Caleb moved to stand behind her and she leaned back, nestling against him. “I will never hurt Elise. I will never break her heart.”
“And Karros has found true happiness with a woman who will love him as intensely as he loves her.” Elise swallowed down her tears. “We need your help to make that happen. If not, then he might lose another love. This time in the most tragic of circumstances.”
“Well then. We’d better begin.” Hannah hugged her granddaughter briefly before letting her go. “I’ll get the ingredients we need to help you dream walk. Elise, you can help me. I’d like to pass some of my knowledge on to you. It’s a pity you don’t like making potions as much as you like making food.”
Caleb’s shoulders sagged forward as relief flooded him. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing the sister he’d only just found. Not when he and Caleb had lost so much already.
Chapter Twenty-Seven – Elise
“So, he’s the one?” Hannah scanned the wooden shelves before her, picking up ingredients for the dream walking potion.
“He is.” Elise held the ingredients her grandmother passed to her. “Are you disappointed?”
“You’ve found love. Why would I ever be disappointed in that?” Hannah pointed to a higher shelf. “Can you reach the namjil juice?”
“Sure.” Elise placed the items down on the table behind her before standing on her tiptoes and reaching for the purple namjil juice. “Here.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” Hannah grabbed a couple of vials off a lower shelf and placed them on the table. “Do you think I’m disappointed?”
“I don’t know,” Elise answered honestly, her Grandma Hannah had a way of figuring out if you were telling the truth with her laser-sharp stare.
“Elise, I have always been proud of you. I love your passion for cooking even though I would love for that passion to have been directed to the fae arts. My own mother didn’t want me to learn the arts. She wanted nothing more than for me to become the wife of a man with a good status in the court.” Hannah popped the top off one of the vials.
“I didn’t know that.” Elise fetched a mortar and pestle and ground up some talica seeds.
“She used to make me go to court and parade me around as if I were a pig at the market.”
Elise giggled. “I think I’d describe you more of a beautiful bird, maybe a Jabavel.”
“Thank you.” Her grandma bowed her head. “My point is that I have been where you and Karros are now. The knowledge I wish to give you, what I learned from those days, is that our families often act out of love and kindness. Not malice. My mother came from a poor family. When she was a child, the other children used to look down on her because she never had the right clothes or shoes.”
“She was trying to protect you.”
“Me and my children. She’d seen her own mother’s heartbreak at not being able to provide for her daughters. My grandfather died when she was still young.” Hannah added the ground talica seeds. “She wanted to cushion me from that.”
“But you didn’t go along with your mother’s wishes.” Elise handed Hannah another vial.
“I married well. But I married for love, too. For me, love was the most important thing. I couldn’t have lived with a man I didn’t love. I couldn’t marry a man who wouldn’t support me and my thirst for knowledge of the fae traditions.” Hannah raised her eyes and stared at Elise. “Do you think Karros would have been happy with Flora?”
“Yes.”
“Really?” Hannah’s eyes bore into Elise.
“Yes. I do think he would have been happy. Not in the way he deserved but he could have found a way to make it work.” She smiled shyly. “At least that’s what I believed until he met Zara.”
“And you met Caleb.” Hannah’s eyes twinkled. “The way you look at him makes my heart swell. You are a lucky woman. He adores you.”
“I never thought I would ever feel this way about a man. I had given up on having a family. All I wanted was to pursue my career. Then I met Caleb and it all changed in an instant. Which was scary.” Elise leaned on the table watching Hannah put the finishing touches to the potion.
“Love is supposed to be scary. It’s supposed to consume you like flames but also comfort you like a warm blanket on a stormy night.” Hannah placed her hand on Elise’s cheek. “You’re glowing. Sylvie can see it, too.”
“Does that mean Karros and I are not going to be banished or disinherited?” Elise asked.
“Not by me, and I suspect Sylvie will come around. She just needs to make you and Karros work for her forgiveness first. As for your parents, I’ll talk to them.” She tilted her head to one side. “I am the wise woman of the wildwood after all.”
Elise slid her arms around Hannah’s neck. “The wisest woman of the wildwood.”
“Okay. I have to add the secret ingredient to the dream walking potion.” She closed her eyes and placed her hands over the small ceramic pot into which she’d placed all the ingredients. Elise watched and listened as Hannah infused the potion with her magical essence. For a moment the potion glowed, the contents swirling around as if they were being stirred.
“Is it done?” Elise asked as Hannah opened her eyes and fetched two small silver goblets from the shelf behind them.
“It’s done. Although I can’t guarantee it will work. Dream walking is not something that can be forced. I can guide them back to where they need to be but remembering is up to them. If they think it’s too painful, their minds will keep the memories locked away.”
“They’ll face their pain and their fears for their sister.” Elise inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly as she steadied her nerves.
“You’re scared for them.” Hannah placed her hand on Elise’s shoulder. “Whatever they remember, they’ll cope with it because they have you and Flora to comfort them. And protect them.”
“We should go and get this over with. I’m worried for Karros, he stayed at Zara’s side. If anything happens to her, he’d never forgive himself but he’s no match for a shifter if that’s who is after Zara.” Elise picked up the two silver goblets.
“Your brother has a fierce heart, I’ve seen how he watched over you. He’s also incredibly resourceful. He’ll keep Zara safe.” Hannah followed Elise out of her workroom and back into the living area of the cabin where the atmosphere was still frosty.
“We have the potion ready.” Elise paused before she passed one cup to Aiden and then the other to Caleb who was standing by the window, staring out into the darkness. “Are you both sure about this?”
“Yes.” Caleb’s fingers brushed hers as she handed him the cup. “We’ll be okay.”
“I’ll be right here if you need me.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
“That’s why I know we’ll be okay,” he replied.
“What do we do?” Aiden asked from the sofa where he was sitting next to Flora who clung to his arm, as if she were scared to let him go.
“Grandma Hannah will guide you.” Elise turned to face Hannah as she entered the room. “She’ll be there with you and can pull you back if it gets too scary.”
“Flora, if you move to the chair, Caleb, you sit next to your brother. I can direct you back to the time you need to remember. I just need a few brief details from you.” Hannah beckoned to Elise and together they moved a low padded footstool toward the sofa.
Once she was satisfied with the position of the footstool and had asked Aiden to shuffle closer toward Caleb, Hannah sat down. Flexing her fingers, she placed one hand on each knee and leaned forward slightly, her focus switching from one brother to the other.
Elise held her breath as Hannah spoke quietly to the twins, who guided her back in time to where they needed to go. To a time they couldn’t remember. Her heart ached for the two young boys who had lost their parents.
“They forgot they had a sister?” Grandma Sylvie’s voice made her jump. How had she gotten so close without Elise realizing it?
“Ye
s. I think they were so traumatized over what happened, they pushed the pain away as a coping mechanism.” Elise wiped her hand across her eyes. “It scares me. The thought of them opening themselves up to that pain is unbearable.”
“I can only imagine.” Sylvie’s brows knitted together. “And they think whoever was behind their parents’ deaths was behind their kidnapping from the foster home?”
“Yes. But no one knows for sure, which is why they need to remember.” She covered her mouth with her hand as Hannah told them to drink the potion and close their eyes.
In a calm voice, Hannah guided the twins back in time, probing their minds until they were right where they needed to be.
“Now, I want you to open the door and let yourself remember. It’s all in the past. No one can hurt you.” Hannah sat in silence while the twins unlocked their memories.
The room was deathly quiet. It was as if they were all afraid one sound might break the spell and ruin Caleb and Aiden’s chance of unlocking the secrets in their heads.
Then Caleb’s shoulders jerked forward, and he grasped the edge of the sofa cushion with his hands. He sucked in a deep breath as if he were struggling to breathe and Elise darted forward, only to be restrained by Sylvie.
Elise swung her head around to look at her grandma, ready to pull away and go to her mate. But Sylvie shook her head, her eyes misted with tears as she wrapped her arms around her granddaughter and held her close.
Tears rolled down Elise’s cheeks as she clasped her hands around Sylvie’s arms and held onto her. Her grandma was right, she needed to let this happen. She had to set her own feelings aside in the same way the twins were setting their feelings aside for the sake of their sister.
“How much longer?” Elise whispered as the clock on the wall ticked on endlessly.
“You know better than to ask that question,” Sylvie whispered in reply.
Grandma Hannah stared at the twins, her hands on theirs as their eyes moved beneath their lids as if they were experiencing REM sleep. Could she sense if they were okay? Would she wake them if the twins became too stressed?
Caleb opened his mouth and sucked in air as if he’d been drowning. Hannah grabbed his hand and pulled him forward, whispering in his ear. His eyes opened and he sagged back against the sofa, a sheen of sweat on his forehead.
Grandma Hannah got up and leaned forward, whispering in Aiden’s ear. With a shudder Aiden’s eyes opened and he blinked as he focused on the room around him.
“The dream has ended,” Grandma Hannah told them. “You will remember what you saw. Your dream walk is now part of your memory.”
Grandma Sylvie let go of Elise and got up. “I’ll fix us all a drink. I think we need it.”
She went to the kitchen area and grabbed some glasses and a bottle of whiskey Grandma Hannah kept for medicinal purposes. The glasses clattered together as she carried them in on a tray which she set down on a side table.
“Elise, there are some freshly made cookies in a container on the counter. Why don’t you fetch those, too?” Grandma Hannah instructed as she got up from her footstool and placed her hand on her lower back.
“I’ll get them.” Elise darted out of her seat, grabbed the cookies and returned to the living room. “Here.” She pulled the lid off the container and thrust the cookies under Caleb’s nose.
“Thanks.” He put his hand to his temple and yawned as he took a cookie.
“Aiden.” She offered him a cookie as Flora knelt by his feet, her face a mask of concern for her mate.
“You should eat something,” Flora told him. “It’ll help ground you.”
“I don’t feel much like eating.” Aiden reached for a cookie, his face pale as he took a bite.
“Drink, too, and then you can go rest,” Grandma Hannah told them.
“We have to get back to Wishing Moon Bay,” Caleb replied wearily.
“You should rest,” Elise urged.
“No, we need to go visit Oscar.” Caleb ate his cookie and sipped his liquor, the color slowly coming back to his cheeks.
“So, you remember?” Elise’s throat constricted as she swallowed down her emotions. Of course they must remember, they both looked as if they were in shock.
“I remember everything,” Caleb replied hoarsely.
“Everything?” Aiden asked.
“Yes. Do you?” Caleb half turned to look at his brother.
“I remember our family.” Aiden’s eyes glistened with tears. “I remember Mom and Dad and Zara. I remember being sad after they died and living with our aunt and uncle.” He stopped talking and rested his head in his hands.
“Don’t force yourself to remember if it’s too painful.” Flora wrapped her arms around her mate.
“It’s painful, but it’s also…” Aiden placed his hand over his heart. “It fills me with such happiness. It’s like I have them back in some small way.”
“And do you remember who took us?” Caleb whispered.
“No. I got lost in the rest of it.” Aiden coughed and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Caleb reached for his brother and hugged him. “I’m just grateful we got to remember Mom and Dad and baby Zara.”
“Will you tell us what you remember?” Elise asked quietly.
Caleb let go of his brother and reached for Elise’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “I will.”
Elise leaned forward and kissed the back of his hand, needing her mate to know she was there for him. Whatever he remembered, she would be by his side as he dealt with it.
Even if he planned to track down the person who hurt them and bring him to justice.
Chapter Twenty-Eight – Caleb
“Caleb.” Elise’s soft voice pulled him out of the past and back to the present.
“I drifted off.” He blinked, trying to clear his head as he tried to make sense of what he’d seen when dream walking.
“You did.” She brushed her fingertips across his forehead. “Do you want to go lie down? Perhaps if you rest and sleep for a while, you’ll feel better.”
“No.” He shook his head, adamant that rest was the last thing he needed. “I want to go see Oscar.”
“That can wait until tomorrow.” Grandma Sylvie studied him closely. “You don’t have to prove you’re a hero or anything.”
“That’s not what this is about,” Caleb replied. “It’s about keeping Zara safe.”
“Why don’t you tell us what you saw? What you remembered?” Grandma Hannah prompted as she set down a tray of hot tea on the footstool. “Here, drink this. It’s an herbal mix that’ll help clear your head. But I agree, you should stay here for the night.”
Caleb shook his head once more. “The sooner we speak to Oscar, the sooner we can deal with whoever is stalking Zara.”
“And you have the information we need to do that?” Aiden’s eyes were red-rimmed as if he’d been crying as he entered the room. He’d gone outside for some fresh air with Flora after getting shakily to his feet.
“I do.” He closed his eyes. “I can remember his face. I remember the apartment where we were found.” He tilted his head to one side as he plucked the memory out and examined it closely. “I can see the inside. I can remember a phone call the guy had.”
“And how does this help?” Elise asked. “You know where you were found. The police have that information. As for the face and the phone call, it only helps if the police can match it to someone in their database.”
“The phone call is key. But there’s something else.” Caleb turned to Aiden. “We went through the file together. There was an item of evidence mentioned. A small toy they found that didn’t belong to either of us.”
“Yes. The police assumed it belonged to another child that might have been taken before us.”
“It wasn’t. At least I don’t think it was.” Caleb inhaled deeply. “I think it belonged to Murray’s daughter.”
“Murray? Who is Murray?” Aiden slumped down on the
sofa next to Caleb.
“I… The name just came to me.” He tapped the side of his head. “Just like that.”
“That is a side effect of dream walking,” Grandma Hannah told them. “New memories might slip in. As you go over the events, you’ll suddenly recall a small detail that wasn’t there before. Our minds are miraculous things.”
“So, Murray. He had a child?” Elise prompted.
“He did. And the toy belonged to her.” Caleb frowned. “He had a conversation with someone on the phone. About the child. Someone was angry with him. He’d promised to do something…” He groaned. “I don’t remember.”
“Don’t worry.” Aiden reached for his brother and pulled him close, patting him on the back. “This might be enough.”
“Do the police have the toy?” Flora asked. “If so, we can do a location spell.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” Caleb reached for a cup of tea from the tray. “That’s why I want to go straight to Oscar’s house now.”
“Wait.” Elise put her hands up. “Why not just call Oscar? If he hasn’t already got the evidence, there’s no point in you going over there right now. It’s late and he won’t be able to do anything about it tonight.”
“But he might be able to figure out who this Murray is. If he’s connected to the guy he thinks murdered our parents then it should be easy to track him.” Aiden drank some of the tea, too.
“And none of this can be done by phone?” Flora stood in front of the twins with her hands on her hips. “Seriously. Think about it.”
“You can call Oscar, get a good night’s sleep, and then we can go home tomorrow. You’ll be much more useful if you’re well-rested.” Elise chewed the inside of her cheek as she stared up at Caleb. “Please.”
She placed her hand on his knee, her eyes imploring him to be sensible, to do as she asked.
We should rest, his bear said. This has been a great shock. There’s so much to process. Not just about Murray, but our parents, too. And Zara. We can remember her as a baby. You and Aiden sat on the edge of the bed cradling her when she was born. Our mom and dad, they were so proud of us all.
Fae-ted to the Bear: A Wishing Moon Bay Shifter Romance (The Bond of Brothers Book 4) Page 20