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“What did you do?” Lincoln questioned, coming over and wrapping his arms around me, placing a kiss on the top of my head.
“Just teasing our viewers,” I said as innocently as I could manage before we both lost it. We both knew there was nothing innocent about the post.
“I should have known,” he said. “I just ran into Ben as I was heading up. It’s confirmed. We told her we’d arrive tomorrow because she asked how soon we could get there. The poor lady sounds desperate.”
The reminder had my smile dropping.
“I’m a bit nervous,” I admitted. “It’s been a while since we’ve had an investigation like this, where we immerse ourselves into the place.”
“Are you worried something’s going to happen like last time?” he asked as his hands smoothed through my curls before kneading my shoulders. “We have better protection now. The witches have made sure of that.”
I let out a sigh as I tried to put into words what I was feeling.
“It’s more about not trusting myself anymore. It seems like with each investigation I do, my connection to the dead just increases. It started with me getting feelings and turned into me being able to see the history of things. I feel like I can talk to them and see them way more than ever.”
“I knew something was up,” he said as he pulled me into a hug. I snuggled into his chest and tried to calm my nerves. “Is it happening a lot?”
“No, we have protection here. But anytime we leave, I spot them from time to time. Then sometimes I see them outside of the wards in the trees. I try to ignore it and play it off like it’s no big deal.”
“Why? You know we wouldn’t ever judge you,” he protested, pulling away just long enough to stare down at me. His blue eyes were full of concern. At least he wasn’t hurt by me keeping it to myself.
“I didn’t want to worry you guys,” I admitted. “We’ve all been trying to get back to normal and I didn’t want to ruin that.”
“We don’t keep things from each other,” he frowned down at me. “Promise me that you’ll tell us when things like this happen?”
“I will. Grandma Rose said that my walls might be falling a bit and it’ll happen more frequently. Eventually, if I practice, I might be able to turn it off and on.”
“We’ll make sure to protect our wing so they can’t get to us, so you’ll have a safe place. But otherwise, I think this could be a good way for you to practice those skills and build up the barriers they’re talking about. Have them send us some techniques if you can.”
“That’s true,” I hedged, on the brink of letting go of my worries but I had held onto them for so long I was a bit hesitant. “I don’t love that I have to lie to the Darklings or pretend it’s just a feeling or a flash of something.”
“If you jump or react, it won’t be the end of the world. We’ve been spooked on stream before,” he reassured me. The way he answered with a blunt calmness had some of my insecurities draining away. I shouldn’t have shut them out for so long. I knew my guys better than that.
“You’re right,” I conceded. “I just want this one to go well. I want to have time to enjoy the town and the snow, but also to escape a little bit, to throw ourselves into an investigation.”
“This is what brought us together, after all. It was winter then, too,” he noted. “The Finley Lodge was quite the experience, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“Can you believe we started as rivals?” I teased. “You hated me.”
“Not my finest moment,” he said with a shake of his head. He walked around me and sat on a crate, staring up at me. “I was just certain that you were falsifying information, and I—”
“Hate that,” I finished for him. “I get it. So do I. I just understood quicker than you did that not everyone has the same gifts.”
“I’ve learned since then,” he chuckled. His focus shifted to the growing pile of equipment. “This is a lot.”
“We might need to order more equipment, actually. That castle looks huge,” I admitted, sitting down next to him and pulling up the information Ben sent us.
The pictures were gorgeous. Inside the castle was full of polished marble, plush rugs, tapestries on the walls, and beautiful art. In fact, there was something fancy and decorative everywhere you looked.
Outside of that, I was shocked to see it also looked inviting. Between all the warm lighting and roaring fires, I could picture myself snuggling under a cozy blanket with a book.
The family had put work into keeping this place modern, yet rustic. It was a shame the only living heir was terrified to step foot on the grounds. Bellmore Castle was one hell of a legacy.
“I wonder if the staff is afraid of being there. She mentioned that there is a cook and maids, right? Probably a groundskeeper and maybe some security,” I pointed out. “At least they’ll be around for questions during the day.”
“That and the locals will have the best information for us,” Lincoln agreed. “Ben’s going to be salivating over this one.”
“So is Ryker, he’s already ordered a ton of equipment that’ll be delivered there over the next few days.”
