42 Chapter 42:

The man crackled in laughter before coughing harshly, I merely watched him closely and locked the door so we weren't disturbed.

"I have no doubt you will. However, I know you have lost your memories and no one is telling you what you need to know." The man points out and gave up trying to find a lighter. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and smirked at me. "I have something for you. To help make your memories come back."

I watched him pull out a syringe as my muscles grew tense and rigid at the sight of what could be a weapon. There was something about the man that I didn't trust, but I couldn't stand by and wait for all my memories to come back.

I haven't gotten many memories back and I left Folkvanger a week ago. Proximo said the medicine prevented my memories from coming back, what if taking this medicine will bring them back?

Narrowing my eyes at the man, I crossed my arms in a defensive position and glanced outside the window. "Why should I trust you?" I interrogate, unsure why I should put my blind trust into a man who had a black eye and caused my memories to disappear.

"I know what you're thinking." He admits, standing up and pulling my gaze back to him. "I caused this to happen. That this is all my fault." The man scoffed and peered out the window with an annoyed stance. "It's ridiculous that a few harmless Saytr's are in charge of babysitting me. The best soothsayer for the druids. What has my life become?" He grumbles while I grabbed the vase beside me for protection.

"How can you blame us? You- You saw my future and let me-"

"And if I told you then Proximo would have died." He snaps with a crazed look in his eyes when my heart dropped. We stared at each other for many moments before I set the vase back on the table and sat on the bed with a horrified expression.

He... Proximo would have died?

"It was the only way to protect you both. I owed you in the past for standing up to the druids. You may not remember helping a young man from the council. But that man was my father. If not for your actions, I would not be standing here with you." He admits while walking around and sitting beside me on the bed.

"I vaguely remember. It was so long ago." I told him when he sighed and smiled over at me.

"It was over a millenniums ago." He points out as I laughed softly and nodded.

"So I sacrificed myself for Proximo?"I ask him in a quiet voice.

"No. There was a little girl who got out and a rogue vampire killed her. Mira and Kaden were praying that you'd save her and that was when Freya and Odin had appeared. They gave you the option to trade your life for the little girl and you agreed. Then you know the rest." The man informs me when I nodded and turned to look at him.

"Where's the syringe?" I glance around the room, spying the syringe in the chair he was in before. I stood up and walked over to grab the needle. I stared at the red liquid inside the bottle, growing surer that I needed this in order to understand what happened. "Does this have any side effects?" I question him.

"Other than you'll feel a bit drowsy. No. I had a druid create this to reconstruct lost memories. It's just one of those things everyone should carry just in case a witch makes you forget how to defend yourself." He says with a distant look as I nodded and lifted an eyebrow.

"That sounds pretty detailed," I comment making him laugh and wave me off.

"Oh, you know. Falling for the wrong guy and all." The man points out before he walked over to the window and opened it. "I'll come see you tomorrow morning once you've remembered everything. See you soon, my goddess." The man nodded before jumping from the window seal.

I hurried to the window, not seeing the man in the distance when I backed away from the window and shut it. A sigh left my lips as I looked at the syringe again and stared at the liquid.

Even though I still wasn't sure about the man, I knew his words were true. I recalled someone telling me the same thing he did and the memory tore my heart apart.

Though I saved him and I ended up surviving in the end. I couldn't be more happy with the result that happened.

But now I could remember everything with this small syringe.

Staring at the syringe, I held my arm out before injecting the small needle into my arm and letting the red liquid into my system. It hurt to put the sharp object into my skin, but I felt normal other than the small amount of blood that came from my arm when I took the needle out of my arm.

"He said I'd feel drowsy right?" I ask out loud before shrugging and placing the needle on the dresser. I stretched my muscles above my head before opening our bag and grabbing one of his shirts to wear to bed.

I hummed to myself happily, excited to see if a night's sleep would bring all my memories. Deciding that I wanted a shower before I went to bed, I walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

I wonder if Proximo wanted to join me in the shower if he came fast enough back. Surely he's been gone long enough already. Hopefully, he would come back before my shower was over. I wanted to have him by my side before I fall asleep tonight.

I'd gone to many nights sleeping alone.

I was ready for a change.

With a sigh, I undressed and stepped into the shower before allowing the water to roll over my aching shoulders. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the shower door with hope and sudden exhaustion.

It felt nice for the hot water to roll over my shoulder blades while my hair stuck against me. I felt my chest tighten in a strange way as I tried grasping for the shower door but I couldn't get far before I fell to the ground.

〰 Proximo 〰

"He escaped? How?" I question, confused about how the old druid could get past his guards and everyone in the casino. Surely I wasn't the only one who suspected foul play.

"Apparently. I've checked everything down to questioning all my guards and staff. None of them have seen Fiero. Trust me, I am just as confused as you are." Claus assures me, handing me a glass of scotch and gingerly taking a sip.

"There has to be some foul play here," I mumble, sipping on the scotch and sighing. Claus sat behind his desk and placed the glass in front of him. I sat down in the chair in front of his desk and watched as he ran a hand through his short hair.

"There's no way. I would know if either of them are lying." Claus assures me making me sigh and lean in the chair.

"Alright. So have you sent people to find him? Is there anything on his position?" I ask when Claus shrugged and picked up the folder in front of him.

"So far nothing yet. Though for all we know he could be hundreds and thousands of miles away. He could have foreseen a promising future and used it to his advantages." Claus points out as I nodded and sipped on the scotch again.

"That's true. That man is crazy but very skillful. I wouldn't be surprised if the man was hiding in this mansion." I admit making Claus laugh and lean back into his seat. He tossed the folder on the desk, trading it for the glass of scotch and smiled over at me.

"He wouldn't be here. There's no way. If he had, he'd probably be hiding in a hole." We both laughed at the thought of the crazed lunatic hiding behind a barrel in the casino's basement.

I felt at ease knowing that Hrudra was safely in our room. Ever since we bounded the night we were reunited, I could sense and feel her emotions. She seemed rattled when I first left but calmed after a little while. I suspected she was asleep since she was feeling a little unwell.

As much as I wanted to run back to her, I didn't want to disturb her peace. She deserved a bit of time to herself and I was starting to like Claus a bit more.

The man wasn't nearly as bad as I suspected even though I knew he had a deep love for Hrudra. I knew it was nothing more than a sisterly bond by the way she spoke of him when telling me her adventures he'd give her.

All those adventures seemed to have rattled my insides, though Hrudra seemed to have enjoyed all her little missions enough to make her want to settle down for a little bit. She even wanted children which pleased me greatly but I was worried about Mira trying to take our lives away.

Now that Mira was on our side, I was more than happy to have children. That is once she recalls that she wanted them...

With a sigh, I closed my eyes and felt her emotions. Her ease and joy through the bond told me that she was having a better time than before. I could feel that she was awake rather than sleeping making me wonder what was making her feel upset from before.

For all I know though, she could have recalled something and it had brought back bad memories. I'd ask her about it later, but I didn't want to bug her happiness right now.

It felt nice to feel her emotions and interactions through our bond. I felt like I could live through her and she allowed me to feel what she was feeling.

I swirled the scotch in the glass in my hand, keeping my eyes closed and feeling her exhaustion through the bond. If I knew the woman, she was determined to get pampered up before getting some rest.

I opened my eyes and smiled at Claus before standing up and setting the glass on his desk. "I'm gonna call it a night. My lovely mate is calling me to bed." I told him making him laugh and nod in understanding.

"Go. I'll see you both tomorrow morning." Claus nodded when grabbing a folder and reading it, allowing me to escape easily. I walked out of his office and home, hurrying down to hallway to see Hrudra before she went to sleep as I felt a sharp pang inside me.

"Hrudra," I whisper, rushing into our room and seeing the bathroom door closed with the light coming from the opening. In a flash, I slammed the door open and noticed a shadow on the ground making my blood run cold. "Hrudra!"