Chapter 29 Elodie
ELODIE
Ican't decide whether Paris is a blessing or a curse.
As the familiar architecture stares back at me, I'm swarmed with a mixture of emotions. Staring at the intricate archways and classic Parisian style, I’m torn.
My hand lifts to my throat as I gulp, acutely aware of the untouched flesh beneath my palm, and I send another silent thanks to Thorne and his abilities to heal me from the carnage that continues to try and tear me apart.
Shaking my head, I drop my hand to my side as I refocus on the present. There’s no time to consider what happened five seconds ago, nevermind five minutes.
Paris has my attention now, and I can’t look back.
The first time I was here, Thorne had saved me from Jude and his weird-ass castle world, only to take me on a trip to see the Eiffel Tower. The second time, however, wasn’t as wistful. Instead, I was faced with the alluring waters that almost claimed me.
Now, I don't feel as confident, but with my men and my best friend at my side, I know that I'll be safe. What lies beyond that door could change all of that, though.
“Are you sure they are here?” I ask, tilting my head to Thorne, who stands behind me, eyeing the same door I do.
He nods, not tearing his gaze away. “It's where he said,” he offers as I feel a hand run down my spine.
Even through the material of my t-shirt and hoodie, I still feel the warmth from Rion's touch, my silent pillar of comfort and support.
I blink at the doorway across the road as nerves thrum through my veins, but I can't bring myself to eliminate the distance between my parents and me.
People I didn't know I was always searching for.
My mind drifts to my mom back at the trailer park for a moment and my stomach clenches as I recall the pain and heartache that clouds my vision.
Is she okay? I guess I could find out, but I don’t want any closure from her.
Knowing Warren is dead is all I care about, I just have to hope him being gone has been enough to change her life too.
Shaking my head, I refocus my attention on the present situation, and I’m acutely aware that the others are being insanely patient with me. They must sense the same uncertainty inside me, because nobody pushes me to hurry up.
Ocean remains patient on the other side of Thorne, while Kael remains a breath behind me.
Mustering a deep breath, I take an extra moment to compose myself, but the longer I stare at the offending door, the worse it gets.
“I don't think I can do this,” I mutter, a chill washing over me as beads of sweat gather at my temples. I exhale, dipping my chin to my chest, refusing to look at them. “You guys go on ahead,” I insist, but my words are quickly met with a scoff from behind.
“We're not going anywhere without you,” Kael murmurs, and I shake my head, but before I can part my lips and state my case, Rion grips my chin, tilting my face to his.
He takes a deep, exaggerated breath, moving his hands to encourage me to do the same. I frown at him, but he persists, and I quickly relent, following his action. Only when I've slowly exhaled for the sixth time does he speak.
“Hey, let's talk it out,” he murmurs, and I shrug.
I’m failing to overcome the anxiety that lives rent-free in my mind and I hate how weak it makes me feel.
“I don't know what you want me to say,” I admit.
Because that's my issue: my brain's gone blank.
I don't know whether it's from the drain I felt getting here, or the mental struggle of acknowledging what I might be about to face.
“I need you to clarify, Petal. Are you struggling with what to say to me right now, or what to say in there?” he asks, and it takes me a moment to wrap my head around his words, but the truth is… it’s both of them.
“I don't know what I'm supposed to say in either place,” I admit, and he offers me a reassuring smile.
“You don't have to say a word at all if you don't want to,” he explains, releasing my chin to pull me into his embrace.
With my chest flat against his, his arms wrap tightly around my middle, bathing me in his love, and it helps me find the strength to admit the truth.
“I’m scared.”
Thorne scoffs from behind me. “I would be worried if you weren’t,” he rasps, and I roll my eyes.
I don't know whether he can see me, but it doesn't stop him from answering as if he did.
“I’m not joking. You're not dead inside, Elodie.
This is a lot. I can't imagine the life you've lived before all of this.
We all know what Rion did when he saw the scars left behind on you, but those were only the physical ones, the mental ones…
they're even deeper and harder to overcome.”
I gulp as emotion twists in my chest.
Rion releases me enough to give me space to turn around, and my gaze collides with Thorne’s.
“What if they don't like me?”
Thorne’s eyes widen in disbelief, but it's Kael who speaks first. “Then I’ll be more than happy to lock them up in a basement too, but that's not going to happen.” Nerves swell in my throat, catching my breath as I turn to face him.
“You met them for the briefest time. You know who they are, and I wouldn't even dream of bringing you here if I wasn't sure that I knew that too.
But even if neither of us had ever met them, knowing that they sacrificed themselves for you without question…
that's love on another level.” He plants his hands on my hips, staring deep into my soul.
“Maybe your mind isn't scared that they're not going to like you.
Maybe it's more because you have no idea how to even comprehend that kind of love.”
I all but sway on my feet as Ocean steps closer, completing the circle wrapped around me with the guys.
“We’re here for you every step of the way, El,” she breathes, squeezing my arm, and I nod.
“I’m ready,” I mutter, refusing to let my nerves get the better of me.
“Are you sure?” she clarifies, and I nod again as she takes a step back.
“As ready as I'll ever be,” I breathe, and Thorne reaches for my hand, lacing our fingers together as he tugs me across the street and toward the looming door where my future awaits.
I expect Thorne to knock, and that's my first mistake, because he reaches for the handle and twists, letting the heavy door fall open to reveal the very two people I'm worked up over.
They’re standing in the hallway, guilt widening their eyes as Odie's mouth moves, but no words come out.
They’re no longer wearing the same clothes that they had on in Jude’s castle. Ellie wears a loose button-up and a pair of cropped trousers, while Odie opts for a shirt beneath a sweater and a pair of cargo pants. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people look so much like… parents before.
“We weren't spying,” Ellie blurts, lifting her hands in surrender, and Odie scoffs.
“Please, we all know she was. She's nosy as hell,” he insists, pointing his thumb at her, and she whacks him with the back of her hand with a huff.
“It's not nosy, it's curiosity. And I was a tad excited, and…” Her gaze settles on mine, a smile stretching across her face as her words come to an abrupt halt, and all I can think is…
She rambles like me. She's curious like me. And now, when I look at her properly, she looks like me too.
What's even more insane to comprehend is the fact that every single one of those statements I said was the wrong way round.
Retracing my steps, I let the words sink into my mind properly.
I ramble like her.
I'm curious like her.
I look like her.
It's a lot to acknowledge as my knees threaten to give way beneath me. She must sense the weariness I’m struggling with because she holds her arms out as she takes a step toward me.
“Can I come closer?” she asks, and before I can think better of it, I nod.
A moment later, I feel her warm embrace as she engulfs me in her arms. I don't know where to put my hands at first, this new person foreign to me, but I feel her heartbeat race against my chest, and it's soothing.
Curling my arms around her, a sob ripples through the air.
I'm unsure if it's mine or not at first, but one quick acknowledgement of the tremble that seems to run through her and I know it's not me. Instinctively, I hold her tighter, all while I remain on the edge of feeling numb.
I can't wrap my head around what this moment means to me, but I feel safe, calm, and warm.
“I am so sorry,” she breathes, leaning back to brush my hair off my face, and her damp cheeks glisten as her eyes bore into my soul,
“It’s okay,” I rasp, and she shakes her head.
“It's not. We thought we were doing the right thing, but seeing you now, I know I would rather spend every living moment with you, no matter how short, than to see you now and know I wasn't there.” I continue to shake my head, but she’s not done. “Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about your big, blue eyes, painstaking sobs when you were hungry in the night, and bubbles of laughter that echoed throughout the halls when someone pulled a funny face at you.” Another tear trickles down her face.
“I hope it's not too late to make this right.”
I nod, certain my head is about to fall off, but I’m unable to speak.
Odie appears at her side a moment later, embracing us both, with a watery smile on his lips.
He seems a little stumped for words, as I do, and I like the silence even more.
He presses a kiss to my hair and an overwhelming sense of security blankets me before he turns his attention to my right, where my shadow fae stands.
“Thorne,” he breathes, waving him closer to join the embrace, making it four. “It's good to see you in person. All of you,” Odie states, his eyes casting over Ocean and Rion before settling on Kael. “Thank you. Thank you for this.”
“I didn't do anything,” Kael quickly deflects, and Odie scoffs.
“You reunited my family, and that's far more than I could have ever hoped for.”
The sound of someone clearing their throat cuts through the air, drawing everyone's attention from Kael to a familiar figure standing in the doorway at the end of the hall. My spine stiffens at his presence, but my parents don't seem shocked to see him.
Rikard.
“I’m sorry to interrupt the moment, but we're time-conscious and there are other parents who require being reunited with their child,” he states, his eyes drifting over me before finding their mark.
My heart thunders when I follow his line of sight to another person in the room.
Kael.