Chapter 25
VINCULA
Caius stood in a small apartment and stared at the walls covered in erratic handwriting.
Two were one, and one is yours. Do not let him fool you. His darkness is poison. Only the golden child can save you.
The prophecy. Lenora said he had to be the one to save Rory, but nothing about him was golden other than his eyes. She misinterpreted her vision.
Sibyls’ visions weren’t black and white, and he searched his memories for any clue of who it could be. It could be someone from Erdikoa he hadn’t met, and the thought drove him mad, but then again, all thoughts involving Rory did.
This was Rory’s old apartment, he realized, and curiosity got the better of him. Turning in a circle, he looked at the worn couches, small Essence Screen sitting on a small entertainment center, and framed pictures of Rory’s family covering the walls.
He ran a finger down a picture of Rory and her sister as teenagers.
He recognized Cora from the pictures in her emergency report and seeing her before her short life was snuffed out made his stomach turn.
An Aatxe boy around their age stood between them with his arms slung over their shoulders, and their smiles were huge.
This must be Dume. Seeing the pictures, he finally understood their familial relationship. It was as clear as day.
He moved on to other pictures, seeing Rory grow up through moments captured in time. A picture of a young Lenora and a man, Rory’s father, he guessed, holding twin baby girls sat on a side table.
The gentleness in her father was evident in his eyes, and Caius chuckled at Lenora’s words. Rory was like her mother, indeed, but there was a piece of her father in her as well.
Meandering down the hall, he stopped in front of an open bedroom door. In the middle of the wildflower-covered floor was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, but something was different about her.
“Your hair.” He stepped forward, and her grey eyes found his.
Rising from the floor, she stared at him in challenge, raising her chin defiantly. “I like it.”
Reaching out a hand to run through her short brown waves, he grinned. “I love it. Who knew I had a fetish?”
“A fetish for what?” Amusement tinged her words.
His hand threaded through her hair and pulled her close. “You. For every physical change you could ever have.” He brushed a kiss across her lips, and she smiled.
Suddenly, she jerked back. “The bowl was red.”
It took a second for her words to register, and when they did, his knees almost buckled before gaining his bearings and pulling her into his chest. “You remember,” he murmured against her hair, but his relief was short-lived.
“No, but when Lauren explained Aeternums, she mentioned my grey-scale sight, and that popped into my head.”
He nodded. “It was the first thing you saw when your sight lifted.” His hope returned in full force. This wasn’t a feeling something was missing; it was an actual memory. “Did you try something to get your memories back?”
A sheepish smile pulled at her lips. “I bought illegal memory recovery potions, but they didn’t work.”
“They did,” he insisted. “Even if it’s only one memory, it’s still a memory.
” He wore a path through the wildflowers as he paced.
The magic could be broken. Hell, it had been broken, but only a little.
What else could she try? He stopped and turned to her.
“A Munin. Their ability is powerful, and with the memory magic already cracked, a Munin might be able to break it fully.”
“No,” Rory said so quickly that it was obvious she’d already considered it. “I will not put someone at risk of being arrested.”
She had to. “I will take over their contract,” he promised. “They will go back home immediately.”
Her head tilted slightly. “You can do that?”
The air grew heavy, and he nodded, unwilling to admit what he’d done.
“It could make them a social pariah,” she admonished. “I can’t do that to someone.”
“I will do anything to make them happy once they return.” He was desperate. A Munin could do this. And then it hit him. “Max.”
“Who is Max?” she asked him.
Caius rubbed a hand down his face. Max wouldn’t remember Rory, but their souls would know one another.
It was the soul that changed in Vincula; their souls remembered, even if their minds didn’t.
“He was an inmate, and you two were close. He’s a Munin who lives in the compound with his wife.
His contract ended a little before you left.
He won’t remember you, but I would bet anything he will help you. ”
“If we were friends, then I really won’t do that to him,” she replied. “I’ve hurt my friends enough.”
He had to convince her. “You have to. This isn’t just about saving your life anymore.” Yes, it was. “Gedeon is neglecting the people.”
Not a lie. He knew his next words were a low blow because she’d think of her mother, but he needed her to regain her memories for her own safety.
“Brynne was arrested for stealing food. She cares for her Sibyl brother, and they faced hardships. The funding for the assistance programs was cut by order of The Crown, and no one knows why. She couldn’t even afford food. ”
Rory’s eyes became slits. “Who is Brynne?”
He recognized the hint of jealousy in her tone and fought a smile. “An inmate. You’d like her.”
Rory sniffed and looked away. “Are you two close?”
Grabbing her chin, he turned her face to his, descending on her for another kiss.
“No. We spoke once.” He cupped her cheek and implored her to believe him. “I am yours, Aurora Raven. Every part of me belongs to you. Another woman couldn’t hold my attention if they tried.”
“Have they tried?” was her only response, and he fought another smile.
“After what you did to the last woman who wanted me as her own, they wouldn’t dare.”
“You did that on purpose,” she accused, removing his hand from her face. “Using the greater good of the realms was a shitty thing to do, and now I can’t say no.”
He tried and failed to hide his triumphant grin, earning him a glare. “Find Max Story. His wife’s name is Tammy, and they live in the Munin compound.”
“I’ll make Lauren take me tomorrow,” she reluctantly promised. “If he is caught and arrested, you send him back immediately, or I will cut your heart from your body.”
His smile faded. “You already hold my heart in your hands, Aurora Raven. One day you’ll believe me, whether you remember me or not.”
Her misty eyes made him want to reach for her, but the blaring alarm sounded through the room, and Caius cursed Sam for demanding they meet early. Rory looked around in confusion, and Caius sighed. “Time to wake up.”