Page 54 of Until the Heart Stops
He pressed a kiss to my hair, breathing in my scent. “Come on, love, let’s go see your friends.”
A small bit of trepidation cut through the excitement as we walked to the tunnels and slipped through the stalls. Vendors I’d known my whole life called out, only for their words to die off as they truly saw me. I’d known the transformation was noticeable, but I’d hoped perhaps in passing it might not have been as obvious. From the gasps and whispers, it was clear it had been naïve to hope.
My hair was shinier than before, skin smoother and giving off an inhuman gleam in the light. Though it was my eyes that gave it away the most—the light behind them, the swirling of power in my irises, a sign I’d drunk from the very first of us.
Noah stood at the counter, his hair wild and stuck up in all directions like he’d been running his hands though it constantly. But no…he wasn’t standing, he was pacing, muttering to himself and dipping his head into the curtain every few moments or so.
“Noah!” I called out. “I’m here.”
He turned with wide eyes and I darted to him, too fast for a mortal, but he barely seemed to notice as he grabbed me up in his arms, holding me tight.
“Oh, thank the goddess,” he sighed. “We have to go. I’ve been looking everywhere.”
I pulled back, my brows drawing together. “What do you mean? What’s happened?”
Callum appeared beside me, a similar look of distress on his face. Noah’s hearts were beating too fast, theirrhythms out of sync with one another. I placed my hand over his chest. “Take a breath and tell us what’s wrong.”
His chin dipped and, though he took a breath, he held it before blowing it out in a gust.
“It’s Adrienne. She’s missing.”
Chapter 31
Epilogue
Three weeks.
Adrienne had been missing for three weeks.
Eamon had known before we did, probably from the moment he left the motherhouse of the Covenant. He’d been gone by the time we’d arrived at his mansion before sundown, and Seth had told us he’d already left in search of her. When I’d breathed a sigh of relief and mentioned their blood bond, Seth had shaken his head sadly.
Their bond had waned. There was more to the story, more Seth wasn’t saying, but I’d gotten the impression they had fought, especially from that night in the ballroom. We’d decided to stay at Eamon’s for the last two weeks in the hope of news, but none ever came save for scraps of parchment with disheartening updates.
Until tonight.
The letter arrived just after sundown and I was still dressing when Henry burst through the doors. All of our family had moved over to Eamon’s and, though Gabrielle had not yet woken, she now showed signs of life at the veryleast—it had been enough to rouse Henry close to his usual joy.
“A letter, Lils!” he cried, shaking the parchment.
“Merciful fucking goddess, can you knock?” Callum grumbled, standing in front of me while I slipped a simple green day gown over my petticoat and corset.
Henry grinned, gesturing to the both of us. Callum was also in a state of half-dress, the laces of his tunic and placket of his trousers undone. “But then I would miss tantalizing moments like these.”
My mate rolled his eyes, snatched the letter and offered it to me. With trembling hands, I broke the seal, though I’d learned to temper the hope after the first few updates. Even still, magic sparked across my skin, pulsing outward until Callum brushed a hand over my hair and pulled me close.
“Shh, breathe, my darling.”
Since the very first night I’d been reaching for my magic. It hadn’t taken me long to find it again, not with Callum and Seth’s patient instruction. But I had yet to control it, especially now there was so much more available to me than before. Unrestrained emotions could turn it volatile. So I leaned into his touch as I tore open the letter.
“Oh, thank the goddess,” I breathed, vision hazing red and a few blood tears splattering onto the cream page.
The letter was brief, but it was enough to release the hand clamped around my heart.
She has been found.
—E.
When Callum also gave a sigh of relief, crushing me inhis arms, the tears fell in earnest until I was clutching him. Henry, too, came forward, stroking my hair, and it wasn’t long before Seth and Mateo also made their way into our rooms.
