Found: A Sage Hollins Novel

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Mom ended up having to tell Daddy the truth when we got home and she was throwing up in the flower beds in front of the library. He'd gotten her sobered up and she excused me from the conversation. My mind was wracked with anxiety questioning how my father would take the news. He had always been a gentle soul, quiet and patient. But he had always believed that he was a human man married to a human woman with a human daughter. Now he was discovering that only one of those things were true...and his wife had orchestrated a web of careful lies to protect him from an entirely other world. 

His wife was a faery, and the daughter that they had made and raised was some sort of hybrid, fated to reign Queen over a people she knew nothing about. Though I hated myself for it, part of me resented her for keeping this side of myself for me. Maybe if she had been truthful and taught me about my lineage from the start I would be better prepared for this role that was being forced upon me. However, I understood why she had kept the secret...she was afraid that if word got out that she had married and started a life with a human, she could've gotten in a lot of trouble. She was trying to protect herself, and the family she had created. 

I was sitting in the living room outside of Daddy's office when they slowly came out. They had been in there talking for over an hour, and there was a few times I heard their muffled voices raise a little bit- something very unusual in this home. They never fought or shouted at one another. I looked up at my dad with anxious eyes, taking in his disheveled appearance. His salt and pepper hair looked like he'd raked his hands through it a dozen times, and his brown eyes were red and irritated from tears. He let out a long breath of air at the sight of me, and I felt a knot form in my stomach.

"Daddy I-" I started but he cut me off by stepping forward and pulling me into his arms. I squeezed him hard, taking in the comforting scent of mahogany and teakwood on his oversized knit sweater. Before I realized what was happening my body was shaking with sobs. I hadn't realized how much I had been holding in emotionally, for the moment when my father finally knew the truth about me, and about mom.

"Honey, I want you to know," he started, his voice quivering as he held onto me, "no matter what happens, you will always be my daughter. I am here for you, whatever you need. Do you understand?" 

I squeezed him tighter, my breath catching on sobs. "I understand Daddy, I just don't know what I need. I don't know what to do." 

"That's what you've got your parents for, sweetie." Mom peeked around the doorway of the office, leaning on the threshold. She looked so tired, her shoulder length red hair was tangled, and her pale green eyes had lost some of their luster. It seemed as if this entire ordeal had actually aged my parents in a matter of hours. "We will be here, to help you figure it all out. We will support you as you navigate through this journey." 

"I know, Mom." I pulled back from dad, wiping my face with my sleeves. 

Dad spoke again, this time with a firm authority, "Your mother tells me that you've progressed this-this 'ritual' further. That you joined with that boy. Th-the Prince." I felt my cheeks fill with heat as I sent daggers at my mother.

"Uh...yes. Th-that happened." was all I could muster.

"I don't want you to see him again," he responded, continuing before I could interrupt, "at least not for another week or so. We need to see how this affects you physically. If it's true- that you'll become ill, that this whole Moon Goddess crap could cost you your life- then we need to see the evidence for ourselves."

Shocked, I protested, "Dad, what are you talking about? You want me to die before you'll let me see him again?!"

"Of course not!" he gasped, "But there is not enough written evidence to prove that you will perish. What, one case in 5,000 years? I'd hardly say that's enough to go off of. I just want to see if this theory holds any water. The second you start getting sick, we will call him in. But this is the only way to know for sure." 

That had been the end of the conversation. They wouldn't allow me to object any further, they simply sent me to my room to work on my missed homework. Apparently my teacher had called them, and that was something I needed to focus on. The idea of not seeing Reid until I got sick didn't sit well with me, in fact the sheer thought of it made me nauseous and ache for him. My arms felt heavy without him in them. 

I called Millie to see if she would want to come over to distract me, and she surprised me by saying she hadn't actually left. She had been working on her homework in the library the entire time. 

"So your dad won't let you see him at all?" she asked, incredulously. 

I shook my head, "Nope, and I'm worried. What if because we...ya know...what if that speeds up the whole process and I get sicker faster? Reid said it took the other girl five months, but she and the former prince had entirely refused the entire process. They invoked the bond, but never saw each other again." 

Millie pondered this a moment, "So, the next step is marriage, right?" I nodded, and she continued, "But you don't want to get married anyway. Do you really think that simply being near him will ebb off this moon lady?" 

"Goddess. And I don't know...but surely it would be better than forcing us apart, right?" I looked at her, hoping she would agree. She didn't. 

"I don't think so. I'm sorry, but I gotta agree with your pops on this one. This is the only way to know if you'll actually get sick. What if marriage isn't even necessary? What if your predecessors were just really modest and couldn't stomach the idea of s*x without marriage?"

Ugh, she had a point, "And the throne?"

"What about it? You said yourself, you don't want it." she said matter-of-fact. 

"Not right now, no. But that's still part of the ritual. What will happen if don't marry Reid and accept the throne? Will I die?"

"That's what your dad is trying to find out, Sage. Hear me out- what if this whole ritual has nothing to do with marriage or the throne? What if it is simply the Goddess aiding the Prince's of this kingdom to find their soulmates? What if you just got extremely lucky and was gifted with your one and only, and that is the extent of it?" 

"Then why did those people die?" I asked, my voice pained. 

"I don't know. I know less about this whole fae thing than you. Maybe it was simply because they denied the bond. Not because they didn't get married. I guess we will find out."

"But it's a gamble on mine and Reid's lives, isn't it?" 

"No, because your parents will never let it get that far. You will be reunited with your hunky blonde well before either of you are in any danger." she gripped my shoulder to comfort me. 

"I hope you're right." I murmured, deep in my thoughts. 

"I am. Now let's get you caught up on algebra. We absolutely cannot have you enter Queendom without a high school diploma." and at that she had me laughing. 

                                                                                                                                    REID

I pulled into the driveway of the Carter family estate, my stomach sick with dread. Father's car was parked directly in front of the garage door alongside Wren's. Naturally the wicked witch of the Midwest and her brainwashed fiancé had matching "His and Hers" vehicles, and they had to be top of the line- Slate grey Tesla's. 

I entered the front door into the grand foyer and began taking off my shoes and jacket, hoping to go to my room and get ready for a shower. Turning to start toward the hall, I was met by the very people I wanted to see least in the world. 

Father faced me with electricity in his yellow eyes, "Where the hell did you go, boy?" he demanded, his voice booming. 

I sneered at him, "I told you, I went to Lor's. We were working on homework, it got late. I decided to crash there."

Wren chortled, her scrawny pale arms crossed in front of her, "Oh yes, please, continue to lie to your King." 

I narrowed my eyes at her, "What concern is this of yours, Wench? I mean, Wren." 

Father stepped forward, his hands fists at his sides, "I'll ask you again, because you seem to think me foolish enough to buy your lies. Where were you?" His voice was cold sending a chill down my spine. They knew something. 

"We had dinner with the Court last night, a little gathering if you will. There were other members of your fathers employ there as well." Wren drawled, her voice thick with amusement, "Including Dr. Brennard." I felt ice sear down my back.

"She filled us in a little on your...extra curriculars." She continued, "You and Lorenzo have been sneaking around a bit haven't you? Digging through her files- tsk tsk tsk." Wren wagged a bony finger at me, eyebrows raised.

"You had your friend steal her files on the mate bond, boy. He's not speaking up as to why. So you will tell us-Why?" Father's voice maintained the same monotone malice, demanding compliance.

I struggled for a moment, hoping to come up with a lie good enough to make them believe it, "I was just curious," I started, "This is apparently something I'm destined for. I wanted to know more about it." 

"So you had Lorenzo steal classified files?" Wren's thin lips had crooked up into a disturbing grin.

"I didn't know he was going to steal from her, I thought that maybe she had texts or something. Something accessible to anyone." I lied again. I could see in my fathers broad face that he didn't buy a word I was saying. But I had to keep trying, even if it meant he beat me up again, even if it landed me locked in the cellar- I had to try to keep her safe for as long as I could. 

Father took another step, so he was standing directly in front of me, our noses so close they were almost touching. I could smell the gel in his slicked back black hair, his breathing angrily hitting my skin. 

"You listen good and clear to me boy, you do anything, and I mean anything to mess up this wedding- I will be rid of you before you have the chance to blink. You'll wish I had banished you with your b***h of a mother." he spat. He turned on his heels and took Wren's arm in his, walking her to the doorway.

"We're going to be out for a bit, son. Wedding things. But you all better be home for dinner." Wren said, looking back at me over her shoulder. I suppressed a gag when she called me her son. She brushed her inky black hair off of her shoulder and shot me a wink, trying to intimidate me. 

When they were out the door, I made my way to my room. I was delighted to find that none of the evil step-sisters had invaded it today, and I sunk into my bed, hoping to myself that Lor hadn't gotten into too much trouble. I opened my phone to find that he had sent me an SOS text- his mom had caught him digging. I sent him a message letting him know that I had told my dad that we were just curious- trying to maintain the image that we were innocent, in the very plausible chances that my phone was being screened. 

I also had texts from Sage, that I desperately wanted to answer. 

"Reid, my mother told my dad everything. He's keeping me from seeing you...for now. I don't know how I'll survive it, but I know that he is right...we need to see what will happen. I just want you to know that I'm not avoiding you if you can't get ahold of me. I love you." 

My fingers lingered over the keyboard, but I knew I couldn't, for the same reason that I needed to be careful with what I sent to Lor. My heart ached, considering not seeing her for any period of time. It had only been a few hours and I was already missing her with every fiber of my being. I knew that if I sat and I wallowed in the pain of missing her, I'd go insane. So instead, I reminisced on the memory of the evening we had just spent together, the feeling of her body joining with mine. The mysterious glow that filled the room as we completed the next step in the mate bond ceremony. My beautiful Sage...