Chapter 99 A declaration
At the front door, I wiped my sweaty palms over my robe before peeking into the ring.
The porch was empty.
I frowned. It would be foolish to open this door when skinwalkers were crawling around.
But then, Mordaine had said no one could come here without permission.
I reached for the doorknob, and paused. But just as I was about to turn for the kitchen and grab a knife, my eyes fell on yet another sticky note tapped by the door. Delivery for you, fairy.
“Oh.” I jerked the door open immediately, and flowers literally slapped me in the face.
I stepped back with a gasp, and stared up at the cascade of moon flowers, twice my height, practically overflowing the doorway.
My lips trembled, and I burst into laughter.
This was ridiculous.
As they had never struck me as extravagant men or lavish gifters, this was definitely intentional.
They were making a declaration.
I reached my hand up to caress the flowers, which were a mix between white and the color of Hale’s eyes. Carefully arranged side by side.
I need your help here, Rhea.
With Rhea’s help, I moved it easily past the lounge into the living room. There, I negotiated the stairs, and decided it was not worth the risk of breaking a leg.
I could always admire it here. Besides, there was a reflective object on the kitchen sink I could not ignore anymore.
Bag girl. I should stick to following the directions in the notes. But ughh. I just had to see.
I covered the distance with quick steps, and found a bottle of wine, nestled behind a woven box. The champagne bottle was catching the direct light of the rising sun's golden rays and casting rainbows everywhere.
From the size of the bottle of champagne, I figured it was one of the rarer qualities. Keep it cool. We will share it when I return.
Mordiane.
Oh. The cards were supposed to lead me here much later.
Well, I will pretend I never saw it. But first… my hand closed around the cloche to the left of the basket and pulled back. Strawberries in a glass, a varying color of crisp macarons arranged artfully around it.
Finn. He was the crafty one. They must have had him make this.
I went back upstairs to the closet where I left off, and spent the next half hour following sticky notes like an Easter egg hunt.
Extra large bouquets of white lilies and pale pink peonies. A laid out breakfast on the bedroom balcony which I ate watching the sunrise, and a handwritten letter from Hale.
Twelve months. Twelve more months and I would never see these men again.
With a hot lump in my throat, I got ready for my day.
In the garage, I was immediately drawn to an emerald Jaguar F-type. And it was as I tried to connect my phone to the blue tooth on my way to the academy that I realized it was Finn’s car.
Of course.
It had to be his car I would feel a pull towards.
The lump in my throat burned hotter, and I pressed hard on the accelerator and wove through the traffic just under the speed limit.
At the academy, I hesitated in my car. Everyone was dressed in black.
Clad in my soft blush long-sleeve knit top, and mid-calf tulle skirt in the same color. I stood out like a sore thumb.
I winced. Tamar had made it seem no one at the academy cared about the Luna’s death. Now I looked like the insensitive person. .
Hopefully the news would not get back to Celeste.
I dialed Caroline's number as I locked the car door. And suddenly, Rhea tensed inside me, making soft growling noises.
I stood frozen, staring at the shadow on the opposite wall of the understood parking lot.
And then I spun around.
“Lys.”
“Celeste…” I clutched my chest in relief. And then my heart ached at the memory of the Luna, “I’m so…”
My throat closed up. Why was she at the academy the morning after her own mother passed?
I started to back away, my heart beating wildly.
Skinwalker.
The monster grinned an ugly smile and then threw its head back in that awful shriek.
“Run!” A large hand caught my arm, pulling me along as we broke into a run for the elevator.
The lights flickered on and off as we ran down the underground parking lot, glancing back as the monster chased us, leaping over cars.
Faster, closer.
We crashed into the elevator and spun around.
The skin walker was moving fast, faster than the elevator doors that seemed to be closing in slow motion in comparison.
And just as it grabbed the door, a force flew in from the side, tackling it to the ground.
It was the academy security. The doors slid shut.
“Are you OK?” Fentone turned to me.
My chest was heaving, my breathing swallow, as my ears continued to ring. That Skinwalker had worn Celeste’s skin.
“Celeste.” I stared up at him with wide eyes. “Night keep us… Celesete,”
“No,” Fentone blurted in a hurry, grabbed my shoulders and hugged me close. His pants matched mine. “No, she’s not dead.”
I tore away from him. Hale would be livid if he saw us now.
Fentone frowned in surprise, but then gave a respectful nod and stepped back.
“Those things are getting out of hand. They seemed to have evolved overnight. They don’t have to kill a person anymore to wear their skin.”
“What?”
The elevator doors slid open. He placed his hand on my back, and led me out.
“You can’t be alone. I will have someone…”
“I am fine, Fentone.” I stared up at him as the people who passed by us gave us meaningful looks.
His security, stern men in black suits who had been waiting by the elevator, appeared intimidating. Making everyone uncomfortable.
“Why are you here?” I asked as softly as I could.
Mostly, we saw each other once every week for the last three years.
“I was worried about you. One minute you were at your parent’s house and the next you were gone.”
“Oh.”
“Some things no longer make sense, Lys.”
My heart stopped.
He stepped closer, his voice still gentle. “Something is different about you, but I can't quite place a hand on it,” he stopped. “ The skinwalker at your home last night. We found it destroyed…"
He frowned now, a little unsure of himself. But then, he proceeded anyway.
“That was no ordinary fire.”