Page 14 of Shattered Darkness

“Sage,” Kysen’s voice says softly, and the compassion in it is such a contrast to the anger that I’m feeling that it has a tear falling down my cheek.

He sees it and pulls me into his arms, offering me comfort. I allow it for a moment before I pull back, “Creep was here.”

“What?” Kysen asks, instantly alert, as he looks around and starts herding me toward the stairway.

I nod as we rush up the stairway, “I think that’s why my parents didn’t recognise me.”

I’m choosing to ignore that Creep said they were my fake parents that would make absolutely no sense.

“Let’s talk more when we get back to your room,” Kysen suggests, which is smart because there’s a good chance that we’re being listened to now.

As we walk through the door all of the guys are coming out of theirs looking alert, and I realise that they’ve felt everything that I felt and that they’re probably worrying right now.

Chapter Five

“Sage, where,” Maverick starts, and I interrupt him.

“I ran into my parents, and they didn’t recognise me at all, and then Creep laughed and said boohoo, poor Sage, so I think that he’s done something to them to make them forget me.” I rush out, aware that it was a bit more of a ramble than I intended it to be.

“What’s that in your hand?” Kysen asks and then adds with a confused frown. “When did you pick that up?”

My eyebrows crease, I have no idea what the fuck he’s talking about because I have nothing in my hands, I look down, and my mouth drops open in shock when I see a scroll in my hand. “I have no idea.”

“Right, before we get into the first thing you said because, quite frankly, I am still trying to process it, I suggest that you open the scroll that magically appeared in your hand instead,” Jax suggests.

I have to admit that although this is a serious situation, the fact that he is shirtless is extremely distracting, and I smirk at Kai when I catch him looking too. Jax catches me looking and winks before he heads back into his room and comes out with a shirt on.

I clear my throat as I take a seat on the couch, everyone sitting down with me, all of them looking curious.

Frowning down at the roll of parchment in my hand, I have to force myself to open it. I have a feeling that I’m not going to like what’s written on it, but with everyone staring at me, I know I have to read it, so I simply just open the scroll.

At the last second, I change my mind. I don’t think I want to read it, and I hand it to Mav, who is sitting next to me, “Can you read it, please? I’ve got a feeling.”

Mav’s eyes fill with understanding, “Of course, I can.”

“Thank you,” I reply gratefully, as I lean my head on his shoulder.

He kisses my forehead and then starts to read, “Daughter, I’m sorry that I’ve had to resort to talking to you like this, but Kronos is proving to be a nuisance. I am so sorry that he took your parents' memories and others too. I feel that you deserve to know that although I had every intention of eventually telling you that they aren’t your biological parents, I had absolutely no intention of taking you from their memories. That was all Kronos and was designed simply to hurt you and distract you from finding more information about his Order and stopping the hold that he has on the teachers at Blood Moon Academy.

“Now that he has taken you from their memories, not only do they not remember that you were their daughter, but no one else will either. I am so sorry for this hurt. Everything will make sense in time, and I’m sorry that I can’t give you more answers right now. Your journey is going to be far from easy, but I am sending you some help along the way. All my love, Nyx.”

The room is silent as everyone waits to see what my reaction is going to be. I feel a bit numb, if I’m being honest. I don’t have parents again. They were never my parents, so this significant anomaly of me being born isn’t even true. Am I even a Centre? I mentally roll my eyes at myself; I’m obviously a Centre; I wouldn’t have my Bonded if I weren’t, but the question of who the fuck I am is still a very valid one.

“Sage?” Levi asks, and I realise that at some point in my musings, he’s perched himself on the table in front of me. “Are you okay? What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”

“A couple of things mostly,” I reply, “one, who the fuck am I, really? And two, it feels like I take one step forward and two steps back. It’s ridiculous. Why do I keep having fake parents? I mean, one set is insane enough, but now I have two sets of fake parents? There had better be a damn good freaking reason as to why, and I mean truly epic.”

They all stare at me for a second since I started to reply calmly, and then it sort of derailed toward the end.

“I’m sorry, Sage. I wish I could give you answers, but I really don’t have any for you. None of us do; the only thing we can do is hope that the Goddess decides to give you more information soon,” Levi replies.

I sigh and rub both of my hands over my eyes, “I know, it’s just so fucking frustrating,” with my hands still over my eyes, I say quietly, “It hurts; I just found them, I spent so long without them, and we didn’t really get to know each other properly, and now I’ve lost them, and I’m back to having no parents. Everyone else may have lost their memories that I was their daughter, but I haven’t. Those that I do have are still there, and that makes it hurt more.”

My voice is very small by the time I finish my reply, and I suddenly find myself surrounded by my men, all of them putting a hand on me in comfort in some way, as Mav pulls me into his arms, and I sink into him.

I allow myself to feel this grief, and it is grief. I thought I’d found my parents. I remembered them and the little memories that we did have, and now that’s all been taken away because although they aren’t dead, I am very much grieving them like they were because they don’t even know who I am.

It hurts.

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