Page 27 of A Storm in Every Heart (Enchanted Legacies #2)

KASTIAN, PRESENT

I made a huge fucking mistake.

That’s all I can think when I wake up alone in my bed, my thoughts already on Odessa. I know she was here when I fell asleep, but her side of the bed is cold, and it looks as if she left hours ago. Knowing her, she probably waited for me to go to sleep and snuck out at the first opportunity.

Maybe she also realized what a terrible decision last night was.

It was a mistake, because it was far too good. Nothing that feels that incredible can ever be good for you.

Overnight, my fascination shifted into a full-blown obsession, and I know I won’t be able to handle never having her again. But that’s wrong.

Everything about this is wrong.

I shouldn’t be able to want her so much. I should feel guilty about betraying my soul-bond, but I don’t. Technically, I shouldn’t have even been capable of touching her while bonded to someone else. So, what does this mean?

I sit up and squint around my destroyed bedroom. It somehow looks even worse than last night—truly giving the impression that a storm tore through here leaving only wreckage behind.

There’s probably a metaphor here somewhere, but I can’t find it right now.

I swing my legs over the side of my bed and try to avoid stepping on the broken buttons and shards of a lamp I don’t recall breaking as I make my way to the wardrobe. I’m oddly resolute—confident, even—as I dress quickly and climb the stairs up to the third floor.

I’m not entirely sure what I’m planning to do. I know this can’t happen again, but I must be a masochist because I still want to talk to her.

I reach the top of the landing, my heart thudding in my chest as I stop in front of Odessa’s door.

Taking a deep breath, I knock softly and brace myself, waiting for the familiar clatter of her navigating her messy room, but there’s nothing.

Silence greets me instead. I knock louder. Again, there’s no answer.

Cautiously, I test the doorknob.

It turns easily, but I need to lean heavily against the door to push it open.

Clothes, shoes, books, and papers clutter the floor and obstruct the door.

For someone like me who thrives on order, Odessa’s room should be revolting.

I know I must be really far gone because the chaos barely registers with me. “Dessa?”

I know before I’ve finished speaking that she’s not here. My heart skips a beat as I scan the empty space, my gaze zeroing in on the green glass bottle sitting alone on the windowsill. A sense of unease settles over me.

Deep breath in…

Deep breath out…

If Odessa isn’t in her room, there aren’t many other places she might be. She could be by the lake or having breakfast with Alix. I shut the door and head downstairs.

When I enter the kitchen, I find it already full.

Daemon sits hunched over a plate of fried eggs.

Alix is beside him, animatedly discussing something with Jett across the table.

Fox, silent as ever, leans against the counter, cradling a steaming mug of herbal tea in one large hand.

Even Aurelia is here, sitting on the counter in Fox’s shadow and kicking her feet as they dangle above the floor.

Everyone is here except the one person I care about finding.

Daemon glances up at me, his eyes narrowed. “Morning,” he mutters darkly.

“Where’s Odessa?” I ask without preamble.

Jett grins widely. “Shouldn’t you know?”

“Shut up,” Daemon and I snap at the same time.

Jett rolls his eyes and takes a large bite of his breakfast, his sarcastic reply coming out garbled around his food. “If you’d ‘shut up’ last night, then I wouldn’t have anything to comment on, would I?”

I pointedly turn away from him and focus on Daemon. “Just tell me where she is.”

My best friend’s brow furrows, and he shifts uncomfortably in his seat, glancing away as if searching for an escape. “Don’t fucking drag me into this. I don’t care what you do with Dessa, but I don’t want to know anything about it.”

Alix turns in her chair to face me, blocking Daemon from view. “We haven’t seen her. We thought she was with you…and maybe she changed her mind about leaving?” she raises a hopeful eyebrow.

I frown. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it. Somehow, the idea that Odessa might still leave after last night completely fled my mind. Like it was so inconceivable, it didn’t even warrant thought.

I’m a fucking idiot.

“Where’s the emissary?” I ask.

“They already left,” Aurelia says lightly.

I look at her so fast that my neck cracks. “What?”

Aurelia hops down from the counter and crosses her arms over her chest. “She left this morning when it was barely light out. I helped her carry her things down.”

“Why the hell would you do that?” Daemon barks.

Aurelia nonchalantly shrugs and inspects her nails, seemingly unaffected by his harsh tone. “Why wouldn’t I? It’s not my job to hold anyone hostage.”

“Wait, so they’re already gone?” Alix exclaims, jumping to her feet. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You didn’t ask,” Aurelia says brightly. “And I told her I wouldn’t tell…but I’m a romantic. Sue me.”

I blink rapidly at her—I never have any idea what Aurelia is talking about, and I don’t have the energy to sort it out now. Not when I can feel the beginnings of panic thundering through my chest.

“How did she convince the emissary to leave without saying a formal goodbye?” Alix demands of the room at large.

Daemon’s eyes widen. “She could have just asked him.”

“Compelled him, you mean?” Fox grumbles, entering the conversation for the first time.

“Right, but she rarely does that.” Daemon glances at me with a slight accusation in his expression. “At least, she didn’t before now. What the fuck did you?—”

“Stop it,” Alix cuts him off firmly. “Dessa wouldn’t just leave without saying anything…right? There wouldn’t be any point; she was leaving today anyway. Jett was going to go with her.”

With anger and an unexplained panic rising in my chest, I turn on my heel and march out of the kitchen toward the front door.

“Where are you going?” Aurelia calls after me.

“To look for Dessa.”

“There’s no point! I told you, they left already.”

I hear her, but I don’t care. I need to check absolutely everywhere. I can’t believe Odessa would actually leave like this.

Except, why can’t I believe that?

She was perfectly clear last night about the fact that she intended to go—that she wanted to do something useful and that whatever happened with us was a one-time event. She told me exactly what she wanted. It just isn’t what I want.

I ball my hands into fists as I step out into the courtyard in front of the manor, my thoughts already racing. Rationally, I know that this is a firm dismissal on her part and I need to accept it calmly.

Except that “rational” and “calm” are two things I can’t even remember how to be at the moment.

It must be the siren magic.

That has to be why. Because there’s no other rational explanation for why I feel so bizarrely possessive of Odessa, when she’s gone out of her way to avoid and ignore me for over a year.

There’s no other reason why I suddenly can’t stand the idea that she might be in danger.

That has to be the reason my wings appeared last night. That must be the reason.

The door bursts open behind me, and Jett strides outside, Daemon right behind him. They’re mid-conversation, and I only catch the end of what Jett is saying. “—just run back to the barracks and pack. I can leave in less than an hour and can probably still catch them.”

I turn on my heel. “What are you talking about?”

Jett runs a hand through his messy black hair and turns to walk backwards toward the barracks. “If Odessa really left with the emissary, then they’ll have to take the train. If I leave now, I can probably still catch them at the station.”

“I’ll go with you,” I say, aggression leaking out of my tone.

Daemon claps a hand on my shoulder. “You can’t, mate.”

I throw his hand off and glare at him. “Don’t fucking pull this with me, Daemon. I don’t want to fight you, but I will.”

Daemon raises both his eyebrows and puts his hands up. “Easy, Kas. I don’t want to fight with you either—partly because I’d put you on your ass.”

He’s obviously joking, trying to lighten the mood, but I don’t crack a smile. “You want to fucking test that?”

“Absolutely not,” he says lightly. “Calm down and think about this. We’re talking about Hydratta, remember? You can’t go there. If even a single guard spotted you, it would be an instant death sentence. Unless you think you can take on an entire army alone?”

I press my lips together in a flat line. I want to point out that I never told him to “calm down” when he was so obsessed with keeping Alix safe that he made Fox, Jett, and me watch her door around the clock.

But isn’t that kind of the point?

Alix was Daemon’s soul-bond, and Odessa isn’t mine. This isn’t like me. I don’t act irrationally. I don’t pick doomed fights I can’t win, and I definitely don’t challenge Daemon’s leadership.

Deep breath in…

“I won’t go to Hydratta,” I say on an exhale. “Jett just said he’s going to catch up with her on the train.”

“And you’re really going to turn around and come home after that, are you?” Daemon says skeptically.

No.

“Yes,” I insist through gritted teeth. “I just want to make sure she’s alright.”

Daemon stares at me with obvious skepticism and exasperation on his face, and I suddenly know exactly how I must have looked last year when he was trying to convince me to lock him in a bathroom to keep him away from Alix.

I really don’t like the comparison.

L ess than an hour later, Jett and I set off on horseback in the direction of the train station.

I’m anxious as we ride side by side through the woods, even though we’re already traveling as fast as is reasonable given the uneven ground.

It’s impossible to know how far ahead of us Dessa is, and Aurelia’s estimations of the time based on the shadows on the wall were enough to make me pull my hair out.