Shemaiah
I ignore my brother, focusing on the back doorway to The Sanatorium.
We’re well hidden, cast in shadow from where we wait behind thick foliage.
My hearts beat an erratic rhythm, every nerve in my body tense.
The clenching of my hands is the only thing keeping me from tearing this place to the ground brick by brick.
She’s been missing for nearly thirty-six hours.
Kay and Anna, too. We searched every inch of the house, the island, the gatehouse, the secret passages.
But we didn’t find them. None of them had any reason or means to leave the island.
And if they did, where would they even go?
Clearly, something terrible happened. Our only lead is that Mrs. Darning is also missing.
She clearly has connections to The Sanatorium, since she stayed there for a month without any of us knowing about it.
After the way Dr. Reter was acting, I’m convinced this is where we need to focus our search.
He and Dr. Witten were far too eager to get Pippa back here.
It’s a little too convenient that she went missing only a few hours after they saw how well she’s doing.
Fuck, she has to be here. I don’t know what I’ll do if she isn’t.
Zarah and I wanted to storm the place and search every inch, but Noah used his patriarchal power to restrain us until we calmed down and saw reason.
Or at least pretended to. I haven’t been reasonable since the moment Pippa disappeared.
But Noah’s plan is good enough for me to try to contain myself. The nurses are the real eyes and ears at The Sanatorium, and we have an in with one.
If anyone knows what’s happening, it’ll be Mrs. Potter, the head nurse, and a regular attendee at our new moon parties.
A light shuts off two stories up, and I bounce on my toes. Fuck, why is it taking her so long? I need Pippa back. Safe. Protected. In my arms.
I need my wife.
Nothing makes sense anymore without her. I’m not sure how we got here, but somehow she’s become more important to me than my next breath. And right now, she’s out there somewhere. Alone. Grieving her boy. Hurting. And I’m not with her.
“Fuck.” I pace a few steps away, then pace back.
Jafeth bumps my shoulder with his. “You really love her.”
The words strike like an anvil hitting metal. I open my mouth, then close it. Awareness opens inside me and slams me with the truth. I love Pippa. I love her!
Of course, I love her. It seems so obvious now. Why did I fight and deny it for so long? She’s my light in the darkness, my hope in every storm, my joy in the morning, and my relief each night. And without her… No. I can’t.
She’s mine and I’m not letting her go. Not to whatever has taken her from me now. And not to fucking Vastatio. She’s going to live. I’m going to make sure of it. She deserves a long and happy life, filled with safety and love. And I’m going to give it to her.
I’ve wasted too much time fighting what was inevitable from our first game of Elementals. No, she piqued my interest even before that. She was always meant to be mine.
Jafeth watches me carefully.
For some reason, I don’t want him to see how much his words have affected me. Ever since Pippa disappeared, it’s like something has been torn loose in my soul, and now I know why. This isn’t anything like what I felt for Vivienne. This is fragile and dangerous all at once, and I want to guard it.
“You already know I love her,” I say in a tone intended to be glib. I don’t quite manage it. Hearing the words aloud, spoken by my own mouth, re-writes something inside me.
Jafeth makes a noise in his throat that’s almost a laugh. “I thought you were faking.”
My brother is more astute than we give him credit for.
“I was,” I confess quietly, keeping my attention on The Sanatorium. Most of the lights are out now.
“Will you bite her?” Jafeth asks.
A Solstice bite terrifies me. But living without her suddenly scares me more than anything else.
What I feel for Pippa is more real than anything I’ve ever experienced.
Biting her is the only way to give her the life she deserves, the life I want for her.
A long, healthy, happy life. With me. Maybe even with more children.
“I want to,” I admit. “If she feels the same about me.” If we can find her in time.
Jafeth smiles, clapping me on my shoulder. “Trust me. That woman fucking adores you.”
A side door squeaks open, cutting off our conversation.
We hurry into position as Mrs. Potter walks from the building, the metal door latching shut behind her.
Her booted heels clack against the stone steps, then against the concrete of the path toward us.
When she’s close enough, I step out, blocking her way.
She lets out a squeal. “Mr. Roan?”
There’s something satisfying about seeing the stunned look on her face. Since we don’t know how deep her involvement goes or where her loyalties lie, we opted for a surprise attack.
“Nurse.” There’s a note of derision in the word.
She takes a step back, bringing a hand to the center of her chest. “What on earth are you doing here?”
She shrinks away from me, smart enough to know she’s in danger. Jafeth blocks her retreat, and she bumps into him with a startled squeak.
“Where’s my wife?”
She raises her chin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do.” I take a step closer, crowding her space.
“I didn’t even know you got married.” She puts up a brave front, meeting my eyes, but that won’t last. “Who’s the lucky woman?”
I lean in close to her ear. “Where. Is. Pippa. Willoughby.”
Potter sucks in a telling breath. She knows. And she’ll pay for it.
“Where is my wife?!”
“I w-won’t tell you anything.”
“That isn’t your best choice tonight.” Jafeth half chuckles from behind her. She twists to look at him, and when she faces forward again, I flash my teeth. I don’t care if it reveals our secret. She probably suspects it after the new moon parties, and right now, I want her scared.
“There are things in motion you can’t change.” She tries to sidestep, but Jafeth and I follow the movement, locking her between us.
“I’ll go to my grave before I tell you,” she says.
A nice show of bravery. But ultimately fruitless. I’m getting Pippa back, whatever it takes.
Cold reality settles in my bones. I don’t want to kill this woman, but I will.
“I’ll scream,” she says, eyes wide, heart pounding so loud I can hear it.
“You can try,” Jafeth whispers in her ear, teeth scraping her neck.
I can see the moment the reality of her situation sinks in. “No! No. Don’t bite! It’s Solstice!”
Ah, Mrs. Potter has been holding out on us. She knows more than I thought. Considering neither of us have any love for her, a bite tonight would kill her.
Jafeth keeps his lips right at the base of her neck where it meets her shoulder. “Go ahead, kitten,” he whispers. “Tell us the truth now.”
“They’re g-getting ready. For the c-ceremony.”
Jafeth and I exchange a look.
“What ceremony?” Jafeth asks.
She swallows thickly and pinches her lips before replying. “The Solstice Ceremony.”
Fear multiplies inside me. If whatever they’re planning is anything like my father’s Solstice Ceremonies, there will be blood and casualties. I need to get to Pippa. I snatch Potter’s chin in my hand and force her to look at me. “What will they do?”
She tries to shake loose. “I told you too much already. Goddess forgive me.” A small gasp leaves her, tears making tracks down her cheeks.
“Where?” I demand. “Just tell me where, and we’ll let you go.”
“The caves.”
“What caves?” Jafeth asks.
“Under The Sanatorium,” she squirms. “Let me go. Please let me go. I haven’t hurt her. We only want to make her better. All of us, better.” She’s sobbing in earnest now. “All praise to the goddess. All praise to Mirrav. All praise to the new Mavarri.”
A sick feeling settles in my stomach, bile climbing my throat. “What have you done?”
“All praise to the goddess. All praise to Mirrav. All praise to the new Mavarri,” she chants rather than answering my question.
It’s like she’s gone now, no longer paying any attention to us as she sinks into whatever manic doctrine she’s been spoonfed.
I hurl her to the side. We won’t get anything else out of her.
“We need to find these caves.” I meet my brother’s gaze, and he nods.
Mrs. Potter laughs. “You’re too late. She’s the first sacrifice.”
Her laughter grows to hysterics. I grit my teeth.
“Even if you make it in time,” Mrs. Potter says, “she won’t choose you.
She’ll be so out of it, she’ll happily become what we need her to be.
To serve the goddess. We’ll cleanse the impure from among us.
Of course the transformation wouldn’t work on her.
Don’t you know what she is? She’s impure. A slu—”
Before I realize what I’m doing, my teeth are in her neck, my venom pumping into her blood.
She tries to scream, but I cover her mouth.
Her body contorts, jerking from the poison until she goes limp.
Dead in my arms. By my hand. And not because of an order my father gave.
I should be shocked by my actions, and maybe later I will be, but right now, I can’t bring myself to feel an ounce of regret for killing this vile woman.
“No one speaks ill of my wife and lives.”
She crumbles to the ground as I stand. When I meet Jafeth’s gaze, he gives me a devilish smile. “Let’s go get your girl.”