Chapter Eighteen
Seraphina
There were very few people around when we entered the grounds.
The entire compound was breathtaking. The manor was built with stone and wood, and sat at the base of the mountain range, colored to match the terrain.
It was as if the buildings rose from the earth and into existence.
There were windows everywhere to let in natural light and massive stone fireplaces with roaring fires in every room we passed.
It was impossible not to peek inside each room.
The young man who pointed a bow and arrow at me earlier was our guide.
He didn’t speak to me but kept a side-eye on us, as if I might shift into the beast again.
His distrust wasn’t entirely unfounded. Now that I had shifted once, I could feel the wild cat lounging just beneath the surface of my skin.
There were so many things about this world and what I was that I was no longer surprised when something new happened.
When I began my quest against the Obscuritas ages ago, I knew there was something more to the world than what the average human believed.
The memory of that night, when Lailah and my mother sacrificed themselves in that ritual to save Michaela and I, flashed through my mind.
There was magic in the air. It fizzled against my skin, awakening something inside me I was too young to understand.
But I knew, even then, I was woefully misguided, and knowledge was power I craved.
My ability to heal inhumanly fast was the first thing I discovered after being on my own.
I cut myself on a blade, and within minutes, it was completely healed.
That night, I dreamt of running through a palace and tripping, skinning my knee.
Even as I wailed in my mother’s arms, as young as I was, the cut healed instantly.
The dream felt like a memory, unlocked because of the injury.
Every time I experienced something otherworldly, strange dreams followed.
Michaela and I knew our mother had messed with our memories.
It hurt that she would take things from us, but having them was likely more dangerous.
Michaela was at least with her father, but I was alone. It bothered me still, that he left me in that church. Even with the knowledge I now had, knowing what our parents went through for us to be here now, it still hurt.
Was I doing everything right? Did my mother know I would bind myself to Laszlo and break my mate bonds? If that was part of her master plan to save us, it fucking sucked.
The young man finally stopped halfway down a hall and several staircases later, at a set of double doors. They opened at a flick of his hand, and an elegant bedroom came into view.
“You can get cleaned up here.” He finally spoke. “Your formal introduction will be in two hours.”
Phen squeezed my hand. “Go. Take a nice long bath, and I’ll return in two hours.”
I arched a brow at him. “And where are you going?”
He planted a messy kiss on my cheek and pulled the dagger from its sheath around his thigh. “Just going to have a word with a witch and make sure our baby boy is doing okay.”
Worry crossed his features, and I was ready to tell Phen I was coming with him, but he pushed me into the bedroom. “I promise, I will keep Dev’s soul safe. Go pamper. If I stay, I’ll be between your legs for the next two hours and we’ll be late to your party.”
His words had me grinning, and I watched his sexy-as-hell ass swaying as he walked away.
A flicker of power pulsed within me. With all the magic of this place and swirling power in my veins, maybe there was someone here who could help us with the mate bonds.
I refused to have hope, because if I did, and there was nothing that could be done, the fragmented pieces of my heart would crumble to nothing.
But it couldn’t hurt to at least ask someone about it, right?