“I will never leave you. But I want you to think about your real parents. Really think about it. And if you decide you want to go home to them, it doesn’t mean I’ll go away. You’ll always have me.”
Odette nodded, her face crumpling again as she tucked it against Echo’s throat and cried quietly.
Not quite two hours into the drive, Elijah followed the GPS off the freeway. From there it was around half an hour of driving through the French countryside. They passed through tiny,rural villages until eventually, they came to a single-track road shrouded by woodland.
Odette had fallen asleep again. Echo reckoned it was with grief as much as it was the travel and jet lag. Her strange but familiar world had been shattered.
Elijah pulled the vehicle over as the road came to an end. He turned to look at her, sympathy in his eyes as he glanced at Odette in her arms. “We walk from here.”
Nodding, she gently urged Odette awake. She grumbled but got out of the car and gripped Echo’s hand like a much younger child. Echo held on tight as they followed a quiet Elijah through the dark woods. While she and Elijah had great night vision, it was proving difficult for Odette, and Echo had to point out objects in their way as they walked.
“Your parents are nice?” Odette whispered. She sounded so young. So frightened.
“They’re wonderful,” Elijah assured her. “They’ll take good care of you.”
Echo felt her sister’s gaze on her face. “They really are wonderful people. I wouldn’t leave you with them otherwise.”
“And you’re sure I can’t come with you?”
“No, little darling. I need to know you’re safe so I can focus on helping Elijah. I gave him my promise.”
“Okay.” She was quiet again for a little while and then she whispered to Echo, “He’s really cute.”
Elijah chuckled softly under his breath.
Echo smirked. “And he can hear you.”
“So? I think the lead singer of the Strix knows he’s cute.”
At that, Echo laughed. Mostly from relief because Odette sounded a little more like herself.
She proceeded to ask Elijah a bunch of questions about fame and being in a band, if he had a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Eventually her chatter faded, however, and Echo heard herheartbeat increase as they walked into a clearing. Elijah’s lodge sat in the middle of the woods, lit up. Odette’s heart sped up even faster.
“You’re going to be okay,” Echo insisted. “I promise.”
Odette nodded, but her face was pale with fear.
They approached the porch steps and walked up to them, not masking the sound to give Elijah’s parents some warning. He knocked loudly on the door. “Mum, Dad! It’s me!”
A few seconds later, the door flew open, and Bill and Nancy Webb stood there, peering out into the dark. Relief flooded their wary expressions, and Echo watched with something akin to envy as they pulled their son into a tight hug. All three of them held one another and murmured words of affection.
Echo looked down at her sister. Odette studied them, a little of her fear dissipating. Her heart slowed.
“Mum, Dad …” Elijah stepped back from his parents. “This is Echo’s sister, Odette.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Nancy made the first move, stepping forward to cup Odette’s face. “I’m Nancy, Elijah’s mum. You must be exhausted and hungry. Come on in and let’s get you fed.”
Echo gave her a grateful smile as Odette relaxed into Nancy’s embrace and let the older woman lead her inside.
“This is my husband, Bill. Bill, help me get some food together for Odette.”
Feeling Elijah’s gaze, Echo wrenched her own from her sister to him. Gratitude swelled within her.
“She’ll be all right here.” He gestured for her to follow him inside.
The cabin wasn’t some rustic building in the middle of nowhere. It had a large open-plan living room/kitchen with a log-burning fire in the center. The kitchen was modern and well appointed. Throws and cushions decorated the large leathersectional, the room warmed by area rugs and paintings on the walls. It was as if someone had truly made a home here.
“You set up this place well, son. How did you manage it?” Bill asked as Nancy fussed over Odette. Elijah’s father looked at Echo. “There’s a basement filled to the brim with long-life food and a ton of dry wood already cut for the burner.”
