Chapter 29
ARIANNA - PRESENT DAY
It’s been a week since Gaelan and I came back from the woods.
We came straight to the bedroom and we didn’t leave it for three days; we talked, had lots of sex, and at one point, Gaelan even had the chef bring food to the door for us.
On the fourth day, Gaelan had meetings to attend, so I was left to explore the castle.
I found his office, which was through a door next to our bed, and I’m currently sitting with the box of letters from my house between my legs.
Rex is cuddled up next to me—for a hell-hound, he’s surprisingly very gentle.
Gaelan told me not to be fooled by it, though; he can crush a human head with one bite, and his favorite snack is a hand—apparently, he loves the fingers.
I look down at Rex and scratch his head. “Why fingers?”
He whines and licks my face.
“You know what? You do you. Enjoy, maybe after this we can go and find you a hand.” He licks my face again before flopping back down to lie next to me.
“Right,” I sigh and pull open the box. I reach in and pull out a stack of letters and papers. I pick up the first one; it’s addressed to me and unopened. Shrugging, I open it and smile when a ring falls out.
To my beautiful Rose,
I am writing you this letter because I miss you so fucking much, and I have no idea what to do with that feeling.
It’s been two months since she took you from me again. I promised myself that I would do better this time, that I would just wait for you to return, but last time it took a hundred years. Baby, I don’t think I can wait that long again.
I miss your smiles; the way you would kiss me goodnight, the little notes you would leave me all over the house, I miss the way everything you touched smelled like roses. The way you would always try to make me laugh when I was having a bad day.
I miss everything about you.
I killed them all for you, the men that touched you when they shouldn’t have, and I went to the underworld after I buried you. I killed them, their families, and anyone who so much as looked at me that day.
I don’t regret it
I’m in a dark place, Maddie, and I don’t know how to get out of it.
Come home to me.
I need you.
I love you so fucking much it hurts.
I don’t have anywhere to send this letter; you will never get to read it.
But if by some miracle you do.
Know that you are my whole world.
I love you always and forever.
Gaelan.
Tears run down my cheeks, and a sigh escapes when I read the last line of the letter; the pain of his words I can feel so deeply within my heart.
Deeper than I want, deeper than I should think for someone just reading these letters.
But I’m not just reading this letter; I’ve lived this life with Gaelan, and he lost me.
I lift the beautiful green ring and can’t help but wonder what happened to me back then, to Maddie. The stones in it are still shiny, as if they’ve hardly been worn. I lower the ring onto my finger, my eyes flutter closed, and a massive swell of love flows through my body.
He loves her so much.
He loves me so much.
There have been moments these last few days when we’ve been in bed or watching a movie, and I’ve caught him just staring at me. I can see the love shining brightly in his eyes, but still, he hasn’t said it yet.
I place the letter to one side, reaching back into the box and picking up a brown leather binder tied shut with some kind of white lace.
I pull it open and read the first page. “Summer Jay.” She has the same last name as.
Did each of my past lives have the same last name?
I flip through the pages to the middle and read:
Dear diary,
I met a man today in the market square; I do not know his name. He had the brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen and a charming smile, with even dimples. He said hello to me, and I stupidly didn’t say anything back., I hope I see him again tomorrow.
Dear diary,
Gaelan came to my house today to ask Father for my hand in marriage. My father said yes, and I swear that all my dreams have come true. I’m eager to plan our wedding.
Dear diary,
Macy spoiled my wedding day; the Princess of Hell crashed my wedding. Gaelan managed to get us away before she could hurt me, but now we are in hiding. Gaelan is so worried that she will get to me again, that she will kill me again.
Dear diary,
This might be my last entry; I hope it isn't, but I've found my book - it was where I always hide it, in a safe place. Now that I have it, I’m going after them—Tate and his daughter and this Blood Bringer. My powers are unmatched, but I have not yet fully mastered them. We’ve run out of time, and now, I must fight.
Gaelan wants me to sit this one out; he says that I can fight another day.
But I can’t let any more innocent people die.
I turn to the following few pages, and they’re all blank; this is the first reference to my magic book.
She found it in the place I always hide it?
The safe place? Frowning, “I don’t have a place like that,” I say out loud.
Rex growls and bumps his head into my side.
I look down at him and rub over his ears.
“Do I?” He looks up at me, and half of me is expecting him to answer me. How can a dog look like he’s thinking?
Placing the diary down, I pick up another one and flip through more pages. There’s no mention of where Summer found the book, but this one talks a lot about the “Blood Bringer.”
Dear diary,
Today was the second day I’ve seen the Blood Bringer. I thought I was going to have to fight her, but Tate took her away before I had a chance to. They have been making their way through the underworld; his daughter, Macy, has been helping them this time.
I pause and reread the last line; Macy is Tate’s daughter? A Princess of Hell.
Great, so the evilest leader of the underworld has a daughter, and she wants to kill me? No wonder I lose every time. How am I meant to fight her? It’s impossible.
Why didn’t Gaelan tell me this? I know he’s always trying to keep me safe, but I’m going to have to fight. And now I understand why she kicked my ass each time. I lift the diary up and read again.
Gaelan says that I need to learn the spells from the book, that they are no match for me when I am at my full power, but I feel so helpless right now.
I need to go home, back to where it began.
Dear diary,
The Blood Bringer came to Gaelan’s village today. I wanted to fight her; I tried to make her pay for all the hurt and death she had caused. She warned me to stay away, to stay out of the fight. I cannot do that, not when I’m the key, not when she is helping Tate to take over the underworld.
I must kill her.
I’m just not sure how.
Dear diary,
She killed them all; she didn’t even stop for a break.
Dear diary,
Today, I wish I had never woken up. Gaelan and I had the most perfect morning in bed, and then everything went wrong.
I used a binding spell from the book on the Blood Bringer, and it worked; it bound her powers for a short while, allowing everyone in the village to be freed.
I saved them. But I got hurt in the process.
Gaelan was so angry with me that he yelled at me and then left.
I’ve tried to find him, but I don’t know where he could have gone.
It’s so dark without him.
Something is coming for me; I can feel it.
I hope Gaelan comes home before Macy gets here.
I lower the diary with a sigh; there is so much pain and hurt in these words.
So much heartache that I start to wonder why Gaelan kept looking for me, why he would go through all of this.
Tears roll down my cheek as a pink envelope catches my eye.
I smile at the heart drawn on the front and the little flowers.
I open it, and the scent of rose and lemon hits me, making me smile.
Dear diary,
Gaelan finally told me he loved me, and he took me to our special place, our hiding place. We had sex in the flowers. He told me he loved me! I said it back!
I’m in love.
I can’t wait to tell Mama tomorrow. I need to buy a scarf to hide the fang marks on my neck. Gaelan has been drinking from me for weeks now. It’s the best feeling in the world, but it leaves marks on me that Mama won’t understand.
I love him.
I frown at the letter; he was drinking her blood for pleasure?
He has only had little sips of mine, or when he has needed to heal or show me something.
It’s never been for pleasure. I’ve tasted him plenty of times now, and I know many non-supernaturals drink from daemons.
I never had… until Gaelan. Everyone always talked about the rush they get from it, we even had a shot in the club called “Daemon Ilica” which was a huge seller.
I never knew where the blood came from. Kat oversaw that stock intake.
Now that I’ve tasted it, I understand why everyone loves it so much; the rush I get from drinking it is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. The thought of ever drinking it from anyone other than Gaelan makes my stomach revolt.
I look up at the clock and notice that it’s almost dinner time. I must have been sitting here for hours reading all these letters. I wonder if Gaelen is finished with his meeting yet. He did say that if I ever needed him, I could just go to his office.
Does needing an orgasm count?
I laugh to myself as I stand up, gathering the letter and diary entries. I want to show Gaelan what I found and ask him more about Tate and Macy. I also want to know how much he knows about this Blood Bringer; she sounds like someone much worse than Macy, someone I don’t want to run into just yet.