24. Chapter Twenty-Five

Dorran signed the paperwork his lawyer gave him, and we left. It was the beginning stages of contesting a guardianship. Not knowing I could do that; I should have done it years before. It would have saved me all this drama now that I was out of my stepmother's house.

Hopefully, his lawyer would work it out, and if not, maybe Dorran could handle it himself. My stepmother didn't seem as scared of Dorran as I figured she would be, although she could be hiding it to seem tough.

I hadn't heard a peep from her since it happened, not that I was worried about it. My life hadn't been this peaceful since before my father passed away. Part of me feared that it was the calm before the storm and the other part hoped she'd given up.

My stepmother was prideful. Determined. But so was Dorran.

Dorran landed on the mountain with a thud and swung me to my feet. The guards he'd left there for the day had switched with new ones. None of them glanced my way, only nodded at Dorran as we passed through the threshold.

"Did you ever find out who was in your room?" I asked, kicking off my shoes.

"No," he said, stopping in the kitchen to lean against the counter. "The scent was gone when they had my room searched."

Walking toward the kitchen, I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and turned to face him. "Is that odd?"

Dorran leaned his elbows against the countertop. "Yes, but not impossible. Zerk could easily erase someone's scent."

I stopped with the bottle of water at my lips. "You don't think—,"

He snorted. "No way in Hell. He's been part of the kingdom for so long, and he's a trusted confidante of the royal family."

"What about The East Kingdom? Could it be someone from there?"

"Honestly," he said, putting his palms down against the counter. "I'm more worried about getting you out of this guardianship, and finding out what you are rather than who was in my room."

Sipping my water, I watched the seriousness on his face. I appreciated his determination, but I wanted to lighten the mood. My stepmother had ruined so many days of my life and I wanted to enjoy my freedom with Dorran. He seemed more stressed over the last few days than when I first met him.

"Do you have any more wine?"

Dorran eyed me. "Are you turning into an alcoholic?"

Glancing over my shoulder, I pulled a barstool over toward the fridge and climbed onto the seat. I grabbed the bottle of wine and climbed down. "I want to play a game."

Dorran watched as I grabbed two wine glasses and walked toward the balcony doors. "Where are you going, Little Mouse?"

"Outside."

Dorran followed me out onto the balcony, the cool wind whipped around my body, peeking my nipples.

He outstretched his hand, lighting the fire, and glanced around the corner at the guard standing on the ledge. He seemed to read Dorran's mind and walked around to the front of the mountain to give us privacy.

"What are we playing?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of the sectional.

The wind blew his curls from his forehead, but the chill didn't seem to bother him. He grabbed a thick white blanket from the chair and tossed it out for me. "I want to play twenty questions."

Dorran chuckled, and sat back against the pillow, curling his finger at me, I crawled over and slid into the crook of his arm. "Ladies first," he whispered, taking his wine glass.

"What was your childhood like?"

Dorran thought about it. "Fine. Not average, I presume. With my parents being royal they wanted me to uphold a certain ... persona. I was followed by guards and had to sneak away to get any privacy. Wait a second—what does the wine have to do with this?"

I chuckled. "Nothing, just lighten the mood and make you answer honestly. You seem uptight and worried; I don't like it."

Dorran slid his fingers through my hair. "It's part of my job as your mate to care for you."

"I get it, and it's my job to loosen you up. So go, ask me what you want."

Dorran continued to finger my hair. "What were your parents like?"

Sasha was the only one who ever asked me about my parents, and it was years before. Not speaking about them almost made it seem not real. Like they were just a dream.

"My mother died before my father. I don't remember as much of her as I do him. I look like her, from what I can tell from my pictures. She used to sing this song about an enchanted forest, but that is all I can remember really. My dad," I said, taking a sip of wine, letting it warm me from the inside, "was stern but fair. There was this one time I wanted to go to Dragon Reign, but I made a bad grade on my test and—,"

I stopped.

Dorran looked down at me. "What is it?"

"I—," My brain fogged, and I sat up straight. A tingle worked its way down the back of my neck and spine leaving me numb. "I can't remember," I whispered.

Dorran rubbed a circle on my back. "That's okay if you don't remember, Amara—,"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "It's blocked. The memory. I can't seem to focus on it. My brain is foggy. I don't ever remember remembering this before now."

Dorran pulled me back to look at me. "Sometimes we remember and forget things at random—,"

"No," I said, my voice growing dry. "Something doesn't feel right." I turned to face him. "How far back do you remember, Dorran?"

His heavy brow pulled down. "Amara, I don't know. Three or four?"

"I don't remember any of that," I whispered. "There are things that my brain tries to remember but I just can't."

Dorran palmed my face. "What are you saying? Some people can't remember back that far."

"I think someone messed with my memory."

Dorran dropped his hands and glared at me with an intense stare. "Who? Your stepmother?"

I took another sip of my wine and nibbled on my bottom lip. "Maybe," I whispered. "Or my parents. I think there is more to my background than I know. Well," I chuckled. "Obviously there is because I'm floating, but I think I'm forgetting it."

Dorran glanced out and then looked back at me. "Maybe it has something to do with the pills. You're not taking them anymore, and suddenly you're remembering bits and pieces of your childhood. I haven't heard back from the lab yet. I'll call them in the morning.

"I think my stepmother is the one we need to ask," I said, curling back against Dorran.

She'd always kept a close eye on me. Way more than her own kids. I thought it was because she wanted to keep her thumb on me, but now it seemed odd. Why did she hang around outside of my door at night to make sure I was asleep? Or make sure I took my medicine. The little things that I didn't concern myself with growing up were beginning to not seem right anymore.

"What are you thinking about over there?" he asked, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. He reached for the blanket and pulled it over me.

"I think Helena kept me close for another reason other than doing her bidding."

Dorran glanced out at the sky as lightning flashed across it. Raindrops began to sprinkle around us, and he used his wings as an umbrella. "Do you think we can get your stepmother to talk?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"I'm sure with my father's help that we can. She's a citizen here and has to obey the rules. My father can enforce anything he wants."

"Like what?"

"Lying to a royal guard would get her tossed into prison."

"Why would she talk to a royal guard?"

Dorran glanced down at me through the shadows of his wings. "A royal guard can ask her anything, and if she lies, she gets tossed into the cell. I think Toby needs to speak with her tomorrow about your heritage."

"She'll just lie. We can't prove that she is lying."

"We'll find a way to trap her with it after we find out what you are."

I sank into Dorran's arm and tucked my knees to my chest when the rain began to hit my toes. "We should go inside," he said, sliding off and picking me up.

Dorran sat me down in the living room and handed me my wine glass. I sipped it, feeling the same light feeling take over me. Would I float again?

Or just get tipsy and trip over my feet?

I walked toward the bathroom, my toe hitting the side of the wall, and I tripped to all fours.

Something twirled in my head, slicing through my mind and hitting me full force.

"Ouch!" I shouted. My toe throbbed from my fall. I sat down on the dew-soaked ground and grabbed it. Mud covered my feet, but it didn't seem to bother me.

The root I'd tripped over was weaved in and out of the ground. The tree it came from was giant, something you would see in a rainforest.

"Are you okay?"

I glanced up at my mother. She was younger than I remember her. Her blonde hair was braided down her back with small flowers interweaved into the strands.

Her blue eyes twinkled when I frowned. "My toe."

"Awe, Baby Girl," she whispered, sitting down, she pulled me onto her lap. "Did you hurt your toe?"

I reached up, touched her cheek, and realized then how young I was by the size of my hand. "It's time for dinner. We'll get back home and wash you up."

"Okay, Mommy."

She picked me up, and I leaned my head against her shoulder, smelling her soft scent, and glancing up at the forest I'd never seen in this kingdom.

We lived somewhere else before.

Where?

"Dammit Amara!"

I snapped awake, hitting my head against Dorran's chin, he pressed me down against his bed and examined me. "Are you okay?" The fear in his voice sucker-punched me in the stomach.

"I'm fine," I croaked. "I had a vision. Or a dream. I don't know. A memory."

I tried to sit up, but he pulled me into his arms. "I thought you hit your head when you fell. I was about to call the castle to send medical here for you."

I leaned my head on his shoulder as I had my mother in the dream, smelling his woodsy scent and relaxing in his warmth.

"Dorran?" I asked softly.

He pulled back to look at me.

"Is the forest we were in today the only one in our kingdom?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Because I think I lived somewhere else before here. I lived in, or by, a huge forest with giant trees. The memory was when I was small. I tripped, and my mother picked me up."

Dorran ran his palm over my head. "We'll get a map tomorrow and find the nearest forest. We'll go from there. Now, I want you to take a shower and relax. You fell hard. Your toe is bleeding."

I glanced down at my feet, seeing the toe from my memory red and bleeding.

"That's the toe I hurt in my memory," I whispered.

Dorran pulled me close to him and tucked me into the safety of his arms. I felt my head spinning with what-ifs and different scenarios. What happened to my parents?

How did I get to this kingdom?

Why hadn't my father told me about that place?

And why the hell didn't I remember?