Page 122 of In The Dark

A wave of fear suddenly grips my chest at the thought of my lost memories being put back, and I take a deep breath.

What if these memories bring back a wave of emotions I don’t want to deal with? What if I find out something about myself that I’m better off not knowing? I nervously rub the inside of my wrist, lost in my thoughts—my worry. She tracks the movement, furrowing her brows before I shove my hands under the table.

“You may experience… mental turmoil, but it will not hurt you when placed back. It will feel as though you are receiving a lost piece of you, like filling your lungs with air you didn’t know you were missing. As far as your power goes, you may get a surge of energy, but it should subside after a day or two.”

She places our mugs into the basin as I chew my lip. “Okay, let’s get it over with.”

“Alright, I’ll have you lie down on the settee over there.” She gestures behind me, and my brows furrow. “Just as a precaution, I would rather have you lying down. I will act as a pathway for your memories to move back into you. The energy will pass through my arms and exit out of my palm. Can you manage to lie still?”

I nod. A second later, I’m lying down, staring out of the window. Grim stands guard at the mouth of the den, snow falling lazily from the sky. Milena sits near my head, placing a palm on my forehead while gripping the crystal.

“This will take a few seconds, but it will be over before you know it. I haven’t done this in quite some time, so give me a moment to feel it,” she explains.

Just then, she closes her eyes as the crystal begins to frantically swirl again. After a few seconds, the yellow swirls slowlydrain down the length of the crystal, her palm glowing as it travels up her arm.

I slam my eyes shut, terrified of what I’ll receive. The uncertainty has my breath coming out in shallow pants as I begin to tremble. Then my forehead warms, a slow, tingling heat spreading through me. Pressure builds, deep and insistent, like diving too far into an ocean, losing sight of the surface.

A moment later, the world around me tilts, as if I’m falling, and images slam into me, fragmented and disjointed, yet impossibly vivid. My breath catches as overwhelming emotions surge through me—fear, longing, sorrow.

And then, as quickly as they come, everything goes black.

I wake abruptly, sitting upright as my breaths come out in shallow pants, feeling as if my throat has been dry for weeks.

Gods, I’m thirsty.Swallowing feels like eating sand, my hair plastered to my forehead in a sweaty mess. I’m in a small room, lying on a bed covered in multicolored quilts, when the door to my left creaks open. Milena walks in with a glass of water, round glasses resting high on her nose.

“Oh, you’re awake! Thank the Fates,” she says.

“What happened?” I croak, reaching for the glass and gulping it down. I groan as the cool, crisp water slides down my throat.

“After placing your memories, you went in and out of consciousness without realizing. I assumed it was the surge of power you gained. It was a lot of energy and drained me quite a bit. You don’t remember walking back here?” she asks warily, and I shake my head. “Mm, I’ll have to add that to my notes.”

“How long have I been asleep?” I lean forward as she walks to the foot of the bed.

“A day and a half.”

“What?” My disbelief echoes across the room.

Gods, I hope Rydian and Ren aren’t searching for me. The last thing I need is to explain where I’ve been, especially if I’m to remain quiet about who my real father is.

“Sit for a while longer and you can leave. It’s best not to rush it if you’re tired. How much do you remember?” She fixes the corner of the bed, patting the quilt.

A rush of images flew through my mind so fast I couldn’t quite catch it all, and then everything went black, rendering me unconscious.

I frown, attempting to recall everything. “I—I’m not sure. I remember bits at the orphanage, when Rydian tried to bring me back, and then…” I touch my lips with wide eyes, a small gasp leaving me as broken pieces of memory flood me.It can’t be.

“Don’t worry,” Milena says. “You will slowly start to remember things as they come in. Some moments will trigger a memory for you, and then suddenly, you’ll realize it was one you were missing. It’s common for them to come in slowly over time, especially if there were a lot.” Then she places a gentle hand on my shoulder, squeezing. “Take a deep breath. Take a few days to process if you need to, but the most important thing you can do is rest and stay quiet. The shaking will subside.”

How is that possible?My fingers tremble as I brush the auburn mate mark behind my ear. But I stare at my wrist, my breath catching in my throat, eyeing the scar there. The one I never truly questioned.

But it’s not really a scar—it never has been.

It’s a mate mark of Elderheim.