Found (The Scions Book 2)

by Gemma Weir

  Reaching out, I cover Valentine’s hand, unable to tolerate the pain in his eyes without offering him comfort and he twists his fingers between mine.

  “The kid didn’t see his mom for what felt like a really long time and he lived in their huge castle all alone. Then he came home one day and his mom was there and she looked like she used to and the kid, he was happy and relieved. Only instead of them living happily ever after, the kid was taken from the castle and dropped in a scary place where he didn’t know anyone. The kid was scared and lonely and so he did what he had to do to survive by keeping to himself and not letting anyone know who he was.”

  His voice cracks and he clears his throat. “The kid tried really hard to get back to his castle, to his mom. He tried running away, but they always found him, and he tried begging the courts to let him stay on his own to look after himself, but instead they took him to a new scary place a long way away from where he was born. This place was even scarier, with other lonely kids just like him, only these kids were harder and dangerous. One day someone new arrived and the kid, he thought she looked more lost and lonelier than he was, so he decided to try to make friends with her. The girl looked like a skinny little fairy and the kid wanted to look after her, to protect her, because she needed him. The kid told the girl all about the castle he grew up in and all of the gold he would get when he was older, how he could look after them both.”

  Bella. The girl he’s talking about must be Bella and I tense instinctually.

  “For a while the kid and the girl were happy, they were a team. They protected each other and dreamed of running away together and living happily ever after. The girl, she had been to some scary places too, and she came up with a plan for them to earn some gold for them to use for their escape. The kid, he didn’t think it was a good idea, but the girl said that if they loved each other they should do something dangerous if it would let them be together sooner.”

  Valentine’s eyes glitter with emotion and he firms his lips into a line before he continues. “It turned out that the fairy wasn’t a fairy at all; she was really a demon and her plan for them to escape together was actually a plot to trap the kid, to tie him to someone really scary so that eventually the demon could get the kid’s gold. After that the kid was taken to a new scary place, then another, then another, but he never made the mistake of believing in fairies again.”

  “Valentine,” I rasp, tears filling my eyes.

  “Then one day the kid was taken to the house of a family that weren’t scary, and he met a Princess. Only by then he was so angry and so bitter that he didn’t see a Princess, he just saw another demon pretending. He was mean to her and he twisted both of their worlds to his own ends, to hurt her. But what he couldn’t admit was that he was falling in love with her, because when he looked past his own prejudice, he was overwhelmed with how brightly the Princess shined. She was beautiful inside and out. She wasn’t perfect, she was a little broken, only that’s part of what made her so amazing. Eventually the Princess forgave him for being so stupid and for a little while they were almost happy.”

  I watch as he gulps, lifting his free hand and brushing his knuckles across my cheek.

  “What happened then?” I ask, needing him to finish his story.

  “Then the kid received a letter from his past. His mom was free of the spell that stopped her from seeing the kid and she gave him his gold and asked him if he wanted to come back to the castle. The kid didn’t know what to do, so he ran away. He left the Princess and the family’s house and he went and got his gold, thinking that would set him free. Only once he was rich and free, he realized that he would rather be poor and be with the Princess and the family than on his own. He was too ashamed to go back, because he didn’t feel worthy of the home or the family or the Princess, so he stayed at a distance and watched their world through the window of pictures the Princess sent to him.”

  “Is that the end of the story?” I ask.

  Valentine shakes his head. “One day, the Princess stopped sending him pictures, so he decided to send her a window into his world instead. The Princess was much smarter than the kid and so she found him and came to visit him. She called him an idiot and then she left. It took the kid about two minutes to realize that he really was as stupid as the Princess said he was, and so he followed her like the lovesick fool that he was. He went to the family who welcomed him back with open arms and then he climbed in through the Princess’ window and he told her a story, hoping that she’d understand that he might be an idiot, but that he’s an idiot that is totally and completely in love with her.”

  “And they all lived happily ever after,” I whisper.

  “Hopefully,” he whispers back.

  “God, you really are an idiot, aren’t you?” I snap, a moment before I slam my lips against his. He pauses for a second and then his arms wrap around me and he kisses me back.

  Our tongues battle for a moment then the push and pull becomes a dance. We stop fighting and instead we move in time, one of his hands in my hair, the other holding me tightly against him. I climb onto his lap and lose myself in his lips, the feel of my body pressed against his and the knowledge that I love this boy and that he loves me too.

  When we finally separate, my lips feel swollen and the moon is high in the sky. “I fucking love you so much, Princess.”

  “I love you too,” I say against his lips.

  Love makes you blind and stupid and forgiving.

  We’re only eighteen, too young to be thinking about forever, but right now he feels like my future and if that’s what fate has in mind for us then who am I to argue?

  It’s taken awhile, but he finally calls Brandi and Sleaze his family and their house his home. He’s one of us now, entwined in our lives, our family, our town.

  And me…

  Broken.

  Indulged.

  Princess.

  All of these words have been used to describe me.

  But my favorite way of being described is simple.

  I’m his.

  He found me and he’s keeping me and I’m keeping him too.

  I have a home.

  I have a family.

  Both of those things I never thought I’d have again.

  I wrote my mom a letter, telling her that I was happy and loved, but that at the moment I didn’t think I was ready to see her. Maybe in the future I’ll feel differently, but right now that’s just how it is.

  I have friends. Griffin and Zeke both punched me again, then they welcomed me back. Brandi and Sleaze had another party for me and this time I actually listened when I was introduced to every single Sinner because apparently, they’re my family now too.

  By some miracle Brandi and Sleaze didn’t ground me, but they did ask if they could adopt me. I haven’t given them an answer yet, but with every day that passes when they show me how much they care about me, how much they want to legally make me a part of their family, the closer I get to saying yes.

  High school is almost over and our college applications have all been submitted; the future is knocking at our door. Nova doesn’t know yet, but I applied to every single school that she did. She thinks that fate will dictate our future, but I think there’s nothing wrong with staking the odds in our favor.

  The day I found Nova, I found myself too; hidden beneath the rubble that was my life. This town, these people, and her, they showed me that I’m not alone and the future I’m looking forward to now is all because of them.

  I’m a fuck-up.

  I’m a throwaway.

  But I am now and will always be hers and our story is only just beginning.

  * * *

  The End.

  It’s finished!!!! God, this book was the one that wouldn’t end, and honestly, only a couple of days before I typed ‘The End’, I was seriously considering that I might end up writing a third book!

  I think Hidden and Found have been the easiest of all of my books to write. These characters have been talking to me
for over a year, and the moment I started typing, the words just wouldn’t stop.

  I’m sad to have finished their story, but if you love Nova and Valentine as much as I do then don’t worry, they’ll be popping in and out of the rest of the books in The Scions series.

  Time for my thank you’s…

  As always, Andie M. Long, this book wouldn’t exist without you. I love you. Thank you for being my friend.

  Sarah Stanley, you get a mention because you’re my bestie and you live and breathe these books almost as much as I do.

  To the fantastic Kerry Heavens of Rebel Ink. Thank you so much for interpreting my ramblings and bringing my ideas to life. I adore these covers and I can’t wait to see what you come up with for the rest of the series.

  Finally, to my ARC readers, my groupies, and every other person who takes the time to buy and read my books; you are the reason my stories exist, you are the reason that I write, and I can’t thank you enough.