Chapter 28 Ariana #2
His jaw clenched, and he nodded, though did not offer a verbal response. When he began moving, Shay and I followed. Eventually the halls Soren took us down became less ornate and bare stone surrounded us. He stopped at a door on one of those dark halls.
“I will wait out here,” he informed. “She is in there.”
I nodded, glancing at the wolf at my side. “Wait here.”
Shay grunted and sat down beside Soren.
Following a deep inhale, I entered a dingy space. The scent of wet rock permeated the space. A single torch lit an area that had three cells, however, only one was being used.
My jaw clenched when I viewed the woman I thought I knew better than anyone else in my life. Though I no longer recognized her physical appearance, nor the soul within the body, I felt a sense of relief at seeing her unharmed.
Edda sat on the floor, leaning against a far wall.
When her onyx eyes met mine, she jumped to her feet, swiftly moving to the bars that separated us.
Her gaze traveled over my face, causing her brows to furrow.
“You set it all in motion already. The truths are being revealed to you, but there is one more left for you to uncover.”
She was always the seer. I was not about to ask her what the last truth was. If she intended to tell me, then she would have.
“Did you know he would take the life of a child and what I would be forced to do?” I asked her, my voice somehow remaining firm despite the blade of torment wedged between my ribs.
Her frown deepened. “No. I never knew the details, just that it would be painful and eye-opening for you.”
Silence spread between us as I held her stare. She was still so much of who I remembered, yet at the same time, completely unrecognizable. How was it possible to be that? Foreign yet reminding me of home.
“Do you believe me?” She asked.
“For some reason, I do.”
One of her hands released an iron bar. She hesitated before reaching out for me, as if to touch my arm. I stepped back, staying out of reach.
Sadness swirled in her young yet ancient eyes as she pulled the hand back to herself, holding it close to her chest. “Why have you come?”
My ribs constricted. “You are not innocent. You disgust me, and yet my heart still fears for your safety. With what happens next, I do not know what Clause will do. I will not have your death on my hands too, another person powerless to make a choice, to defend themselves.”
My conjuring hummed to life within me. Mist shot out of my fingers towards the lock, keeping her caged. Edda’s eyes grew larger as she stared at my hand.
The iron pen keeping my grandmother in creaked open.
My grandmother. Even thinking the title hurt.
I spoke before she took a single step. “If I ever find you standing on the opposite side of me again, I will not grant you freedom again.”
She nodded. “What do you want me to do?”
“Stay out of my way.” I turned to leave, only to have her hand take mine, stilling me.
“I only ever wanted to protect you,” she said, a strange sorrow staining her voice.
I looked at the foreign fingers wrapped around mine before setting my attention on her youthful face. “And I only ever wanted those closest to me to never manipulate me.”
Her hand fell away from mine. “I will help you.”
I did not have it in me to waste more of my breath on talking to her. I only needed one thing from her.
“Just stay out of my way.” I then turned and exited the room with Edda a step behind me.
Soren’s eyes widened at the sight of us.
“She is free to go,” I said to him. “Will that be a problem?”
“No.” He frowned, looking at Edda while my attention remained on him.
“Good. I am going to bed now. Tomorrow will be a long day.” I glanced at Edda, “I take it you know your way around and will have no issue slithering out of the castle?”
“I’ll be fine.” She answered with a sad smile I did not care for.
Turning on my heels, I made my way to my room with Shay, where we found no rest.
My mind was a mess of turmoil. Thinking up awful scenarios and possibilities, my dreams wild with dark creativity. I could not control the thoughts, as they wreaked havoc on my mental state.
Why was the night always the worst for such thoughts?
I paced, stared out my window, and closed my eyes for brief periods without slumber until finally, it was time.
I bathed and dressed in a lovely lavender blouse and brown pants that allowed for effortless movement and maneuvering.
When Shay and I left the room, we went our separate ways.
A thin layer of mist coated the floor in my wake, creating an invisible web, and I the spider who would sense any disruption.
I made my way to the room I long ago marked in my mind, yet stayed far away from until now.
Guards flanked the door, a look of surprise passing over them at my approach, yet they said nothing, continuing to face forward as I marched up between them, to the door.
Three quick hard taps of my knuckles and my heart skipped a beat.
Distract him as long as possible. I repeated these words a thousand times over in my mind ever since sunrise. They were my mantra, the thing that kept my mind from running wild.
Footsteps approached the door.
Fate thickened the air. Time drew near, causing a prickling sensation to dance over my skin in anticipation.
With a click, the door opened.
Clause’s eyes landed on me and instantly changed from irritated to surprised.
Tension coiled like a snake at my feet before gliding around me, slithering over my skin until it was nearly all I felt. “We need to talk,” I said to him.
His lips curved at the side, not at all upset by my icy demeanor. Gray cold eyes drifted over me. “You look lovely, as always.” He then stepped aside. “This conversation was not one I expected to have yet, but I suppose if you have sought me out, then you are ready for it.”
Apparently, we each had conversations we wished to have with one another. I could only imagine how different they were going to be.
I stepped into the room and froze.
Breath slipped out from my lungs, my muscles rending me immobile.
“Wh- What is that?” I hardly forced myself to murmur the words out.
Before me was a wall with a floor-to-ceiling portrait.
Clause looked exactly the same as he did now, except there was a brightness in those eyes, a warmth that never surfaced.
A handsome face, silver white hair, gray eyes, sharp jaw, and even the commanding presence seemed to come across the painting.
His hand rested on the hip of a woman, her ears pointed delicately, showing she was Sidhe.
That was the only difference between her and me.
Her face appeared as real as if I were to look in a mirror.
The edges of the painting were pulling away from the portrait slightly, showing the age. It was old, incredibly so. Yet the person in his arms was... I could not even think.
“It is my mate.” Clause answered from somewhere behind me. The door gently clicked shut, locking me in with him. “It is you.”