"That can't be right," he whispered and started to run. Delphi yelped and clung to him as he raced out of the woods and onto a neat stone pathway.
Delphi cursed under her breath. "What in the seven hells happened here?"
The gardens looked neatly tended, the overgrown plants tamed, and the broken fountain flowing with water. Tenebrys put Delphi back on her feet, staring about him in wonder.
"Have you been inside yet?" he asked Felix.
"No. I came to find you. I never thought I would see home like this again," he replied and stared at Delphi. "What the fuckareyou?"
"She is my mate," Tenebrys growled. "And your queen."
Delphi ignored him and answered Felix, "I have no idea."
Together, the three of them walked through the main doors and stared around them. The dust was gone, and the paintings and tapestries had been restored. The lights shone brightly in their delicate glass fixtures.
"Is the heart working again?" Delphi asked him.
"I don't know, but we should check." Tenebrys took her hand, but it was to comfort him, not her. "Felix, you should come too. I'll need you to spread the word to the others."
Felix didn't argue, just nodded, transfixed by the chandelier hanging above them.
With every step, the lights turned on as the three of them wound their way from the main hall and down the marble steps to where the heart resided.
Delphi stared in wonder at the wall of solid marble in front of her. It was a beautifully carved anatomical heart with a border of roses, claws, fangs, and the family crest at its crown.
Tenebrys brushed his fingers over the fourth chamber of the heart and pressed it. Stone ground against stone as the wall slipped to the left, revealing the family crypt.
Stone sarcophagi were arranged in concentric circles. In the centre of them was a circle on the floor, covered in lines.
"What are these carvings on the floor?" Delphi asked, letting go of his hand and moving forward to the center of the room.
"They are all connecting to the graves of my family," Tenebrys replied, a sharp spike of grief piercing his heart. He was guilty of not visiting them, but after the magic had died in the château, it had hurt too much.
Delphi crouched down and brushed her fingers against another anatomical heart and the star-like sigil at its center. "What kind of magic is this?"
"It's the kind that is fueled by blood and bone and love," Felix said and looked at Tenebrys. He was worried about the magic, and Tenebrys couldn't blame him.
"I can feel it. It's like a hum beneath the stone, singing softly." Delphi placed her ear to the cold stone. "Can you two not feel this?"
Tenebrys's heart rate picked up. "We aren't as sensitive to magic as you."
"Hush, I'm listening. It's speaking to me," Delphi replied. Her eyes had clouded with gold. Small flames danced on her fingertips and in the ends of her hair.
Felix stood back, his body going tense. "Tenebrys? What the fuck is happening to her?"
"I have no idea," he whispered. He had never heard any singing from the stones or the graves before.
Delphi rose to her feet and started to sway to silent music. When she opened her mouth, a melody broke free from her lips.
Tenebrys stopped breathing. It was a lullaby in the High Tongue of Fae. His mother used to sing to him when he was a cub.
Was Delphi talking to her somehow? How else could she possibly know that song?
Delphi held out her hand, and a sharp black claw grew from her index finger. She held out her other hand to Tenebrys.
"Blood and healing and love," Delphi said in a voice not quite her own. "Give me your hand, my mate."
There wasn't much damage that Delphi's small claw could do to him, so Tenebrys did as she asked and placed his big palm in hers.
