Dume’s eyes met Sam’s before he sighed and kneeled beside her. “Watch out. I don’t want any wood hitting you.”
She scooted back and watched as he grabbed the entire shelf and pulled with every bit of his strength. It released with a loud crack, and Dume fell back on his butt, holding the shelf in his hands.
Rory stood and took the shelf from him. “Sorry. Thank you.”
She laid the shelf on its back, inspected the bottom of the wood, and gasped when she saw two names carved there.
Caius and Adila
She stumbled back as tears filled her eyes. “How would I know that was there? It’s not possible. There’s no way I could remember that because I’ve never seen it before.”
If it wasn’t knowledge she already possessed, her brain couldn’t tell her in a dream.
Did Caius tell her in Vincula? How would they even broach the topic of the treehouse, let alone know they shared memories of the same one? When he found out she’d been there, he seemed surprised.
Her conversation with Sera resurfaced as she examined the wood.What if her dreams were real?
Sam cursed behind them, and Rory turned on him. “Are my dreams real? Is he really there?”
“What dreams?” Dume demanded. He reached down and grabbed the wood to examine it. “Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Reading the names, his eyes widened. “Oh, shit. Are these who I think they are?”
“It is not my place to say,” Sam replied. Rory didn’t know if he was answering her question or Dume’s.
Dume dropped the wood. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“I’ll tell you in the car,” she said, starting toward the entrance. In her haste, she stepped on a book, making her foot slip and her arms windmill. Dume steadied her, and when she looked down, her heart stopped.
“That’s impossible,” she breathed, snatching the book off the ground.
Rory flipped it open as the others watched her quietly. Her hands shook when she saw Cora’s name written in childlike handwriting on the inside cover. “I have this book in my bedroom at the safe house. It’s the one I had in the car after returning from prison.” She looked at Sam. “How is it here? I didn’t bring it with me tonight.”
His eyes flashed knowingly, but he said nothing.
“I need to get home,” she insisted, shouldering past Dume. Neither man tried to stop her, and when they were loaded up and driving back to her new home, she told Dume everything.
She didn’t care if anyone believed her or if they thought she was crazy.
After dropping Dume off,Rory peppered Sam with questions, but he refused to answer any of them. As soon as he parked in their driveway, she jumped out of the SUV with Cora’s book and ran to her room.
Sam’s loud footsteps sounded on the stairs, and she turned to glare at him. “Don’t bother coming up here if you won’t help.”
“Knowing and remembering are two different things,” he said quietly. “Knowing will only further your frustration, and remembering might break you.”
His words were a blow to her resolve. “If you were me, would you stop trying?”
The muscles in his shoulders tensed before he eventually said, “No.”
A sort of understanding passed between them. Sam wouldn’t help her, but he wouldn’t stop her, either. She took a shaky breath and opened her nightstand drawer to retrieve the book that matched the one in her hands.
Holding them up, she realized the one from her nightstand was in better condition than Cora’s well-loved copy. The bedsprings creaked when she lowered herself to the mattress, and she placed Cora’s book beside her to open the mystery one.
Nothing was written on the inside, but when she flipped through the pages, a scrap of paper fell out.
Rory,
The oversized buzzard won’t let me in. I guess your royal boyfriend hasn’t changed his mind about letting you attend the ball. Tell him to fuck off for me. The bird, too. I’ll be back tomorrow, and if the brute doesn’t let me in, I will light his wings on fire.
-Bellina
