“Yeah, well, he was attacked by a big cat,” Magnus explained.
“That’s gross.” Mercedes shuddered.
Magnus snorted. “It’s not gross. I want to know.”
“Tell him I do not look gnarly,” Erickson stated.
Flo tried not to chuckle from her hiding place in the wall. She was well aware the ghosts didn’t particularly like her. They always kept their distance, and she steered clear of them, but it was kind of funny now that they had yet another outlet to speak to. Maybe they would stop harassing Mercedes.
“Erickson, please. I just…” Sven rubbed his temples. “Just a moment, please.”
“Fine.” Erickson groaned again. “We shall depart.”
One by one the spirits dissipated into balls of blue energy and took off in the various directions of places they liked to haunt, until it was just her hanging out in the wall while Mercedes, Magnus, and Sven were alone in the dining room. Now, she had to pluck up the courage to face him.
“Why did she run?” Sven asked, with a hint of sadness in his voice that tugged at her heart.
“I don’t know,” Mercedes responded. “I told you a week ago at Margaid and Finn’s wedding that she was worse off. It’s almost like the curse on her had a time limit, and I would hate to think what will happen when it runs out.”
“Is there a way you can find out?” Magnus asked.
Mercedes worried her bottom lip. “I would probably have to go back to Tallowfield and see if I can access the restricted library there, but it would mean my family would know that I was searching for that information.”
The moment Mercedes mentioned her family, Flo recalled a moment.
“Who are these people, Father?” Flo asked nervously as dark cloaked figures entered the room.
“Friends,” her father responded.
“Oh.” She didn’t like them one bit. Evil exuded from them. “I have somewhere I have to be, so I’m sorry I can’t entertain them.”
Her father stepped in front of her, stopping her from leaving. “No. You don’t have anywhere to be.”
Two of the robed figures grabbed her and she screamed. “Let me go!”
“This is for your own good, Florence,” her father warned.
No, there was no way that Mercedes could go back to Tallowfield and put herself in that situation. If her ancestors were evil, no doubt her family was just as bad. And if Mercedes went back there, there would be trouble.
Flo might not be able to recall much, but that she knew. Her gut was telling her that.
“I don’t want you to get into trouble,” Sven stated quickly.
“I don’t want that either,” Flo said, stepping out from her hiding space. She still kept her distance and it was nerve-wracking to be back in this room, but something deep inside told her to do this. To go back and try to remember why she was drawn to Sven.
Why she always had been.
Mercedes smiled at her softly. Sven spun around, took a half step forward, but then froze. His red eyes so full of tenderness and longing, she could see it, and in a way, feel it. Instinctively, she wanted to rush into his arms because she felt like she’d done that before, but she couldn’t move.
“Flo,” he finally whispered.
“I’m sorry I ran,” she explained. “It was…it was a lot to take in. Seeing you thrown back like that and…”
“Did you remember something?” Mercedes asked cautiously.
“A feeling,” Flo responded. “I could feel the shock. Like it happened to me.”
She placed a hand on her chest, feeling a sting. She often felt it, but didn’t know what it was or why it was there.
