“What is this sickness?”
“It’s a curse,” I answer, shrugging. “I don’t know much about it.”
Hyacinth eyes me as if she wants to ask more questions, but if I don’t have the answers, it won’t do her any good. She just shrugs and finishes her breakfast.
After we’re done, I take her out front, and we get in my little car. The door squeaks alarmingly when she pulls it open.
“Are you sure this car can get us to where we’re going?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I reply, realizing in that moment that I’m actually not sure. “I’m getting a new one—Rhys is fixing it up for me. I don’t know, I’ve just had this one a long time, and never thought about replacing it.”
She gives me an intense look as if she has something to say to that, but just shakes her head and gets in instead.
The drive out to the manor is quiet, and I can feel Hyacinth withdrawing into herself. She shrinks down in the seat, her face paling and her breathing speeding up as we turn into the dense forest surrounding the manor.
“Where are we going?” she asks in a small voice.
“The manor is hidden in here,” I explain. “The road and the property aren’t officially marked on any map.”
“Okay,” she mumbles, as if part of her expects to be taken to an isolated location and murdered in a gory ritual.
“It’s okay,” I say, trying to be reassuring. “The council aren’t monsters, and it’s me who’s in trouble. They won’t have much to say to you.”
“I don’t know if that comforts me or makes me feel worse,” she mutters.
When we come through the trees and the manor rises before us, throwing its imposing shadow on our path, Hyacinth sits up and gasps as she looks up at the massive structure.
“This place is old!” she cries. “Like, really old. It was built by the first settlers here.”
“Yeah, I guess it was.”
“No,” she says firmly. “I’m telling you. I’ve seen mentions of this place in records—but I didn’t think it was real!”
“Well, it is,” I reply awkwardly. “I didn’t realize you knew so much about history.”
Hyacinth chuckles as I park next to the other cars in the driveway. “I’m all about history. And spooky things, for that matter. I might know more about local lore than you do.”
Her words catch in my mind as we get out of the car and head towards the manor. I assumed she was just a naive, innocent woman. The idea that she might know about our kind disturbs me.
But who knows what she might have read in those books. After last night, she might believe all of it to be true, but it’s only legends and folklore, not truth.
As we pass through the door into the foyer, Hyacinth looks up and gasps in astonishment. She stretches her head back, following the winding staircase with her gaze as she tries to measure the scope. When she looks back at me, she’s smiling, and I’m stunned by how different she looks when she’s excited.
“This place is incredible!” she says, turning around slowly to take in the foyer. “Can we explore?”
“After the meeting, I guess we can.”
“Excellent. This is amazing, truly. I always dreamed of seeing a place like this, but I never thought I actually would.”
As we walk down to the council chamber, my sense of unease grows. On the one hand, I’m happy to see her more comfortable and not scared of me. But on the other hand, if she’s the wrong girl, I’m showing her far too much of our world.
Sadie said if Hyacinth saw too much, we wouldn’t be able to erase her memory. What does that mean?
As we come into the dark chamber, Hyacinth slows down, slipping behind me as we enter the shadowy room. The low, burning torches throw manic shapes across the walls, and the aura in the place is dense with pain and misery.
I take Hyacinth’s hand as we approach the table. I see that the entire council, as well as the other alphas and their mates, are all seated.
Fuck. It’s a full assembly.
