Fuck.
The only good thing that came out of Erik attacking me in the dark alley behind Sin is that there were no witnesses. Which I think was his entire MO and the reason he was never caught. I need to find some sort of evidence against Erikto prove he killed those women and tried to kill me, too. If I present it to the Aureal Council, maybe I’ll sway them in my favor.
Okay, Iris, you’re getting ahead of yourself. As far as you know, you’re not even a suspect yet, so stop freaking out!
The shrill cry of the water boiling snaps me out of my thoughts, and I realize Aunt Josephine was speaking to me, but her words completely flew over my head. “I didn’t quite catch that. What did you say, Auntie?” I ask.
She flaps a hand in the air before pouring the hot water over the tea bag in the cup. I didn’t even notice her taking itout of the cupboard. “Silly me, trying to talk over the boiling water. I said I also saw Noah, and he had that kicked-puppy look to him. He’s been moping around the compound.” A worried look passes over her features. “He told me he was expecting to hear from you, but you never called him back.”
Shit.I’ve had time to call him since Kaiden left to look for Adramelech in Hell, but I didn’t want to do it from the penthouse. It somehow feels like I’m betraying Kaiden. But if I’m being completely honest with myself…I forgot about Noah’s existence, which is weird because he has been haunting mythoughts for the last five years. Still, I have to set things straight with him. I’m in love with Kaiden, and Noah doesn’t have a place in my life anymore.
I flinch when Aunt Josephine slides the steaming mug of tea before me. “Here, I hope you’ll feel better soon.” She pushes the sugar container closer and places a teaspoon next to the mug, giving me a toothless smile.
“Sorry, Auntie, I’m scatterbrained today. I didn’t mean to be rude. I, um, I don’t know what to do about Noah yet. I haven’t decided. I texted him and told him he could take me out on a date, and then I flaked on him because I’m still not sure if I can forgive him for ghosting me for five years, and I just…” I drop my eyes to the floor, sighing. “I don’t know.”
She slides her hand on top of mine. I lift my gaze to meet hers. “That’s why youreallyhaven’t been at the compound, right? Because of Noah?”
I swallow heavily, thendecide to play into yet another lie because she’s given me the perfect out. “Yeah…”
She tightens her hold on me. “I know heartbreak when I see it, Iris, and you wear it on your sleeve for the entire world to see. It’s pretty clear you’re both suffering. And if you can’t find it within yourself to forgive Noah, maybe you should tell him and let him go once and for all. I think it’s better this way. This uncertainty is not good—for any of you. It will eat at your insides, and it will fester.”
Nodding, I push up from the chair to envelop her in a hug, grateful that she’s perceiving my internal freakout over Erik’s death as heartbreak. “You’re right, Auntie. I’ll make a decision, and then I’ll let Noah know. Thank you for always being here for me.”
She frames the side of my face lovingly, a soft look in her doe-like eyes. “Of course, dear. I will always be here for you, all right?” She steps back. “Okay, well, I’ll let you drink your tea. Doyou want to lie on the couch for a bit while I sort things out in the basement?”
“No, I’m fine. I was wondering if I could maybe take a look at Grandma’s books in her office.” I wait with bated breath for her answer.
The reason my question makes my insides twist is that Aunt Josephine took her parents’ death badly. Both of my grandparents were scientists working for the Order. They died in a massive explosion at the lab they were working at. My mother left the Order and Ashville shortly after their funeral, so it must have felt as though she’d lost all her family in the span of a few days.
When my aunt first brought me into her house—the same one she and my mother grew up in—she strictly forbade me to go into my grandparents’ bedroom or their office. Being a curious little shit, I, of course, found the keys she’d hidden from me and ignored her wish.
I instantly regretted my decision when I stepped into their bedroom, which was eerily the same as they’d left it the day they died: bed unmade, probably because they were in a hurry, curtains skewed a little too much to the right, a solitary blue tie thrown over the gilded mirror in the corner. Even my grandma’s hairbrush on the dresser still held strands of her hair.
The image unsettled me so much I decided not to go into the office after all. I felt horrible for disrespecting my aunt’s grieving process—or lack thereof. It can’t be healthy to make shrines of a dead person’s belongings. But who am I to judge? It’s been eight years since my mother died, and I haven’t visited her grave once…
One day, Aunt Josephine decided to dust the office, which shocked me, to say the least. I didn’t enter the room until she called out for me to bring her the vacuum cleaner. While she busied herself cleaning with the utmost care to not disturbanything from its exact place, I stared in awe at the shelves stocked full of books. When my aunt took a break, I started rifling through them. I didn’t recognize the language, but I knew they were mostly about fae because of the depiction of their elongated ears. I don’t think I’m any more knowledgeable in languages today, but it doesn’t hurt to take another look. Maybe there’s some information in there that will help Kaiden find the fae quicker.
Her eyebrows furrow. “Why?” she asks, a strained edge to her voice.
I take a moment to think about the next words that come out of my mouth so I don’t share too much. It’s not that I don’t trust my aunt, but I would make her an accomplice if the Order finds out everything I’ve been up to lately. She would be the first person they interrogate after me. One future imprisoned member of our family is one too many, thank you very much.
“Well, you know that a while back, I asked you to look up information about the umbra, right? I discovered a possible link between those demons and a prophecy. And the only oracles I know of were fae.” I hike a shoulder. “I figured if I read about them, maybe I can get some answers. I know Grandma was really passionate about dark creatures. I saw her books that day you cleaned the office a few years back. Remember?”
Aunt Josephine sucks on her teeth while pondering her response. I think she’s going to refuse, but she reluctantly says, “Fine. Just put everything back as you found it, okay? The spines need to be aligned. That’s how she liked them. She would always scream at me when I took out a book and put it back in the wrong order.”
Wow, I bet Grandma was a blast at dinner parties. I nod hastily and wait for my aunt to bring the key from the hiding place I shouldn’t know about—her bedside table. Honestly, she could have hidden the keys in a better place if she didn’t want me tofind them.
From the grim set of her lips, I can tell she’s not happy about my request as she slides the key into the lock and opens the door. But I need to find out what that prophecy says. So I only mumble a quiet “thank you” while stepping into the office, the steaming cup of tea in one hand.
“Drink your tea before you even touch anything, okay? And don’t disturb the chair or the desk. My mother sat in it that morning before she—” She clears her throat to find her voice. “Before she died, and I don’t want anyone else sitting in it. Please bring whatever books you need to the living room. I’m gonna go put the rest of the things in boxes,” she says through a weighted sigh before leaving me to it.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. Holler if you need anything,” I reply over my shoulder, then stride to the rich, cherry oak bookshelves on my right. The air is so stale and dusty, I sneeze five times in a row before I even get the chance to look at the spines. It’s odd being inside here. Just like the bedroom, it’s frozen in time—a sad window to the past.
A notebook, probably my grandmother’s, remains open to the same page on the desk, a pen lying next to it. It reminds me of those post-mortem portraits the people in the Victorian era used to take of their deceased family members.
I immerse myself in one of the two books I can find in English about the fae folk.
“After the careful dissection of the tunica intima, we found unidentified cells present along the endothelial ones. They have a bioluminescence quality akin to the Arachnocampa luminosa. Aside from the luminescence, we believe that these cells are the reason why theaetheris contained.”
