easier said than done. My brain is a jumbled mess trying to figure out what steps are most important to take next. Maybe I should’ve paid a little closer attention to the letter talking about wiping me from everyone’s memories. That could lay some groundwork for our conversation. Biting my lip, I mull over my mother’s words.
I know the consequences of ignoring a message from the Fates, but this one gave meanimmediate pause. Not knowing where you are is hard enough, but erasing you from everyone’s memories... What if you needed help and someone found you? What would they do if they don’t know your importance? The alternative is what finally convinced me to follow the Fates’ guidance. The thought of someone meaning you harm and remembering who you are is an even worse thought.
Erasing you from memory could be a shroud of protection for you. The Fates promised if we follow their directions, everything will work out in the end. I just need to hold on to hope, hope that when you finally read this, you’ll forgive me for making our people forget you. Just know there are a few of us who are exempt from the spell, your family, a few trusted staff, and of course, the fairies. Even if the spell would work on me, I would never be able to forget my precious Sinopa.
The spell can be broken by sharing your full title and name with the individual. Don’t forget that by this point, you’ll be considered Queen to our people. Only share it with those you trust the most until you believe the time is right. When that time comes, share your name with the villagers and word of mouth will take care of the rest. Know that I long for the day you return to us, my Queen. I know any consequences from this tragedy will be remedied once you’re back.
My heart stumbles over my mother calling me her Queen. I always knew the day would come, but actually seeing the words coming from her is a whole different story. To be honest, even though it’s been five hundred years, I don’t feel anymore ready to take over the role as I did back then. Fuck, the weight dropped on my shoulders is heavy.
Before testing out her method of breaking the spell, I double check the soundproof bubble is still in place. All I need is for Marcus to hear my name right now... well, shit! That explains why he has no clue who the fuck I am. I can’t wait to see how shitty he feels when his memories are back. I’m so not done making him pay for what he did to me.
Hmm, what’s the best way to reveal my name? I suppose just blurting it out lacks elegance. Removing spells can be tricky at times, I don’t want to cause them any discomfort when it’s removed. Maybe I should make sure they aren’t actually walking while I tell them. Yep, that’s a good idea. Good thing we never started walking again, hopefully I can get this out before Marcus comes to yell at us again for stopping. Something tells me he’s just gearing up to bite my ass, and not in the fun way.
