He pecked his girlfriend on the lips, and Rory’s heart warmed. It made her feel such a deep longing that it almost took her breath away.
Lauren fell into step beside her and nudged her shoulder. “You’ll see him again.”
Hot tears prickled the corners of Rory’s eyes. “I don’t remember him, and all I can think is, what if I never do?” She stopped and turned to the woman, who was becoming a close friend. “Even if I get them back, how will I get back to Vincula to see him?”
Lauren placed both hands on Rory’s shoulders and pulled her down to eye level. “There isn’t enough magic in either of the realms to keep him from getting to you.”
“But there is,” she whispered back. “Otherwise, he’d be here.”
“Do not underestimate the power of Caius’ love. He will break out of Vincula, and when he does, the entire realm will feel his wrath.” Lauren released her and joined the others as they chattered away, leaving Rory standing in the dark, wishing her words were true.
25
VINCULA
Caius stoodin a small apartment and stared at the walls covered in erratic handwriting.
Two were one, and one is yours. Do not let him fool you. His darkness is poison. Only the golden child can save you.
The prophecy. Lenora said he had to be the one to save Rory, but nothing about him was golden other than his eyes. She misinterpreted her vision.
Sibyls’visionsweren’t black and white, and he searched his memories for any clue of who it could be. It could be someone from Erdikoa he hadn’t met, and the thought drove him mad, but then again, all thoughts involving Rory did.
This was Rory’s old apartment, he realized, and curiosity got the better of him. Turning in a circle, he looked at the worn couches, small Essence Screen sitting on a small entertainment center, and framed pictures of Rory’s family covering the walls.
He ran a finger down a picture of Rory and her sister as teenagers. He recognized Cora from the pictures in her emergency report and seeing her before her short life was snuffed out made hisstomach turn. AnAatxeboy around their age stood between them with his arms slung over their shoulders, and their smiles were huge. This must be Dume. Seeing the pictures, he finally understood their familial relationship. It was as clear as day.
He moved on to other pictures, seeing Rory grow up through moments captured in time. A picture of a young Lenora and a man, Rory’s father, he guessed, holding twin baby girls sat on a side table.
The gentleness in her father was evident in his eyes, and Caius chuckled at Lenora’s words. Rory was like her mother, indeed, but there was a piece of her father in her as well.
Meandering down the hall, he stopped in front of an open bedroom door. In the middle of the wildflower-covered floor was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, but something was different about her.
“Your hair.” He stepped forward, and her grey eyes found his.
Rising from the floor, she stared at him in challenge, raising her chin defiantly. “I like it.”
Reaching out a hand to run through her short brown waves, he grinned. “I love it. Who knew I had a fetish?”
“A fetish for what?” Amusement tinged her words.
His hand threaded through her hair and pulled her close. “You. For every physical change you could ever have.” He brushed a kiss across her lips, and she smiled.
Suddenly, she jerked back. “The bowl was red.”
It took a second for her words to register, and when they did,his knees almost buckled before gaining his bearings and pulling her into his chest. “You remember,” he murmured against her hair, but his relief was short-lived.
“No, but when Lauren explainedAeternums, she mentioned my grey-scale sight, and that popped into my head.”
He nodded. “It was the first thing you saw when your sight lifted.” His hope returned in full force. This wasn’t a feeling something was missing; it was an actual memory. “Did you try something to get your memories back?”
A sheepish smile pulled at her lips. “I bought illegal memory recovery potions, but they didn’t work.”
“They did,” he insisted. “Even if it’s only one memory, it’s still a memory.” He wore a path through the wildflowers as he paced. The magic could be broken. Hell, ithadbeen broken, but only a little. What else could she try? He stopped and turned to her. “AMunin. Their ability is powerful, and with the memory magic already cracked, aMuninmight be able to break it fully.”
“No,” Rory said so quickly that it was obvious she’d already considered it. “I will not put someone at risk of being arrested.”
She had to. “I will take over their contract,” he promised. “They will go back home immediately.”
