Despite the moderate temperature of the room, a wave of coldness swept through my bones. Gripping my blanket, I enveloped myself in it. I curled up in a fetal position. The same position I had been in just hours ago, when Ben had been holding me.
Through the pain, I thought about what he’d said the first time he’d tried to leave me. He’d said if I returned to The Shade, I could get on with my life, and perhaps live here in safety with my family.
When the idea of moving to The Shade had first occurred to me, I’d barely been able to contain my excitement.
Now, as much as I reminded myself of the wonder and beauty of the place, without Ben, it felt like any other.
Chapter 3: Corrine
After taking River to her family in the Vale, I had to find my husband. I vanished myself from Anna’s house and reappeared in the Sanctuary, directly outside Ibrahim’s and my bedroom. I placed my ear against the door, straining to hear my husband’s breathing. I couldn’t. Turning the handle, I pushed the door open and switched on the light. The room was empty. But it was more than empty. It was… an absolute wreck.
My eyes widened. Ibrahim had a habit of not tidying up after himself and leaving things scattered about—but this… this was a level of messiness that I hadn’t thought even my husband was capable of. The room had been turned upside down. All the contents of the drawers had been emptied—piles of books, clothes and papers all over the floor—the curtains were awry, and the mattress and bedsheets had been ripped from the bed. Heck, even the rug was scrunched up in one corner.
My pulse raced. What happened here?
I shot out of the door and began hurrying along the hallways from room to room. Each of them were in a similar state of disarray. Not even the bathrooms had been spared.
As I entered the chaotic living room, meeting with a similar state of mess, I was relieved to see my husband sitting in an armchair, his back to me. His head rested in his hand, and from the way he breathed, it was clear he’d fallen asleep upright.
His face was rough and unshaven, and even as he slept, he looked utterly exhausted. My poor baby. I guessed that the state of our home was a result of his attempt to try to figure out where I’d gone, thinking perhaps I’d left behind a clue. I knelt down before him and placed my hand over his right forearm, which rested on his lap. I squeezed it gently. He twitched, and then his head lifted from his hand. His eyelids flickered open. I almost laughed at the way his eyes bulged as he looked at me. I was sure that he thought he was still dreaming.
“Corrine!”
“Darling,” I said, beaming at him. He stood up and engulfed me in his arms. Clutching the back of my head, he pushed his lips against mine and kissed me passionately.
“How are you here?” he gasped.
Letting out a sigh, I pulled him down on the sofa with me and began telling him everything that had happened since I’d left The Shade. Recounting Ben’s story was the hardest part. What the oracle had told them, what she’d predicted would happen to him… I had to pause several times to keep my voice from cracking.
By the time I’d finished, Ibrahim’s mouth was hanging open.
“Now I’ve seen you,” I said, “I must urgently speak to Sofia and Derek. They need to know what happened to their son, and what he’s up against.”
To my surprise, Ibrahim shook his head. “They’re not here. They left along with Rose, Caleb, Aiden and dozens of other vampires, as well as all our dragons.”
“What? When?”
“According to Jeriad, the dragons used to have some understanding with the jinn. He said that he knows where their realm is in the supernatural world, and they had ties with one of the families that lived there. They’ve gone to see if they can find a way to get Ben out of this bond between him and The Oasis’ jinn.”
“Oh.” My heart sank. I wished that I had managed to return before they left. “D-Do you know when they will be returning?”
Ibrahim shrugged. “How could I—or they—possibly predict that?”
“One couldn’t,” I muttered.
The thought of having to wait an undetermined amount of time to tell Ben’s parents the news about him being bound to an Elder was hard to swallow. But there was no way I could go after them to tell them. I had no idea where they would be by now, so I had no choice but to wait.
As harrowing as the thought was, and as much as I tried to ignore it, I couldn’t help but think that their whole mission to try to break Ben’s bond with the jinn might be a waste anyway. At least, if the oracle’s prediction came true, the jinn were the very least of Benjamin’s worries.