Page 150 of An Enigma for the Lycan Crown Prince

That voice…

For the first time since I was captured, I can feel my heartbeat pick up its pace, almost racing against my chest, while anxiety settles in. What am I about to do? What!? I need to reach out to someone!

Why am I so useless?

Why-

My eyes meet my reflection in the mirror. It’s a small mirror, but yet something draws me in. I had raised my hand, brushing through my hair in anxiety when I gazed into it, spotting the amulet on my wrist. The gift my mother and grandmother gave me, the two goddesses! I am so stupid! How could I have forgotten that it was there? They told me in advance that it would not be possible for anyone to take it from me. It’s not visible to anyone but me.

Touching it slightly, I can feel warmth pulsating from it and filling my body. The cold fear I felt just a moment ago seems to be gone.

Don’t forget who you are,a voice whispers. It’s not Ersa, it’s the goddess herself.The binds on you only stop your lycan but not you.

The voice leaves me, but the warmth remains. It’s only then that it dawns on me that this warmth is part of me.

I am a lycan with royal blood. But I am also part deity. Ersa is my mother, Selene my grandmother. There are no binds in this world that can stop my powers. I am so stupid for having forgotten this part about myself. Reaching out towards my silver collar, I feel a sizzling pain against my skin as it burns my palms. I push the wolf side of me to the back of my mind, and instead allow the warmth I felt previously to fill me again. The sizzling subsides, my vision gets clearer again, and I can see the beings of light fluttering around me.

Well then, here goes nothing. I rip the collar off my neck in one swift movement. That was so easy. I almost want to laugh at how simple it was to free myself.

Now, first things first, even with Celeste still under the effect of the wolfsbane, I need to reach out to Elden.

*ELDEN*

It has started to rain. It’s early for a summer rain, but it does feel like one. Soft raindrops fall against the windows of Flora’s room where I have retreated to. I feel more comfortable here than at my own place. Here I have been sitting and staring at the wall, caught in my thoughts for I don’t know how long, until the slow, dripping sound of the rain pulls me out of them.

It feels like I have gone numb. Maybe it’s because I have overused my gift tonight, or because I have seen so much it just made my senses shut down.

I just don’t know what to think or feel. I only know one thing: I need Flora back. It’s all that matters. Everything else just turned meaningless. I try to think of my mother, wondering if things would be different if she were still here, andhowthey would be different.

“Elden?”

I look up staring right into Flora’s eyes. In my shock I jump up, almost stumbling over the carpet on the floor. “Am I hallucinating!?”

“No, you are not!” She smiles brightly at me.

She looks so real, standing in front of me, that I almost believe she is truly here.

“I am a dunce,” she says. “I forgot I am part deity, and don’t need to rely on my lycan side to reach out to you. Stupid, huh? But look at that! I can manifest in spirit form in front of you! Pretty cool, huh?”

I stare at her, as it slowly sinks in that she is truly here. “Wait a moment, this is real!”

“Yes, of course I am real!” She laughs; her usual laugh that sounds like soft bells in the wind. Most of all, I feel relief settle in.

“I am so glad you are well. So glad,” I say quietly.

For a moment, Flora just looks at me before her expression saddens. “You know, don’t you?” She steps forward, reaching out her arms as if to hug me. She can’t really do that, as it’s not her real form here, just a projection, but I can still feel her warmth. “How did you find out who was behind the kidnapping?”

“I used my gift.”

“You are getting really good with it,” she says quietly.

“Where are you, love?” I ask her. “Do you know? I am going to be there immediately!”

“Yes, I know where I am,” she says. “You remember that mountain village we passed by, that one time we went hiking? It’s that one. It’s the house with the red fence.”

New resolve settles in me. Having seen and talked to her was exactly what I needed to kick myself out of my depressive episode. No matter what happens, I always have Flora!

“Elden, the house belongs to a couple and the wife’s brother. They have been very kind. Their child is sick, so they were coerced into this. Don’t hurt them. Make sure Regis doesn’t!”