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“Dominic's mother,” she answers, and I feel the hairs on my arms raise. I have heard of the wicked woman from Marabella. But knowing Temperance can see her kinda freaks me out. I can see shadows, but not enough to determine who they are.
“Tomorrow we'll go stay at the hotel, I promise,” I tell her, and she nods. I stare at the ceiling trying to sift through my thoughts, yet my mind wanders back to that time I was in the moon goddess realm trying to figure out who Temperance was, trying to figure out how to make the nightmares stop. It wasn't long before Rose ran away, and I peered into the fountain of life.
I thought it was a trick of my imagination that I saw Casen's vessel tethered to another. Now I wonder if he was tethered to his brother. At first, I thought it was a second chance mate, but now thinking back to how my mother freaked out, it makes sense why she wouldn't want me to see. But what I want to know is how she did it.
How she masked their daughter and hid Vince so well, with everyone thinking he was dead. There is something hidden about this entire mess of a situation. Why would she allow her niece to be abused? What is it that is so important, that she allowed any of this to unfold between Rose and even Temperance? What has my mother seen where this outcome is better than any alterations she tried to make?
ChapterThirty-One
Temperance
The first rays of dawn filter through the gaps in the curtains, I squint up at the ceiling as a cold chill sweeps through the room. Rolling, I try to get up only to feel a heavy weight draped across my waist. Eziah's arm holds me close, creating a warm cocoon around me and making my skin tingle. I try to sit up again, only for him to tuck me closer. He mutters something I can't understand, his tight grip squeezing my aching bladder making the urge to pee worsen. I need to use the bathroom.
Slipping under the covers, I manage to disentangle myself from Eziah's hold and climb out of bed. The moment I place my feet on the floor, a cold rush moves over me and my hair instantly stands on end when I feel Nova stir within me. Relief washes over me feeling her presence, though weak, she is definitely there. “Nova?” I murmur to her. “Here.” I let out a sigh, before glancing at the bed. Eziah rolls in his sleep. Nervously, I glance at the bathroom door attached to the room.
“Maybe we should wake him?” Nova suggests, yet guilt creeps through my limbs, forming a pit in my stomach and a lump in my throat.
“He hardly slept,” I tell her. “I don't want to upset him, what if he takes us back to Satish?” I ask cautiously.
“He said he's our mate,” Nova tells me, though she is not certain about that, yet I feel he is. But doubt creeps in from Nova, about his intentions; he's never hurt us, but that doesn't mean he won't. “Yeah, maybe you're right, Satish didn't like being woken either,” Nova states. My stomach sinks as memories flash through my mind when he first locked us in the basement
Every time we yelled for help, he would come down and beat us for waking him, eventually we stopped yelling, knowing the only one coming down those steps was him, and I couldn't handle hearing Nova scream as he punished her. Swallowing down my fear, I move across the room towards the bathroom. The familiar surroundings take on an alien quality as I take in the tiled room. Despite the clean, everyday bathroom fixtures, an eerie chill seeps into the room following me, almost like I can sense something lurking, watching us. Yet, looking back into the room, we are the only ones here besides Eziah.
I quickly pee. As I go to flush the toilet, Nova says, “No, you'll wake him. If we are quiet, maybe we can sneak back to the bed without him noticing, or maybe find his sister?” She suggests I hesitate before deciding she is right. However, as I turn for the door, the mirror captures my attention, the reflection it shows takes my breath away. The woman looking back at me, her eyes—one pink and one blue—is a mystery. The sudden shock has me jumping back with a suppressed shriek. Nova's voice, soothing yet firm, rings in my head. “Shh, shh, it's us, remember?” Her reassurances do little to calm my racing heart as I peer at the stranger she claims is us.
Looking back at the mirror, I see the same woman mimicking my every move. It's me. This is me. My mind races, the concept is unfamiliar, uncomfortable. My eyes—why are they so different? Nova's calm voice breaks through my confusion, “They've been like that since your 18th birthday,” she tells me as I peer into the mirror, so close my nose is touching it. My breath fogs the glass when a giggle, innocent and out of place, has me turning towards the door, half expecting to see Eziah.
“Did you hear that?” I ask Nova, who nods, my heart pounding as I take in Eziah's sleeping form. Warmth spreads in my chest, a sensation Nova seems to recognize before I do.
“You like Eziah,” she says, a note of amusement coloring her voice.
“He… he makes me tingle,” I confess, my cheeks flushing.
The giggle interrupts our moment once again as I try to find the source, dragging me away from my thoughts. It takes me a few seconds to spot him. A little boy, hardly more than six years old, peeks in through the door. The childlike joy on his face is infectious. “He must be Marabella's son.”
“Who?” Nova asks, the boy holds a finger to his lips then points to Eziah. He beckons me with a small toy car to follow him. “I don't like this, we shouldn't go,” Nova says, urging me to go back to the bed. But I follow, ignoring Nova's warning.
“What's your name?” I ask him. He laughs, the sound makes goosebumps explode over my body. “Temperance….” Nova states, but my eyes are fixated on the child.
“Where’s your mother?” I ask him, but he beckons me to follow him. “Are you taking me to your mother?” I whisper. Stepping out into the corridor, it's dark and cold.
“We should go back in the room, with our mate,” Nova tells me, yet he's just a boy, he won't hurt us. Besides, he's taking me to Marabella. “Didn't you want to find Eziah's sister?” I ask her. Nova sighs, she’d rather be near another woman, plus we don't know how long until Eziah wakes up, and it's daytime.
As we explore the manor, the harmless game takes on a sinister undertone. The halls become dark and foreboding, the air heavier. The boy leads me up the stairs, his childish laughter taunting me, “You can't catch me!” he teases, and I smile, shoving the sudden chilling fear away. I chase after him, my laughter mixing with his, until he disappears into a room.
Stepping into the room, I call out to him, expecting him to jump out from some hidden corner. But the boy is gone. “Where did he go?” I ask Nova. The room is cold, the hair on my arms stands on end as a chill runs down my spine.
“Are you sure he went in here?” Nova asks me, and I chew my lip, glancing around the dark room. “Maybe he went into the room next door?” Nova suggests. I turn to walk back out when the door slams shut, the sudden noise echoing in the silence.
ChapterThirty-Two
Temperance
“The wind maybe?” I murmur, trying not to panic. I reach for the door handle, but it just turns but doesn't open. I yank on it, feeling panic rise within me. I can’t be locked in here, not again.
“Calm down, there has to be a key,” Nova says. I yank on the door handle again, twisting it when I feel a cold draft move my hair. I spin around to face the room, finding nothing there.
“The boy, he knows we're here; he'll come back,” Nova whispers, and I swallow, taking in the room.
