Into the Wild Dark

CHAPTER 39 - MAL

Ch. 39: Mal's Sendoff

September 20 | Day

The first days of freedom weren't what I expected. Cherie woke in the night with bad dreams. I would dash to her room and rock her to sleep, singing lullabies, but the nightmares would return. I worried she had post traumatic stress. Ava wandered the house on tiptoe as if waiting for another shoe to drop.

"Relax, darling. Everything will be okay," I promised when she found me in my office one evening. I had been listening to the duduk, wondering if Darcy would renege. She seemed to have been fretting about the same thing.

"What if he shows up at the estate with some new legal quandary?"

"He won't."

Ava hugged herself. "I hate this place."

I knew she did. I knew they both did–Cherie and Ava–but it was home to me. I kept doors and windows locked, installed a surveillance system, and hired security guards. Morning and night, Jack and Sunny remained with us. I woke to them, went to sleep to the peaceful sounds of their snores. I developed the notion we could make a life together. Jack seemed more comfortable in his own skin, and Sunny had changed drastically. He was passionate, more alert.

As the weekdays cycled onward, the mood on the grounds began to lift. The servants became more talkative. I would listen to them laugh and chat quietly with one another in ways they had never done before. With the shadows banished, I didn't know how to fit in nor how to leave. My sisters and I would always crave the signature taste of dark hearts; however, we reveled in the opportunity to choose our meals wisely rather than coercing people to the dark side.

"I think you should send them on a trip," Jack suggested days later.

He sat in the music room and watched the twins through the big bay windows. Not a single curtain was drawn now that the vampire was no longer in residence. Lissette and her colleagues roamed past the room with a tray of refreshments, giggles burbling after them. I looked up from the sheet music I was composing. Sunny lifted his head from the armrest of the settee.

"Send who on a trip?" he asked sleepily.

"The twins. They need a break from this place so they can feel that they're well and truly free."

"That's a brilliant idea, actually." I tapped my pen to my chin. "Paris. The girls have always wanted to live there. I was considering moving, but I can't bear to leave you guys. Maybe Ava and Cherie can fly out for a visit with Yalina when she heads over to tour her art school. I know she'll watch after them."

"Give them a feel for the city," said Jack. "see if they like the lay of the land. Maybe check out an apartment or three."

"Mm, speaking of 'lay of the land,' I've heard the ley over there–Ville Surnaturelle–is spectacular this time of year," Sunny replied. "When they get back, you can get them squared away with a therapist. They'll need to process things. You, too, darling."

Could I be away from the twins? Could I stand it? Once the idea was planted, I couldn't shake it. It was exactly what the girls (and I) needed. Real freedom, not the devouring love of their older sister. I needed them to spread their wings. I needed them to know that the world only felt impossibly dangerous. It wasn't that bad. Malice, Avarice, and Debauchery could take risks. We could thrive.

The next afternoon, at the mention of an extended trip, Cherie's whole demeanor changed. I hastily called Yalina and made arrangements. Cherie didn't have a single bad dream the night before they were to leave. We awakened the next morning to the hustle-bustle of staff rallying their bags near the front door. I squeezed my youngest sibling in a hug.