A Curse of Shadows - Page 71

He seems to consider this for an extra moment before he says, “At least not that you were aware of. Someone was there, in some form, or your bond wouldn’t be strong. It’s like the two of you are pulsing with new energy. It’s profound.”

Interesting. I hadn’t noticed, but I’m also not going to complain. The gods don’t typically mess with our world any longer unless we call on them first. At least not since Ocules and Aurora grew bored of their pets, as they called us, once we’d tried to kill each other off.

If they’re choosing to get involved now, then maybe getting answers from them won’t be as difficult as it normally would be.

“Are we certain that it was Estee who stabbed Isla?” Grayson asks, a deep crease between his eyes.

I nod, glancing over at them. They’re still huddled together and it seems the tears have finally stopped.

“Isla’s memories seem to be mostly back,” I tell him. “She said that it was Estee at her door with the dagger, but that her eyes were black, like she wasn’t in her right mind. Then the door closes and someone else is in the room with her. Yet she has no clue about their gender or what happened next.”

“How can she remember Estee, but not who was already in the room with her?” he asks and I don’t have an answer for him. I wish I did, but I’m beginning to wonder if the memory issues both women are having don’t have anything to do with their unusual reincarnations.

Thinking more about Estee’s darkened eyes that Isla described, there’s only one answer I can come up with, but it’s still one that’s hard to accept. Dark magic hasn’t been around in centuries. The older generation of Lunarians, the ones who have lived multiple lives, would know better than to bring that kind of evil back into our world. But if someone stumbled upon a dark object and used it without understanding the ramifications…

“It’s the dagger,” I tell him, feeling more confident about this theory as the seconds pass. “Isla doesn’t remember because she wasn’t just stabbed. Someone used dark magic against her.”

This has Grayson’s face paling. I don’t need to explain further to someone who likely not only lived while that kind of power was freely used, but as a previous Alpha King, he would have also used objects just like that dagger.

“You need to find out the moment that your father stopped sensing Isla as part of the pack,” Grayson says with muttered urgency. “He’s the only one at the time who had a complete connection to her. I know we both asked him before if he could locate her as the Alpha King and he couldn’t, but maybe alerting him to this new information will help to make sense of the past.”

Hearing his words and seeing the determination in his strong gaze, which nearly matches my own, makes me more grateful than ever before to have him as part of my family. One of my biggest regrets will forever include letting him suffer alone for so long. I should have fought harder to help him and Isla’s mother to heal, just like I fought for our pack.

I was selfish then, but not anymore.

Grayson continues, his thoughts seeming to string together quickly, making me more secure in my own. “You were convinced for so long that she was still alive. Nearly a century passed before your father could talk you into taking your place as king. You weren’t officially bonded, but I still believe the two of you shared a connection unlike most mates in our history. It’s rare for mates to be born on the same day and I don’t think it’s a coincidence, either. What if you were right? What if Isla was out there, trapped by dark magic, hidden from us? We never did find her body.”

Whoever did this better hope that they’re long dead because if my mate spent years ensnared in her own body before she passed on and reincarnated on Earth, they will serve the same fate, but worse. I won’t take their memories away. I’ll make sure they remember every tortuous second that they’ll be spending with me.

“Asher?” Isla’s voice echoes within my mind. “Is everything okay?”

She’s feeling my rage. I’ll need to get better at controlling my emotions because I don’t want to lie to my mate. Though hiding from her likely isn’t much better. But she deserves only good things in this life and I’m going to do my best to give that to her.

“I’ll be fine, but we should be getting back,” I tell her, turning around to find her eyes on me.

“We’re ready,” she says out loud, helping Estee back up and giving her a once-over. “You used your claws before. Can you shift now?”

Her sister shakes her head, keeping her stare low. “No, she still hasn’t returned.”

“That’s okay.” Isla smiles warmly. “You can ride on my wolf.”

I expect to see something from Estee about her sister being able to shift now, but she just shrugs.

“We need to use the back entrance we used before,” I explain, knowing that even if my wolf is fine with Isla wearing only my shirt around her family, there isn’t a chance in hell that I’m going to allow her to walk through the castle as she is. “Malimorte will be waiting with fresh clothes for the two of you.”

At least he will be as soon as I ask him.

Nobody objects and the three of us shift into our animal forms. Grayson’s golden wolf flanks Isla on the left and I take the right as Estee climbs on top of her. Once she’s situated, I let Isla take the lead, controlling the pace since she’s likely never had to run with someone on her back before.

We move through terrain, taking the straightest distance back to the castle. I relay my request to Mali and I also reach out to my father. I need to talk to him about the dark objects. As an heir to the throne, I learned about them during my additional teachings, but I’m hoping between my father and Grayson, they’ll have firsthand knowledge that will sort everything out with efficiency.

“I’m going to meet with my father,” I tell Isla as the castle comes into view. “Why don’t you take Estee to your old room and get cleaned up?”

“That was already the plan,” she says, and I can hear the grin in her voice. “Also, who says that’s not still my room?”

“I do.”

She might be joking, but I leave no room for argument within my tone. I won’t sleep alone again for the rest of my life. I don’t care how much she used to hate being told what to do—I won’t budge on this.