48. Adrianna

48

ADRIANNA

D arkness consumes my vision. The familiar scent of cut grass with the light notes of lavender drift in the air, and I stiffen. That smell never comes with anything good.

Never.

I try to take a deep breath to settle my rising nerves, but all it does is fill my lungs with the smell I’m trying to avoid.

A nightmare.

That night.

I don’t need to see this.

I don’t want to feel it.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to wake myself from the past hauntings that continue to plague me, but it’s futile. I’m going nowhere. All I can do is ride out the storm.

My fingers curl into fists as my breaths turn to short, sharp pants, the anticipation getting the better of me, but I manage to guide myself down from the nervous cliff my mind has placed me on.

Prying my eyes open, I frown when I don’t instantly see the meadow or hear the growls of the wolves threatening to kill us. The outdoorsy scent still lingers in the air, but it’s my old bedroom that comes into view.

Nora sleeps softly in her bed as I sit up, following the sound of hushed voices in the distance. Making it to the door, it thankfully doesn’t creak when I push it open to reveal two shadows down the hall.

“This guise isn’t going to hold for much longer. She’s fighting me at every turn. She’s making me weaker and weaker.” Her head falls against the man’s chest. He stands a few inches taller, wrapping his arms around her in comfort, just like Daddy does to me when I’m all up in my feels.

Squinting in the dimly lit hallway, I realize it’s my mother being comforted by Fairbourne. The sight of him makes my blood run cold, but nowhere near as icy as his next words.

“We’re close, Clem. So close. The rebellion is forming, they’re calling themselves The Council. Once they make their final moves and take down August, we will be together. You will be here and we will be together.”

Clem? That’s my mother. Not Clementine. But…

“I don’t trust them. They have their own agenda, just as we have ours. They want to take down the fae, us right along with them. I’m scared, Landon. So fucking scared. I’m going to be trapped forever.”

Fairbourne shifts, cupping her cheeks as he speaks softly. “You won’t. You know you won’t. I’ve managed to be able to connect you from the amethyst to Constantine’s body, haven’t I? The next thing to do is set you free. I’m working on it, I swear I am. Have faith in me.”

Clementine has been disguised as my mother… is that why everything changed? Is that why ? —

A large bang vibrates in the distance, followed swiftly by the barrage of shouts and cries of war, and my heart tightens. I know what’s going to happen from here.

I’m going to rush to wake Nora in a blind panic, my father will appear at the doorway, distraught and panicked, and we’ll flee. But for the first time, I remember this snippet from before. An important piece to the puzzle.

“They’re here. They’re coming,” Fairbourne mutters, excitement in his tone.

“What should we do about the children? They must die. I must ensure it,” Clementine states, her voice getting closer as she walks up the corridor toward me. My back presses firmly against the wall behind me, but before she reaches the door, Fairbourne grabs her hand and spins her around.

“There’s no time for that, Clem. The wolves will see to the girls. You need to leave this body now, let Kenner have Constantine as promised, and I will come for you soon.”

“I’m not going back into that stone, Landon. Not now, not ever,” she rasps, panic clogging her throat.

“I’m sorry but it’s the only way,” he replies, smothering a hand over her mouth and dragging her down the darkened hallway without a backward glance.

I jerk awake, sweat beading at my temple and down the valley of my chest as I try to catch my breath.

“Adrianna?” Raiden’s voice cuts through the air, grounding me just a little as my eyes settle on his.

“You’re home,” I breathe, my mind swirling as I blink at him, and a soft smile takes over his face.

“It’s all done. Beau confirmed that a few straggling frenzied vampires he had trapped at the edge of the city died along with him.” There’s a pained sense of pride in his eyes as I nod, reaching for his hand.

Brody, Kryll, and Cassian are asleep on either side of me, but he pays them no mind as he crawls up the bed toward me.

“Are you okay?” I ask as he tucks himself in between Cassian and me, wrapping his arm around me, and I rest my face on his chest, right where his heart is.

“I’ve never been better, Troublemaker. But the real question is are you okay?”

My first instinct is to wave it off and not mention it, but as I open my mouth to do just that, a thought comes to mind and I still. My eyelids fall closed as I replay the idea again and again in my mind, and when I’m certain, I pry them back open again and tilt my head back to look up at Raiden.

“I’m okay. I’m going to be okay. I think I have a plan.”