Chapter Four
The ride to Las Vegas was a tense one, Sarah reflected later, looking around her dusty rose bedroom with the redwood furniture in Thierry Descouedres' mansion.
In the limousine, driven by a gas petal happy vampire named Nissa, while Sarah's slender hand had been firmly locked within Blade's larger one, her eyes had been drawn, irresistibly, to Kierlan. She had learned the pensive witch's name when a silvery brown shapeshifter, Lupe, had poked him a few times, asking what was wrong.
Kierlan, in turn, had replied in a tense voice that nothing was wrong and fixed his sunglass covered eyes on the limousine's window, the corner of his lip twitching at odd intervals as though he were busy puzzling something over in his mind. His hands also clenched and unclenched, blood draining from them at one point.
And every time that Sarah felt her gaze drift to Kierlan, she quickly turned her head, resolutely refocusing on Blade and his lighter, blonde good looks, trying to find comfort in his warm hands.
Now, in the safety of this new room, Sarah had more time to consider what had happened without having to worry that someone would ask her what was wrong.
She didn't have anything to unpack, there had been no time to take anything with her, so she settled on a velvet covered chair that was positioned by a large French window. The view consisted of sprawling green grass that had been kept in perfect condition and a midnight blue sky, littered with glimmering pinpricks of light.
"I already have a soulmate," Sarah murmured, her forehead pressed to the cool glass. "I have Blade... why did I feel a soulmate connection with Kierlan..."
She sighed heavily, sitting back and drawing her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. While she definitely didn't know everything there was to know about the Night World, and soulmates, and the Wild Powers, Sarah was pretty sure of one thing.
*No one* had two soulmates.
*So what's going on?*
Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the cool night air, the sound of an owl in a nearby tree, the stars that shone faintly, fighting against the bright lights of the Las Vegas strip. And it was then, in the midst of creeping shadows and nighttime sounds that her mind wandered.
To Kierlan and those few moments that had seemed more like a lifetime, in a place so far from here. A place with crystal water and rainbows, somewhere she was able to feel weightless and unfettered by the responsibilities of having a Night Worlder as a soulmate.
And she remembered his dark eyes, black like night, on her when she had thrown herself into Blade's arms. Kierlan's face had been almost like a mask, smooth and emotionless, as though no feelings could ever touch him. But his eyes had shattered, like cracked onyx, before they flickered and were just normal black eyes again. And then Sarah had turned, leading Blade away from Kierlan, away from the emotions that had been raging inside of her.
*I need to talk to Kierlan,* Sarah thought suddenly, her eyes snapping open. The thought came from nowhere, from some deep void. But the message, the idea that it was important that she find Kierlan to speak to, beat itself into Sarah's mind. It was impossible to ignore and, for a moment, she didn't really want to ignore it. For a moment, she almost wished that she could go back to that places of sunlight and daydreams, even if it was only for a second.
Sarah stood up from her chair with grim resolve, holding her body stiffly and striding to the door. But when her hand closed around the smooth brass knob, she paused, uncertainty and dread freezing her in place. *And if he laughs at you? If he asks you if you're crazy?*
But the thought that ran beneath all the other mental chatter, the one thing that came through, loud and clear, was, *What if he tells Blade?*
Because that was the one thing that Sarah truly could not take. The look in Blade's hazel eyes, the green flecks darkening, as he wondered and tried to understand why Sarah thought she had a second soulmate. Something in her heart constricted at the thought of the hurt expression on Blade's face if he were to find out that his time as Sarah's one and only was up.
Sarah threw the door open with a sudden burst of adrenaline, fire coursing through her veins, making her leaden feet move forward. She wasn't worried about running into Blade while talking to Kierlan; he was busy talking to Lord Thierry and Lady Hannah so that they could try to figure out if he was, indeed, the fourth Wild Power. Thank goodness for little miracles.
But the difficulty of her task still loomed ahead, dark and heavy as a storm cloud. And that was actually finding Kierlan.
Sarah left the shelter of that pink room and took a few tentative steps towards the end of the hallway before starting down the long, winding staircase of the Descouedres' mansion, her knees actually shaking, her shoulders quivering.
*I think I'm going to be sick.*
Her hand clasped around the shiny black banister on her way down, feet sinking into the plush black and gold carpet. *I don't want to be here, I don't want to be here,* her mind rambled illogically. *I don't want to be looking for Kierlan right now. I want to be safe; safe in Blade's arms where nothing can hurt me. Where I don't have to think about this, where I don't have to worry.*
Sarah shook her head once as she reached the bottom, eyes on her feet. She didn't even realize that someone had seen her come down until he spoke, the sound cool and unrushed.
"You looking for someone?" the soft, masculine voice asked.
Sarah looked up in surprise, startled to see a tall blonde man, his thick hair tousled as though he had just woken up. He smiled at her lazily, leaning against the side of the banister, just watching, waiting.
Sarah swallowed hard, willing her mouth to work. "Maybe," she said stupidly, something deep in the pit of her gut making her suspicious.
The man smiled again, raising his eyebrows at her. "Maybe? You look lost. Anything I can help you with? My specialty is helping damsels in distress."
Sarah studied him for a moment, the suspicion in her stomach becoming a small flicker of amusement that spread outward, until one corner of her lip was turning up in a smile. "Is that so? I'm Sarah Strange, I was just brought in here from one of the sanctuaries."
He laughed, an almost musical chuckle, and looked at her through slanted blue eyes. "With Blade and Annabelle Redfern, right? I'm one of their cousins, Ash." He held out a long fingered hand.
Sarah hesitated, eyeing his hand, then looking up and noticing something strange. Only a moment before his eyes had been a blue as dark as sapphires, now they were the pale green of a peridot. She blinked once and then they were golden. She blinked again and his eyes were their original color, dark blue.
Ash grinned, withdrawing his hand. "Something wrong?"
Narrowing her eyes at him, Sarah said, "No, nothing." She cleared her throat. "Actually, maybe you can help me. I'm looking for someone named Kierlan. About your height, dark hair and eyes, leather jacket?"
Ash gave her a reproachful look. "You sure that you want to be looking for Kierlan?"
"Yes..." Sarah said, a little uncertain at first. Then something, deep down, decided and she said more firmly, "Yes, I am. Do you know where he is?"
"I do," Ash said, saying nothing more and remaining perfectly still.
Sarah could feel impatience bubbling up and she tilted her head towards Ash challengingly. "Could you tell me where he is?"
Ash smiled then, blindingly bright. "He's off on a mission for Circle Daybreak. He should be back tomorrow, or maybe the day after, I'm not quite sure." As his eyes shifted color to an innocent hazel, specked with green and gold, the exact color of Blade's eyes, he asked, "Isn't Blade your soulmate?"
Sarah, who had been ready to start back up the stairs, paused. It took her a moment to find her voice. "Yes, he is," she said softly, not meeting Ash's eyes, scared that if she did he would know everything that she was trying to keep hidden.
Ash shook his head and patted Sarah's hand that was still gripping the railing. "Well then, welcome to the family. You'll have to meet mine sometime," he said absently, glancing at his watch.
Sarah was about to ask 'his what?' But Ash was going on. "My Mary-Lynnette's coming for a visit in exactly one month, two days, twelve hours, fourteen minutes and twenty-one... make that twenty seconds," he said proudly.
Sarah could feel her face twisting into a skeptical expression, and then she got it. His soulmate. "That's... very nice," she said slowly.
"I think so." Ash shrugged. "Well, anyway, good luck with finding Kierlan," he said with a wink. "And with Blade." He waved slightly at her, wiggling his fingers, then sauntered off, disappearing down one of the adjoining hallways.
As Sarah watched him go, she let out a breath, shutting her eyes briefly to steady herself. *He doesn't *know* anything,* she told herself sternly. *There's no reason to get worked up. He's playing with you.*
And that was what was bothering Sarah. Ash had seemed harmless enough; his expression was amiable and, though his entire persona was cat-like, it reminded her more of a playful kitten than of a stalking jungle cat. But somewhere in the depths of those color changing eyes was the sharp edge of a knife; something that was keen and cunning. Something that knew how to fight dirty and often won doing so.
Sarah shuddered and began backing up the staircase, intending to return to her room where she could shut the lights off and just think. But her feet barely had time to move before she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
"Sarah!"
She turned, smiling automatically when she saw Blade, his cuts and bruises already cared for, the gash in his forehead covered with a white gauze bandage.
"Hey, wait up," he said, a wide smile on his face.
"Blade," she murmured, raising her eyes and returning the smile. "They've been taking care of you."
Blade laughed and touched his forehead gingerly. "I think a little too well. It's no big deal, it'll be healed by morning."
"That's good," Sarah said distractedly, playing with one of the buttons on her gray sweater. "How did things go with Lord Thierry and Lady Hannah?"
"Well, luckily, I convinced them to let me stay here, with you, until we could actually prove whether or not I'm the fourth Wild Power. Although, I tried to tell them that they have the wrong guy. But they can be as persistent as those Night World agents when they want to be."
Blade laughed and Sarah forced another smile in response. "Did you tell them about Maya Redfern being alive?" Sarah said quietly, coming down the steps to meet Blade and take his hand in her own. There, that was nice. The warm tingles that shot up and down her arm made her feel content and calm the shuddering fear that had been running up and down her spine.
Blade nodded. "Yeah. Lady Hannah took it surprisingly well. And Lord Thierry said that it wasn't anything he hadn't been expecting." Blade chuckled. "They're nice people, a little stuffy, but nice."
"I'm sure they are," Sarah murmured, clenching his hand tightly. "Look, Blade," she said suddenly, without even meaning to. "I need to talk to you about something. And I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't think that it was important. But I do, and it is. And, well, we just need to talk is all." She paused to catch her breath and steady her racing heart which was thumping painfully in her chest.
Blade caught her arms, turning her gently to look at him. "Sarah, what is it? What's wrong?" He reached up and brushed the side of her face lightly, fingertips grazing her cheekbones. "Did someone hurt you?"
"No... nothing like that." Sarah shook her head, pulling back slightly so that Blade's hand fell away from her face. She appreciated his support, his concern, but sometimes...
Sometimes Sarah felt like a glass figurine, fragile and constantly in danger of being broken. And entirely too protected by Blade who seemed to believe that unless he kept constant watch over her that she *would* break. There were times that she just wanted to take care of herself and to have Blade understand that need.
"It's just about something that happened. Something that I just don't understand and I thought that maybe you could clear it up for me. And you just needed to know about it anyway."
Sarah met Blade's eyes. They looked hurt and bewildered at the way she had jumped away from his touch, and she reached out to take his hand, squeezing his fingers. "Can we just go somewhere and talk?"
Slowly, painstakingly, Blade nodded. "I think there's a library on this floor. It's quiet there, I'm sure no one would mind if we used it."
"All right," Sarah said, following him across the black marble floor and down a dimly lit hallway, into a well furnished library. The walls, from floor to ceiling were stocked with books of different sizes and shapes, with various brightly colored bindings. A stone fireplace and a set of tall windows that led out to a balcony were the only parts of the walls not covered with novels, and in front of the roaring fireplace were two large, plush, burgundy leather chairs.
Sarah released Blade's hand as they each settled into one of those chairs. Sarah drew one leg underneath her body and stared at the flames in the fireplace for a moment, the bright orange blaze crackling with pent up energy. Glancing to her right, she saw that Blade had been watching the same fire, the light flickering in his eyes and shadowing the planes of his face.
"What's going on Sarah?" he said quietly, not looking at her. "I can tell something's bothering you, bothering you terribly. But for the first time, I just don't know what it is."
Sarah's throat closed up then. And she realized that, as much as she wanted to stand on her own two feet at times, Blade loved her, unconditionally and without questions. That he knew her better than anyone else ever could. He was her soulmate, the other half of the coin.
But suddenly there was a third side to that coin, a side that Sarah had never even known existed. It was such a strange concept and, just like she couldn't picture a three sided coin, Sarah couldn't figure out where Kierlan fit into her life.
Sarah stood, pacing in front of the fire and wandering towards a shelf of books, her fingers running over the different volumes. She studied them, tears springing to life in the corners of her eyes. "It's just... in the house, something happened. Something very strange."
She turned and looked at Blade, her expression softening. "You're my soulmate Blade and I love you. And then, in the house..."
Sarah paused as the door the library swung open, revealing Rashel who was now barely recognizable dressed in normal blue jeans, white long sleeved shirt, and canvas sneakers.
"Hey, Ash said that he thought he saw you down here," she said to Sarah. "Anyway, we're having a Circle Daybreak meeting upstairs now if you want to come. It's a good way to meet all the people who live here."
Blue eyes widening slightly, Sarah said, "Yeah, sure. That sounds nice."
Blade was nodding in agreement next to her as he stood. He reached out, taking Sarah's hand and kissing the fingertips lightly. "We'll talk later, all right?"
Sarah smiled grimly, trying to put some emotion of happiness into it for Blade's sake. "Sure. That's fine."
Rashel waved at them impatiently, dark green eyes fixating on Blade and Sarah for a moment. "Well then, lets go. Thea gets rattled when people walk in late," she said as though either one of them knew who Thea was.
Rashel turned, leaving the library with that perfectly controlled, stealthy walk. She didn't take the time to glance behind her, simply assuming that they would follow.
Blade and Sarah glanced at each other and shrugged in unison before following the dark haired girl out of the library and through the mansion.
The ride to Las Vegas was a tense one, Sarah reflected later, looking around her dusty rose bedroom with the redwood furniture in Thierry Descouedres' mansion.
In the limousine, driven by a gas petal happy vampire named Nissa, while Sarah's slender hand had been firmly locked within Blade's larger one, her eyes had been drawn, irresistibly, to Kierlan. She had learned the pensive witch's name when a silvery brown shapeshifter, Lupe, had poked him a few times, asking what was wrong.
Kierlan, in turn, had replied in a tense voice that nothing was wrong and fixed his sunglass covered eyes on the limousine's window, the corner of his lip twitching at odd intervals as though he were busy puzzling something over in his mind. His hands also clenched and unclenched, blood draining from them at one point.
And every time that Sarah felt her gaze drift to Kierlan, she quickly turned her head, resolutely refocusing on Blade and his lighter, blonde good looks, trying to find comfort in his warm hands.
Now, in the safety of this new room, Sarah had more time to consider what had happened without having to worry that someone would ask her what was wrong.
She didn't have anything to unpack, there had been no time to take anything with her, so she settled on a velvet covered chair that was positioned by a large French window. The view consisted of sprawling green grass that had been kept in perfect condition and a midnight blue sky, littered with glimmering pinpricks of light.
"I already have a soulmate," Sarah murmured, her forehead pressed to the cool glass. "I have Blade... why did I feel a soulmate connection with Kierlan..."
She sighed heavily, sitting back and drawing her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. While she definitely didn't know everything there was to know about the Night World, and soulmates, and the Wild Powers, Sarah was pretty sure of one thing.
*No one* had two soulmates.
*So what's going on?*
Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the cool night air, the sound of an owl in a nearby tree, the stars that shone faintly, fighting against the bright lights of the Las Vegas strip. And it was then, in the midst of creeping shadows and nighttime sounds that her mind wandered.
To Kierlan and those few moments that had seemed more like a lifetime, in a place so far from here. A place with crystal water and rainbows, somewhere she was able to feel weightless and unfettered by the responsibilities of having a Night Worlder as a soulmate.
And she remembered his dark eyes, black like night, on her when she had thrown herself into Blade's arms. Kierlan's face had been almost like a mask, smooth and emotionless, as though no feelings could ever touch him. But his eyes had shattered, like cracked onyx, before they flickered and were just normal black eyes again. And then Sarah had turned, leading Blade away from Kierlan, away from the emotions that had been raging inside of her.
*I need to talk to Kierlan,* Sarah thought suddenly, her eyes snapping open. The thought came from nowhere, from some deep void. But the message, the idea that it was important that she find Kierlan to speak to, beat itself into Sarah's mind. It was impossible to ignore and, for a moment, she didn't really want to ignore it. For a moment, she almost wished that she could go back to that places of sunlight and daydreams, even if it was only for a second.
Sarah stood up from her chair with grim resolve, holding her body stiffly and striding to the door. But when her hand closed around the smooth brass knob, she paused, uncertainty and dread freezing her in place. *And if he laughs at you? If he asks you if you're crazy?*
But the thought that ran beneath all the other mental chatter, the one thing that came through, loud and clear, was, *What if he tells Blade?*
Because that was the one thing that Sarah truly could not take. The look in Blade's hazel eyes, the green flecks darkening, as he wondered and tried to understand why Sarah thought she had a second soulmate. Something in her heart constricted at the thought of the hurt expression on Blade's face if he were to find out that his time as Sarah's one and only was up.
Sarah threw the door open with a sudden burst of adrenaline, fire coursing through her veins, making her leaden feet move forward. She wasn't worried about running into Blade while talking to Kierlan; he was busy talking to Lord Thierry and Lady Hannah so that they could try to figure out if he was, indeed, the fourth Wild Power. Thank goodness for little miracles.
But the difficulty of her task still loomed ahead, dark and heavy as a storm cloud. And that was actually finding Kierlan.
Sarah left the shelter of that pink room and took a few tentative steps towards the end of the hallway before starting down the long, winding staircase of the Descouedres' mansion, her knees actually shaking, her shoulders quivering.
*I think I'm going to be sick.*
Her hand clasped around the shiny black banister on her way down, feet sinking into the plush black and gold carpet. *I don't want to be here, I don't want to be here,* her mind rambled illogically. *I don't want to be looking for Kierlan right now. I want to be safe; safe in Blade's arms where nothing can hurt me. Where I don't have to think about this, where I don't have to worry.*
Sarah shook her head once as she reached the bottom, eyes on her feet. She didn't even realize that someone had seen her come down until he spoke, the sound cool and unrushed.
"You looking for someone?" the soft, masculine voice asked.
Sarah looked up in surprise, startled to see a tall blonde man, his thick hair tousled as though he had just woken up. He smiled at her lazily, leaning against the side of the banister, just watching, waiting.
Sarah swallowed hard, willing her mouth to work. "Maybe," she said stupidly, something deep in the pit of her gut making her suspicious.
The man smiled again, raising his eyebrows at her. "Maybe? You look lost. Anything I can help you with? My specialty is helping damsels in distress."
Sarah studied him for a moment, the suspicion in her stomach becoming a small flicker of amusement that spread outward, until one corner of her lip was turning up in a smile. "Is that so? I'm Sarah Strange, I was just brought in here from one of the sanctuaries."
He laughed, an almost musical chuckle, and looked at her through slanted blue eyes. "With Blade and Annabelle Redfern, right? I'm one of their cousins, Ash." He held out a long fingered hand.
Sarah hesitated, eyeing his hand, then looking up and noticing something strange. Only a moment before his eyes had been a blue as dark as sapphires, now they were the pale green of a peridot. She blinked once and then they were golden. She blinked again and his eyes were their original color, dark blue.
Ash grinned, withdrawing his hand. "Something wrong?"
Narrowing her eyes at him, Sarah said, "No, nothing." She cleared her throat. "Actually, maybe you can help me. I'm looking for someone named Kierlan. About your height, dark hair and eyes, leather jacket?"
Ash gave her a reproachful look. "You sure that you want to be looking for Kierlan?"
"Yes..." Sarah said, a little uncertain at first. Then something, deep down, decided and she said more firmly, "Yes, I am. Do you know where he is?"
"I do," Ash said, saying nothing more and remaining perfectly still.
Sarah could feel impatience bubbling up and she tilted her head towards Ash challengingly. "Could you tell me where he is?"
Ash smiled then, blindingly bright. "He's off on a mission for Circle Daybreak. He should be back tomorrow, or maybe the day after, I'm not quite sure." As his eyes shifted color to an innocent hazel, specked with green and gold, the exact color of Blade's eyes, he asked, "Isn't Blade your soulmate?"
Sarah, who had been ready to start back up the stairs, paused. It took her a moment to find her voice. "Yes, he is," she said softly, not meeting Ash's eyes, scared that if she did he would know everything that she was trying to keep hidden.
Ash shook his head and patted Sarah's hand that was still gripping the railing. "Well then, welcome to the family. You'll have to meet mine sometime," he said absently, glancing at his watch.
Sarah was about to ask 'his what?' But Ash was going on. "My Mary-Lynnette's coming for a visit in exactly one month, two days, twelve hours, fourteen minutes and twenty-one... make that twenty seconds," he said proudly.
Sarah could feel her face twisting into a skeptical expression, and then she got it. His soulmate. "That's... very nice," she said slowly.
"I think so." Ash shrugged. "Well, anyway, good luck with finding Kierlan," he said with a wink. "And with Blade." He waved slightly at her, wiggling his fingers, then sauntered off, disappearing down one of the adjoining hallways.
As Sarah watched him go, she let out a breath, shutting her eyes briefly to steady herself. *He doesn't *know* anything,* she told herself sternly. *There's no reason to get worked up. He's playing with you.*
And that was what was bothering Sarah. Ash had seemed harmless enough; his expression was amiable and, though his entire persona was cat-like, it reminded her more of a playful kitten than of a stalking jungle cat. But somewhere in the depths of those color changing eyes was the sharp edge of a knife; something that was keen and cunning. Something that knew how to fight dirty and often won doing so.
Sarah shuddered and began backing up the staircase, intending to return to her room where she could shut the lights off and just think. But her feet barely had time to move before she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
"Sarah!"
She turned, smiling automatically when she saw Blade, his cuts and bruises already cared for, the gash in his forehead covered with a white gauze bandage.
"Hey, wait up," he said, a wide smile on his face.
"Blade," she murmured, raising her eyes and returning the smile. "They've been taking care of you."
Blade laughed and touched his forehead gingerly. "I think a little too well. It's no big deal, it'll be healed by morning."
"That's good," Sarah said distractedly, playing with one of the buttons on her gray sweater. "How did things go with Lord Thierry and Lady Hannah?"
"Well, luckily, I convinced them to let me stay here, with you, until we could actually prove whether or not I'm the fourth Wild Power. Although, I tried to tell them that they have the wrong guy. But they can be as persistent as those Night World agents when they want to be."
Blade laughed and Sarah forced another smile in response. "Did you tell them about Maya Redfern being alive?" Sarah said quietly, coming down the steps to meet Blade and take his hand in her own. There, that was nice. The warm tingles that shot up and down her arm made her feel content and calm the shuddering fear that had been running up and down her spine.
Blade nodded. "Yeah. Lady Hannah took it surprisingly well. And Lord Thierry said that it wasn't anything he hadn't been expecting." Blade chuckled. "They're nice people, a little stuffy, but nice."
"I'm sure they are," Sarah murmured, clenching his hand tightly. "Look, Blade," she said suddenly, without even meaning to. "I need to talk to you about something. And I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't think that it was important. But I do, and it is. And, well, we just need to talk is all." She paused to catch her breath and steady her racing heart which was thumping painfully in her chest.
Blade caught her arms, turning her gently to look at him. "Sarah, what is it? What's wrong?" He reached up and brushed the side of her face lightly, fingertips grazing her cheekbones. "Did someone hurt you?"
"No... nothing like that." Sarah shook her head, pulling back slightly so that Blade's hand fell away from her face. She appreciated his support, his concern, but sometimes...
Sometimes Sarah felt like a glass figurine, fragile and constantly in danger of being broken. And entirely too protected by Blade who seemed to believe that unless he kept constant watch over her that she *would* break. There were times that she just wanted to take care of herself and to have Blade understand that need.
"It's just about something that happened. Something that I just don't understand and I thought that maybe you could clear it up for me. And you just needed to know about it anyway."
Sarah met Blade's eyes. They looked hurt and bewildered at the way she had jumped away from his touch, and she reached out to take his hand, squeezing his fingers. "Can we just go somewhere and talk?"
Slowly, painstakingly, Blade nodded. "I think there's a library on this floor. It's quiet there, I'm sure no one would mind if we used it."
"All right," Sarah said, following him across the black marble floor and down a dimly lit hallway, into a well furnished library. The walls, from floor to ceiling were stocked with books of different sizes and shapes, with various brightly colored bindings. A stone fireplace and a set of tall windows that led out to a balcony were the only parts of the walls not covered with novels, and in front of the roaring fireplace were two large, plush, burgundy leather chairs.
Sarah released Blade's hand as they each settled into one of those chairs. Sarah drew one leg underneath her body and stared at the flames in the fireplace for a moment, the bright orange blaze crackling with pent up energy. Glancing to her right, she saw that Blade had been watching the same fire, the light flickering in his eyes and shadowing the planes of his face.
"What's going on Sarah?" he said quietly, not looking at her. "I can tell something's bothering you, bothering you terribly. But for the first time, I just don't know what it is."
Sarah's throat closed up then. And she realized that, as much as she wanted to stand on her own two feet at times, Blade loved her, unconditionally and without questions. That he knew her better than anyone else ever could. He was her soulmate, the other half of the coin.
But suddenly there was a third side to that coin, a side that Sarah had never even known existed. It was such a strange concept and, just like she couldn't picture a three sided coin, Sarah couldn't figure out where Kierlan fit into her life.
Sarah stood, pacing in front of the fire and wandering towards a shelf of books, her fingers running over the different volumes. She studied them, tears springing to life in the corners of her eyes. "It's just... in the house, something happened. Something very strange."
She turned and looked at Blade, her expression softening. "You're my soulmate Blade and I love you. And then, in the house..."
Sarah paused as the door the library swung open, revealing Rashel who was now barely recognizable dressed in normal blue jeans, white long sleeved shirt, and canvas sneakers.
"Hey, Ash said that he thought he saw you down here," she said to Sarah. "Anyway, we're having a Circle Daybreak meeting upstairs now if you want to come. It's a good way to meet all the people who live here."
Blue eyes widening slightly, Sarah said, "Yeah, sure. That sounds nice."
Blade was nodding in agreement next to her as he stood. He reached out, taking Sarah's hand and kissing the fingertips lightly. "We'll talk later, all right?"
Sarah smiled grimly, trying to put some emotion of happiness into it for Blade's sake. "Sure. That's fine."
Rashel waved at them impatiently, dark green eyes fixating on Blade and Sarah for a moment. "Well then, lets go. Thea gets rattled when people walk in late," she said as though either one of them knew who Thea was.
Rashel turned, leaving the library with that perfectly controlled, stealthy walk. She didn't take the time to glance behind her, simply assuming that they would follow.
Blade and Sarah glanced at each other and shrugged in unison before following the dark haired girl out of the library and through the mansion.
