Chapter 29

One minute I thought my soul would combust, the next, I awoke in a strange room snuggled next to a ball of red fur. I stretched like a feline beneath the soft, silky black sheets and deep violet, feathery duvet. I had no idea how long I'd been asleep, but it felt like hours. The fox's round brown eyes flipped open, and the creature yawned as if roused from a deep dream.

"Hi," I said, scratching behind its ear. When I noticed the triangle-shaped scar on my palm, I retracted my fingers and fisted my hand, remembering the intense heat that had pulsed from the mark. Unlike the one on my other hand, this one didn't have a line through the top of the triangle.

The fox licked its paws, lazily and happily. As if the magic it had awoken in me hadn't nearly incinerated me and possibly burnt this house down and killed everyone in it. But it hadn't been its fault, really. I'd welcomed the heat, the anger.

Fear flicked inside my heart, though. I never wanted to feel that level of white-hot rage ever again.

The fox nestled closer to me and put its red-and-white snout on my shoulder. With those big brown eyes staring at me, it began to emit a clattering sound that reminded me a little of the purring sounds cats made when content, except this one was a little different, breathier.

I'm sorry,it seemed to say with a sorrowful gaze, though I didn't hear the words in my head like when Shadow mind-talked to me, but it was more of a sensation, a feeling of knowing its thoughts.

"I know you didn't mean for that to happen. My power has been concealed for so long, it hit me at full force when you found me."

Happy now. Complete.

I tapped its cute, little black nose and smiled. "Happy that I didn't kill a house full of vampires and whoever else lives here. And yes, having you with me feels like a part of me has returned home. But…"

We stared at each other for a long minute, and it was like we both knew there was a big hole in our hearts, and I couldn't help the cold sadness that sank into my bones. I had my fire spirit back, and mending our bond felt like the gash my mother had slit across my abdomen when she ripped my fox away from me had healed. But Shadow was still missing, and his absence was an icy weight in the pit of my gut.

I couldn't communicate with Shadow—but the tether that anchored me to him, I knew it hadn't snapped. I knew he wasn't dead. My spirit knew it as an absolute truth. And it was the only thing giving me hope that it wasn't too late to save him. "We're gonna get him back," I said to my foxy companion. "I promise. First, I gotta figure out how to convince these vampires to let me go home. In the meantime, we need to give you a name. So, what should we call you?"

The fox jumped up on all fours and spun in place, seemingly excited to be given a name. Its brown eyes glowed with an internal fire and a heatless flame erupted over its entire body. "Well, well. Aren't you a little sprite?"

After a couple more spins, it jumped onto my chest and licked my face.

Bursting out laughing, I sat up and held the fox up under its front legs, its tail dangling like a pendulum. Tongue drooping to the side, the fox panted like a delirious puppy.

I shook my head with a smile. "You're fiery for sure. How about… Pyra?"

The biggest foxy grin spread across its furry face.

"Pyra it is."

Now that I was sitting upright, I was finally able to take in the enormity of the new room I'd awoken in. The colossal bedframe was constructed of dark, richly stained wood carved with intricate roses and thorns, as if the entire bed was wrapped in angry vines. Tall, impending posts rose from each corner, their surfaces adorned with ornate filigree and delicate scrollwork.

Heavy brocade curtains hung from the canopy, the violet, jewel-toned fabrics enveloping the bed in a shroud of shadows. The mattress was high and plush, the bedding soft and luxurious, full of cushions in all different shapes and sizes. Without a doubt, it was a bed fit for the queen of a court of nightmares.

And clearly, I was not back in New York, especially if the spectacular yet eerie view across the room was any indication. Cathedral-like windows expanded the entire wall, the decorative iron work that made up the hardware, an artistic masterpiece all on its own. The moon still shone brilliantly, casting silver highlights over the naked, dense forest where Pyra had tried to get me to escape into.

I knew giving me back my spirit guardian had been Kane's way of showing me he wasn't a completely heartless pig. And I did have a slight recollection of him pouring cold water over my head, trying to keep me from combusting. But that didn't mean I had forgotten he'd kidnapped me or that he was working with my very-not-dead mother.

Stars above. My mother. I rolled from under the covers and slid off the tall mattress, my entire body in a solid tremble as I tried to piece together how or why my mother was still alive, or how she was in Scotland in this vampire mansion, or why she abandoned…

Heavens help me, I couldn't even finish that sentence. Trying to hold back tears, I covered my mouth and paced. A part of me wanted to rush out the door and find her. To throw my arms around her neck and tell her how much I'd missed her. To tell her everything I'd wanted to tell her since that day I woke up in that hospital.

Every heartache. Every fear. Every nightmare. I wanted to tell her about CJ and my drawings, about my visions and about Shadow. I even wanted to tell her how, despite the danger, deep inside a part of me was glad for this strange power coursing through my veins, because I'd thought, maybe, it would bring me closer to her.

But then I remembered all the pain. All the tears. All the cold nights sleeping under a bridge. All the times I had to fight off creepy ass men from wanting to take advantage of me. In those foster homes, at the Winslow Home. All the times I had gone to bed hungry and scared. All the times I cried myself to sleep. All the times I thought life would be much easier if I simply didn't exist.

She did that to me. And she knew. She fucking knew I had to grow up in a system built for children people believed were broken, damaged goods. And she never once came for me. Because why else would she let me grow up believing she and Daddy were dead, unless she didn't give two shits about me.

After fourteen years, my mother hadn't been shocked to see me. She didn't even look surprised. There had been no trace of happiness or joy, no tenderness in her voice.

No. My mother had been annoyed—disappointed, even—that I'd tried to run from my new prison.

My heart shattered all over again. And I felt that heat rising from my core, felt the river of lava in my veins. But I wouldn't let her win this time. Closing my eyes, I sank deep into myself until the pyre within me flickered down to embers.

In the pale-lit room, I found a red silk robe strewn across a midnight-blue upholstered settee, and I rolled my eyes at the absurdity of this house. This place was birthed straight from the pages of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The robe matched the shirt and pants PJ combo I'd been dressed in. I didn't even want to think about all the times I'd been dressed and undressed by these vampires. I couldn't help but feel more violated.

But I needed to shrug it off for now. There were more important issues to address.

After finding a pair of red, fluffy slippers beside the settee, I headed toward the wall of windows, needing cold air to help cool off the heat radiating from my pores. To my surprise, the glass door clicked open right away. I stepped out onto a stone patio, Pyra snaking by my feet. A grand stone staircase led down to the immense manicured lawn behind the house, and beyond that, the forest.

The frigid air felt divine. And as I took a deep, cleansing breath, I spotted a shirtless figure disappear into the wood. I jolted at the sight, but more than frightened, I was intrigued. Of course, why wouldn't there be a shirtless man running into the forest behind this freakish Gothic house? He was likely a werewolf, because why not? If witches and vampires and elemental spirits were real, then why not werewolves?

Pyra rubbed against my leg, emitting that clattering sound. When our gazes met, I felt the softness of her feminine energy. Shadow had said not to look at him like he was a man, as he wasn't even human, but his energy had definitely been masculine in nature. Pyra…it was like her heat, her spirit energy matched mine. Seemed she could also read my feelings like I could read hers, and her foxy grin told me she agreed with my assessment. But also, she was clearly skeptical about going into the forest to search for that potential werewolf. "What, you're not curious to find out who the heck is running through the forest shirtless?"

She sat and cocked her head, ears perked as she stared up at me.

"You're a fire spirit, what could you possibly fear out there? And wasn't it you who wanted me to follow you into the forest earlier, anyway?"

Pyra's fur burst into that heatless flame, and she sprung onto all fours, tail high.

"I knew we were the perfect match. If Shadow were here…"

If Shadow were here, he'd find a way to keep me locked up in that house. For his sake though, I couldn't play damsel in distress. If I was gonna be stuck in some vampire fairytale castle, I might as well explore and try to get some answers. The quicker I learned more about these creatures, the quicker I could probably get myself home.

Checking the area for any vampire guards, or worse, a not-dead mother, I slinked my way across the grassy field as soon as I saw the coast was clear. Pyra padded beside me, her flame my own personal torch. When we made it to the tree line, I paused for a heartbeat, half expecting the forest to open like the sentient forest in my dream.

This time, though, the trees didn't part to reveal a path.

Before taking a step forward, I reminded myself that, regardless of what nightmares I encountered in there, this was not a dream, and I wouldn't be able to wake myself up to escape whatever fate awaited me. Something was calling me into this forest, and I was more than ready for answers.

Plus, if anything did attack me, I had my little sprite and the fire kindling in my belly.