Chapter 7
You’rethe last curiomancer in existence.
The last whosawhatsit? It’s definitely not a word or a type of supe I’ve heard about before.
I almost want to ask if he’s speaking English, but he continues before I can make an ass out of myself.
“From all the records we’ve been able to obtain, the last known curiomancer was murdered twenty years ago, and if there is another like you out there, whoever has been holding them against their will has made sure to keep them hidden.”
My eyes widen, and before I can ask, he answers the question without me having to voice it.
“I’m sorry to say, cor meum, your parents were a part of the massacre.” His voice is soft as he utters the words that destroy any hope I have of knowing my real parents.
Tears race down my cheeks for what could have been, what I’ll never have a chance to know. Yeah, they gave me up, but no one wants to hear that their parents are gone without being given the opportunity to meet them.
Axel tosses the folder on the empty cushion next to him and pulls me into his lap, rocking me in his arms and murmuring sweet, reassuring words that I can’t comprehend with the turmoil swirling inside of me. He holds me until the tears once again dry up, and instead of pushing me off his lap, he gathers me closer as if he knows I’ll break again.
And if he continues giving me news like he just did, I will.
“Why?” I croak. It’s the only question I need to know. Why were they killed? What did they do so wrong to warrant it? Were they bad people?
“Curiomancers are powerful. The most powerful supernatural in the world. A shifter can shift into an animal, and that’s it. A vampire is a vampire, nothing more. A mage can wield magic, but they’re limited to what they can do. Curiomancers, though, can shift into animals, perform magic, and utilize the speed of a vampire and the strength of a giant. The magic you hold is limitless.” He pauses, pressing a kiss to the crown of my head. “They were seen as dangerous, so many decided that if they couldn’t own a curiomancer, they needed to be put down.”
I whimper in distress at his words. My parents—my real parents—were put down like dogs. The only crime they committed was being born what they were. How unfair is this world that they felt the need to take out those more powerful than they were?
“Do you want to stop, cor meum?” I shake my head. I don’t want him to stop. This is information I need to know. No matter how much it hurts. “Alright. A curiomancer, as I’m sure you’re wondering, is a master of runes. The markings all over your body are different abilities a curiomancer can have. Like I said before, shifting, strength, speed, and more. The more runes, the more power the wielder holds. Every single one you’re gifted with means you’ll have the potential to use all of them as you learn how to.”
“If there’s no more of my kind, who will teach me?” I ask, my voice cracking. It’s a little girl’s dream to be taught by her parents, but they’re no longer of this world, so how am I going to learn what I need to?
“At Stonewell is one of the most powerful fae in existence. And no, a curiomancer, depending on their runes, is more powerful. But he’s been around a long time, so he’ll be able to help you. Jasper has already alerted Thaddeus, and he’ll be ready with any questions you have pertaining to them.”
“Okay,” I mumble, nuzzling closer in his embrace. “Wait.” I pull back, tilting my head up to meet his red gaze. “People are going to take one look at me and know what I am. I’m as good as dead!” By the time I finish, my words are bordering on hysterical.
Axel quickly grips my face in his hands, bringing my attention back to him. “Breathe, cor meum. We have an idea for that, which we’ll explain more when we get to Stonewell. We are taking every precaution we can to keep you safe. Okay?”
I reluctantly nod my head, but how can I seriously believe that? Every other of my kind is gone, so how can they keep me safe if the same ideals still exist? Especially if there hasn’t been one of me for twenty years. Even though I just met Axel, I want to believe—want to trust—that he’s telling the truth. That they’ll do whatever they can to keep me safe. But part of me is weary that I won’t make it through my first year at Stonewell alive.
“Alright, there’s something else we need to review before I take you to the academy.”
What else could there be?I wonder to myself. Knowing my luck, though, he’ll say eventually, my skin will turn purple or something asinine like that. That should have already happened after the damn lagoon. Right? I’m already a freak with pink eyes, white hair, and black marks all over my body.
Axel shifts me in his lap again, then picks up the discarded file from the cushion next to us. But he doesn’t open it. He seems to be thinking before he voices his words. A trait I’ll need to learn so I don’t get myself killed by my peers.
“This file, cor meum, is your parents’ final will.”
“What?!” What the hell does he mean, their will? They gave me up. So why would their will have anything to do with me?
“I know it’s hard to believe. But I actually met your parents a time or two before you were born. My father was their lawyer and put everything in place. See, your parents knew it was only a matter of time before someone came after them, and they wanted to safeguard you so you didn’t meet the same fate as they did.” He pulls me even closer, if that were possible, and opens the file onto my lap.
Staring back at me is a photograph of a couple who look very much in love and who I look almost exactly alike. The only difference is that the woman—my mother, I guess—is heavily pregnant. With, I’m guessing, me. Both of them have white hair like mine is now and bright pink eyes. The same eyes I saw looking back at me in the mirror when Axel pointed them out. There are peeks of black marks on their skin like mine, but their clothing in the picture obscures most of them.
My fingers shake as I reach out, tracing the familiar features of my parents. The same nose and chin as my mom. The same eye shape as my dad. It’s evident by the photo that I got my height from my mom as she stands at least two heads shorter than my dad. And the way my dad is looking at my mom, you can tell they were very much in love. Mom’s hands are cradled around her swollen belly, a look of reverence on her face.
“Do you…” I clear my throat. “Do you know their names?”
I feel Axel smile against the crown of my head. “Reese and Alyssa Foss.”
Reese and Alyssa Foss.I let those names tumble around in my mind, hoping for even the slightest memory of them to come to light. But there’s nothing. Not even a small blip.
“They loved you so much, cor meum. That’s why they did what they had to for you to be safe and make it to your twenty-first birthday. It was their hope that things would be different for you. So they’ve set you up completely.”
He slides the picture aside, revealing the first page of their will. Everything—and I mean all of it—has been left to me. Most of it is legal jargon, which I don’t understand, but I recognize numbers for bank accounts and a few addresses.
“There’s no way all of this is mine. It can’t be, Axel. I didn’t do anything to earn any of this. Inheritance or not. I can’t accept it,” I mumble, still shell-shocked from the influx of information he’s thrust on me in the past hour or so.
“It is, cor meum. They left it all for you, their only daughter. They also made a video for you that will help explain everything. Would you like to watch it?” He lifts me effortlessly from his lap, and I have to fight to suppress a whimper when he gets up from the couch. I don’t want him to go. He’s the only thing keeping me sane through all of this. Even though I should be scared shitless of him after the display in the main room. “Cor meum?”
I shake my head, twisting my hands in my lap, my eyes glued to the picture of my mom and dad. I’m not ready. I’m not ready for any of this, but that? No. I don’t think I can handle watching a video my real parents left for me. Not while the wound of knowing they are truly gone is so fresh.
“Hey.” Axel crouches in front of me, placing his icy hands on mine. My pink eyes meet his red ones, tears clinging to my lashes as I try to fight against them. “It’s okay. You don’t have to watch it right now. That video will always be here for you when you’re ready. You just tell me when, okay?”
All I can do is nod my head. Words fail me. This is all just too much. First, I find out I’m a supernatural, and my parents aren’t my parents. Then I’m told my real parents are dead, and I was given up, so I didn’t meet the same fate. Also, I’m the most powerful type of supe and people want to own me. I swallow hard. Or kill me. I just can’t anymore today.
“Let’s get to Stonewell so you can process, alright?”
Again, all I do is nod as Axel grabs the folder, replacing everything inside, and then he gathers me close in his arms, leaving his office behind. He tucks my head under his chin as he heads toward the magically repaired elevator, once again ready to take me to the unknown.
“Sleep, cor meum. It’ll all make sense eventually.” I don’t believe a word of that, but I do as he says and close my eyes, ready for sleep to take me under.