Claire
Chapter Twenty-Four
My feet sunk into the water as the sensation of ice flooding my bones filled my calf up to the knee.
Arik held my hand to steady me as I sunk into the coarse sand below as I held my sandals with my other hand.
I waded through the frigid water until my feet emerged raw and red from the frozen trenches of the shore.
Breath hitched in my throat as Arik pulled me in toward him until my body leaned against the solidity of his torso.
I pressed my face deeper into his chest and nodded. This was it. The moment my trust would be tested. In what felt like an hour, I had witnessed him become a monster, pulling apart men in front of my very eyes, then hold me captive, and somehow manage to pull me back in.
I knew more about him than any other person in my life. Yet, I still felt like I didn’t know him at all. The feelings of wanting to stay with him, and wanting to run, were at war. It was a battle between my heart and my head, and both had a history of letting me down.
My feet continued to sink into the black sand, thick grains pressing against my heels and between my toes as I pulled myself from Arik and toward the path.
The weight of the walk pressed down onto my body as raindrops slowly started to slip through the fog above.
Just like my dream, the sky was now cracking open with a living dread.
The black slate cliffs drowned in darkness as the rain began to roll down their smooth edges.
Arik’s hand slipped into mine as the path neared. Where there once was black sand, now my feet were steady on solid ground. Dirt, dense and cold met the bottoms of my feet.
“Put on your shoes, love.” Arik spoke gently as we both leaned against the walls of the narrow path.
I watched him quickly lace his shoes, looking just as polished and proper as the day I met him.
Except now, his black blazer and crisp shirt were replaced with white linen, turning transparent with each raindrop.
As he stood there waiting for me to finish with my sandals, I stared up at him.
He had his hands in his hair, pulling it away from his face.
His black strands were now dripping and wavy, giving him the old world look that I imagine he had last time he was here.
I took a deep breath before rising again, exhaling slowly as if it may be the last substantial breath I may get for a while.
Panic was setting in again. I couldn’t stop the thoughts from creeping in my mind like shadows casting long and ominously over my current vision.
I imagined my mother and father resting in their hospital beds.
I imagined my sister and her kids playing in the yard.
With each thought, pain filled my chest. Pain from a sense of dread that I would never see them again.
That they would get a phone call from Italian authorities saying I was dead.
My mother breaking down. My father sitting silently, unable to mentally process.
My sister hiding her tears from the kids, quickly wiping them away and saying “everything fine” when they ran into the room.
Arik must have sensed my panic. As soon as my eyes closed to take another deep breath, he was against me once again. His hands gripped the back of my head tightly as his fingers slipped through the dense wetness of my hair.
“I promise. I promise. I will not let anything happen to you. It would kill me, Claire,” he said quietly until his voice broke as he could barely whisper my name.
My body softened against him as he held me, my mind slowly calming as if his words had unlocked some hidden sense of peace.
My heartbeat slowed to a crawl, until finally, Arik pulled himself from me.
He stared at me silently, straightening himself as the rain dripped down his face, giving me a nod of certainty.
He was stoic, and it was time for us to go.
Despite everything, I wanted to follow him.
My body pulled toward Arik inexplicably like a magnet as his hand gripped mine, guiding me along through the density of darkness that surrounded us along the path.
As soon as we reached the end of the path, the void broke, allowing in glimmers of moonlight through the trees above.
We were in a dense forest, deep and dark with both secrets and silence.
The stillness echoed as I scanned our surroundings.
A canopy of branches filtered out most of the moonlight and rain, allowing only patches to peek through, as if marking touchpoints of our journey.
Below, plants and ivy sat overgrown along the forest floor as if no living thing had ever touched the space.
Arik led us through, pulling back branches and growth to clear our path to wherever we were going.
Then I smelled it. Smoke.
My body halted, pulling Arik back toward me. “Is there a fire?” I questioned.
Arik’s dark eyes darted in all directions, making him appear manic. My pulse started to rise once again until his eyes dug into me once more, as if he were holding me in place with sheer intent.
“He’s here,” he said sternly with satisfaction as I watched the corners of his mouth turn upward into a menacing grin that was equal parts frightening and dangerously attractive.
“He’s…here?” I stammered as I tried my best to peer through the forest looking for any signs of life.
I screamed as Arik pulled me up into his arms, carrying me through the forest just as he had carried me through the streets of the village. His eyes were focused straight ahead as he maneuvered his way through the growth, carrying me like I weighed nothing.
Arik stopped and brought his attention toward me as I looked up at him with a sense of reverence that came from somewhere in me that I did not even know existed.
“We are here. Stay behind me. I have this. We have this,” he whispered near silently as his eyes moved from mine to the space just beyond us.
My eyes left him as he placed my feet gently on the ground.
Before us stood a cabin, old and practically leaning sideways as if it were teetering on collapse.
Thick black smoke shot from the stone chimney with anger that filled the dark sky above.
The moss-covered roof below reflected the white moonlight above us as it dripped rainwater onto the earth surrounding the cabin with a line like a barrier.
The dark windows that graced the rotting wooden slats sat frosted and obstructed, maybe by age or smoke from within.
This was a haunted house if I had ever seen one in my life.
For a second, I briefly imagined Arik and myself as Hansel and Gretel.
Believing we are walking into something amazing, only to be met with doom.
Except, in this case, Hansel is a monster capable of taking out entire fleets of men without breaking a sweat. That thought somehow brought me solace.
Arik stepped in front of me, leading the way toward the cabin. Without any time to brace myself, he was opening the door with swiftness that shocked my systems.
“Arik. Welcome back.” A deep voice emerged, rattling in echoes through the cabin.
As Arik stepped forward, I stayed close behind him, my face practically rubbing his back as he walked through the cabin like a predator.
He was standing straight; his hands balled into fists so tightly that his knuckles were white and appeared as if they may break through his skin.
I could feel anger radiating from him, despite his noble attempts to appear calm and collected.
He was breaking at this moment, and I was starting to see his cracks.
“You brought a guest, I see.” The voice cut through the air again, dancing through it as crackles from the fireplace filled the hallow space. All around us, woodsmoke and dust filled the air as I took shallow breaths, trying to not become lightheaded from smoke inhalation.
“Ambrogio,” Arik stated firmly as he came to a stop.
“Well, come on, boy. I knew you would be back one day. But a guest…that is a surprise,” Ambrogio wheezed as he struggled to get the words out.
Arik stood silently until Ambrogio’s voice cracked through the cabin once more. “You are more deadly than I am, young Medici. You brought a stranger into my house? Announce yourself!” he screamed as I heard his feet hit the wooden slats below, vibrating in my direction.
I stood as Arik pulled his arm around me. His body shielded me from Ambrogio as he pulled me into him and placed a delicate kiss against my forehead.
As Arik’s body moved to my side, I saw Ambrogio for the first time. He stood in front of me, slightly swaying as his dark eyes scanned from my feet, up my body, before stopping at my eyes. He was dark and ancient, with flowing gray hair that shrouded him in a sense of unknown.
He leaned forward, hunching just slightly, as if he stood up or bent further, he may break in half. He made me feel…uncertain…but not as if I were in danger.
“Ah…” Ambrogio chuckled as he gripped the throne-like chair behind him and pulled himself back into his former rested position in front of the fireplace.
“Now I see why you brought a guest. How nice of you. Congratulations,” he said with a deep laugh that rattled up through his chest like metal against metal.
“Ambrogio, I came to you for answers,” Arik said, his voice softening as I saw his shoulders rise and fall with restraint.
The sound of Ambrogio’s inhale filled the air as my breath quickened with anticipation.
“The way your paths aligned just perfectly for you to meet during her natural life. That is well-deserved, Arik,” Ambrogio replied slowly as his hand gripped the arm of the chair with restraint.
Arik stood silently next to me as we both waited, together, for Ambrogio’s revelation. “To meet your mate, organically…that is what legends are born from.”