Page 33 of Chaos Carnival (Cirque de Sanguine #2)

Chapter 32: Family Bound

Maverick

The silence in the living room pressed down like a thousand dragons on my shoulders. Stone's massive frame blocked out the window, his knuckles white on the frame as he stared into the onyx night. Lux hadn't moved from his vigil against the wall, the shadows under his eyes a reminder of all our sleepless nights. Addie sat on the couch, her sketchbook open but untouched in her lap. The hollow look on her face spoke of weeks of worry that had settled into a bone-deep exhaustion. She'd stopped crying days ago, moved past tears into something worse—a quiet resignation that made my chest ache.

“Even Shakespeare never wrote a silence this heavy,” Oscar murmured from his perch on the mantle, his usual theatrical flair subdued. “And I would know. I lived through all his tragedies.”

I traced the burn marks on my palms where she'd dissolved through my fingers, the phantom sensation of her form lingering in my touch.

Three weeks since the circus. Three weeks of searching every corner of the world, of screaming her name into the void until my voice gave out.

Three weeks of nothing but the hollow echo of failure.

The apartment was a mausoleum of tiny tortures. Her coffee mug mocked me from the kitchen counter, that perfect crimson imprint of her lips preserved like the last kiss we never got to share. Her fragrance clung to everything—jasmine and magic and fear—driving my senses into a frenzy of desperate yearning.

Her sketchbook lay splayed open on the dining table, the half-finished designs a testament to interrupted dreams. I couldn't bear to close it, as if leaving those pages open might somehow draw her back to complete them. The pencil still rested exactly where it had last rolled from her fingers.

We'd hardly spoken these endless days, each lost in our private hells. Stone maintained his relentless watch, muscles coiled tight as if ready to spring at the slightest ripple in the air. Lux disappeared into ancient texts, searching for any whisper of someone being consumed by the universe itself. Addie baked until the kitchen overflowed, then collapsed into silent grief when there was nothing left to do but face the void she left behind.

I'd phased across continents, haunting every place she'd ever dreamed of seeing. Tokyo's neon-lit streets at sunrise. The rain-slicked cobblestones of Amsterdam at midnight. The ancient stones of the pyramids burning gold in the dawn. Each time praying she'd reformed there, following some cosmic breadcrumb trail of desire. Each time returning empty-handed to watch hope die in their eyes all over again.

The mate bond throbbed like an open wound, stretched gossamer-thin but refusing to break. She was out there somewhere, everywhere, nowhere—lost in the darkness she'd tried to manipulate. Magic that had whispered sweet promises, until they devoured her whole.

My fault . The knowledge ate at me like acid. I'd left her alone when the madness still flickered through her mind. Let her face Ivan without me. Failed to protect her when she needed me most, too distracted with spoiling her to see how deep the thread-sickness had gone.

Now she was scattered across the universe like stardust, and I was left here, drowning in the wreckage of all my mistakes.

“Maverick?”

Her voice drifted through the room like a hazy dream. I shot to my feet, heart pounding. “Tess? Where are you?”

“I... I don't know.” She sounded distant, confused. “I can sense you all, but everything else is... nothing.”

Addie pressed her hands to her mouth, blinking fresh tears from wide, disbelieving eyes. Stone and Lux moved closer, both scanning the room.

“Come back to me, monstre,” I pleaded. “Just follow my voice.”

“I don't know how.” Her words echoed strangely, as if coming from everywhere.

“Focus on me,” I said, reaching out into empty air. “On our bond. You can feel it, right?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “You burn so bright. But I can't... I'm losing...” Her voice began to fade.

“Tess? Tess!”

But she was gone again, leaving only silence and the bitter taste of hope in my mouth.

The room seemed to collapse inward, suffocating under the impact of her absence. My outstretched hand shook, fingers curling into a fist as if by sheer will I could grip the bond and pull her back. It still thrummed faintly, tenuous as spider's thread, tied to something fragile drifting further away with every heartbeat. My chest ached, the mate bond stretched to its breaking point, a reminder that she was out there—somewhere—but slipping further beyond my reach.

“LILITH!”

The scent of lemon and wine wafted from the kitchen as she appeared in the doorway, a glass of red in one hand, a glossy magazine pinched between thumb and fingers with the other. “You bellowed?” Her voice was low, a mixture of annoyance and something softer—pity, maybe.

“Lil.” My voice cracked. I swallowed hard. “We heard her. Just now.”

The magazine tumbled from her fingers to the floor, her brows arching as the wine glass froze midway to her lips. “You heard her? She spoke to you?”

“She said my name,” I said, pacing. “She said she can feel us, but she’s lost. How do we find her? I need to know how to get her back.”

Her expression darkened as she set the wine glass aside and rose to her feet. “That’s no small feat, Maverick.” She hesitated, her gaze piercing through me as though weighing my resolve. “I’m afraid it’s up to her.”

My temper frayed. “What do you mean ‘up to her’? She’s stranded, Lilith. She doesn’t know how to come back.”

Her head tilted, her hair catching the dim light as she looked past me, staring into the space I’d just torn through. Her lips pursed, a flicker of thought crossing her features.

“What?” I demanded, stepping into her line of sight. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m not sure,” she murmured. “But if you could hear her, then maybe you can do more than that. Maybe you can guide her.”

“How!?” My voice was edged with desperation. “Fuck, tell me how!”

She exhaled sharply, rubbing her temples as though I was exhausting her just by being here. “She’s unraveling out there. You can’t just yank her back like a misplaced suitcase. You have to calm her—help her center herself. She needs to find the right state of mind. Light, easy, free.”

“Rather like threading a needle in the dark,” Oscar observed from the mantle. “One must have a delicate touch, or the thread slips away entirely.”

My pulse hammered in my ears. “How the hell am I supposed to do that when she’s not even here?”

Lilith sighed, frustration flashing across her elegant features. “I might be able to help. But it'll take more than just you. She's tethered to all of you—you're her anchors. You, Stone, Addie, Lux. Her family.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” I turned toward the others.

Stone pushed away from the window, his dark eyes narrowing into slits as he took in Lilith's presence. “You can't seriously be suggesting we trust her with this.” His voice was sharp, like the crack of a whip.

“She's our best bet to help get Tess back,” I insisted, stepping between them.

“Is she?” His tone dripped with skepticism, his broad shoulders squaring as he loomed closer. “The last time we trusted a demon's help—“

Lilith rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, entirely unfazed. “Yes, yes, it went terribly wrong. But unlike my dear brother, I actually have some investment in keeping your little witch intact.” Her voice was syrupy sweet, but her smirk was razor-edged.

Stone's jaw clenched, and for a moment, I thought he might actually try to throw her out. Instead, he snorted, a low sound of frustration, and turned back toward the window, muttering something about demons and their games.

Lilith glanced around, her critical gaze sweeping over the group. “Charming as ever,” she muttered. “All right, here's the deal. This isn't about brute force or throwing magic around like fireworks. It's about resonance. Connection. I can act as a mediator, but it's up to the lot of you to ground her.”

Lux frowned, his golden eyes narrowing behind his glasses. “You mean like a shared focus? Emotional alignment?”

“Precisely,” Lilith replied. “Think of it as a choir. If you’re all off-key, she’ll drift further away. But if you harmonize, amplify Maverick’s bond, it might give her the clarity she needs to find her way back.”

Addie’s lip trembled, but she nodded, clutching Tess’s sketchbook to her chest. “What do we need to do?”

“Sit,” Lilith ordered, motioning toward the floor. “Form a circle. Think of her—not just as she is now, but every part of her. Her laughter, her stubbornness, the way she always burns her toast.”

Stone grumbled something, but he sat, his large frame stiff and uncomfortable. Lux joined next, followed by Addie, who placed the sketchbook in the center of the circle like a sacred artifact. I dropped into place last, the sketchbook pulling at my gaze.

Lilith stood over us, her expression unreadable. “Hold tight, kids. This is going to be... intense.”

She stepped into the center of the circle, her gaze sweeping over each of us, her expression sharper than I’d ever seen it. Kneeling by the sketchbook, her fingers brushed lightly over the edge of the cover, as if gauging its resonance. “All right,” she said, her voice quieter now, almost reverent. “This is going to feel strange, but don’t fight it. Let the bond guide you.”

She closed her eyes, her breathing deep and measured. The air around us seemed to thicken, the faint shimmer of energy rippling like heat waves. “Tess,” she murmured, as though speaking to the universe itself. “I know you’re out there. I know you can hear us.”

Stone tensed, his fists curling on his knees. Addie wiped her face, her breaths uneven, but she reached out, her fingers brushing the edge of the sketchbook. I followed her lead, placing my hand atop hers. Lux mirrored us, his touch deliberate and steady. Even Stone relented, his hand resting heavily on the worn cover. The air grew heavier, vibrating with unseen energy.

Lilith’s voice softened, coaxing. “Tess, listen to me. You’re lost right now, floating through the lines, but we’re here. You’re not alone. Follow the sound of my voice.”

A faint tremor ran through the circle, the kind that set every hair on end. My heart raced as the bond hummed louder, pulling tighter like a fishing line being reeled in.

“Tess!” I called out, desperate. “We're here. We're waiting for you.”

The air rippled, and her voice echoed strangely, as if coming from multiple places at once. “Maverick... I see you...”

Addie let out a choked sob. “Tess! Tess, we're here! Please, just come back!”

Lilith held up a hand, her calm a stark contrast to the chaos swirling within me. “Shh. Let her speak.”

The room stilled. Then, Tess's voice came again, layered with enchanted resonance. “The threads... they're delightful and terrible. Each one shows me a different path, a different ending. I'm everywhere, woven into the threads of the universe.”

“Tess,” Lilith asserted, her tone laced with authority. “You don't have to understand them all. Don't try to map every possibility. Focus on this reality. This moment, where we are now.”

“So many patterns...” Tess's voice rippled like water over stones. “I could follow any of them. All of them. None of them.”

“Follow the bond,” Lilith commanded. “Maverick burns brightest, doesn't he? A constant flame across all realities.”

“Yes,” Tess's voice carried an edge of wonder. “He blazes like a star in the cosmos.”

“Good. Now feel Addie,” Lilith continued. “Her thread glows with warmth and home.”

“I see her,” Tess said, her voice echoing with strange harmonics. “Golden light wrapped in morning sunshine.”

“And Stone,” Lilith pressed. “That stubborn, overprotective brute who pretends he doesn’t care but would tear worlds apart for you.”

Stone’s lips tightened, his gaze boring into the sketchbook. “You better come back,” he grumbled.

A soft laugh echoed, almost imperceptible. “Yes,” Tess said, her voice steadier.

“And Lux,” Lilith went on, her tone softening. “He’s everyone’s rock when the world gets too wild. Always steady. Always dependable.”

Lux shifted uncomfortably, his eyes suspiciously shiny. “Tess. It’s safe here. Just come back.”

“Tess,” I cut in, the bond thrumming through my chest. “You can do this. Follow the bond. Follow me. I’m not letting go.”

The room grew warmer, the vibrations in the air intensifying. Lilith’s voice turned hypnotic, melodic. “You’re surrounded by love, Tess. You’re safe. Focus on that. Let it pull you back. One step at a time. Come home.”

The light in the room dimmed suddenly, and the air felt electric. My heart thundered as the bond flared hot and sharp, pulling taut like a rope about to snap. The sketchbook in the center of our circle glowed faintly, its edges shimmering with a golden hue. The glow brightened, swirling upward like embers, twisting into a shape.

A figure began to materialize, first faint and transparent, then solidifying. Her outline was wreathed in golden filaments, the spectral glow, tangling and binding as though knitting her back together. Tess’s face emerged, her wide eyes shimmering with tears, her body trembling as though she might collapse.

“Tess!” Addie cried, throwing herself forward, arms wrapping around Tess’s fragile form as the glow faded. Lux rushed to steady them both, his expression caught between relief and disbelief.

I reached out, my hand cupping Tess’s face. Her skin was warm, her eyes meeting mine. “Maverick...” she whispered, her voice raw but unmistakably hers.

“You’re back,” I said, my throat tightening. “You’re home.”

Tess stepped closer and pressed against me, her arms wrapping around my neck. “I knew I'd get back to you. I just had to... follow the light.”

Stone stood like a sentinel, his gaze softening, and even Lilith let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction. “Not bad,” she said with a smirk, though her eyes held something akin to relief.

But I didn’t care about any of them in that moment. Tess was here, solid and real, and the bond no longer ached. For the first time in days, I could breathe again.