Chapter 17
ERDIKOA
Rory jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom to get ready. Hurrying to her closet, she yanked on whatever clothes her hands landed on and hopped as she pulled her socks on before running downstairs.
She’d never lived in a house with stairs, and as her sock slid, she learned a valuable lesson: never run down a set of stairs unless you want to tumble. She screamed, but two meaty hands caught her before she hit the ground.
“I thought you were athletic,” Sam said after setting her on the ground.
Her track record with stairs was getting increasingly worse, she thought as her heart pounded.
Ignoring his jab, she grabbed the shoes she left by the door and pulled them on. “I need to go to the library.”
He pointed to a window. “It is still dark outside. The library is not open.”
She reached into the pocket of her hoodie and called her father, who picked up on the second ring. “Hey, is everything okay?”
“Can you let me into the library? I need to find a book.” She grimaced at her rudeness. “Sorry. Nothing is wrong, but I need to look for anything on Aeternums.”
Sam stared at her. “Why are you looking into Aeternums?”
She twisted around, and his expression made her turn to him fully. “Tell me what you know.”
“If I find anything on them, I’ll bring it home,” her father promised, reminding her he was on the phone.
“Thanks, Dad. Love you,” she said quickly and hung up.
“That was rude,” Sam remarked.
She poked his chest. “Don’t change the subject. What do you know about Aeternums?”
He turned from her and walked toward the kitchen. “I know nothing.”
“You’re lying,” she accused and grabbed his arm to stop him.
He shook her off like a pesky fly and kept walking. “You ask too many questions.”
“You will tell me what you know, or you will regret it,” she threatened.
He laughed a little too hard, and she flipped off his back. He spun around and grabbed her hand. She stared at his hand holding hers, and when he tried to pull back, she stopped him. “We’ve done this before.”
He ignored her. “Your threats do not scare me. What will you do to me? String me up from one of your hooks?”
“I won’t kill you,” she shot back. “But I will make you wish you were dead. Do you know what glitter is?” She gave him a saccharine smile. “Or what happens when it gets on your clothes or in your pretty hair?”
He grabbed eggs from the refrigerator and set them on the counter before grabbing a glass. “You are a child.”
She watched him crack the eggs, drop them into the glass, and gulp them down in one drink. It was impossible to hide her disgust.
It surprised her that egg yolks were yellow. She never thought to ask what color they were when she had grey-scale sight.
“You were not this immature in Vincula,” he remarked. “Is this how you act here?”
She tried a different approach. “Please, Sam. Caius mentioned it last night, and I need to know what he meant.”
Sam’s eyes flared, and she narrowed hers. Judging by the Angel’s face, Caius told her the truth. “I know he’s the Umbra King,” she added. “And I know we were together and that a woman named Nina tried to have me killed.”
Sam said something under his breath, shaking his head.
“I dream of him,” Rory continued. “And the look on your face confirms it’s true.” She swallowed hard. “My mind is remembering and showing me through my dreams, isn’t it?”
His eyes flicked to hers. “I cannot tell you what transpired in Vincula. It goes against the rules of the Seraphim.”
“Who was Nina?” she tried again. His face remained stoic, giving away nothing. Dammit.
“Do not ask me questions.” Sam rinsed his glass, placed it in the washer, and left the room, leaving her to stew.
It was evident he wouldn’t budge, and staying in the dark wasn’t an option. Rory made her way to the living room, eager to leave the house, but as Sam pointed out, it was too early for anything to be open. She didn’t know where she’d go, anyway.
When she fell onto the comfortable couch, her mind wandered to last night.
Caius told her to wear a dress tonight. It felt silly, but she would do it.
She needed to go shopping for the sexiest dress she could find.
Her eyes closed at the memory of his lips on hers.
It should have bothered her how easily she believed he didn’t kill Cora, but something inside her trusted him.
A devious smile spread across her face as she sought Sam out, delighted to tell him they were going shopping. He would hate it.
Her smile fell when he held out a book. “You left this in the car.”
The leather cover was smooth against her fingers when she took it from his outstretched hand. “Thank you.” She’d been too distracted by the events at their game. Another thought occurred to her. “Why did I have this in the car the night I returned from Vincula if I never took it with me?”
Sam’s stoic expression never changed. “I do not know.”
Did she take it to Vincula, and if so, how? Dume arrested her at the bar, and she only had her small purse. “Are inmates allowed to bring things back?”
“No.” He offered no explanation, and she was tempted to throw the book at him, but instead she ran upstairs to her room and tossed it on her bed.
When she returned, Sam wasn’t in the living room, and she yelled, “I need to go shopping today!”
He stalked into the room with a disgruntled look, and she pressed her lips together. “I need a new dress.”
“We will leave at a reasonable hour,” he grunted and looked pointedly at the window. “The stores are not yet open.”
She nodded and headed toward the kitchen. “I know. Do you want breakfast?”
The look he gave her was one of utter confusion. “You saw me eat breakfast already.”
She stared at him, remembering the raw eggs. “You are disgusting.”
His eyes danced with amusement. “I am many things, but disgusting is not one of them.” Brushing past her, he opened the fridge to grab ingredients. “Do you like omelets?”
“Everyone likes omelets,” she replied, and after making a cup of coffee, slid onto a stool at the kitchen island. He cooked quietly as she observed him. The Angel was a big softie, even if he would die before admitting it.
The plate clanked against the counter when he set it down. “Eat.” Staring at the plate, the feeling of déjà vu returned.
Her eyes were fixated on the food. “Is it not to your liking?” he asked, interrupting her spiraling.
Lifting her eyes to his, she tried to work out what she was feeling. “You’ve given me food before.”
His face neither confirmed nor denied her guess. “Eat,” he repeated and walked out of the kitchen.
First, the hand grab, now the food. Were they friends?
Eating quickly, she took out her phone and texted Sera to help her brainstorm ways to restore her memories. Her other friends would try to stop her—maybe not Keith, but he would tell Kordie, and she wouldn’t agree and would tell Dume.
Something told her Sera would agree without hesitation.
Sera met Sam and Rory outside of a tiny boutique in the city with a wide smile on her face. “Here,” she said, handing Rory an iced coffee. “No shopping trip is complete without iced energy.”
Rory took a sip and moaned. “You are a blessing from the Seraphim.”
Sera turned to Sam. “You don’t seem like the iced latte type. I got you a hot one instead.” She removed another drink from the cup holder and held it out.
Rory worried he would hurt Sera’s feelings with his blunt nature because he didn’t drink coffee. If he tried to refuse it, she was making good on her previous threat.
Accepting the drink, he lifted it to his nose and sniffed. “Thank you. You are a thoughtful person.” Rory relaxed but chuckled at his formality. “Let’s get this over with.”
Sera grabbed the door and shooed him away. “You stay out here. It’s girl time, not massive-bodyguard-scares-away-the-associates time.”
“Fine,” he resigned and sat on a nearby bench.
The girls hurried inside and started looking through the racks. “Do you really need a dress, or are we scheming?”
Rory laughed despite herself. “We could have schemed on the phone. I really need a dress, and I thought it’d be fun to have someone help,” she said honestly. The jealousy she once felt toward Sera was gone, and in its place was a desire to get to know her better.
She realized her friends wouldn’t replace her, and it didn’t surprise her they welcomed Sera into the group.
Sera held up a dress to Rory’s front. “Is it for a special occasion?”
Rory shouldn’t be embarrassed, but she was. It sounded ridiculous to admit she was buying a dress because a man in her dreams told her to.
“You can tell me.” Sera lowered the dress. “I won’t laugh or judge.”
Rory sipped her coffee and considered her options. Worst-case scenario, her new friend thought she was delusional and told the others. Screw it. She grabbed a random dress and indicated for Sera to follow her into a dressing room.
“This is going to sound insane, and I know that,” she began.
Sera grinned deviously. “I love insane. Tell me everything.”
Rory lowered her voice to a whisper. “Since returning from Vincula, I keep getting these weird feelings when certain things happen like I’ve done it before. It happened when I met your dad.”
Sera stared, wide-eyed. “Do you think you’re remembering things from your time in prison?”
“That’s the thing.” Rory took another drink, giving her time to articulate her thoughts. “I’m not remembering, but it’s like the memory is just out of reach.”
“That would bug the shit out of me,” Sera mumbled, sliding her eyes to the dress hanging on the door. “But what is the dress for?”
“This is the insane part. Almost every night, I have these dreams, and I’m either in somewhere I know from Erdikoa, or in an unfamiliar place that feels familiar.
” She hesitated, genuinely worried about how Sera would react.
“The same man is always there. At first, I thought he was the man who killed my sister, but Lauren slipped up and said when I was in Vincula, there was a man I thought was Cora’s murderer, but he wasn’t.
” Sera watched her with rapt attention, encouraging her to continue. “His name is Caius.”
“As in Caius the Umbra King?” Sera whispered with big eyes.
Rory nodded. “Yes. He said we were dating, and the worst part is that I believe him. I can feel it. Every time we’re in a dream, we’re wearing what we wore to bed.” She swallowed, praying Sera would take this in stride. “Last night, he asked me to wear a dress tonight.”
Sera flapped her hands excitedly. “Like for a date?”
Relief flooded Rory’s body at the lack of judgment on her friend’s face. “I don’t know, but that’s why I need a dress.”
“Do you think you’re actually meeting the king in your dreams?”
Rory straightened and looked down at Sera.
She never considered the possibility that the dreams were real.
“I assumed my memories were trying to come back, which is why I need to pick your brain.” Sera shifted to all business as she waited.
“There is something important I’m missing.
I need to get my memories back, but I don’t know how or if it’s even possible. ”
“We’ll think of something,” Sera promised. “I’ll think on it, and we can ask—”
“No,” Rory said, cutting her off. “No one else can know. You seemed to be the most likely to believe me, but the others won’t. Even if they did, they would tell me to leave well enough alone and enjoy my time back.” Like Lauren, Sam, and Caius.
Sera beamed with pride. “Okay. You know, Keith’s parents are Munin. If you’re almost remembering things, maybe their abilities will work on you.”
“I can’t ask them to do that, and that would involve telling Keith.” She paused. “That will be our last resort.” Even then, she didn’t know if she would risk getting someone else in trouble for selfish gain.
Sera slumped and said something under her breath before perking up. “Wait! Do you remember the Glassman movie where the villain had a mind eraser weapon?” Rory nodded, unsure where she was going with this. “Glassman went to some super lab and asked them to create a potion to reverse the effects.”
Glassman was a supermystic who turned into unbreakable glass. He was one of Dume’s favorites when they were kids. “Potions like that are illegal.” A light went off in Rory’s head, and she shook Sera’s shoulder. Fiona. “You beautiful genius! I know someone.”
“Who?” Sera whispered, peeking out of the curtain.
“An Alchemist who sells illegal potions in the underground market. Whatever you need, she can make.” Rory and Sera stared at each other, smiling like idiots.
“How are we going to ditch the giant on the sidewalk?” Sera asked, chewing her thumbnail.
Rory shook her head. “The underground market is dangerous. I won’t risk you getting hurt.”
Sera’s face transformed into one that would scare Sam. “I am going, and if you say no, I’ll go by myself.”
“You’re scary as fuck sometimes,” Rory muttered with a hint of admiration.
Sera tightened her bright red ponytail. “I know. Now, when are we going?”
“Is everything all right in there?” an associate asked from the other side of the curtain, startling both girls.
“We’re fine,” Sera called back. “Just discussing boys. We’ll be out in a moment.”
“Let me know if I can help with anything,” the woman responded before walking away.
“At some point this week, Sam and Lauren will switch shifts, leaving me alone with my dad.” Their scheming brought on a wave of guilt.
Rory berated Lauren for saying she would sneak out, and now she was planning to do exactly that.
“We can leave then. The only problem is I won’t know they’re switching shifts until the night of. ”
Sera shrugged. “I’ll be on standby. Call me, and I’ll come get you.”
“You have a car?” Most people didn’t.
“Yes. My dad lives on the outskirts, and taking a cab that far is too expensive,” she said.
Rory clasped Sera’s hands in hers. “Thank you.”
Sliding open the curtain, Sera stepped out and waved Rory off. “No problem.” She looked around and found an associate. “We need help to find the perfect dress.”
Rory’s heart jumped in her chest at the prospect of seeing Caius tonight and the prospect of retrieving her memories.