by Bailey, G.
Bethany and I have memories but they are fading with every day. Like the painting is in my head and every day it blurs a little more until I can hardly remember how my mum used to laugh. How my dad played guitar and loved football.
“And then Skye said that they do ride horses here if someone has a horse as a familiar. It’s so unfair that Skye has a familiar and I don’t, but Auntie Courtney said I would get a familiar when I’m older just like you and Bethany. I really want a horse!” Phoebe goes on and on, explaining her entire life story in a matter of moments, and I smile at her because it is so good to have her close, even when we are in a lion’s den. I pause and place both my hands on her cheeks, watching her bright blue eyes.
“I love your rambling, Pheebs,” I say, and she giggles as I kiss her forehead.
“This way, children,” Courtney gently suggests, and she holds a glass door open for me. I guess there is no throwing pebbles in this house. We follow Courtney up a staircase and to another corridor where she shows me the door to Phoebe’s room, then we stop outside mine two doors down.
“My room is on the next floor up if you need me. The kitchen has twenty-four-hour staff, and you will find a phone in your room to call them if you need anything at all,” she informs me like a damn robot.
“They make the best cupcakes with stars on them,” Phoebe whispers to me, and Courtney grins at her for a second before cooling her expression back to normal. I’m not sure if it is sweet or scary how she smiles.
I’m going with scary for now.
“I’m afraid I am out tonight for work, but the guards know to keep the doors locked. We wouldn’t want anyone coming in here and hurting you, would we?” she says so sweetly. More like escaping. Locked doors and guards are not going to stop me getting out of here and finding Mason, Liam and Alex later.
“Of course,” I reply. “How kind of them.”
Courtney ignores my jab. “In the morning, a dress fitter will be here at six a.m. sharp. I expect you to let her measure you and choose a suitable dress for a party tomorrow night.”
“Party?” I echo.
“Yes. The Violeta house is finally restored and has a glowing future with you both under my wing. Plus we haven’t used the ballroom and back of the mansion in a long time. I expect you to show the other houses how respectful your parents made you,” she states, but her comment is more for me than Phoebe.
“Will you tell me more stories about mum if I behave?” Phoebe asks, and my heart hurts as she looks at Courtney like she is the answer to all her prayers. The real-life Santa Claus.
Courtney rests her hand on Phoebe’s shoulder, and I swallow the urge to knock it off. “I will tell you any stories you like. Now, why don’t you go and find your maid?”
Phoebe looks between me and Courtney. I don’t want her to go, but it sounds like neither of us have a choice. “But Annie...”
“Is tired from a long trip here and wants to see her familiar in her room, I’m sure,” she replies to Phoebe.
“We will catch up, alone, later,” I softly tell her, running my hand over her hair. “I will come in and tell you a fairy tale to get you to sleep like I used to.”
“Deal!” she squeals before tightly hugging me once and running off down the stairs.
“Whatever you must think of me, I do love and care for you both,” Courtney tells me and shakes her head, clearing her throat. “Family is everything in the Familiar Empire. Remember that when you meet your uncles tomorrow.”
“Why? Because they are my family too, if I’m not mistaken and you’re not lying,” I reply, and I can tell my words piss her off, as her cheek twitches.
“We all wish they weren’t, but yes, they are. Your father was a good egg in a basket of rotting ones,” she states with a cold gaze. Without another word, she leaves me in the corridor and heads down the stairs, her heels clicking against the wood. I open the door to my new bedroom and immediately see Shadow sleeping on a blue stitched rug on the floor. A dark-skinned little girl is lying next to him, stroking his face gently, and on her head of black curls sits a tiny bluebird, almost nested in her messy bun of dark curls. She has on skinny black jeans and a small white crop top over a long-sleeved purple tee shirt. Pen marks and dirt litter her clothes like she ran through a mud puddle while drawing.
“Hello?” I say, stepping further into the room, and the girl jumps, making the bird fly off her and land on the double bed.
“I’m Skye...you must be Anastasia,” the girl says, holding out a firm hand and I take it without a second thought. Skye...Alex’s sister. I see him in her brown eyes and the slight curve of her bow lips. “My brother came here for a second, and he told me I could trust you. That makes us friends.”
“Does it now?” I ask with a slight chuckle as I walk into the room. I sit on the floor next to Shadow, sinking my hands into his fur as Skye sits down next to me. The little bird flies back on top of her head. “What’s your familiar’s name?”
“Loops,” she proudly states, and I see she has the same proud nature as Alex. “And I sneak out of here every night. Want me to show you how later?”
“Definitely,” I whisper back to my new mischievous friend. “I have a feeling you and I are going to be best friends.” My thoughts drift to Raine and how I might not see her for a long time. I hope she is okay and building back the town after the fire. I don’t even know if anyone was hurt, and the very thought makes me shiver with guilt. I should be there helping them, not sitting in a rich house with no clue how I’m going to escape with my sisters.
Especially considering Bethany is clearly playing into this life like she was born here.
“Most certainly,” she agrees, and it makes me laugh despite everything. “I can’t wait to see Alex and my uncles, Liam and Mason.”
“I lived with them for a while, and I can’t wait to see them too. We should make our way together once Shadow wakes up,” I suggest as I’m so done with this place.
“Together,” she nods in agreement as Shadow wakes up. He huffs at me before knocking me onto my back and lying on my stomach. I stroke his face as he whines a little, and I close my eyes. I know, boy.
“Be ready in two hours. They change the guards around then, and it means we can use my secret exit. Though the guards are stupid, and it’s too easy to escape here. We have four hours out there before we have to be back because they do a room check,” she groans. “And I’ve learnt that if you’re not back in time and not in your room, they go mental.”
“Two hours,” I nod at the serious little girl who talks like she is a teenager. She can’t be older than eight, and she is the opposite of my younger, very trusting sister. I wonder if they get along at all? Skye runs out of my room, her bird flying after her as I rest my head back on the hard wood. The room is cold, sterile almost, with white walls, a black leather bed and white sheets. The blue rug is the only bit of colour in here, and immediately I miss the cabin.
That was my home...and one day I’m going to get us back there.
All of us.
Chapter 7
Anastasia
A first kiss to never forget…
“Shadow, you need to stay here. You’re too big to sneak out,” I say seconds after Skye walks into my room and shuts the door behind her. I’ve changed into skinny jeans, a white tee and a black coat that ties in the middle. My blonde hair is down and messy, but I couldn’t find a hairband anywhere, so it will have to do.
“Actually, Shadow is allowed to walk past the guards. He can just meet us outside,” Skye says, hands on her tiny hips. “The familiars are all free, unlike us.” Over the last few hours, I’ve learnt that Skye and Phoebe are best friends, and they get along like a house on fire because Skye is good at acting and Phoebe doesn’t actually seem to care. After Courtney took over at story time with Phoebe, Skye pretended to be fast asleep in her pink sheeted bed. In fact, the girls’ room is nothing but pink princess crap touching everything, and I get a funny feeling Skye isn’t into princess
es. I eye Skye’s black clothes, mud-covered black jeans and scruffy boots.
“Did Courtney buy you those clothes?” I ask as Shadow leaves the room, not without brushing against Skye’s side in a loving way.
“Yes, but the top and jeans were light purple.” She scrunches her nose up, and it makes me laugh. “It took me ages in the kitchen to dye them black,” she informs me. Smart kid. Though that isn’t shocking, considering who she is related to. “Come on.” I follow her out of the room and down two flights of stairs where she soon comes to a halt, whacking her arm into my chest to stop me. “Hold on, blondie. Two guards walk past in three minutes.”
“Did you just call me blondie?” I whisper, trying not to chuckle. A clock chimes somewhere in the distance, and with that, we are moving once again. We pass what I think is a spare dining room with furniture covered up by white sheets all around. We head through a door at the back of the room leading to a small kitchen, which is also empty. Skye grabs a pair of keys off the wall by the large wooden door at the back and unlocks the door. I help her push the heavy door open, and we both slide out into the cold night air. Skye locks the door and hangs the key on a nail in the stone before running off. I jog fast to keep up with her as she jumps between trees and rocks, clearly knowing her way like the back of her hand. Eventually, we come to a dirt road lit up by dim streetlights.
“We need to head down this path for about half an hour to get into the city,” she tells me.
“Is it safe?” I ask, stepping on some fallen branches and tiny stones.
“Are you scared of the forest?” she asks without a hint of judgement on her part. Damn, this kid is old for her age. I almost feel sorry for her, but she reminds me of, well, me. Bethany and I had to grow up quickly, but I can’t say it didn’t mess us up in the long term. The last time I saw my sister, she knocked me out, and then it seems like she disappeared. Bethany, where the hell are you? I raise my head, looking up as Skye’s bird flies between the tall trees, doing loops. Ah, her name makes some sense now. I lower my gaze to the darkness of the forest ahead of us, the deep shadows that lie in between them and the wolf eyes I catch flashing in the darkness.
My Shadow.
“It’s smart to be scared. It’s a normal emotion for humans and familiars. We can’t let the fear control us though,” I answer her, more for myself. Her tiny hand finds mine, and she only squeezes it once before letting go and walking ahead. The walk is silent for a long time, only the sound of our feet crunching over the branches and leaves with every step. “How long have you lived with Courtney for?”
“I was three when she took me from my sister and brother,” she answers, her voice full of spite. “Everyone knows she takes children because she couldn’t have one of her own, no matter how much she tried. Some people say she was pregnant when your mum and dad ran away, and lost the baby because of the stress. But who actually knows?”
I ponder on that for a moment. “Is she cruel to you?”
“I’m mostly ignored now Phoebe is here, and she actually loves the attention and pink crap, so it’s okay,” she tells me. “But I want to be with my real family, no matter how much Courtney is nice to me.”
“Are there other kids?” I ask.
“No, just us, but there are plenty of rich houses around here with kids that aren’t theirs. That’s why the House of Violeta is so powerful. They give the poor money for medicine and in exchange, they give the House of Violeta a debt. My mum, before she died, made a debt with your house to save my life,” she pauses in the middle of her story, her voice dropping. “I was born sick with a heart condition, just like Alex, and the House of Violeta or the House of Dawn were the only choices my parents had. They already owed the House of Dawn for saving Alex…so there was no choice in the end.”
“What would the House of Dawn have taken in return?” I ask. “What did they take for Alex?”
“Things far worse than just having your kid taken,” she whispers, like a ghost story around a bonfire in the middle of the deep dark night. Only this ghost story might have something to do with why my parents ran away with Bethany, and I need to know more.
“Like what?”
“Well, I don’t know for sure. I can’t get an adult to actually tell me because they say I’m too young and I’d get scared.” She rolls her eyes, and it makes my lips twitch. “But they are scientists who want to further the familiar race...no matter what. I guess it must be bad if people would rather give their kids away than accept their help.”
“Must be,” I whisper back, a shiver travelling down my spine. “So why is Alexander in debt to my aunt?”
“Courtney wanted to take me as a baby, but Alexander offered to be in debt to her as long as I could live with my parents until I was five. But then my parents both died when I was three, and it all went wrong,”
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “I lost my parents young too.”
“I can’t remember them much,” she tells me with wide eyes. “But I have a photo of them. I will show you when we go back.”
“I’d love that,” I tell her, and she grins. A few more questions litter around my head, but I’m saving them for Alex. He should tell me the real truth if he wants to, and I don’t want to upset my little get-out-of-jail-free kid anymore. The forest here is refreshing as we head through it, following the long path which makes sharp turns as it takes us down the hill. Eventually, we come out of the forest and right smack bang into a crowd of people. My eyes must look like saucers as I stare at the tall high rises of flats that have actual flowers and green moss climbing all the way around them to the top, with hundreds of birds flying around. In between the flats are dozens of market stalls where people flitter in and out, all of them different ages. There is so much to look at that I’m frozen for a second, just taking in all the bright colours and the animals running around the streets with the people. Their familiars.
The peace of the city. Skye’s hand slides into mine, and she drags me through the crowd, and I hang on for dear life as I bump into several people, mumbling sorry as we go. The next ten minutes are chaos as we head through the crowd until we get to one of the entrances of the flat. Skye types in a code, but the door swings open before she finishes it.
“Mason.” I barely get his name out or a second to really look at him before he kisses me. His lips find mine as we have always known each other, and the rest of the world around us blurs away.
I’d be lying if I didn’t want him to kiss me since the moment we met.
I don’t care that we aren’t alone or that our lives are messed up. Mason and me? It’s been us since the beginning, since I opened my bedroom door and my builder was there with secrets in his eyes and a big heart full of kindness despite everything.
I don’t hear the crowds of people; I don’t care where we are when Mason’s lips are on mine. He takes it all away with each kiss, drawing out pleasure from my body and soul. My legs are shaky as he breaks the kiss, but he doesn’t let me go. His warm hands stay on my hips, holding me to him.
“Miss me?” I ask, and he laughs as I finally get to look at him. Other than the blue, nearly purple, bags under his eyes, Mason hasn’t changed much, but it still feels like ages since I saw him last. His white hair is somehow brighter and softer to touch, falling down the one side of his head. The other side needs shaving, and his beard is scruffier than I’ve ever seen it. Dressed in only a black tee shirt and jeans, he still looks like a supermodel that’s escaped a mountain rescue magazine.
“More than anything, but we have a lot to explain. Will you come in?” he asks me.
“Hello, Uncle Mason!” Skye huffs, crossing her arms as Mason lets me go. “You could say thank you for bringing your girlfriend here.”
Mason picks her up in a bear hug, and she squeals until he lets her go, both of them laughing. The moment is so sweet it hurts my heart. “Thanks, kid. Are you off to see Alex?”
“Is he at the old house?” she asks with a grin.
“As
always,” Mason replies, and Skye nods, turning her gaze to me.
“I will be back in three hours, and then we got to leave for the ice palace. I.e. home,” she tells me and fist bumps Mason. “See ya!” We watch her run off and disappear into the crowd, leaving Mason and me alone. I look up, meeting his pale green eyes that say a million different things in one.
“Tell me everything.”
Chapter 8
Anastasia
A whole lot of truth.
Mason’s hand never leaves mine as we head up the worn-down stairs, passing a few men and women sitting on the steps who flash me hostile gazes and smiles just for Mason. A few of the younger women run their eyes over him, and a deep gutted feeling of jealousy makes me want to inch closer to Mason. The inside of the building is old with cracks in the walls, but overall it’s clean, and clearly the people living here are trying to make it nice. A few kids run past us, singing an unfamiliar song about familiars, but the lull of the song soothes my nerves for a second until they are gone.
“Is this where you grew up then?” I ask, and Mason shakes his head.
“I didn’t lie about my upbringing and what I told you,” he quietly answers me. “I came to the empire when I turned into a familiar. I was ten. I met Liam on my second day here, and his mum offered me a room that was better than any of the other houses. They all wanted Hex, the ancient familiar, and not me.”
He pauses, both of us stepping aside to let an older lady with two young guys go past. “Turns out my grandmother was a familiar, and my blood line is from the House of George, but more a bastard, half human line. My grandmother was a secret, but nonetheless, it led to me becoming a familiar in the end.”
“The House of George…as in Alexander George? So you and Alex are cousins, kind of?” I ask, and he nods, lowering his voice as we pass through a landing to another set of stairs.