by Rachael Wade
As the light lessened, dulling to a dim flicker, Gavin took my hand, keeping Ava nestled against us, and led us forward. The villagers parted for us, watching in astonishment as we joined the leaders at the table. Greta and Denise followed behind, allowing us to get up close and personal with the ancient text. The book’s pages danced from left to right, stalling to reveal page one. The blank page began to stir, and a sharp, crisp golden script began to appear, as if an invisible pen were trailing ink over the parchment.
Gavin began to read the words aloud:
At once and with great relief
Amaranth is destined to turn over a new leaf
Do not delay, do not lie and wait
Search instead for the passage that holds its secret fate
Air whooshed from my lungs and I sucked in a gasp of complete disbelief. Gavin’s hand gripped mine tightly, but he kept his eyes on the page, studying the text, reading it over and over again. His lips moved as he quietly read them aloud to himself, stopping only when an illustration began to appear below the golden font. “Wait a minute,” he whispered, “is that…what I think it is?”
“The castle,” I said, my brows pulling in confusion. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Let me see, Mommy!” Ava pleaded, hopping and squeezing in front of me to peek at the table. She tiptoed, stepping on my feet as she struggled to get a look.
“Hold on, love,” Gavin said, holding her steady.
“Is this what you experienced before?” a leader asked me, wide eyes scanning the mysterious illustration.
“Yeah, this is very similar, but I don’t understand why the book’s communicating with us. I mean, it only did so before to fulfill certain prophecies.”
Gavin placed his palms on the table, his gaze glued to the animation on the page. It was still moving, still shifting and shading to create a beautiful image of the side of Samira’s old castle, the same stone wall Greta, Ava, and I had just stood next to. “The frozen souls no longer exist. Gérard is dead. What would the witches want from us?”
“Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with the frozen souls. Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with us at all.”
“That’s a possibility,” Gavin tilted his head, “but why show us this?”
“We don’t even know what it is,” the leader said.
“It’s definitely the castle,” I said, nodding with certainty.
Gavin straightened, crossing his arms. “But the message is unclear.”
“It usually is.”
“It tells us to search for a passage for some…secret fate? But it doesn’t tell us where to look.” He flipped the pages, searching for more clues, but no more text or images appeared. All we had to go by was that one picture and those bizarre lines of text. I bristled in frustration, flipping the pages myself.
Damn it, this sure did feel familiar.
Ava’s little hand pulled on my coat sleeve and she smiled up at me, her irises bright with excitement. “It’s the secret, Mommy.”
“What secret, Ava?”
“The secret,” she repeated, moving to point a finger on the picture of Samira’s castle. She turned back to me, staring up with pure, beautiful eyes, and it suddenly registered.
“The secret,” I whispered, feeling the illustration with my own fingers. Greta must’ve sensed my recognition because she touched my shoulder, her lips parting with a quiet intake of breath.
“Ava,” she said, “can you show your Mommy and Daddy that secret again?”
Ava pressed her lips together and jutted out her chin as she nodded up and down. “Yes, but only Mommy and Daddy. Otherwise it’s not a secret!”
“Will someone please explain to us what is happening, here?” one of the leaders chimed in. I was suddenly very aware of the many villagers surrounding us, drilling curious stares into our skulls. The Haven had fallen silent, so quiet the flicker of the lantern flames could be heard.
“Camille?” Gavin asked. “Yeah, please explain.”
“Oh, sorry,” I said. “Ava wandered off while she was with Greta, and she seemed to have stumbled upon some strange passageway. This is the same wall.” I pointed to the picture.
Gavin’s hand naturally floated down to the back of Ava’s neck, gently caressing her. “Ava, did you get lost?”
“Yes, Daddy. Greta lost me.” She looked up at him, innocent and completely unaware of what that one comment did to her daddy. He didn’t need to speak.
I knew.
His fingers flexed then tightened a bit on the nape of her neck, his eyes immediately traveling to Greta, who looked as if she wanted to speak, but thought better of it.
“How did our daughter wander off somewhere without your supervision?” Gavin spoke low and hard, his mocha eyes dancing with fire.
There were three things I’d learned about him since we’d crossed paths for the first time in Paris: One, he might have been reserved, but his character wasn’t to be judged by his outward demeanor. His quiet countenance meant nothing when it came to his inner strength or confidence. Two, he was loyal. And three, his fierce loyalty meant that his protectiveness knew no bounds, especially when the object of that protectiveness was his one and only little girl.
“Gav,” I soothed him, “we’ll talk about it later. Don’t be angry with Greta.” I turned my attention to the leaders. “This picture is familiar. It’s located in the castle. My daughter will take us there and we’ll report back.”
“Now hold on, just a second. We need to vote. This information—whatever you think this picture and message means—is important to all of us, and we all have a right to know.”
“Of course you do,” I agreed, “but there will be no vote on this. It’s not safe for everyone to search this passage all at once, it will only cause more commotion. As queen and king of the new kingdom, we withhold the right to be the first to see it, do you understand?”
The leaders scoffed, their shock evident, but I didn’t care. I was far from the girl I was years ago, the girl who cowered in fear and didn’t recognize her own inner strength. Sure, I might have seen a flicker of that strength back then, might have known it was there, but feeling it—really feeling it—was an entirely different thing. It had been years since I’d been that scared girl from Louisiana, and the villagers of Amaranth had spoken when Gérard and Samira’s reign fell.
They hailed us the new king and queen of the realm, and we’d risen to the challenge.
It wasn’t every day we asserted ourselves like this. We were regular villagers, commoners, just like everyone else. People naturally chose peace here, and good old-fashioned votes when it came to important issues. I guess the desire for peace had stemmed from coming from so much war. After so much bloodshed and pain, the last thing you wanted to do was pick another fight. The Amaranthians had steered clear of arguments and discord, but my demand to explore this secret passage alone could very well change that.
By the look on Gavin’s face, he thought so, too.
“Who do you think you are, speaking to us like that, young lady?”
Denise cleared her throat, stepping in front of Greta. “Sir, with all due respect, I believe you should address Camille by name. Young or not, she and Gavin are the reason we’re standing here, alive today. We created and dedicated that statue on the castle grounds to them for a reason, remember? You’d do well to keep that in mind.”
“That might be true, but they’ve never treated us as inferiors, as they are right now!”
“We declared them king and queen,” Denise’s jaw clenched as she spoke. “Let’s not forget they have our best interest at heart. Don’t you?” She turned in question, her raised chin making a show of her defiance for the leaders’ protests.
“Yes,” Gavin answered sincerely, “of course we do.” He ushered Ava to my side and stepped around the table, assuming his leadership position, the one I still loved to see him own. When it came to speaking to the people, everything he was—genuine, compassionate, and humble—really shined. People just r
esponded to him, naturally drawn to whatever it was he had to say. A quiet confidence really was sexier than a cocky display of dominance in my book, and Gavin had more than enough to go around.
“Gentleman,” he began addressing them, then swiveling in place to include the Haven’s crowd of onlookers, “everyone, we don’t know anything yet. All we have is this new development, involving the Book of the Ancients. My daughter has apparently found something that might explain whatever is happening here, but other than that, we’re just as much in the dark as you are. Please believe me when I say that Camille and I will look into this and return with a full report. We’ve been in worse situations than this together, right? I might not have handled everything perfectly over the years, during our history with Samira and Gérard, but I always did what I thought was best for our well-being at the time, and you have my word that I’ll continue to do so. Please, respect our decision to explore the book’s message alone, and we’ll return, hopefully with some answers. We won’t leave you in the dark. I promise you that.”
A rolling wave of murmurs broke throughout the Haven, but there were no objections, not even from the leaders. They’d retreated with hushed, angry whispers, leaving us with the Book of the Ancients. Little by little, the villagers began to disperse, moving about the Haven and disappearing through the exit.
“Well?” Denise asked, looking to me and Gavin. “I think that’s your cue. Would you like Greta and me to join you? Or would you rather we stay behind?”
“No, please come,” I answered. Gavin nodded in agreement. “Not all of the Amaranthians were here to witness this. Word will spread fast. We’re going to need help at the castle, keeping everyone calm while we search.”
Greta and Denise voiced their enthusiasm, and we quickly lifted up the Book of the Ancients and started for the castle. As we slipped out the Haven’s exit, a formation of ex-guards and quiet, brooding villagers lined one wall, eyeing us cautiously as our group trailed out.
“Gav?” I asked quietly, reaching for his hand.
“I see them,” he whispered back, sending a stern look to the villagers along the wall. “Later. Stay close.” He pulled me nearer to his side and continued to lead the way out of the Haven, Ava tucked tightly between us.
4
Gavin’s hand closed over the same rock Ava had pressed, triggering the stone to shift again on the side of the castle wall. He eyed the eerie tunnel with caution as the passage opened, holding Ava back while he waited for the sliding stone door to come to a halt. “Is this what you found, Ava?”
“Yep!”
“Okay, little lady. You stay right here with Miss Greta and Miss Denise and wait for Mommy and Daddy.” Gavin tossed Greta and Denise a warning glare to not let her out of their sight again and I tugged at his hand, mumbling words of assurance. After Greta’s oversight, the last thing I wanted was to leave Ava in her hands again, but Denise was with her, and what happened to Greta could’ve happened to anyone. She’d never given me reason to distrust her before.
Ava protested a little at first, but we stood our ground, insisting she stay behind. “Here, love,” Gavin said, handing me a lit lantern. I thanked him and we moved forward into the darkness, catching sight of the soft orange flicker that gave off just enough light to brighten the dirt path inside.
“How did Ava see a damn thing in here without extra light? And how did Greta lose her, Cam? When we’re done with this, I have a few words for that woman.”
“I don’t know, this is crazy. If I hadn’t been nearby, if I’d never heard her voice, she could’ve been trapped in here. I told you, don’t be pissed at Greta. I was at first, too. But it was an honest mistake, Gav. However Ava slipped into this thing, it must have been quick, because Greta said she was right there, and then she was just suddenly gone. Ava entered this passage through the conservatory.”
“The conservatory? That’s impossible. There’s nowhere to hide something like this in the conservatory.”
“Well, there must be something, somewhere. What’s that?” I gestured to the end of the dimly lit path with my lantern, spotting a long, horizontal grey slab of stone lined against the wall. It was raised and rectangular, like a box of some sort.
“No idea.” Moving closer, Gavin lifted the light to study the object, bringing a hand to the top to graze the box’s beveled edge. “Camille, can you help me lift this?”
“Sure.” Setting my lantern at my feet, I grabbed the edge and began to lift with him, struggling to get it to shift. “It won’t budge.”
“Let’s try this way.” Gavin moved to the other end of the stone box, wiggling the heavy lid edge. No luck. He released it with a sigh, plunging his fingers into his head’s dollop of dark chocolate waves. “Okay, we’ll come back to it. Let’s keep moving and see where else this path leads. If Ava entered through the conservatory, this path has to lead there somehow.”
I quickly agreed, moving to abandon the stubborn stone case, but was rooted to the dirt before I managed to take a single step. Gavin’s bag began to glow, filling the passage with radiant light. The shimmery, orange waves washed over the passage’s walls, basking them in angelic warmth.
“The book,” I said, rushing to pull the bag from his shoulder. Collecting the Book of the Ancients, I stooped to the ground and hurried to open it, thumbing to reach the front pages.
“What’s happening?” Gavin crouched down next to me.
“It’s another image,” I said, watching as one of the blank pages sprang to life. Text began to form next to the picture, but it was still transforming, showcasing nothing but a blurry mess of golden letters.
“Cam, look.” His fingers touched the image and both of our heads snapped up, first looking to one another and then to the stone box before us. “Do you see what I see?”
“Yeah, I see it. I can’t make out the words yet, can you?”
“No, they’re too blurry. Something about…a room, or womb or something?”
“Come on,” I whispered, willing the damn book to hurry up with its magic mumbo jumbo. Gavin and I focused, finally able to make out the text.
In the beginning, long before it all
A secret was hidden, deep within these walls
Uncover the truth, here in this room
Your people’s fate lies within its tomb
“Tomb?” I gulped, glancing around. “Gav…”
“This isn’t just a secret passage,” he said, looking up to study the ceiling. “It’s a grave.”
“What kind of grave?” I slowly rose to my feet, crossing my arms over my chest. A cold, slithering chill crept down my spine, and I could have sworn I felt the temperature drop. “I’m ready to get out of here, now.”
“Wait, baby, we need to do what the Book of the Ancients says. Isn’t that how this stuff works?”
“That was before. We’re not frozen souls anymore, Gav. Gérard’s positively gone. There are no witches trying to help us destroy the curse. Whatever this is, it’s not the same. I can feel it…something’s off.”
“We can’t defend ourselves like we used to,” Gavin said quietly, his gaze roaming the floor. “If this is some kind of threat, we’re at its mercy. We have to know what to tell these people when we leave this passage.”
“Tomb,” I corrected him, feeling another chill skate over my spine. “We’ll figure out what to say when we get home. I don’t care. I’m getting out of here. I don’t want to know…whatever’s in that box, I just don’t want to know, okay?”
“Cam,” Gavin stepped in front of me, taking my face in his hands, “we can’t just walk away from this, you know that, love.”
“No.” The word came out hard and cold. A stern plea. “The second we do what that book tells us, there’s no turning back. I’m not ready.” I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. “Everything’s been so good…so, so good here. Let’s walk away from this, please.”
“You know that’s not an option. Open your eyes, Cam. Look at me.”
My head
rolled forward in defeat and I bit down on my lip. I slowly let my eyes flutter open, knowing exactly what I was going to find on Gavin’s face when I did.
That soft, imploring expression of his, mixed with a trace of unwavering determination.
“I know the place you come from, remember?” he whispered, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Before me. Before Amaranth. Before him, even.”
My lips parted at his words. We hadn’t spoken about Andrew in years. I hadn’t brought him up. Not once. I had no need to.
“Always waiting for the ball to drop, waiting for the rug to be pulled out right from underneath your feet. That comes with trauma, Cam. With heartbreak. Just when things begin to feel peaceful…you think everything’s going to be stolen from you. I know you, remember?” He placed his hand over my heart, breathing deeply. “You’re the same girl you were when I picked you up for our first date—remember that?” He smiled fondly.
“Of course.”
“You were so beautiful, wearing your grey Chucks and that sexy black top. At first, you hated dancing. But you let me drag you all over Café Des Amis, let me dip you and spin you around and then you were laughing…so vibrant and strong. You’re that same girl now. The one who quoted O’Connor and Maupassant. The one who loved my chicken parmesan and who fought to the death when our friends needed us. You’re that same girl right now, only you’re even stronger. You’re the mother of our child. No matter what happens when we do what that book says, no matter what’s going on here, you still have the strength you need to follow through, because that strength never disappeared. And you know me, too. You know I keep my word and that wherever this leads us, we’re in this together. So, it’s okay to be afraid of losing what we’ve worked so hard for, here. But know that you can handle this, and that you’re never alone, okay? Never.”
“Shit,” I murmured, my gaze falling to the Book of the Ancients. “Why do you have to be right?”
Gavin laughed softly and let his hand fall from my face. I marched forward, back toward the stone case, bracing my fingers on its cool, heavy edge. “Okay, then. Let’s get this over with.”
