‼️TRIGGER WARNING: Chapter 63-74 (the end) of this book will include highly sensitive and emotional topics. Viewer discretion is advised.‼️
Cleodare's POV:
"Come on, now, before the sun comes up, then!" Emient called, stepping over to us and continuing forward.
At least I wasn't scared now.
Slowly, we climbed over the tall wall surrounding the building and made our journey into the forest.
"It took me a while to get you out. I'm sorry."
"It's worth it. Every minute," I answered.
"I'm sorry it took so long...I-I just...was nervous! You know? And then I had to find the building...I actually broke into multiple prisons...It was just a whole thing!"
I snorted.
"Then I remembered that Theo knows how to do coding and stuff! You know, kids these days! So I asked him! I was like 'Theo, do you have any idea where your mother is?' He totally found you!"
"My son hacked into government files?"
"Y-yes, I think so."
"Did you tell him how amazing he is?"
Ivy giggled, nodding.
Nowadays, coding was a regular core class. But it was still incredibly impressive.
After about an hour of walking, I was getting tired. I barely had enough stamina to keep up a tiptoe.
"W-we're almost to the car!"
"Couldn't it have been a little closer?" I muttered.
I was honestly wondering why Emient didn't have any teleportation spells.
"We've actually been walking quite fast!"
I stumbled and fell to the ground, landing on the soft grass.
"Oh..." I whispered.
"Cleo?"
"J-just...let me stay here."
Emient turned to us, a small frown on his face, but he said nothing.
I closed my eyes and let out a small stretch.
"Your wrists..."
I'd already been staring at them for forever. The skin had caved in where the chains were constantly burning. My white flesh was red from burns, stained with blood. In fact, my whole body was smeared with blood stains. I could feel skin flaking off around my lips, my neck was covered in burns.
"That's nothing," I said simply.
"What did they do to you?..."
"Do you know about...sunkissed water?"
I didn't need my eyes to be open to know she'd shook her head.
"I'm not sure how they get it. But it burns worse than the sun, and stings worse than silver. It was the worst pain I've ever felt."
"Oh...Cleo," she whimpered.
Emient cleared his throat and spoke up, "What types of things did they do with it, child?"
"They'd throw it at me...or inject it into my bloodstream. I think they just liked to hear me scream after a while. I was constantly chained in silver. Sometimes they'd shove human food down my throat. I'd throw it up later. It was the worst stomach pain of my life. And I was never fed enough blood to heal any of my wounds."
He muttered something, but I didn't hear it. Maybe it was sympathy.
"I'm so sorry," Ivy whispered.
"I'm fine."
"You're not. You can say that, you've stayed strong for weeks now."
"I'm not strong, Ivy. This was the day I was going to cave in, if things hadn't worked out."
Everyone cracks under torture.
"What were they asking you?"
"Where you were, who you are, and where Underground is."
"Oh, Jesus, Cleo!"
"I know," I opened my eyes and she helped me up.
"You are so strong. I'm so proud of you, I will never be able to say that enough."
"Thank you, Ivy," I whispered.
There was a small part of me that wished we could save the intimate moments for home when Emient wasn't around, but I didn't give much of a fuck anymore.
She kissed my cheek and we continued our walk. When we finally got to sit in the car, I was convinced I would pass out. I didn't. But it would've been nice.
Ivy parked it and helped me out, leading me back into a forest, and Emient left us. This forest I recognized as the home I'd had for years. The branches cracked underneath my wounded bare feet.
Ivy led me deeper into the forest than I had ever been. We slowly approached a small hut. Nicer than a tent, but definitely in its family.
"In you go," she said gently, opening the fabric flap, revealing the inside.
Theo's face lit up, he was the first to see me.
"MAMA!" he burst into tears. Both Melanie and Theo immediately jumped up to hug me tightly.
I hugged them back, completely encapsulated by their familiar scents.
"Are you okay?" Theodore asked through tears.
I stared into his eyes which were now as big as saucers. I smiled. Pure joy was radiating through me looking at the faces I'd been protecting for weeks.
"I'm-I'm fine, now."
"Let's get you washed up, okay, lovebug?" Ivy gently rubbed my shoulder.
They both let me go as I nodded. Ivy collected some fresh clothes for me.
I kissed the top of both of their heads and Ivy led me out to the lake.
The ducks bobbed their heads down into the water, and came up with worms, shaking off. I didn't cry this time, even while embraced by such strong memories.
"Did you ever go back to the house?" I asked.
"I did. I got some essentials."
"Like?"
Ivy giggled, "Blankets...plushies...family photos. I got Penelope!"
"You're amazing, Ivy."
She giggled and helped me into the water, sitting down in her clothes.
"I haven't felt fresh water in forever," I whispered. I took off every piece of clothing I had on.
"Th-there's nobody here, is there?" she asked, looking around.
"I couldn't care less," I said.
"Whatever makes you happiest, Cleo."
I washed off in the water, softly moaning as it dug into my wounds. Soon, all the blood stains were washed off and I felt amazing.
"You have a nice body, Cleo."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're beautiful. I'm admiring you, accept the compliment."
"Mm..."
"Okay?" she prompted.
My head bobbed.
I ran my wet hands through my hair, it was long now. Past my shoulders, and dirty. I would've never let it get this way out of free will.
"Do you know what I learned?"
I looked over at her. She was resting her head on her knees, smiling at me.
"Hm?"
"Immortality is weakness. I used to think nothing could hurt me. The real gift of life is vulnerability."
Ivy got up and wrapped her arms around me.
"Vulnerability," she repeated. "That's a big word."
"People are nothing without vulnerability. An ability to feel safe."
I changed into the clean, comfy clothes, and she walked me back into the hut. I sat down on the thin mattress and Melanie offered me her arm.
"Baby...I can't."
"Can't or won't?" she argued.
I sighed, and gently grabbed her wrist, biting into her flesh. The small whimpers that left my mouth were less than merciful. I hadn't had fresh blood in forever, and hers was much better than A-positive.
But I had to stop myself, pulling back.
"Thank you very much."
She just nodded and hugged me.
I looked over her shoulder as I put my arms around her. My eyes darted to Penelope. Marine's best friend. I grabbed them and held them close to my chest. The scent was still my old sage cologne, mixed with Marine's faded cactus rose shampoo and lotion.
I sucked in as much of the scent as I could. It was almost completely gone. I was sure the only reason I could still smell it was because of my enhanced senses.
Ruffling her hair, I let her go, even while she was still clinging.
"How have you been?"
"Other than the obvious? Fine, I guess."
"Ivy made us go to school," Theo spoke.
I looked down at Theo, who had snuggled up next to me. I ran a hand through his hair, which was a dark brown, nearing black, and almost to his shoulders.
Ivy huffed, "You said you wanted to! I was encouraging it!"
"You're still with Sean?" I asked him.
"Yes," he whispered.
"He better be taking good care of you."
"He is. I-I really do like him."
"Ooh, Sean's very nice!" Ivy exclaimed.
"If Ivy approves, I have no complaints," I said, making myself comfortable on the mattress.
"Really? Look at her," Melanie mumbled, a small smile on her face.
Ivy gasped, "What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Ivy's the best," Theo intervened.
I sunk into the warmness of the space. Of my family.
Ivy curled up next to me, and I snuggled into her.
She was my family, too.
"And you're all doing okay? Mentally? With...things." Words didn't need to be said to convey what I meant.
"I'm okay, I think...I-Ivy has been really nice," Theo whispered.
"I have a degree in counseling," she beamed proudly.
I snorted, "You've said that."
"That doesn't mean you have to take all of our weight," Melanie mumbled.
"Nah, it doesn't. But I can handle me," Ivy smiled.
They all curled around me.
I sighed contently.
"This is home," Ivy said softly, "you're safe."
With Penelope squeezed against my chest, their soft fabric against my arms. With one of the last physical memories I had of Marine, I smiled. Again, genuinely.
~~~
After I'd been back for three days, only one thing was really bothering me. Besides the nightmares that would be something I'd have to work on with a professional. They'd obviously gotten worse after I'd been tortured.
But, the problem: My fangs.
I had an idea in mind, so I was once again trotting back Underground. But not for why I used to.
"Gwenevieve," I spoke.
She always seemed to be out in the open, right where it was easy to find her.
"What?"
Emient was sitting in a wooden chair next to her with sigils carved into it; ones that looked like majestic wavy lines. I couldn't read them.
His legs were crossed as he hummed. "Ah, Ms. Astiaga, your meeting."
"Cleodare?" she gawked.
She was sitting on the floor, reading some type of book. Spellcraft, I assumed.
"You're not here for sex, are you?" she asked.
Scoffing, I shook my head.
I'd planned a meeting with Emient and had requested for Gwenevieve to be there.
The word 'meeting' still made me shudder.
Gwenevieve grunted, "What do you want?"
"I-" I sighed, "I have a problem."
"Clearly."
"I- okay, be quiet," I hissed. "I think, if anything, it can only be solved with a spell."
"Hit me," they droned, looking back down at their book.
They better have been glad I didn't take that seriously.
I inhaled.
There was a small crowd gathered around us. I always seemed to attract one.
Whispers floated amongst the group.
Nosy imbeciles.
I was sure the word had gotten around about what I'd been through in the past year. Everything.
Take another breath, try to ignore the people.
This was how I would fix myself.
I was never broken.
"I lost one of my fangs."
The whispers ceased.
Gwenevieve looked back up at me.
They couldn't hide it now. There was concern in their eyes, their eyebrows drooped. And after hearing what they truly thought about me, I wasn't all that surprised that they cared.
Emient was the only one who didn't look completely astonished. I wondered how many strange things he'd heard over the years.
"What?" they asked breathlessly.
But answering their own question, swiftly, they stood up and yanked me forward by my shoulders.
She parted my lips with her thumb and I hesitantly opened my mouth.
Her thumb pushed against the empty socket, which didn't hurt anymore. Not physically.
"I-" She looked back at Emient like a little kid waiting for their parent's approval. "Can we fix this?"
With a gentle nod, he stood up. "Of course we can. We can fix nearly anything with magic. I am however...not familiar with any common spell that will have a possibility."
My heart skipped a beat.
With reluctance in Gwenevieve's movements, as if they wanted to hold me longer, they let me go.
"Okay."
She ran off, purpose in her pace, and quickly came back with a thick book in hand. It looked old with a tattered leather black cover. There was metallic red writing on the front, cursive in a Latin language I couldn't read. Or it was possibly just pure Latin.
Emient turned to her, taking the book from her hands.
"What have you found?" he asked.
"My father found it, I mean, he died, but...he found it on a hunt a long time ago."
"Interesting. And you can read this?"
She laughed, "No. There's spells for that."
I think anyone else would've had a public execution laughing at Emient.
"This book isn't ordinary," Emient said, handing it back to her.
"Yeah..."
She sat back on the ground, flipping to a page that looked like the table of contents.
"He found it in a ghoul base."
More whispers arose and Emient waved them off like annoying mosquitoes. They all silenced again, for the most part.
"Interesting. That could be powerful," he hummed, skepticism stroked his words.
Unattended or in the wrong hands, probably.
I could hear Gwenevieve whisper something to herself and then flip to a page. The pages were thin and made satisfying crinkles as she foraged through the book.
"This is truly a fascinating experience," Emient said, eyebrows raised.
It took a few minutes of their finger tracing the tiny printed words until they stopped, seeming to freeze in place.
We all -and I truly mean 'all'- waited until they spoke up.
"It's actually really easy, I almost have everything to do it," they said simply.
I let out a breath of relief.
She got up and grabbed my hand, "Let's get some privacy."
I let her lead me back to her room. She shoved me onto her bed and began to dig through cabinets above her desk, which she had to stand on a chair to get to.
Her room brought back unpleasant memories.
"You're not a virgin, are you?" she asked, nearly falling.
"Wh- we literally had sex," I stammered.
"Huh, yeah I guess."
"Are you high?" I asked, blinking.
They scoffed, "No, actually. I just need virgin blood."
"Oh...why?"
"Don't question the spell, it'll feel better that way."
Okay then.
I coughed, "Mortal blood...or?"
She sighed, "Any kind."
~~~
"This feels targeted," Ivy muttered.
Gwen nodded. "Oh, extremely."
Ivy pointed at me, her finger stiff, "Be glad I love you."
I smiled, "Thank you for fulfilling this favor."
She turned back to Gwenevieve, "Are you gonna kill me?"
"As satisfying as that'd be, no."
They drew out a knife and pulled her forward.
"W-well, where are you go-"
Gwenevieve scraped the blade across her palm and her blood dripped into a bowl they'd put beneath her hand.
"Ow! C-couldn't you have warned me first?"
"You would have been too scared to let me do it."
"Maybe," she mumbled.
Her cut was already starting to close. "D-do you need more, or-"
Gwenevieve took her hand back and slit it again.
"Jesus!"
I put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay."
"That's not very reassuring," she grumbled.
After Gwenevieve had gotten all the blood they needed from her, they mixed some more things into it until it made some type of paste.
"Come here," they gestured.
I stepped closer and they opened my mouth for me, then smothered the mixture on my gums and inside the hole where my fang had been.
It felt like they were feeling me up, which wasn't the most comfortable.
Words that did sound like Latin passed their lips as their index finger pushed on the empty socket in my gums.
A hushed waterfall of silence filled the room.
That was until I grunted, suddenly feeling a pang of sharpness in my mouth.
I could feel the thick bone root itself back into its proper place, and such satisfaction wiped over me that I wanted to cry, my jaw clenching. However, I held the lump in my throat.
Gwenevieve wiped the rest of the blood mixture off my gums and sealed the remaining into a container.
Before she could make another movement, I pulled her into a tight hug.
It caught her off guard.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
"Thank you."
Reluctantly, they sealed their arms around me. A sigh heaved out from their lungs.
I smiled, and I could hear theirs in my ear, as well.
"We should smoke more often," they said.
~~~
A restlessness took hold of me. Tossing and turning, I shoved my head into my pillow, groaning.
I was nervous to sleep. A pit rooted deep in my stomach, making me want to puke just thinking about it.
Opening my eyes, I rolled over, facing Ivy, where I could hear her soft snores.
"Ivy?" I whispered.
Suddenly, she gently stroked my hair, letting me know she was there.
"It's okay." Her voice was strung with sleep, and she rubbed my arm.
"Tell me what's wrong, lovebug."
"I-I..."
"You're home, you're safe. You know that, right?"
"It doesn't feel like it, I-I feel like I'm still trapped in that cell."
"Your mind is the only thing hurting you," she whispered.
Ah yes, my mind, with its sharp edges and never-ending paths. I knew that. But the nightmares felt so real.
"This is real, Cleo. Your family, your home. This is where you can be vulnerable, and this is where you will be heard."