Chapter 26 Elodie
ELODIE
The door to the attic clicks shut behind us and I quickly move to kick my shoes off, pressing the soles of my feet into the rug in the center of the room as I breathe it all in again. Only this time, it’s Kael with me.
The air is thick, as if it’s been frozen in time, but I inhale, wanting to feel every ounce of a life I’ve never known.
It’s like there’s a countdown above our heads, but I can’t see how long we have left. Regardless, I know we don’t have much time to hide away in here, and I want to make the most of having access to this room before impending doom strikes.
“You’re quiet,” Kael murmurs, tucking his hands into his pockets as he remains by the door, and I offer him a soft smile.
“My mind is quiet for the first time in my life,” I admit, but don’t add the fact that it’s because of him and Rion.
How they handled me, cared for me, fucked me, it had me shattering into tiny pieces, only for me to be recrafted with an air of contentment and calmness that I’ve never experienced before. I feel like I’m floating around in a daze and I’m making the most of it before my mind refires again.
“Are you sure you want me here? I can give you some time to—”
“I want you here,” I interject, eliminating the few steps between us. “I want to share this part of me with you,” I whisper, staring up into his eyes as I let my vulnerability shine through, unfazed. “Besides, I don’t know where to begin with all of this,” I add, waving my hand blindly at my side.
He presses a kiss to my forehead before turning his attention to the room, and I follow his line of sight, trying to see it through his eyes, which is pointless when I barely know what to make of it on my own.
The last time I was in here, with Rion, Thorne, and Ocean, we were all delirious, running on adrenaline, but now I can see it a little clearer. The three of them are all preoccupied or sleeping, which leaves Kael to embrace this side of me as I learn about myself too.
Clearing his throat, he reaches for my hand, spinning me so we’re side by side, basking in the room from the same vantage point. “What is it you’re hoping to gain from being in here right now?” he asks, and my eyebrows pinch in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I think you’re going to learn something regardless, but what is it you want to learn about? Your ancestors, your abilities, your history?” he rattles the options off like it’s as simple as that, leaving me to blink at him as I run through the options in my mind.
Ancestors. Abilities. History.
Abilities. History. Ancestors.
History. Ancestors. Abilities.
Nervously running my free hand over my upper arm, I exhale.
“I guess my abilities. I care about the other things too—a lot, actually—but as much as I’m growing more confident within myself, there’s still a lot to be discovered, and I’m going to need to be at my best if I have any hopes of making it out of here,” I explain, and he nods in understanding, leaning in close so the tips of our noses brush.
“You’re going to make it so far, Elodie,” he insists, reinforcing the determination inside of me, and I smile.
“I hope so.”
“I know so,” he promises, offering me a half grin in return as he squeezes my hand. “Now, let’s get to work figuring out where to look.”
I groan. “That means deciding where to start,” I grumble, and he shrugs.
“Well, The Book of Fractured Souls is where you learned about The Sanctum controlling the scythes and not Jude, right?” he clarifies, and I nod, appreciating the fact that he actually absorbed any of the facts I threw at him as we made our way up here.
“Then let’s assume that it’s mainly about your history.
The stack of books over there looks like journals, but I could be wrong.
If I’m not, that leads me to believe it might be more about your ancestors, while this little organised pile here seems different,” he points out, edging us closer, and I’m right at his side as I read the words etched into the leather.
The Hidden Strengths of a Scythe.
I raise my eyebrows as I peek up at him. “Who knew you were so smart?” I muse, and he shrugs, failing terribly at hiding how impressed he is with himself.
“Not me,” he mumbles, and I roll my eyes at his bashfulness.
“Want to help?” I ask, taking the top book to reveal another beneath titled, Noting the Abilities of a Scythe.
“For you, anything,” he breathes, blessing me with another kiss to my forehead as he takes a book from my hand, leaving me with the latter to read through. “Want to take them downstairs?” he offers, and I glance around the room, not ready to leave just yet.
“Do you mind sticking around here for a while? I kind of like it,” I ask quietly, my vulnerabilities feeling even more raw as I outright ask for something that feels beyond personal, yet he nods, unfazed.
I blush, acutely aware that I find it hard to ask for someone’s time, even though he was more than happy to be buried in my ass not too long ago.
“Absolutely,” he says with a smile, reaching for my free hand and tugging me toward the stack of pillows in the other corner so we have something comfortable to lean back on.
Falling into a comfortable silence is easy, just as it’s effortless to flip through the pages, devouring word after word as I finally see the essence of being a scythe, and not from someone deemed the enemy intent on controlling us.
I smile from ear to ear as I pause on a page, digesting a fact I came to learn all on my own. But seeing it written there, in black and white, by another, solidifies it.
The powers of a scythe are beautiful in many ways, but embracing the strength to pull energy from one source and offer it to another takes a lot of hard work and focus, creating one of the most stunning gifts to ever be written into existence.
“Elodie,” Kael murmurs, pulling me from my thoughts, and I turn to him with wide eyes and a nervous smile as he tilts his book toward me, letting me read for myself.
A confusion we have seen many times over the years concerns the transformation of a scythe’s eyes.
Some believe it’s the ultimate heartache of broken magic and pushing too far, but that is simply not true.
Each red ring represents a scythe’s connection with their magic.
The first comes when they learn to harness it, understanding that it can be used for impure purposes, but acknowledging that isn’t their intent.
The second comes only when they use all of their strength to remain true to who they are, representing our origin in ways some could never dream of.
A scythe is at their truest potential when both of their eyes bear a red ring.
My heart thunders in my chest as I snap my gaze to his, letting the words take root. His smile is soft, safe, and understanding, like he knows what it’s like to feel a sense of belonging after being certain for so long that it didn’t exist.
I murmur my thanks, but he waves me off, tapping the leather of my book to draw my attention back to it, and I go willingly, easily swept up in the information readily available.
Flicking through a few more pages, I pause when a passage catches my eye.
It’s important to understand that, as a scythe, our emotions control us in many ways.
You have to be at peace for your magic to truly resonate safely inside of you.
The more panicked you are, the more open you are to being controlled.
You are your own pillar of strength, blessed with such rare abilities that many will never truly understand.
Trust in yourself, trust in your path, and trust in your heart; it will guide you through any storm.
It’s my turn to grab his attention to show him the passage, but when I spin his way, I find him already staring right at me.
“What?” I breathe, and he shakes his head.
“Nothing,” he answers, his eyes still devouring me, and I gulp.
“You’re making me nervous,” I admit, and he snickers, but it quickly dies off as his gaze remains heated and locked on me.
“You just… looking at you, it’s…” His words die off, making my pulse thunder in my ears as I gape at him, desperate for more.
“What?” I push when I’m sure an eternity has passed, and he shrugs, but I don’t miss the way he exhales slowly.
“Looking at you is everything. I feel lighter and calmer in your presence, like this is where I’ve always been meant to be.
As if everything shitty I’ve ever dealt with was so I could feel the true difference in your aura.
And I’m not mad about it. Feeling the contrast in my life is like night and day, but I’m addicted to feeling like this with you near.
Which means I would face all of the hardship life has to offer if I know I still get to bask in your light. ”
I blink at him, unable to say a single word as my mouth sits agape, nothing coming out. But he’s not done.
“Yet despite all of the beauty you offer me, I feel enraged for you. I want to burn the world to nothing to make sure you are safe forever. No matter what it takes, no matter the cost. You’re worth it.”
“You’re insane,” I croak, tears prickling the backs of my eyelids as I see the truth shimmering in his eyes; he means every word of it.
“No,” he whispers back, ghosting his finger down my cheek. “I’m in love.”
I’m going to die from these three men if this is what it feels like to be in love. “I lo—”
“I know,” he interrupts, pressing his finger to my lips, and I gulp. “But I want to take this moment to tell you another truth. Something that I noticed while I was gone,” he explains, and I cock a brow at him, waiting impatiently as he shifts his hand to cup my chin.
“You are just like your mother.”
My blood pressure skyrockets, making my entire face pulse as I blink at him. “You think?” I rasp, and he nods.
“I watched your father’s strength intensify in her presence. I feel that with you too,” he shares, and I lean into him, taking the exact potency he’s talking about from him while he remains completely unaware.
“Hopefully, I get to see it for myself one day.”
Another kiss to my forehead, and I’m a puddle in his arms as he whispers once more. “I vow with all that I am that you will.”