Chapter 32 Elodie
ELODIE
Istartle awake, my heart racing wildly in my chest as I try to take stock of my surroundings.
Thorne will flip when he sees this many people in his personal space, but Kael felt it was an added necessity.
What I wasn’t prepared for was waking up to find three people staring at me expectantly.
“Did it work?” Kael asks, and I gulp, struggling to catch my breath.
“Yes,” I breathe, and Rion launches to his feet in excitement.
“Where is he?” he rushes out, and I pause, my face frozen in place as I shake my head, trembling in disbelief.
“He woke before me, before I could find out,” I say, panic clawing at me as my chest lurches. My reeling thoughts are interrupted by the sound of my cell phone going off on the nightstand. I consider leaving it, but Rion catches a glimpse of the screen and darts for the device.
“It's a message from Thorne,” he states, and I stare at him in disbelief.
Taking the cell phone from his hand, I unlock the screen and tap on the text message.
Thorne: Sorry about my quick departure, Echo. I was woken to be interrogated. I'm on my way. Head to my room, grab the others if you can.
I repeat the message out loud to the others and a wave of relief flutters around the space.
“What have they been doing to him?” Kael mumbles, and I shrug.
“It didn't come up,” I admit, and Ocean’s eyes widen in surprise. She shares a look with Rion, who scoffs.
“What were you two doing? Dream fucking?” he blurts, and I scoff, choking on my own breath as I shake my head.
“No, he was a little… distressed,” I offer, even though it doesn’t quite sum it up.
Kael snickers. “Only a little?” he says, tilting his head as he looks at me. I meet his stare and his lips set in a thin line. “What aren't you telling us?” he blurts, and I sit up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed as I try to calm my breathing,
Bracing my elbows on my thighs, I explain. “There was a photo of his father with a man I've met, a man he believed to be dead, yet I saw him recently.”
“Who?” Ocean asks from the doorway, and I shake my head.
“He didn't tell me his name the time I met him, and when I pointed him out to Thorne, there was no time to gather that information.” I brush my hair back off my face, distracted by the dream I was locked in.
Me, shadow fae magic? That’s insane.
“And where did you see him?” Rion asks, and I gulp, lightheaded as I speak.
“He was in the cell with the others when Jude took me.”
Pain flashes across Kael’s face, but before anyone can say another word, the sound of the front door of the dormitory swinging open echoes up the stairs and Thorne bursts into the dorm room a few moments later.
Ocean manages to step out of the way before he hurries into his bedroom, reaching for me immediately as he drags me into his embrace, and I cling to him.
What startles me is how real it feels, hugging him in the dream, just like it does here. “This feels as real as it did in the dream,” I murmur against his ear, and he tightens his hold on me.
“That's because it's not really a dream,” he explains, leaving me confused as he rears back enough to meet my stare. “That's the Shadowlands. We're just transported there in our sleep,” he states, and I stare at him, bewildered.
“That doesn't make any sense.”
“It only makes sense if you're a shadow fae, because you can only gain access to it as or with a shadow fae,” he adds, and I glance around the room at the other three people staring at us with the same level of bewilderment that I'm wearing now. If Thorne notices, he doesn’t acknowledge it as he pushes on. “There is something we need to check.”
He lowers me to my feet, but he places me out of the way of his bed as he drops to his knees and starts pulling out storage boxes. The first one he opens, he rifles through some papers before he turns to me with another image.
This time, the picture shows the same man, not with his father, but with a woman.
“Have you met her before?” he asks, and I nervously run my tongue along my bottom lip as I nod.
“They were together in the cell,” I breathe, recalling the comforting words of the woman first, before I experienced any interaction with the man at all.
“Why?” Thorne asks, and I shake my head.
“I don't know. The only thing I know is that they said they were there, along with everybody else, to protect their family.”
Thorne’s gaze drops to the picture in question as he blinks. “That family might be closer to home than we think,” he states.
“What does that mean?” Kael asks, but Thorne doesn't answer for a few moments as he rifles through his belongings, pulling out another trunk from the back.
When he opens it, there's additional storage inside, one that looks like it doesn’t have an opening.
Thorne’s attention turns to Kael as he holds out his hand.
“Nip for me, will you?” he mutters, and although Kael frowns in confusion, he does as Thorne asks, elongating his fangs before he bites at Thorne’s thumb.
A droplet of blood forms at the tip and Thorne quickly retracts his hand.
“Thank you,” Thorne murmurs as he returns to the box and presses his blood into the center of it.
What looked like a decorative pattern moments ago brightens with his touch, trailing across the wood like veins, turning golden until a click sounds and the box opens.
Inside are rows of vials, each filled with a different shade of red liquid, and a tiny note above each one. He runs his fingers over the vials until he finds two.
Capturing them in one hand, he uses his free hand to dig out two empty vials from the larger box before rising to his feet. With the four vials in hand, he turns to me. “We're going to need our little pinpricker here to do the same to you,” he explains, but before I can speak, Rion interjects.
“No one is stabbing at my Petal.”
Thorne clears his throat, staring down at the items in his hand for a second before his gaze returns to me with an air of determination and decision consuming him.
“Odie was my father's closest friend. They were like brothers, even though Odie was actually my father's right-hand man.” He clears his throat, taking his moment as he stares at the picture sitting face up on top of one of the boxes.
“One of the great rules of the shadow fae is that you don't look beyond your own.”
“You mean shadow fae only bond with other shadow fae,” Ocean interjects, and he nods, making my heart lurch.
“To choose beyond that is a disgrace to the Shadowlands, or so the story goes,” he muses, his gaze glazing over as he stares off into the distance, but the story continues.
“Odie was the most honorable shadow fae in all of the Shadowlands, but his love fell out of the box. His love was for Ellie. Do you want to know what Ellie was?”
Trepidation coats my veins as I shake my head, too scared to know, but apparently, it was a rhetorical question.
“Ellie was a scythe.”
I feel like I can't breathe as he returns his gaze to me, staring at me like he's already pieced all the puzzles together.
My brain can't catch up to process what he's trying to say.
He must sense the disassociation in me because he gathers all of the vials in one hand and brings his free hand to my cheek.
“Elodie, I think you are who they were protecting.”
“I don't know what you mean,” I reply, and he smiles, but it does nothing to take away the unwavering panic inside of me.
“There's only one way to find out,” he states, nodding at Kael again.
“Find out what?” I breathe, desperate for him to spell it out for me as I lift my hand to Kael.
The vampire curls his fingers around my wrist as he brings the tip of my finger to his mouth.
“Say the words Elodie,” he murmurs, and I gulp, turning to face him as he stands poised, ready to draw blood.
My heart hammers in my chest as I nod, but the pointed look he gives me confirms he wants my words. “Do it.”
Only when Kael nips my skin and produces a drop of blood does Thorne answer.
“The only way to find out if they're your parents,” he breathes.
“My what?” I stammer, nausea churning in my gut as I sway on my feet.
Rion’s at my side in a flash, pulling me against his chest as he keeps me upright. Kael grabs my finger and aims it toward Thorne, who holds an empty vial out, ready.
Once he's happy with the amount gathered, Kael brings my hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to my skin as Thorne places a lid on top of the vial before silently holding it out for Ocean to take.
She does so carefully, eyes wide as Thorne turns his attention to the other empty vial.
Silently, the rest of the room watches as he fills it halfway with each of the other two red liquids before returning his attention to me.
“If your sample matches these combined vials, it confirms where your blood is from, and you'll have your answer.”
“Are we not going to discuss the fact that you have freaking blood stored under your bed like a damn vampire? No offense, Kael,” Rion grumbles, but I’m coiled too tightly to do anything other than gape at the shadow fae before me in disbelief.
I take a deep breath, staring deep into Thorne’s eyes as he shakes the combined vial before reaching for the one in Ocean’s grasp.
“Do they? Do they match?” I whisper, unshed tears gathering at the corners of my eyes, and I can’t process why.
He brings them side by side, holding them up to the light, just enough for me to see too, and my world stills as I close my eyes.
In one small second, I might find my place in this world; my origin, my beginning, my family.
In one small second, my entire understanding of life could change.
In one small second, I could have everything I’ve ever wanted, but still have it out of reach.
With one final deep breath, I open my eyes to find my future before me, and it looks like…