“I do not know. I have never been in here before and Petra said that the door has always been closed and locked.”
“Is it a private parlor?” she questioned. Or a private trysting place that was decorated for Christmas?
“I did not even know that this room existed and wonder if it was to be part of the magical vault.”
“Because of the piano?”
“We can only assume that is the cause of your state since you were playing when you started to fade.”
Samantha blew out a sigh and sank down into a chair. “I am so tired.”
“Did you sleep at all last night?”
“I did lie down on the settee, and I may have dozed, but not real sleep.”
“Is there anything else that I can do for you?”
She noted the kindness and concern in his grey eyes and wanted to cry again.
Chapter 26
“What happened, Samantha?” her mother asked when she returned with Petra and practically every witch residing at Nightshade Manor.
Cassian explained what she had told him.
“Do not touch that piano again,” Petra cried as she pushed her way through to stand beside Cassian and Lady Saye.
“Is it safe for anyone else to go in?” Eugenia asked.
“I can come and go and so can Petra, but Samantha is forced to remain.”
Eugenia turned to the others. “Only one of us at a time. We cannot risk all of us being in there before the spell is broken.”
“I will go to my daughter,” Lady Saye insisted.
“She is trapped in music,” Ajax announced as he arrived at the door, breathing heavily as if he had run all the way from the Romani camp. “Iza said that all she could see was Samantha surrounded by music, but not where, just that it trapped her.”
“We found her,” Eugenia answered.
Ajax looked into the room and frowned.
“Nobody can see her, except for Cassian,” Eugenia quickly explained. “But if it truly is the music, then I need to find the card of warning since it was playing the piano that caused her to fade. Or maybe a journal.”
“Such as those in the magical vault,” Samantha’s mother said when she realized what Eugenia meant. “Which explains the dangers of an item.”
“I will go in first, and alone. I still fear someone else may be accidentally stuck in the room and be unable to leave,” Eugenia insisted before she crossed the threshold. “Oh, Samantha, I am so sorry this happened to you.” Her worried glance was cast around the room, searching. “I am going near the piano now to search for a warning and do not want to step on you or run into you…”
“I am never going near that piano again,” Samantha said.
Cassian repeated her words.
“Yes, well, I cannot blame you.”
Cassian joined Eugenia near the piano and searched for a card or journal. He knew what to look for because he had seen them in the magical vault.
There, on the floor, by the leg of the piano, was a card. “Is this what you need?”
He picked it up and handed it to Eugenia.
