2
After what feltlike the longest drive of her life, Sam pulled into a long driveway lined with trees. “What part of Erdikoa are we in?”
Sam parked in front of a house, and he and Lauren exited the car without answering. Rory fumbled with the door handle before scrambling out after them. When her feet were on solid ground, she craned her neck to look at the large log cabin nestled amongst the trees, secluded from everything nearby.
The greenery jumped out at her, and when she spotted bright yellow flowers at the base of the porch, her mouth parted in awe. She’d been so caught up in what happened that she hadn’t taken time to admire the vivid colors of the realm.
Her eyes ate up the scenery, from the deep-orangish hue of the logs to the blue of the sky. “Wow.”
The front door banged open, and a figure she’d recognize anywhere stepped out. Dume’s eyes met hers, and Rory almost fell to her knees.He came.
A look of confusion crossed his face, and he turned to her guards angrily.No,she almost cried. His face made it clear he didn’t know about her arrival.
“Who is this?” he demanded. Only a few times in her life had she seen him this mad, and it made her stomach drop.
“It’s Rory,” Lauren replied. “We gave her a shapeshifting potion to conceal her face. It will wear off in another half hour.”
Rory ran to look in the side mirror of the SUV. A face that wasn’t her own stared back at her, and she ran her hands over the unfamiliar features.
When she turned back to the others, Dume pounded down the stairs. His muscular arms banded around her, almost knocking her over, and her emotions toggled between relief and guilt. She’d put them through hell.
His blinding soul engulfed her, and she had never been happier to temporarily lose her eyesight in all her life.
He pulled back. “I missed you.”
Sniffling, she looked at him, confused, before realization hit her.Was she supposed to say it back?To her, they saw each other only anhour or two ago, but to him, it’d been three months.
“I need to see my little girl,” a familiar voice said from behind them, making Rory’s breath hitch.
Dume stepped aside, and there stood the man she’d known longer than anyone else. Grey streaks peppered his dark hair, and his grey eyes had dulled with age. The golden hue of his skin was beautiful against his green shirt, and Rory couldn’t get to him fast enough.
Her father, Patrick, was a tall man, but she threw her arms around his neck anyway, needing the comfort only he could give. His emerald soul surrounded her as he rubbed a hand over her hair like her mother used to do.
When she pulled back and looked around, her heart dropped. “Mom didn’t come.”
“You didn’t tell her?” Dume boomed, making Rory jump, and when she spun around, he was glaring daggers at Sam and Lauren.
“Tell me what?” she demanded.
Sam crossed his arms and stared at Dume without shame, while Lauren had the decency to look remorseful.
“We thought it would be better if she heard it from one of you,” Lauren explained. “She doesn’t know us.”
Dume looked furious. “You said you were close—”
“We had to explain her early release to hertwice,” Sam said, cutting Dume off. “Once when she arrived, and again when we left The Capital gates. You know better than anyone how the memory magic works.”
“Someone tell me what the fuck is going on!” Rory shouted, her emotions so out of sorts that she wasn’t sure if she was angry or scared.
Her father’s hand landed on her upper back as he walked around to face her. “Your mother saw something,” he began, and Rory’s chest tightened. She didn’t need to ask what he meant.The prophecy.“Once you were arrested, she chanted more than usual on her bad days, but on her good days—” His weary eyes slid to Dume.
Panic clawed its way across Rory’s skin, leaving tiny pinpricks in its wake. “On her good days, she what?”
“She became obsessed with getting to you,” Dume answered ruefully.
“What does that mean?” Rory tried to make sense of what they were saying, but too much information was thrown at her in the last hour. “Trying to get to me? I was in Vincula. She would understand that during her good days.”
Her father sighed. “She tried to get herself arrested.”
