Chosen One (Forever Evermore #6)(34)
Sin maneuvered me the last few feet, and we turned into the room. I held perfectly still as King Collins rushed me, enveloping me in a hug around Sin’s embrace since Sin wasn’t releasing me, and my King placed his hands on my shoulders, leaning his head back, eyes darting back and forth between mine. “Are you okay, Caro?”
It was so odd hearing my name. “Yes.” I couldn’t help that my voice was void. “I’m fine.”
Blue eyebrows slammed together, his gaze running over my body in a professional manner before they quickly darted to Sin. “What’s wrong with her?”
Sin’s voice was quiet. “Shock, maybe? She hasn’t spoken, except for what she just said to you.” He licked his lips. “Something happened out there.” A gentle nudge of my foot against his, and he stuttered, amending, “She’s lucky to be alive with the gunfire and explosions.”
King Collins nodded once. “Shock is understandable.”
He started trying to pull me away from Sin, even as Sin quietly muttered, “Not for her, it isn’t.”
But I waved both of them away, twisting from their holds when they damn near started a battle of tug of war with me, letting my gaze wander about the room. My gaze first landed on Elder Jacobs. I eyed him, seeing only slight differences in his appearance these years later, his dark eyes watching me closely. My gaze next landed on the Prodigies. No, I shook my head. The Elders, their change more than Elder Jacobs, but not so much it messed with my mind too much, and I started making my way directly toward them, knowing this was the truth by their initial reactions to me in 2035, but still asking calmly, “You got my letters, didn’t you?”
Instantly, I saw them all jerk, their careful expressions altering to varying degrees as they rushed toward me.
Elder Fergus made it to me first, stopping in front of me, then he was gently lifting my chin, amber eyes filled with regret stared down at me, not hiding his emotions at all. “I’m sorry. I,” he shook his head, “we shouldn’t have abandoned you like that. We were mad, furious…but we should have been bigger than the men we were.” Amber eyes darted between mine in the hushed quiet. “After we got the letters you sent, we put our anger aside and went to your apartment, but it was empty, and you were gone. We thought you had just left.”
“Elder Harcourt arrived and abruptly took me back.” My chin trembled the barest bit, but I nodded jerkily. “I’m not mad at you guys. I understood. I didn’t like it, but I understood.”
Elder Fergus grabbed me into a bear hug, holding me tight, whispering against my head, his own voice choked, “I’m so sorry.”
“We all are,” Elder Venclaire stated directly beside us, having heard him as I hugged Elder Fergus back just as tightly, and I opened my one eye that wasn’t pressed against Elder Fergus’s chest. “We’re sorry, Caro. You were our friend.” He shook his head, placing his hand against my cheek. We shouldn’t have cast you off like that.”
“You were upset. I understood.”
Nelson smiled a bit, his eyes sad. “At least we had the letters.” He chuckled quietly. “Hitting a plant and gossip-gawking-pain-in-her-ass staff cleaning up the mess.”
Elder Venclaire mumbled, “Leaf on my shoulder.”
Elder Kincaid grunted. “Twig in my hair.”
Elder Fergus’s voice was muffled from my hair. “Falling backward over luggage.”
Elder Kincaid’s brows puckered slowly as I smiled sadly. “Caro…how did your apartment get cleaned out if Elder Harcourt just appeared and took you?”
I blinked slowly, rubbing Elder Fergus’s back, pulling away gradually. Shaking my head, stating on a hoarse voice, “Everything was there when I left. It wasn’t empty.” I wasn’t going to say anything about my last night in the past, if no one had told them.
Golden brows snapped together, and Nelson stated, “Well, it was empty of any of your belongings.” He looked thoughtful. “Maybe Elder Harcourt came back and removed everything, leaving no evidence of you?”
I shrugged a shoulder, King Collins having moved up behind me. “Alright, that’s enough,” King Collins muttered, pulling me back under his arm, sounding confused. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’d like to find out.”
He ushered me to a green couch, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around me, acting all kinds of hovering while Sin sat close, but my eyes had turned cold, the change in my emotion now that my quick reunion was done. My gaze slowly moved around the rest of the room, landing briefly on…Elder Merrick. He watched, damn near reminiscent of how he had appeared not only an hour ago to me, but forty years for him. He sat on a red chair almost in a bored manner, his head tilting the barest bit, black curls dangling over the side of his face. But, his eyes…his eyes of navy blue held only a feral intelligence as he gazed back at me unflinchingly, and nothing had changed for him, or for me, our hatred barely masked. Him, from sleeping with someone of another faction, and me, for being betrayed in the most intimate of ways.
I inhaled deeply…and quickly looked away when I wanted to rip his damn head off, placing a gentle kiss on Sin’s cheek, murmuring, “I’ve missed you.” Trying to keep cool, I put my elbows on my knees, and let my head drop into my hands, staring at the floor. One more inhale, and an exhale, then I began coolly, “Only an hour ago, it was night, and I was in 1994.”