Chapter 33
Nova motioned for him to come inside. Putting the key back in her pocket, she waited for him and closed the door.
Bastian stopped and looked at her. “Your contacts block out all the facets of colors in your eyes.”
“My eyes are grey.” She frowned.
“To you.” He smirked. “To someone that spends most of his days seeing only this color—” He pointed to his own eye. “—yours are so colorful they’re brilliant.”
Nova smiled. “Well, when you put it that way.” She looked into his eyes. “Yours look like different colors in different lights.”
“They do?”
She nodded. “They look dark blue at night and dark brown during the day.”
“I’ve never noticed that before.” He smiled and reached his hand toward her face. Hissing out a breath, he glanced at her throat and her pendant. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he held her look for a moment. “Finding you on a roof was not how I thought today would begin.”
“I was thinking about it and thought there has to be a reason I can see them and not just to avoid them.”
He gave her a blank look and then shook his head and walked away from the door. Turning around, he smirked at her. “While I appreciate your logic, I hope that doesn’t mean you plan on hunting for them all the time.” He patted his hand on his chest. “I don’t think my heart could take that.”
She didn’t want to acknowledge the way his concern touched her. When was the last time anyone was concerned for her? For that matter, when was the last time there was anyone in her life? She’d had to fade out of her friends’ lives, and coming up with excuses and reasons became too difficult. When she started seeing the dark souls and fading souls, she was afraid to go out. After a year, they went on with their lives and she was here—alone with memories and journals of many women before her. “You said you needed to talk, is this the talk?” She turned to put her jacket in the closet and then remembered it was empty. She hung it there anyway. “Do I plan on hunting them? I don’t know, today was a trial run, and it didn’t go too badly.”
“I should expect more calls from you on a roof?” His expression said he was annoyed, but that glint of amusement was in his eyes so it couldn’t be too bad. He looked around. “Are we staying here?”
“I don’t know if I’ll call from a roof again.” Clasping her hands in front of her, she nodded.
He smirked. “Can we sit, or shall I start explaining things while we stand in the doorway?”
Watching him for a moment, she motioned to go in, then walked behind him until they reached the table. Sliding into one of the chairs, she folded her hands and rested them on top of the table.
Bastian sat there looking at her for a few seconds. “I have no idea where to start.” He shoved up his sleeve and undid a small black band around his arm. Setting it on the table, he tapped his finger beside it. “So I can’t get yanked back.”
Raising an eyebrow, she looked from it to him. “Yanked back?”
“To Solrelm.” He tilted his head. “Like when I saved you from that bus.”
Eyes wide, she sat straighter. “That’s what happened?”
He nodded. “They can watch our movement and Trendan saw me running around—”
She looked around the room. He could be tracked here?
“Not to worry, the last time I shoved it in my pocket, if it’s not against my wrist they can’t locate me.” He smirked and motioned around. “Can’t have them finding your lavish home.”
She knew that was another dig at revealing where she truly lived. “I could offer them a fake cup of tea.” She smiled at him.
Bastian chuckled and then sobered and blew out a breath. “The dark souls, they’re quite a problem, but as it turns out could be organized by a traitor that is connected to a centuries-old evil plot.” He paused and looked at her. “Since the time of my great-grandmother.” He quirked an eyebrow at her surprised expression. “Yes, a long time ago.”
Several emotions went through his eyes, she felt the urge to reach over and touch his hand, then remembered close contact wasn’t good as long as she wore the pendant, so she held his look, giving him her undivided attention instead.
“We’ve been lied to for centuries.” His tone was low, filled with venom. “Our female population dwindling to the point of forcing those girl babies to pair up as soon as they’re of age and...” He stopped and looked at the table for a few seconds, shook his head. “This talk will take a month if I pause on every detail—”
“Give me the surmised version then.” She didn’t like seeing him upset by whatever he felt she needed to know.
Taking a deep breath, he nodded his head slowly. “The realms can in fact pair up with each other, or with your kind.”
That answered one of the questions on her list, but she already suspected that from some things Crystal had mentioned after the fae princess.
“We’ve been told we could only share our soul with our intended other and they could only be from Solrelm…”
A few pieces clicked into place inside her mind. “And that’s not true.”
“Exactly. No, it isn’t. I discovered this recently when I saw Quinton’s mate — one of the Alterealm Princes.”
She nodded; Crissy had mentioned him.
“You can imagine my shock and excitement to discover this. I’m sure the Alterealm Royals thought I was completely insane at this point.” He grinned for a moment, memories playing through his eyes. “Fast forward, Trendan and I discovered a father that was forced back to our realm. His memories... I’m going to say were locked away with strong magic.”
Nova sat forward. “So he doesn’t remember he was with a woman from somewhere else?”
He nodded. “He has no memory of his human other, or his child, Reagan.”
She put her hand over her mouth for a moment. “That’s awful.”
“It is.” He watched her for a second longer and then continued, “We’ve since traced many that this has happened to.”
She opened her mouth to ask where they were when he held up his finger, to pause her words.
“Getting to them is complicated, obviously someone from Solrelm knows and is behind this—but we found one and managed to sneak him away to a hidden location—”
“He remembers now?”
“He’s beginning to. Aireese.” He paused. She nodded, telling him that she knew who that was. “She has been slowly unraveling the magic that has his memories locked away. It’s going to take a while. It can’t be undone all at once.” He stopped and gave her a look with so much emotion a lump formed in her throat. “He remembered her name so far and that she was pregnant.”
Nova covered her mouth again, not sure what to say to that. It was awful that something like that had happened, more than once was criminal.
Bastian sighed. “He’s filled with so much grief right now, the princess is going to make him rest for a few days before trying any more.”
Nova nodded. “What’s her name? I can search for her online.”
His look was hesitant, but she could see the moment he decided to include her.
“Wait, let me run—” She almost said 'down.' “—back and grab a notebook.” She motioned to the bedroom.
Bastian nodded. “I wouldn’t mind some fake coffee or tea while you’re back there.”
She paused as she stood up,.“I’ll see what I have.” Hurrying to the bedroom, she closed the door and rushed to the closet. She lifted the boards made to look like a floor and revealed the ladder. If his visits were going to continue, she was going to have to leave some things upstairs.
Jumping off the ladder, she ran to the library and picked up her notebook of questions, and a pen. Spinning around, she went out to the hall and into the kitchen. Opening a cupboard, she took out the first box she came to, not even sure of the flavor. “Cups.” She turned and pulled two of the china cups from the cupboard and then remembered the kettle. “That would help.” Picking it up, she bunched the cord in her hand so she wouldn’t trip over it. Picking the cups up again, she tucked the notebook under her arm and hurried from the kitchen. Getting up the ladder with all of this would be a challenge. She started to run back to the bedroom, then skidded to a halt. Bastian stood by the hallway. She screeched, dropping both cups and the kettle. The sound of the cups shattering increased how fast her heart was beating.
Bastian held up his hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He glanced at the broken porcelain on the floor. “I combed through old city plans and figured out you were likely living underground.” He motioned to the hall where the main entrance was to come down here. “I knocked my link off the table and saw the lever when I leaned down to get it…”
Nova could only stand there and look at him. No one except the keeper of her soul had been down here since it was built. She moved and her foot caught the broken cup. Spinning around, she went toward the kitchen. “I’ll get the broom.”