After I sent Cassidy away, I paced.
And paced.
Cassidy was my mate, but what if Florence was right? What if she truly wasn't who she claimed to be?
My mind raced with a million questions a second.
I slumped down in the chair next to me, loosening my tie as if it were suffocating me.
"I'm guessing you are not so excited for the party tonight?" Finn strolled into the sitting room, his eyebrow raised in amusement.
I scoffed. "Not at all."
He went behind the wooden bar by the window, gabbing two glasses and the decanter of whisky next to him.
"Did you and Cassidy hit a rough patch?" He snickered taking a sip out of his glass and walking over to the chair across from mine, handing me my drink and sitting down.
I rolled my eyes and sat up. "I feel like absolute shit for thinking this of her, but Florence told me some things about Cassidy, and I can't help but wonder if she's right. If she is, all hell is going to break loose because this is some bad shit." I let more of the fiery liquid flow down my throat, wanting the burn. I needed something to take me from the constant bugging inside of me that wanted to give Florence's words a chance.
He raised an eyebrow again, but this time not in amusement. "How bad is her, er, theory?"
"I'd die, and then so would she. She barely gave me anything else, and she ran away the minute she was done. I want to go and find her, but she's the best at staying hidden."
Finn took a swig of his drink. "You do realize she's been in her room all day, right? The boys said they haven't found her in any of the rooms. I think they really like her."
My palm twitched, just the tiniest bit at this.
"That's not good." But I had no clue as to why it bothered me.
He chuckled. "No, especially since they seem to think they're good enough to go after older women."
A knock came from the door, and after a moment, one of the maids came in.
"Mister Finnegan, your father and the King request you down in the ballroom. Your brother has already joined them down there." She bowed, and quickly left the room.
Finn grumbled. "My goddess, could they have given me a worse name? Finnegan is so fucking white." He rolled his eyes, earning a chuckle out of me.
"You are half white," I offered up.
He got up and walked to the bar, not forgetting to give me a cold glare. "Yes, but I'm also half not, and the other half of me would much rather be named Marcel, or Andre. My name is whiter than yours." He poured himself another drink, and came back.
"Don't you have to be downstairs? Wouldn't want to upset your brother." I smirked at that. Finn had been rather upset with Isaiah for a few months now, after Isaiah decided it would be cool to start flirting with Sapphire.
"Isaiah has some nerve coming here. I swear to god if he even gets near Sapphire–"
My eyes rolled. "As if she wants anything to do with him. Leave it be. You know you'll only piss her off."
I saw his head shake. "Stupid fucking little brother."
Raising a glass to that, I echoed his statement, still not liking the fact that my brothers were oddly all over Florence. "Stupid fucking little brothers." Yes
He turned around and leaned on the desk, regarding me with his eyes. "I think you should go find Florence. But I also think you should keep in mind what Cassidy told us about her. This could all be fake."
"Yes, but that was coming from Cassidy. What if Florence is right? What if Cassidy isn't who she says she is?" I took another long gulp of my drink, but nothing was working. I cursed being a werewolf and not being able to get drunk.
He raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did she say? How are you and her just supposed to die?"
"I don't know. I told you, she barely told me anything."
He was silent for a moment. "If she barely told you anything, and you don't know how this would all happen, why are you letting this get to you? I mean, I like Florence a lot. She's great. Even better when she's not hiding. Definitely better than Cassidy, no offense, but you also have to remember what Cassidy told everyone. She was in a car accident. Damaged her brain so bad she can barely think. Made her so sad she doesn't want to be near people or talk to them. She could be doing all of this because of that." He glanced down at his drink, and he swirled the liquid in the glass.
I sighed. "She said Cassidy isn't who she says she is. What if Cassidy has been lying this whole time? I can't help but feel like I'm missing something huge here, but I have no idea what I could be missing. Something just feels... off."
Finn opened his mouth to respond, but the door opened, and none other than Sapphire strolled in.
I saw her eyes make contact with Finn before she shook her head. She quickly smiled brightly when she saw me, obviously trying to hide the glare she gave him.
"Dante, all your guests are arriving and Mom is mad that she has to greet them. And Isaiah, Dad, and Uncle Alec are all in the kitchen wanting to talk to Finn, but I'm sure I can entertain them for a little while longer." She smiled at Finn, but I saw the smirk underneath it.
Finn groaned, shutting his eyes. "Boo. Boo to the both of you." He chugged down the rest of his glass, and Sapphire struggled to restrain a smile.
"Go have fun with Isaiah. Finn and I are having a great time."
"Fuck that. Isaiah respects no boundaries. Stay with us. Have a drink." Finn reached for an empty glass, holding it out to her.
"No, I'm going to go chat with Isaiah and your father. We're discussing all the things we find so charming about you." Winking at Finn, she turned that mischievous smile to me. "So many things to talk about! If either of you need me, I'll be downstairs in the kitchen. I'll see you later." Turning on her heel, she left, closing the door behind her.
Finn groaned, throwing his head back. "She is impossible, dude. Impossible." Quickly glancing at me, he offered an apologetic smile. "In the best way, of course. No offense to any member of the great Valentino-Lancaster family. Nothing but love and appreciation for all difficulties of you and your sister."
I gave him a flat, unamused stare. "No, please, continue complaining about my sister and I. See where it gets you." I fixed my tie, and slid on my suit jacket.
"Find Florence. Make sure Cassidy isn't around, and if you still believe Cassidy, don't take anything Florence says to heart. That's all I would do."
I nodded, even though I was facing away from him. "I'll see you later."
If you still believe Cassidy, don't take anything Florence says to heart.
But what if even the idea of that felt extremely wrong?
I huffed at the disconnect, jogging up the steps to find the room Florence and Cassidy. I had offered different rooms, but Cassidy declined. Why, I had no clue.
The door was locked. I had the keys to all the rooms on my car key ring if I needed it, but I didn't right now. So, I knocked on the door.
No answer.
I knocked again, this time a little louder.
Still no response.
I focused on my hearing. I just heard the wind from outside. If anybody was in there, the wind would drown their breathing and heartbeat out.
She will kill you, and then me. I remembered her warning. I couldn't help but worry if the latter had happened first. What if she was dead?
I shook my head. I couldn't even smell Florence's scent. What she had said was getting to me. I needed to stay sane. Goddess knows I'll need my sanity for the ball tonight.
So I walked away from the door, going downstairs to the kitchen to see Isaiah and his father.
***
So, maybe I had done something a little bad. I wasn't supposed to snoop, but the curiosity got to me. Thoughts of the gun plagued my mind, and I was going crazy in this room knowing it was here. I needed air, and space away from her weapon.
So I had found a hairpin in the bathroom and used it to open the locks on the balcony doors. I hadn't even gotten a chance to look out these doors yet, but the view was breathtaking. It was almost as beautiful as the view from the tower, but now I could see more into the woodland in the back of the palace. It was small within the castles grounds, and the walls that went around the castles had a gate in the middle of the small forest that connected the larger one behind it. It was perfect for Wolves.
But given the chance, I would never dare go near it. Forests only brought bad things in my life. Before Batilda had taken me, Isaac and Hayden had broken bones in the forest behind our house. Nolan had gotten lost once, when he was really young.
Needles pricked my heart. Nolan must be old now. He probably has his own family. Maybe even kids. My heart clenched some more.
Maybe they all have kids. I could be an aunt. My parents would be grandparents. They probably did have kids, and mates. It's been so long.
Sighing, I leaned my forearms against the railing. How long have I been gone, really? It's got to be more than five years.
Five years. The air left my throat. And that wasn't even the right amount. More than five years of my life have been spent in a tiny basement, staring at a television screen or at words on a page. I had hated school before, but I would give anything to have gone one more day.
Maybe it was seven years. I would be fifteen. But I sure don't look fifteen. I wasn't sixteen, but I didn't feel any older. Hell, I haven't felt anything older than eight since I lost my voice.
Could it be nine years? Nine years I spent in that basement. That was more time than I spent out of her basement. I remembered the first couple of girls in the basement I kept up with. But once one of the older girls, Katie, had left, I stopped keeping track. Maybe because I didn't want to know how long I'd spent.
The bedroom door flew open then, and Batilda strolled in. I had hoped it was whoever had knocked earlier that I had hid from, but of course it was her.
With a grin on her face brighter than the sun, she said, "The ball starts in an hour. Time to get ready."
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please vote comment and share!
btw the *** means either a change in time, a change in point of view, or both. this time it was both. I just feel it looks better than Florence's POV, Bc lord knows I've written that phrase a million times in the last book. and the ~~~ means a flashback, so just a heads up.
bye bye!
~Skye