Chapter 9 Thorne
THORNE
My eyes burn as I spring them open, reality coming back into focus as I blink up at my bedroom ceiling.
Pressing my hands against my face, I don’t notice a shift in temperature, and as I slowly lower my hands, taking stock of myself, I know I’m okay.
The second my self assessment is complete, I bolt from the bed, almost swaying on my feet because I move too fast.
Leaning against my dresser, I take a calming breath, and as my eyelids shutter, my memory board comes into view, offering me a glimpse of my family, loved and lost. My heart aches, but instead of dampening my determination, it spurs me on.
I take another slow breath as I press my eyelids closed, connecting with the magic in my core. Two more exhales and I feel the tingling sensation coursing through my veins.
I can feel her.
It’s faint, too faint for me to act upon, but it’s enough to fill me with courage.
Reopening my eyes, I glance at the photo of my mother, father, and sister as I reconfirm to myself that I’m simply aiding the scythe to return a debt, a favor.
Nothing more, nothing less. A shadow fae never takes back their word or leaves a favor unpaid.
This is a vow to my heritage just as much as it is to me.
Content and ready to strike, I roll my shoulders back, rake my hair back off my face, and quickly glance over my clothing. Combat trousers and a black t-shirt will do. I slip my thick boots on, tying the laces manually instead of using my magic so I can take a moment to ground myself.
It’s only when I rise to my full height, ready to get out of here, that I hear raised voices coming from the other side of the door.
I can hear Kael, Rion, and Ocean. I’m in no mind to deal with the three of them right now.
Cracking my neck from side to side, I swing my bedroom door open and storm out into the living room. The second I step over the threshold, Rion clocks me.
“You are not going to believe what else this fucker has done,” he grunts, pointing at Kael.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to confirm that nothing would surprise me at this stage, but that would only encourage further conversation, and I have more pressing matters to attend to.
Instead, I shrug, bypassing them all without a single glance, hoping they’ll go back to their grumbling, but I should’ve known better.
Charging from the room, I don’t bother to close the door behind me as I race for the stairs, descending two steps at a time until the brisk air greets me. Dusk has come and gone, leaving darkness in its wake. The tendrils of shadows fuel me like a log fire burning bright on a wintry night.
With even more energy encouraging me to put one foot in front of the other, I make it to the peak in the path that creeps over to reveal The Vale before I hear them.
“Thorne, wait up! Where are you going?” Rion hollers, but I pretend I don’t hear him.
“Hey, asshole,” Ocean adds, slightly out of breath as she struggles to keep up, but I can only assume she’s talking to Kael because I am not an asshole.
Halfway down the path, I sense them closer, and before I can act on it, a hand lands on my shoulder, revealing Rion at my side. “Where are we going?”
“Out,” I grunt, aware it’s impossible to ignore him from this close.
“Why?” Kael asks, appearing on the other side of me, and I quickly realize it’s a little easier to ignore them than I originally thought as I clamp my lips shut, hoping they’ll magically disappear.
The streets of The Vale are quiet as I head toward the academy building in search of the portal. It’s at the steps, leading up to the wooden doors, that Ocean races to step in front of me, blocking my path as she glowers at me.
“I swear to God, Thorne,” she bites, and I sigh.
“I don’t know what you think I’m doing, but I—”
“Save your bullshit, I can sense it,” she interjects. “That look, I know that look. You know something about Elodie and you’re going to share it with the group.” She plants her hands on her hips, attempting to appear more threatening than she really is, and I tilt my head.
“Or?”
Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Or what?”
“What are you going to do if I don’t?”
She shrugs. “The fact that your response is to ask that instead of denying knowing anything at all only proves my point.” A smug grin curls her lip, and I hate it.
“I can’t sense her here because of The Sanctum’s magic,” I grunt, and she gapes at me, her jaw almost hitting the floor as Rion swoops in to stand between us, adding an extra layer between me and the exit.
“She’s with Jude in whatever bubble he’s created,” I grunt, side-stepping him. I make it up two of the steps before Kael sighs.
“I could have told you that.”
I side eye him. “You could have just not let him take her to begin with,” I retort, and a snicker bursts from Ocean in disbelief, forcing her to clamp her hand over her mouth.
“I need to get out of here so I can feel her better,” I state, offering the fakest smile I can muster to Ocean, who moves to the side as she grabs the door, aiding me.
“How can you feel her at all?” Rion asks as I step inside the empty halls.
“She came to me,” I mutter, taking the stairs to the left, acutely aware of their close proximity as they follow me.
“When?” Kael grunts as Ocean gasps.
“How?” Rion persists, and I sigh, reaching the top of the stairs as I peer over my shoulder at them.
“In my dream.”
Rion’s head rears back in disbelief. “How is that possible?”
I don’t stop until I reach the final door blocking me from the exit. Turning to face them, I pinch the bridge of my nose as I exhale.
“They will rise with fire in their bones and ruin in their wake, step the shadows that you reap and give more than you shall take. Blood shall bind you, love shall break you. Only in the face of death shall the path be clear; the world mourns with the final tear.”
The three of them blink at me, but it’s Ocean who speaks first. “I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean,” she mutters, and Rion nods eagerly in agreement as Kael presses his fingertips into his temples.
All I can do is shrug. “I don’t know either, but it’s all connected, I know it. Especially when she just showed up in my dream like that.”
“How can you feel her?” Kael asks, biting at his bottom lip nervously, and I shake my head at him.
This may just be a favor on my end, a debt repayment to the girl in question, but I can’t deny that I’m mad at him too. Instead of answering him, I grab the door handle as the shadows bleed from my palms, allowing me to bypass the magic that frames the room, making it off-limits for everyone else.
“Help us so we can come with you,” Rion insists as I step over the threshold, but instead of extending my magic, I let it wrap around me as I meet his stare.
“No. You’re all a liability,” I grumble before the door slams shut between us.
I can hear their shouts of frustration, but I choose to ignore them, turning for the unprotected portal.
With one final deep breath, I let my shadows drape around me as I step through the vortex, only to feel the soft sun against my skin a beat later.
I bask in the serenity it offers me for a brief moment before I dare to pry my eyes open.
Familiarity greets me as I stare at the narrow and winding cobblestone streets that cascade in every direction.
Limestone buildings, wrought iron balconies, and the smell of espresso linger in the air.
People pass me by, unfazed by my sudden arrival, too busy in their own world to notice me at all, and I love it.
I also love knowing that if I take a few more steps to the left, the espresso will compete with the scent of buttery goodness from my favorite café.
A warmth settles in my chest, one that grounds me almost as much as going to my dreams does.
Paris.
My mother’s favorite place in the world.
Every year, we would explore the human world as if we were tourists instead of complete outsiders from another world altogether. It’s only fitting that it’s the place I land when I’m seeking Elodie.
The sound of distant accordion notes flutter through the air on the mid-afternoon breeze, and it lures me in, encouraging me to fall into the rhythm that naturally dances around me. If only I didn’t have bigger matters to attend to.
Aware that this is the first time I’ve been back here since her death, I make a silent promise for it not to be the last as I slink down the next street, bypassing the local bakery as I find the building I’m looking for.
Stopping on the front step, I crane my neck back, looking up at the home I almost forgot.
It takes a moment for me to gather the strength to reach for the door handle, but the moment I wrap my hand around the iron knob, it turns, connecting with my magic like it always has.
A lump lodges in my throat as I peer at the same beige and dusty blue walls that have always been there.
The brass chandelier hangs from the high ceiling, without a single ounce of dust on the crystal.
Oak herringbone parquet lines the floors, enticing me into the hallway, and I finally take a deep breath when the door clicks shut behind me.
My shoulders sag as I exhale, stepping deeper into the hallway without entering any of the rooms. I can’t indulge any further in a trip down memory lane when Elodie needs me.
I probably shouldn’t have come here at all, but I needed somewhere safe, where I could delve into my magic without caution, and it’s the only place I could think of.
Shaking out my hands, I close my eyes and focus, zeroing in on that little mark I left beneath her breast.
The thunder of her heartbeat is instantly stronger, zapping through my body like electricity. I can’t see her exactly, especially since she’s not here in this world, but with a few deep breaths, I narrow down the location of the portal.
It’s Jude’s doing, so of course there would only be one spot to reach him, and it’s as obnoxious as ever.