Page 27 of Magic in the Music (Magic and Mysteries #4)

Cassian had been the last to leave the terrace last night.

He had seen Samantha silently slip inside, but he was certain that she would return.

She never did, even though he waited.

He had wanted to talk to her. He needed to apologize for what she may have believed to be rejection. He needed her to understand that he did care for her, but that he was not good enough to kiss her hand let alone her lips. But she never gave him a chance.

It could have been that she was angry with him for sending her away.

Or, she was hurt, which was likely, or maybe she just felt poorly from the drink and may not even remember.

She could also simply be embarrassed for coming to his door in such a bold manner.

Except, if she could not recall, she likely would not have avoided him.

He needed to know that all was well because last night it hadn’t been. In fact, unease accompanied him and grew stronger and kept him awake most of the night. A fear that he could not explain.

He would have gone to Samantha, in her bedchamber, to assure himself all was well, but doing so would see her ruined. Instead, he tossed and turned all night.

He needed to speak with her, which was why he went searching for Samantha in her favorite place to watch the sunrise, but she was not there either and he watched alone as the sky lightened to dusky lavender blending with rose then merging into gold.

He then made his way into the house and waited. Nobody was awake, but he did not mind and he was not going to leave until he spoke with Samantha.

As the day grew brighter, more and more of the inhabitants of Nightshade Manor made their way into the dining room to break their fast. He had already eaten because he filled a plate as soon as the food was put out, then sat, sipping tea, waiting for Samantha to enter.

Except, she didn’t. Everyone was here except for Samantha, her parents, and brother.

His stomach tightened as panic took hold. He knew that they were not going to stay much longer, but had they left already?

He was not ready for her to be gone. He needed to see her. He needed to explain. He needed… He was being selfish.

If Samantha had left, maybe it was for the best and he could put her behind him and try to forget the only woman he had ever loved.

“Has anyone seen Samantha?” Her mother’s panicked question filled the room.

Everyone stopped talking and looked at her.

“She has not come down to breakfast yet,” Petra answered.

“You have not seen her anywhere?” Samantha’s father demanded as he entered, followed by Samantha’s brother.

Cassian sat forward.

“We have been preparing to leave and I went to check on Samantha to make certain she was packed but when I knocked on her bedchamber and received no answer, I entered. Her bed has not been slept in and the maid assured me that she had not gone to the room yet. She was going to wait until we were gone and then strip the linens to wash.”

“Where could she be?” Maia asked.

Slowly, as if everyone had the same thought, they all turned and looked at Cassian.

“I do not know where she is.”

“When did you see her last?” Eugenia asked.

“Last night, on the terrace,” he answered.

“Did she say anything to you?”

He nearly laughed because Samantha had spent the entire night avoiding him. “No. She did not.”

“Did anyone talk to her last night before she retired?”

“She told me she was going to return the crystals and retire because it would be an early morning,” Maia answered.

“Crystals?” Samantha’s mother asked.

“Yes. She had two that were not needed for the meditation during the lunar eclipse, but instead of returning them that day, she kept them in one of her pockets and with everything so busy…but remembered last night that she needed to return them.” Maia turned to Eugenia.

“Samantha likes to have her hands free in case she has a need for fire or wind, so she has dressmakers add secret pockets to all her clothing.”

“Where are the crystals kept?” Samantha’s father demanded.

“In a cupboard next to the vault,” Eugenia answered as she rose from her seat.

Samantha had appeared pale and ill last night. Maybe it was worse than he realized. Had she collapsed and had been lying on the stone floor?

“I will check,” Eugenia said. “Everyone, wait here.”

He wanted to follow, but he also did not have the right. He may love her, but she was not his and the pain of worry was excruciating as Cassian watched Eugenia leave followed by Samantha’s family.

As they waited, there were questions asked and people wondered.

“Did she watch the sunrise?” Petra asked. “Could she still be outside?”

They looked at him.

“She was not on the bench in the Witches’ Garden this morning. I went there because I wanted to speak with her.”

Maia raised an eyebrow, as did Nina, but thankfully they did not ask anything further.

“She was not by the cabinet,” Eugenia announced when she returned. “Does anyone remember anything that Samantha may have said of where she might go this morning?”

Some shrugged, others shook their head.

“Where has she been? What did she enjoy?” Samantha’s mother asked.

“Besides the garden, she enjoys being in the Sacred Grove but I would have passed her if she had been in the temple,” Cassian answered.

“I will go search,” Nina announced. “I know the grove better than anyone.” She rose from the table and exited with her husband, Orion, before anyone could object. Not that they would.

“What of Iza?” Ajax asked. “You took her there.”

“She gave no indication that she wanted to return.”

“What was told to her?” Samantha’s father demanded.

“That she has an old soul,” Cassian answered. “We had been talking about the silver in her hair and she wondered if it was true, about having an old soul.”

“What else was said?”

He pushed his fingers through his hair, trying to remember. “That her soul had not found its mate and that she needed to be careful where she wandered.”

“What does that mean?” Malcolm demanded.

“It was Iza’s sight. She was no clearer.”

Ajax rose. “I will go ask Iza myself and if she cannot tell me, maybe she can look in the crystal and locate Samantha.”

“The music room!” Petra announced. “Is she in there?”

“We did not look,” her father said and hurried from the dining room. He was not gone long when he returned. “No.”

“Everyone, search the whole of Nightshade Manor. Choose an area and return here after it has been searched. Let each other know where you are going.”

Cassian stood and marched out of the dining room.

“Where are you searching?”

“Near the vault. It was the last place that she was. Maybe…” He did not know why but he hoped that something was left behind that would lead him to her.

He practically ran through the corridor until he reached the stone stairs. He lifted one of the lamps then hurried down them, heart racing and sweat breaking out on his brow with each step. Something was wrong; he felt it to the depths of his soul and prayed that he was only overreacting.

When he reached the bottom, he lit the lamp from one of the already burning torches and stepped further into the cellar and stopped at the vault. It was closed, locked against him.

Cassian turned when he heard footsteps behind him.

“I am going to search the vault,” Petra announced.

“I will search everywhere else.”

He first walked through the vast wine cellar afraid that she had fallen in there, but it was vacant of anything but dusty bottles that dated back decades. He then looked around the cupboard where the crystals were stored but there were no signs that she had been there.

If he knew which crystals she had come to return, then he could see if they were missing, a question he would ask if she was not found.

Except, he knew that she kept a Black Tourmaline. What had been the other?

He then wandered down the corridor, wondering if she had gone into the cell in the back and got locked in, but it too was vacant.

Where else could she be?

* * *

Why couldn’t anyone hear her?

Samantha had yelled and screamed when her parents and Lady St. Alban had come down and were wondering where she might have gone, but then they left not having heard her.

Now it was Cassian and Petra.

“I am in here!” she screamed. “Can you hear me?” She waited. “Help me! Please!”

But nobody answered back.

Tears filled her eyes and she could no longer hold back the sobs as she sank onto the settee. She was going to be stuck in here forever, or until she died and nobody would ever know and she would never be able to warn them not to play the piano.