Unraveling Selena, Marisa Maichel [13 ebook reader TXT] 📗

true,” I said, ignoring my sister’s atrocious grammar. “I’ve barely spoken to the woman. She’s had it out for my family ever since Uncle Soren dumped her centuries ago. That’s it. That’s all.”

Sarah looked at me with wide eyes. “Can I sleep with you tonight?” she asked suddenly.

“Of course. I can have Chris move your stuff into my room if that’s what you want. Speak of the devil,” I said, as Chris appeared.

“Sarah,” she said, “I sincerely apologize for not being here sooner. I have spoken with Rosita, and told her to stay away from you. I have also spoken with King Eilief and Prince Mordecai. If you wish for another guard, I will put in the request myself.”

“No, I don’t want anyone else,” Sarah said. “Can you stay closer to me, though?”

“Of course, my princess.”

Satisfied that Chris and Selena would take care of her, I headed back out to the ballroom.

I didn’t see Rosita again, but I spoke briefly with Viktor a few more times, and introduced myself to Taran. Taran had short brown hair and the same green eyes as his brother. I did not meet Edward Babin that night, however.

 

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My heart pounded when I saw her laying in my bed. She looked so fragile, angelic, really. She wore a white babydoll nightgown with thin straps. She was laying on her stomach, her breathing deep and even. I rolled her onto her side and took off my shoes and shirt first.

“Mmm,” she said, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “I hope you stay forever.”

“I will,” I said, looking back at her.

“Boop,” she said, tapping my nose. I unzipped and unbuttoned my pants, struggling with the zipper, which was caught in my boxers. She took it in her delicate hands and unzipped it for me. I shimmied out of them, and then turned to kiss her.

“I love you,” I told her.

“I love you, too,” she replied. I took her hands in mine and looked at her nails, which had been beautiful earlier this evening, but now were bitten and the nail polish was chipped. Her cuticles red with blood. She saw me looking at her nails and pulled her hands back. I tipped her head up, and took her hands in mine.

“Heal these hands,” I said. “Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, and passion, heal these hands.”

She fell asleep first. I fell asleep afterwards.

The next morning, she was staring at her hands. The nails had regrown, the cuticles healed, the chipped nail polish was gone, leaving it her natural color. Pieces of the old polish were scattered in my bed.

“I prayed to Jesus,” she said. “Either He or Aphrodite did this.”

She and I cuddled for a couple of hours after we woke up. I was dangerous now around potential threats, and they all knew that. But eventually Sarah said that she wanted to go outside and explore the gardens.

She put on jeans and a sweatshirt and let me brush her hair before tying it up into a ponytail. She slipped on her boots, while I slipped on mine. Outside was unusually warm for December in Denmark. Unnaturally warm.

“Global warming,” Sarah said, adjusting her sweatshirt. I knew she only had a thin bra and tank top on underneath.

“Look, it’s snowing!” Sabine said, running up to us. She pointed, and we gaped. It was indeed snowing outside the garden. So why were we feeling the warmth? And why wasn’t it snowing where we were? I didn’t have long to wait, though, because it began snowing in the garden. Sarah stuck out her tongue and caught a few flakes. I smiled at her.

She stretched out her arms and then her legs, and starting walking.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Someplace special,” she said. “Someplace with a marble bench and roses and a statue of a lost woman, maybe a goddess or a queen.”

“I don’t know if we have anything like that,” I said. She looked up and smiled.

“Thank You, Jesus,” she said to Him. “I truly appreciate everything You’ve done for me and Cirino and Sabine. I should pray to You more often. I don’t know if I will, because I can’t predict the future, but I will certainly try.”

“And Aphrodite, I will pray to you,” I said. “If it was you who healed her.” I felt a warm breeze, almost a whisper, brush against my cheek.

We didn’t find any statues of a lost woman, but we did find a small waterfall and a marble bench covered by dead ivy. The waterfall shone, revealing small fish and frogs in the water, trying to stay close to the floor to escape the cold.

“Does this waterfall freeze?” Sarah asked.

“No, it’s heated,” I said. “I used to play in the water all the time, even in winter. Father made me wear jeans, at least, and I’d roll them up and stomp around in the water. I remember that Grandfather even joined us occasionally. They’d talk politics and I’d play around with the fish. There was one fish, I named it Pearl, because it was snowy white. Father thought it was silly, but he was just as sad as me when I found out that Pearl had died. Or maybe he pretended to be. I don’t know.”

“Because Pearl made you happy?” she asked.

“Pearl did make me happy. I had a hard time making friends growing up. The guys and Amara are the first real group of friends I’ve had. Oh, I have other friends. Vampires, witches, wizards, and the like. But a group that I can hang out with? That’s what I have with Mason and the others.”

“Except Mason’s a warlock,” she said.

“The son of a warlock. There’s a difference. Warlock means ‘oathbreaker’. Krauvas somehow betrayed a coven or a group of witches and wizards. Mason doesn’t talk about it, though. I think he’s ashamed.”

“And his mother’s a witch?”

“Yes, Antonia’s a witch. She’s as good as Krauvas, almost, or so I’ve heard.”

She leaned into me. “Amara seems nice.”

“She is. She’s totally in love with Cole Powers, though. She can’t see what’s in front of her, much like Noah didn’t see what was in front of him when he was dating Rouge.”

She leaned into me, her cheeks flushed with the cold and the strange warmth. She closed her eyes, her lips pale and puckered.

“I’m ready to go inside,” she announced.

In one motion, I swept her up into my arms and brought her inside the warm castle.

It wasn’t much longer before she fell asleep again. I went out into the living room, where Father was singing. I stayed hidden behind a wall until he finished. His voice was clear, deep and pure. He was singing “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx. I knew he was singing to Faolan. Mother appeared behind me; her eyes full of tears.

Father didn’t notice us. If he smelled or heard us, he ignored us. Louis appeared next, looking shocked.

“It’s been a long time since he sang,” he said.

“He has the most beautiful voice,” Mother said.

Father stopped singing and turned around. When he saw us, his eyes widened minutely.

“Don’t tell Faolan,” he said. “I love him more than anything except you, Reese. I cannot live without him.”

Mother suddenly threw her arms around him. His eyes widened even more, and then he hugged her back.

“I’m sorry, Marina,” he said. “I’m so sorry. I know that what I did is unforgivable- “

“Damn right,” said Alexander, whose arms were crossed. He looked, well, furious. Mother released Father and went over to her new husband.

“Alexander, I- “

“Don’t.” He held up a hand. “I won’t stop you from hugging him. I know he’s the father of your only biological son. I’m not angry with you. I’m angry with him. Reese should have been mine. He would have been mine if you hadn’t stolen her from me.”

“I know, Alexander, and I am so sorry. I know what I did was wrong. But it’s in the past, and Reese is healthy and happy.”

“Of course I am,” I said. “I’m hungry. I’ll go see if Claudia made lunch.”

“Has Claudia been informed of your new diet?” Father asked.

“Of course. I told her the day after we arrived.”

Claudia had made hamburgers for me and the humans. Sarah came down after her nap, looking refreshed. She still clutched at her head, though.

“Headache?” I asked.

“Migraine,” she said. “I tried to sleep it off, but I couldn’t. I feel nauseous, too.”

“Perhaps some tea,” Claudia said, bringing the tray with our food out.

The old woman poured some tea for Sarah, and a glass of blood for me. Sabine joined us shortly after.

“The library is amazing,” she said.

“We have one of the biggest personal libraries in the world,” I said, waving my fork. “My grandmother, according to my father, loved books and wanted her library to have every book in the world. So we grow it every year. It was recently expanded, too, with the addition of all the books that came out last year.”

Grandfather sat down next to me. He scrunched his nose at the smell of the food.

“I will be staying in Denmark this time,” he said.

“What for?” I asked.

“I have duties that I need to see through. I have been lacking in my duties since I went to America. Soren will go back to America with Mitra, but Louis will also stay in his father’s place. He would have told you himself, but he is busy at the moment, preparing for a meeting with the Council.”

“Can I come?”

“I’m sorry, Reese, but the Council will smell that you are now a werewolf as well, and we can’t have that. You will stay with Sarah and Sabine. Alexander, your father, and Marina will also be coming. We wanted you to know so you are prepared.”

“What about my father?”

“I’ll be going as well,” Father said, sitting beside Sabine. “It’ll be up to you, Reese, to watch the girls. I’ll send Spencer and Christie with you, so you won’t be alone. Toby is still very…well, he still can’t talk. At least, not very much. I’ll be arriving back in America sometime in January.”

He rubbed the back of my neck. I purred and leaned into his touch.

Sarah sipped her tea, then ran to the bathroom. I heard retching sounds.

“What do you think, Reese?” Father asked.

“I think the Council, if Alexander and Mother are going to say their piece, that the Council has another thing coming.”

“Yes, especially from your mother.”

But my thoughts were still on Sarah mostly. She was changing. What happened to the sweet, tender girl I fell in love with? Where was her spirit, her bravery?

The rest of the day was spent exploring the library. Sarah went back to bed after throwing up a few times, then came with me to visit the library. She had already seen the library, and was once again impressed by its size. The amount of knowledge contained in this one room was enough to satisfy every person on the planet. We had books on every subject, every genre. All the physical books in the world in one room, plus a new set of computers for research.

Sarah sat reading a book by a vampire author, while Sabine fooled around on one of the computers. I sat reading the latest novel by Stephen King. Spencer came in, followed by Chris and Toby.

“Baby, not today,” Spencer was saying to Toby. “You’re still not allowed to speak, or you’ll ruin your vocal chords.”

Toby frowned and opened his mouth, but Spencer put a finger on his lips.

“Use your mind,” he said. A pause. “I know, but maybe you can connect with Reese. You’re closest to him, and he considers you a friend.”

“He’s going to try to speak to me using his mind?” I asked. Spencer nodded.

“Or I’ll find some paper and a pencil. But using the mind is much quicker. Is that doable, Prince Reese?”

“Absolutely. I don’t want him to damage himself any more than he already has.”

Toby pouted and opened his mouth again, then closed it. He grabbed a hair tie off