56. Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Six
Astrid
The sound of waves fills my ears as I take in the shoreline in front of me. Arms wrap around my waist as warm breath caresses the back of my neck.
“Are you ready to explore the new world?” a deep husky timbre sends chills up my spine, as his lips drop small kisses behind my ear.
“More than ready.” I relax into him as the waves crash against the shore. The water stretches out as far as I can see beckoning me to it. This is it. Our one chance to get away from the duties of the ones who came before us. “I’m ready to put everything behind us and start over.” I sigh, the smell of salt filling my nose. He skims his hands over my thighs, reaching high until he palms the need in between my legs. Heady, and dark, my desire curls deep in my stomach.
The banging against my door has my eyes flying open as I sit up in bed. An arm falls from around my waist and my eyes meet a sleeping Augustus, curled in close to where I was laying. I press my legs together and consider waking him to take care of this want my dream has awoken in me. But the banging at my door reminds me that someone is willing to die for my attention.
“What do you want?” I snarl as I open the door to reveal a palace guard who quirks a brow as he takes in my barely see-through sleep shirt.’
“The Crone is ready to see you,” the guard says , clearing his throat.
“Mornings aren’t great for me, that’s why I asked to do this last night. Give me a moment.” The words tumble out of my mouth, and I slam the door behind me harder than I intend to in my hurry.
“Augustus, I have to go,” I say, shaking him awake before I pull my bag from the closet the servants stored it in last night.
“What’s going on?” he groans, stretching before he stands.
“It’s time for the meeting with the Crone,” I say, pulling out a pair of jeans and one of my father’s large emerald knit sweaters, my fingers brushing against the orb hidden there. The woolly cow wool is a nice reminder of home that I rub against my cheek a few times for comfort. “So, I’m going to go, but I want you to be awake if anything happens.”
“Everything will be fine, I’m sure she just wants to ask you a few questions and then try some magic juju. When it doesn’t work, we’ll be able to finally move forward with all of this, but try not to get on her bad side,” Augustus says, capturing one of my wrists in his fingers before pulling me to him. He swipes some hair behind my ear before pressing his lips to mine. “We still need her to figure out what happened to Nonna,” he reminds me, and I nod.
“I have to shower.” I place a kiss on his lips as I carry my clothes to the bathroom. I worry that the Crone already hates me because of human’s role in the past, a thought that burrows into my mind and takes root. Quickly, I shower, and pull on the simple outfit before checking myself in the mirror. I twist my hair up into twin braids that hold the front part of my hair up while leaving the rest loose around my shoulders. I check myself over in the mirror. I feel beautiful for a moment, my blue eyes bright after my shower, and I do my best to ignore the scar that cuts through my left eye. I hate the way it makes me look, but I wouldn’t change my actions that day. This scar was well earned, and I’m going to wear it with pride for what it is– a badge for saving my sister’s life. My fingers reach up to touch the scar just once, and I smile. Maybe it does make me look like a badass like Reyna said. It doesn’t matter what I look like as long as the Crone agrees to help me. With that thought in mind, I leave the bathroom.
The guard waits patiently in the hall, and with a glance back at Augustus I step out of my quarters. The escort leads me through the underground halls, to the meeting that will decide my fate. He returns me to the dining hall I sat in the night before. The early morning light barely glows over the horizon, and I watch the sky slowly start to lighten through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The Crone sits at the head of the table, the only other person in the room. Her gray hair is braided and neatly wrapped around the crown of her head. The silence of the still city seems to suck all the noise out of the room, leaving the crackle of the fire in the lone fireplace behind the elder. The weight of unspoken expectations lands heavy around me, and I have to fight to maintain my posture refusing to let my shoulders curl inward. My hand instinctively reaches for my silver locket.
“Please sit, sit.” The old woman turns her purple eyes onto me as she waves to the seat on her left. As soon as my butt hits the chair, a Newton with blue glowing spots carries coffee and creamer on a tray strapped to his back. The Newton sidles up next to me and I gratefully accept the mug adding a bit of creamer to the dark liquid.
“Thank you,” I whisper to the Newton who chirps in response before scurrying off wherever it came from.
“What do you know of magic?” the old female asks, standing as tall as she can with a hunched back. She clasps her hands behind her as she walks around the table moving to stand in front of the hearth. Fear wriggles in my heart and warning bells go off in my head but I ignore them. Augustus said I was safe here. I try to tamp down on the fear only for it to grow.
“Demendia banished magic before I was born.” I shake my head. “I don’t know anything. Demendia was anti-magic, and I wasn’t even sure magic still existed outside of that dome.” Standing from my chair, I take the spot next to the Crone in front of the hearth and I become a little too aware of the room. Noticing a strange hum that seems to come from the walls. The Crones eyes drift from my face to the locket clutched in my finger, my heart thrumming beneath my chest as my fear ravages me, leaving my legs weak and shaking.
The Crone lunges, and I dodge. The old fae’s nails skim the skin of my chest.
“What are you doing?” I hiss, dropping into the defensive stance Erik forced me to perfect. Even in death his lessons are protecting me, and I can’t help but wish he was here.
“Your necklace is from the mage of the moon, is it not?” She points a gnarled claw at my locket. “Is that why your aura is so strong, human? You found a way to harness our magic for sorcerers to use, haven’t you?” she screeches before she disappears. Only to reappear in my face.
I block the old fae, but not before one of the Crone’s yellow nails hooks the silver chain of the locket. The resulting snap echoes through the room, and I drop like a sack as pain descends on me. I feel like my skin is dissolving, and regrowing, the early morning light is suddenly too bright while sounds and smells assault my senses. I don’t feel the scream as it rips from my body.
“What the fuck?” a familiar male voice growls, and I can hear his boots against the floor as he approaches. “Astrid, what did she do to you?” Augustus asks, but I can’t respond, the pain exploding through my body makes it hard to come up with even a thought. My energy drains from me, and arms cradle me as my eyes shut. I open them again and I’m moving through corridors, and my vision shifts as I start to see double.
A meadow full of lilies, each one in bloom under the light of the full moon. Across the meadow, on the other side of a small pond is a silhouette of a woman whose long hair reaches her calves. I try to call out, to produce words, but I just end up opening and closing my mouth a few times while no sound is made. The woman turns to face me, an ethereal light following each of her movements like the moon bows only to her.
I stumble back in shock as I stare at the woman who shares my face. The woman’s skin is paler, the color of pure moonlight. Her silver eyes glow with knowing.
“Where am I?” The thought fills the space around us, and the woman cocks her head as if she can hear my thoughts.
“My daughter, we don’t have much time. You must remember who you are. You have to remember who I am, or it will be the end of the world as we know it.” Her dark sultry voice grows distant with every word that echoes through my mind, pleading with a desperation that I’ve only felt once.
“Who are you?” I shove the thought at the stranger as she closes the gap between us.
“Find the missing link. Find me.” The whisper caresses my mind reaching for memories far out of my grasp. My stranger twin caresses my cheek. “You need to remember,” she says before lightly pushing me into the pond. Sending me to freefall through the dark waters.