CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Dawn woke, stretching through the window, its cool light fell over me. I found myself sprawled across my bed atop the duvet. Alaric calmed me into a heavy sleep. The mere thought of him twisted my stomach. I had meandered down the hall, still half asleep, and made my way back to Olivia. She only stirred slightly as I shifted beneath the covers. Her warmth a welcome reprieve from the chilled, autumn morning.
Olivia didn’t take well to learning about the vampires. Father certainly wasted no time in teaching us the ways of our world. He likely berated us in the womb. But as she grew old enough to finally understand his words, she also grew terrified. She would often crawl into my bed at night trembling, and I’d soothe her until she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. She had a silver scar on her leg from when she shattered a mirror at age seven. She couldn’t understand why we would have any mirrors if the demons could travel through them.
Over the years her fears subsided as she entrusted the Society. She believed they would take care of her, protect her.
Her worst fear took her fiancé. And the Society couldn’t stop it. The only one who could have stopped it was me, a horrid truth she would never know. And it killed me to keep this from her, in part because I couldn’t lessen her pain to tell her this didn’t just happen. Though would that even lessen her pain? The other part gave way to guilt as I hid behind my secrets. If she knew I could have stopped this, she would hate me. She would look at me as the one who took Edward from her.
Although I could not stop what had happened, I could stop everything else. I could stop him. And I couldn’t let him win everything.
* **
Olivia didn’t say a word all morning, and it pained me to leave her like this. And it hurt more that I couldn’t give her a proper goodbye. I didn’t know what to expect, if I’d ever come back. I hugged her limp body tightly and kissed her cheek.
My eyes found Father and Mother over breakfast more than discretion allowed. I traced the lines around Father’s eyes and the taut muscles along Mother’s neck, her pinched lips. I couldn’t say anything out of the ordinary to them. It wouldn’t take much for them to become suspicious. So, I barely uttered a word and settled on soaking in their features instead.
“Your presence may be upsetting to your sister’s already fragile state, and that Sebastian certainly shouldn’t come around.”
Father’s eyes narrowed slightly at Mother’s words. He was his secondhand. He had to be around.
She glanced to him, softening her tone. “For now.”
I took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself. “I’ll leave for a few days. She isn’t speaking anyway. She needs time to process.” The words burned my tongue. Ordinarily, I would never leave her like this, but we were in no ordinary situation.
Mother’s lips parted slightly with disbelief. She wanted me to listen to her, yet when I did, I was a monster for leaving my sister. Which I was. She backed me into a corner I couldn’t escape.
* * *
Walter, one of our staff, heaved the heavy leather-bound trunk onto the back of the carriage. It was more than I typically brought along on trips, but I wasn’t exactly sure how long I’d be away.
Just as I was about to step up into the carriage, I heard James call my name. I turned to see him jogging up to me.
“Charlotte, I heard ...” He paused a moment as he stopped before me, catching his breath. His hair was scruffy and unruly, and I wondered how long he had been jogging. “I heard about Edward ... and Olivia. I’m assuming she isn’t speaking?”
“No, it won’t be for some time before she’s back with us, I’m afraid.”
He nodded. He was there as Olivia had grieved in the past. He would always attempt, and fail royally, to cheer her up, putting on her favorite skits, but nothing could ever break through.
“I know things have been escalating lately with the newborns, and then Thomas, now Edward. And ... I haven’t heard much from you.”
I opened my mouth as all words escaped me. Usually, I would have come to him. I often did whenever I overheard something disturbing, but I couldn’t now. My heart ached as I stood before him, knowing what I was about to do.
I took in a breath before I nodded. “I know. I’m sorry, James, I just haven’t ... known what to say.”
He smiled, nodding. “Well, I know I haven’t been around lately with everything happening with the Society, but I’ve been meaning to ask you about Sebastian.” His face hardened, though it appeared a bit more theatrical. “I nearly fell out of my seat when I heard he proposed. I never thought I’d see the day, gray.”
I frowned. “Was that an insult?”
He chuckled. “I know I’ve tried to protect you in the past, but when it came to suitors you’ve always had that handled. You were always so particular. But ... Arthur’s secondhand? Is this what you really want?”
He didn’t realize it, but that question broke off into sprawling veins taking me to many different places. And though it was wobbly, I smiled. “Yes, I’m very sure. He has been good to me.”
“Alright, good. ‘Cause you know I’ll show him the fresh air, right? Just say the word.”
“I still have no idea what you mean.”
He grinned, pulling me into a tight bear hug. “I’m happy for you, gray. I’ll see you soon.”
