Thankfully, I had been training. I was far stronger than I had been the first time I walked into the Maison realm, but that didn’t really mean much since I hadn’t known what I was facing then. And for some reason, I felt like I had no idea what I would be facing now.
“We’re going where you need to go.” Alura held Braelynn in her arms, scratching beneath my cat’s chin.
“So, are we going to the same place that I went last time?” I slid the bag over my shoulders, making sure the weight was evenly distributed so I could keep up with any pace that I needed to with it on. I had learned how to do that better when I was in the other realm. So, hopefully, I wouldn’t tire out too quickly wherever I was going.
“You’ll be going into the southern Spirit territory. Same place that you went before.”
Surprised, I blinked and took a step back. It was very unlike Alura to actually straight out tell me details. That probably meant she was keeping other secrets. Because as much as Rosamond had told me to trust her—and I did—it was kind of hard sometimes to truly understand what Alura wanted me to do.
I had no idea what kind of Wielder she was, and I really didn’t know her on a personal level despite the fact that I considered her a friend. But I knew there had to be a reason she was here. Maybe it was because I was all alone and didn’t have anyone else. Anyone except for Braelynn.
My cat looked at me as if she knew I hadn’t immediately thought of her, and I closed my eyes for a moment.
It was just so like a cat to make me feel guilty, and, for some reason, Braelynn was acting more cat-like than human these days. Or maybe I was just losing my mind because it had been a year since I’d had any contact with anyone beyond the letters we exchanged. Maybe that was why I clung to Alura, this woman that I didn’t really know.
“Did you work the spell that you needed to with my parents?” I asked, my throat a little dry. She had explained to me that there was a way we could make it so my parents would forget that I even existed. She had assured me it could be temporary, though. It was similar to the memory spell that Easton had used to ensure that they didn’t notice that I was gone for as long as I had been in the other realm. The last time, my parents had sent out police cruisers and even made a stack of flyers with my face on it to let everyone know that I was missing and that they were looking for me. Braelynn’s and Emory’s families had done the same, although from what Alura had told me, Emory’s parents really hadn’t put much effort into it.
That saddened me, but I pushed those thoughts away, trying not to think about Emory at all. It hurt no matter what I thought of.
But, somehow, the memory spell had erased all evidence of what had occurred when I was gone. No one had known to miss me or put in a police report. Anyone who had seen it on a flyer or screen or anywhere else had simply forgotten about it.
I knew that was strong Wielding, forceful magic. So much that I wasn’t sure that anyone else could have done it. But the King of Obscurité had the power.
I didn’t know if it was his Fire or Earth Wielding that could do it. Maybe it was just something inherent in all Maisons. Some things weren’t elemental. Some things just seemed to be Maison.
Perhaps keeping the Maisons a secret from the human realm was the strongest magic of all.
I had read something about that in the book that Rosamond had given me. About how the Maisons were forced to stay secret because the humans wouldn’t understand. The fact that I had understood that at all when everything had first happened told me that there was a purpose. Or maybe I had just been reaching for something because I didn’t feel like I belonged. Braelynn had been the same way, but Emory had been the one to back away. Emory hadn’t wanted to believe.
In the end, she had been forced to believe. Had been compelled to feel the magic running through her veins. I didn’t know where she was or how she felt, but I knew it had to be different for her now. As if she were a completely different person.
Once again, I put those thoughts from my mind, knowing that I didn’t have time.
“So, are you coming with me?” I asked, unsure what I wanted the answer to be.
Alura shook her head, and I immediately felt disappointment, though not as much as I should have. Maybe it was because I really didn’t know her well, or perhaps it was just that she sometimes freaked me out, even with the trust we’d built.
“You’ll be bringing Braelynn with you, though,” Alura said. “She needs to be back in the realm because she can’t…no, I’d better not say anything.”
I moved forward, pulling Braelynn into my arms. She purred against my neck and then looked over at Alura with what I could only guess was an accusatory stare. Braelynn seemed to give those often. Then again, she was a cat. I really did like cats, but it was strange to talk to my best friend as one.
“I thought I was going to have to leave her behind.” I didn’t have the same disappointment I had before. Instead, I felt a little elated. I would be bringing Brae with me. She wouldn’t be alone here in a place that didn’t know who she really was, and I wouldn’t be alone in the Maison realm. Even though I knew I likely wouldn’t be alone there because someone had to be meeting me. Because if Alura were telling me it was time to go, there had to be someone waiting for me on the other side. It was probably Rosamond. Maybe even Rhodes.
I ignored the clutch in my belly at the thought of him. It had to be them. Nobody else would be there for me.
“She’s going with you, and I’m going to attach this little carrier to your bag so she doesn’t have to walk the whole way. It’ll be like she’s a parrot on your shoulder with her little head out and her little paws.” I just shook my head, laughing a bit as Alura righted the pack with Braelynn’s little section.
“On the other side, we’ll attach the things she needs, but I’m sure when you’re there, there’ll be enough supplies for the both of you. Now, we must be going.”
“But my parents? You finished with that part, too?” I knew I was jumping all over the place, but I was really worried. I had been waiting for this day for a year, sitting in place as if everything were just in stasis, on pause as my life tumbled out of control.
I’d said goodbye as if I were going on a walk earlier, but Mom and Dad hadn’t seen me. Not really. They hadn’t seen the pain in my eyes. The knowledge that I was leaving them—this time possibly for good. I loved my parents with every ounce of my being, even if I couldn’t tell them everything that had happened. They didn’t even see Brae as a cat with wings, just a feline that I called Braelynn. They thought it was funny that I’d named my pet after my best friend. They had no idea she was my best friend.
I couldn’t tell them anything without either putting them in danger, or having them think I needed to be put in a mental institution for believing in the unbelievable.
“Your parents won’t remember you, and they won’t be staying here, either. I’m going to have them and Braelynn’s family go on vacation together, maybe even a long one where they resettle somewhere else. Just in case those who don’t want a Spirit Priestess in their world for reasons of their own come to find them.”
I swallowed hard, holding Braelynn close. “You think they would hurt my parents?” I knew that there were people out there who didn’t want me to save the Maison realm. They didn’t want me and my powers to take what they thought was theirs. Not that I was going to, but they had reasons of their own that only they understood. Or maybe, like the knight, they wanted my power for themselves. For those reasons, I was glad that others were thinking of my parents and trying to protect them. But it didn’t make any of it any easier to swallow.