Walking through Jared’s house, Cassie was relieved to find all the extra heaviness that had been there every other time gone. She had a good feeling it was the presence of his father that did that. It was like evil followed the man around.
Jared opened the door to his room and let Cassie go in first. She felt the pressure of walking through her spell. Everything was still active, and that was exactly why Nate had sent her off with Jared. Cassie really wanted to go home and sleep in her own bed, but she understood. There was nowhere completely safe, but Nate trusted her only with Jared, and she didn’t blame him. Both Jared and Nate had a reason to keep her alive since their own lives were bonded to her. Cassie again felt helpless since she was the weak link. She still needed to be protected when she wanted to be able to take care of herself.
“It’s already late,” Jared told Cassie as he took her bag and began to climb the stairs to her second-floor bedroom.
Cassie followed him up the stairs.
“You probably want to go right to bed. I’ll show Whitney up here when she arrives, but I don’t expect her for hours. Jack said the type of spell they’re setting up should take quite a while to do, even with practice,” Jared explained, setting her bag on the bed.
Keeping the book covered, Cassie slipped off her coat and set it on top of her bag.
“Your closet should have everything if you need extra.” Jared shrugged.
He seemed at a loss for words as he made his way back to the door. Cassie could almost feel the pain pour off him. She knew why and hated that it worked like that.
“I love you both, you know,” Cassie said to Jared’s back. She didn’t need him to turn around to know that was exactly what he was thinking about. “You’ve both been there for as long as I can remember. I know you guys look at it like a competition, but it sucks. If I have to choose, then I have to hurt someone. It’s not fair. I have feelings for you both.”
Although she really didn’t want to admit that out loud, but Jared needed to hear it. She couldn’t read his mind like he could hers, but he didn’t keep his feelings hidden quite as well. He was hurt by earlier and that was never her intention. She had to wonder if it was the same for Nate. Was he hurt when she kissed Jared?
Finally, Jared turned around and walked back over to her. Grasping her hands in his, he took a deep breath.
“I know you didn’t ask for this, and I’m sorry. Technically, I’m the one who put you in the position to have both of us as mates. I know it messes with you. Heck, I think I’m getting a man crush on Nate from all of this.”
Cassie giggled. What she felt was amplified from the bond. Whitney had explained a lot to her, but she never thought about how the bond would affect the feelings between the two guys.
“What’s between you, Nate, and me, we can sort out later. For now, you need to rest and read that book you keep thinking of,” Jared told her.
Cassie scrunched up her nose. She had been caught … well, kind of.
“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything. I don’t really sleep much at night, so I’ll be awake,” Jared told her before letting go of her hands.
Cassie watched him walk away. He was always kind and gentle with her. Her hands felt cold from where he had been holding them. It was different than with Nate, and just plain confusing. But Jared was right; it was something to deal with at another time. Now she needed to read the book waiting for her. Hopefully, it had some great secret because she needed help learning how to control her powers … if she actually could.
Taking a deep breath, Cassie pushed the coat off the small book. It wasn’t much larger than a paperback book, maybe the size of a journal, but one thing was for sure, it looked ancient. The deep brown-colored leather cover was tied with a fine, lighter brown leather string. It looked like it fit perfectly with the sidhe she had met the summer before. They were all connected to the earth, almost like literally connected. Their homes were made of live trees and everything in it came from the surrounding woods. They rarely killed trees to build the walls of their homes. Instead, they just grew them into the perfect shape needed. It was strange, but beautiful at the same time.
As Cassie untied the string holding the book closed, a small rolled-up piece of paper came out of it. There was small, neat handwriting on it with a name a phone number. Fiona. The sidhe who had given her the book.
Grabbing her phone, Cassie dialed the number and waited. The clock on the nightstand read 9:38. Hopefully, as a night human, Fiona would still be awake.
“Hello,” an elegant voice on the other end of the phone answered.
Cassie was a little startled at how quickly she answered.
“Um, hi,” Cassie replied. “This is Cassie. You gave me a book before I left Triclan City.” She really didn’t know what else to say. Fiona was the one that had left her number.
“Did you open it?” Fiona asked urgently.
“No, just got your number and called,” she replied, not sure about the reasons for the urgency.
“Good. Ari told me that you don’t block your mind from anyone, and you need to before you read the book.”
“You know what’s in here?” Cassie asked. She was still a little unsure what the book was about, but Fiona told her it had answers.
“No. I can’t open the book. It wasn’t meant for me. I was just supposed to give it to you,” Fiona explained.
Now it made absolutely no sense. Cassie’s name wasn’t on the book. How could Fiona know to give it to her?
“Let me teach you how to block your thoughts first,” Fiona explained. “A girl really needs to know how to keep her secrets, especially with two mates.”
That hit close to home. What did Fiona know about Cassie? Rather, how much did she know? Cassie was curious.
“Wait, can you read minds, too?” Cassie asked, thinking of Arianna.
“Absolutely not,” Fiona added. “But I know a lot about you from Ari and Devin. They’ve both told me enough to know that you need to learn this now before we continue to talk.”
“Okay.” Cassie was dubious of what was going on. She had wanted to keep her thoughts from the guys on more than one occasion and didn’t seem to know how. Now this sidhe lady was acting like it would only take a simple phone call, and she would be able to.
“Good. I prefer to teach people in person, but since I know your mate wouldn’t like me around, I’ll have to do it over the phone.”
How in the world did she know that? Cassie wasn’t sure Jared would notice.
“Okay, can you put me on speakerphone so you can set it down?”
“Yeah, but Jared will be able to hear us then,” Cassie replied. If her mate didn’t want Fiona to visit, would he want her talking to the sidhe?
“He’s not the mate that’s the problem. It’s the other one,” Fiona explained.
“Okay.” Cassie put the phone on speaker and set it on the bed in front of her.
“Good. Then sit comfortably and close your eyes,” Fiona directed her.
Cassie did as she was told by crossing her legs as she sat, closing her eyes and leaving her hands on her knees. She could have held a phone, but she wasn’t going to complain.
“You need to start by taking a few deep breaths to clear your mind. I’ll count. Five in and five out,” Fiona paused, waiting for confirmation.
“Okay.”
“Okay. One … two … three … four … five …”
Cassie sucked a deep breath in as Fiona counted and then let it out, slowing as the counting continued. Cassie doubted breathing was all she needed to do to clear her mind, but after a few moments she was completely caught up in the counting and thinking of nothing else.
As though sensing Cassie was ready to move on, Fiona continued to talk.
“The first thing you need to do is picture something strong. For some people, it’s a house with walls where you can shut a door, for others they need stone that can’t be broken down. For each person it’s different. In your mind, you need to see it
.”
A house wasn’t strong to Cassie. She had been taken from her house by the wendigo. A stone wall was strong, but after all she had seen in the past few weeks, not even a stone wall was enough to keep her safe. There was always a way around or over it. What Cassie needed was a plastic bubble. One of those hard plastics that if you hit bent a little, but you couldn’t get through. Like she was a hamster in a ball, completely surrounded. That was safe. She liked that idea. That way she saw what was coming, but there was no way to get to her.
“Okay, you can pick up the phone, we should be safe now to talk,” Fiona told her.
“What?” Cassie asked, doing as she was told but still confused. “That doesn’t change anything.”
Fiona laughed from the other side of the phone, and it actually sounded a bit like tinkling bells. Whitney had once called the sidhe blood sucking fairies. Fiona did sound a bit like a fairy to Cassie.
“No, really. That’s all you need to do. Once you find your safe space, only really strong people can break it down. Then you have to do the whole breathing thing all over and rebuild your wall. Once you have it up, though, it’s good to go. No one is there tapping in your mind right now, right?”
“Tapping?”
“You’d be able to feel it if someone wanted in your mind without you letting them. You are safe from oversharing. Now only what you let through will get to your mates.”
Cassie looked around the room. Was it really that easy?
“But what if I didn’t do it right?”
“How could you do it wrong, you’re part sidhe? Don’t you know that the sidhe are perfect?”
“They are?” Cassie asked. She had met them. Yes, they did seem a bit perfect—no one with a hair out of place ever, perfect—but that didn’t mean they were perfect. No one was really perfect.
Laughter rang over the phone again.
“When you finally get everything settled, I’ll have to visit you, or you can come back to Triclan City and visit me. Turner said you were fun, but he loves everyone. This time, though, I think he really meant it.”
Without any idea how to reply, Cassie just kept quiet. However, Fiona didn’t seem to mind whether she responded, and just kept talking.
“Well, first off, I bet you’re wondering who I am or why I gave you that book. The book is from your father. He was my cousin, so technically you and I are cousins. Second cousins … or is it third? I don’t know. In sidhe terms, we live by family. If you share a last name, you are family, and you, dear cousin, are a Ferguson, and thus family.”
“But my name is Cassandra Booth,” Cassie replied. She always assumed it was her father’s name since her mother’s maiden name was Zeffer.
“I think your uncle must have chosen that. I’m not completely sure on the details. Devin will have to explain that all to you. I’ll explain what I can,” she continued.
“So you are the daughter of my cousin Cael. He went missing from town just about eighteen years ago. We didn’t hear from him in three years. He was found hiding in town just over fifteen years ago, and he was harboring a day human witch. He had fallen in love with that witch, which is against sidhe law. He asked to be able to leave town with her. He asked to be banished, but instead, he was put to death for treason against the sidhe. I thought he had died. On the day his body was moved to the family tomb, I found that book you have now there. No one other than me was able to touch the book, but every time I touched it, it would tell me to wait and come back another day. Years ago I asked it when that day would be. It said when I met a sidhe that wasn’t born a sidhe.”
Was that me? Cassie thought.
“I knew that book was for you when I met you days ago. I have never met a person with sidhe blood that wasn’t a night human sidhe. From the dance, I went back and retrieved the book. I’m not technically allowed on sidhe lands, so Devin had to escort me. He filled me in that your father didn’t die that day. He had switched places with an old man and his wife. In fact, your mother switched, too. They lived many years trying to find a way out of the village to get to you, but it never happened. When they switched, they became old. You mother died a few years ago, naturally of old age, and your father last summer. They did everything they could to get back to you, and I think that book must have been from them. There’s only one way to get into the family crypt, and that is if you’re family. And no one in my family knows how to cast the witch magic surrounding the book. I hope you find the answers you seek in that book. He went to great lengths to make sure it made it to you. It was almost like he knew that we’d meet someday.”
Cassie was shocked. She stared at the leather-bound pages in front of her. Her mother’s gift of sight was taken with her witch magic, but that didn’t mean she knew that all along. Her mother must have known Cassie would only meet her through a book, yet chose to be with her father. It was a choice, even if she knew the outcome.
“Devin said to tell you he’s coming to explain it all to you as soon as he can get away from everything. The sidhe world is changing, and he’s helping them along. But it means he really doesn’t get any moments to do what he wants to do. There’s a lot on his plate, but he promises to come and visit soon.”
Fiona waited for Cassie to process everything. It was going to take longer than a moment.
Cassie knew now who her father was. Fiona confirmed what she expected, but it was still strange to hear. Her father was a magical night human who could cast spells.
“This is quite a bit to take in,” Cassie finally admitted to Fiona.
“I tried to condense it as much as I could, but is there anything more you want to know?”
More? Heck yeah. There was tons more she needed to know. Where should she start? Rising, Cassie began to walk around the room. She needed to think. Obviously, she had to read the book and required time to do that, but was there more she should know. Cassie paused mid-step.
“Wait a second. If my father was a sidhe, why aren’t I?” Night humans were dominant over day humans. Fiona just confirmed the mystery even Arianna couldn’t explain. Cassie was absolutely positive she was a day human, and never once in her life had she craved blood.
“That one I can’t answer. Devin was going to try to figure that out before he visits. You should be a night human; you should be a sidhe. But you are correct that you are a day human.”
“So I’m not going to get any cool sidhe superpowers then?”
Cassie was disappointed. She had seen how the sidhe could do really cool stuff. One sidhe made a plant grow, and another made snow fall. She thought they were all spells, but now that she knew about night humans, she knew better. It was what the sidhe could do.
“If you turn into a sidhe, you’ll get something. The Ferguson family’s crest is waves. Everyone in the family can do something associated with water.”
Controlling water. That could be cool.
“Read the book. I have no clue what your parents have left you, but it was important enough that I had to get it to you. I haven’t thought of that book in years, but seeing you made me remember it. I have to think that was the spell. They wanted you to have it. If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to call.”
“Thanks,” Cassie said before Fiona hung up.
‘Everything okay up there?’ Jared asked mentally from the room below.
‘Yeah. I just had to call someone,’ Cassie replied, waiting for him to ask more about her father being a sidhe.
‘I hope Fiona was able to teach you how to do something that quickly. Maybe she’ll have answers for you another time,’ Jared told Cassie.
‘Quickly … answers ...’ Cassie began to reply and then realized that he if hadn’t heard the second half of the conversation, it would have been quick. Her magical bubble really did work.
‘So it wasn’t bad that she had to go?’ Jared added, obviously picking up on her happy mood.
Cassie smiled to herself. ‘Just enough time to talk,’ she replied.
Jared left her mind.
It had actually worked. Cassie was happy with that. With her new mental wall, it felt different to talk to Jared. She was happy to have a bit of privacy back.
Plopping back on the bed, Cassie picked up the book. She lay back as she opened the cover. Fine script covered the first page. Cassie began to read it.
My dearest Cassandra,
If you are reading this letter, it means we didn’t find a way out. I’m sorry about that. I was selfish. When your mother went into labor and got sick, I could have taken her back to the day humans, but the witches would find her. I didn’t know what they would do with you, but I knew they would keep your mother from me forever. I knew that if I brought her to my village, she could never leave. The sidhe have a law that keeps all outsiders from leaving. Neither choice was a good one. At least in the village we would stand a chance, and I would get to meet you. I wanted to watch you grow up. I wanted to raise you beside all the sidhe, my family. I wanted to be a father. You are only weeks old now, and I have to say good-bye to all my dreams. In the past few months a sidhe arrived that knows your mother is here. He has been hunting her. We know that if he finds you, they will kill you. The only thing we can do is give you to your uncle. Don’t ever think that’s because we didn’t want you. We miss you already, and will spend every last moment of our lives searching for a way to get to you. In case we don’t make it out, I’ve written this book for you. You won’t fit into the night human world out there on your own, and we’re sorry. I loved your mother more than any person should be allowed to love. You were the result of that love. Sometimes love is the most powerful weapon around. But in case love isn’t enough, I’ve filled this book with ways for you to protect yourself. This is from your mother and me. We love you, our little baby, and will forever.
Stay safe.
- Your Father.
Wiping her tears off her face, Cassie read the note a second time. There was enough changing in her life, and she didn’t need to add to it, but she was happy. She had brushed off her parent's deaths because they meant nothing to her. They gave her to her uncle and walked away, but that wasn’t the case now. They actually wanted her. Her memories again were changed, tinted with the knowledge that they tried to get to her. They wanted to raise her, not just give her away.