Chapter 21

Cait sank to the floor as the weight of everything seeped into her. She couldn't even begin to process all that had been revealed. And then her father...

"We have to find a way out of here." Draco muttered, pacing the room like a caged animal until he realized that Cait was ungracefully sprawled on the floor. He gazed down at her, but she couldn't find words.

"Caity?" he questioned softly, stooping down beside her. "Hey, things are going to be okay. Who knows if they'll even find the ring, and if they do, well, we'll fight them. We can make it-"

Slowly, Cait raised her right hand. The dim light that was coming from the fireplace glinted off of a thin golden band on her ring finger. Draco blinked, focusing on the circle in disbelief, a small gasp escaping from his lips.

"Please tell me that's not..." he began in a horrified whisper.

Cait nodded her head sadly. It was. It was the exact ring that the Death Eaters were now looking for. The exact ring that her father had been killed over.

"Well, take it off. We'll try to destroy it," his eyes darted around the room looking for a means in which to destroy the ring.

Sadly, she shook her head and dropped her hand back to her lap. "It won't come off. It must be spelled not to come off once it is applied."

"Shit." Draco cursed, pacing the room once more.

Cait watched him forlornly. Any small chance of happiness that she could have ever hoped to develop between she and Draco was quickly evaporating. She felt a single tear slip from her eye, but refused to let any others fall. She was stronger than this, she wouldn't let him make her cry.

Cait snuggled closer to the warm body that lay beside her on the plush bed. For a moment, she had forgotten everything that had happened the day before-all that existed was her and Draco and the heavy coverings that were draped over them, snuggly tucking them into a warm haven.

He had carried her to the bed finally as the embers of the fire began to die. He had placed her softly on the pillows and kissed her forehead. He had whispered promises of keeping her safe and of getting her away. He had held her tightly until she had finally drifted off to sleep.

Now, her mind was filled with what if questions.

What if Draco hadn't joined the death eaters? What if she hadn't shunned him when he had? What would have developed between them if she had accepted his explanations and apologies? What if she had helped him to get away from the life that she so desperately wanted for them to be free of? What if she and Teddy had run away like they had talked about after finding out about her original task?

She let her mind fill with thoughts of what could have been. And then... everything from the night before came flooding back to her. She could see the green blast hit her father in the chest and the light fade from his eyes before his body even hit the floor. She could see the way everyone pretended like their wasn't a dead body in the middle of the dining room-how they blatantly disregarded the life that had just been ended.

And then she remembered the ring. Glancing at her right hand, she squinted against the early morning light that glinted off the metallic surface. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been to slip the ring onto her finger. Sure, she was simply trying to hide the fact that she had it when her father and Lucius walked in, but she should have known that the ring would be spelled. Now she had inadvertently played right into the Dark Lord's trap-even if he didn't know it yet. The only thing that she knew for sure was that, despite everything, she and Draco couldn't have sex again until they were able to remove the artifact. And here they were laying in the same bed, his hand resting on her bare stomach where her shirt had risen up while she slept.

Her life was so much of a mess that she felt hopeless about it ever returning to any semblance of normal. She felt certain before she heard of the artifact, that she would be a dead girl. Now, she feared that she would simply be used for her child producing body and then discarded.

A loud pop sounded as a house elf arrived carrying a tray laden with breakfast foods. She let out a squeak when she noticed that Cait had seen her arrival. As quickly as she could, the little elf arranged the plates and mugs on a table before disappearing once more.

Sighing, Cait shifted in the bed, putting her back to Draco. She had no appetite and no intention of getting out of the bed unless it meant that they were going to escape-which seemed unlikely in the moment. Her mind drifted back to Teddy. She could only imagine how anxious he was after not hearing from her since her departure. She hadn't told him what she planned to do, which was probably a good thing. He just knew that she intended to go back to Hogwarts to see Draco, which she had. She would need to send word to him soon though, if only to let him know that they were now orphans.

He father. Her dreams had been plagued with his death and even now while she was awake, if she closed her eyes, she could see his lifeless body. She had never been particularly fond of the man, or of the choices that he made that affected their family, but he and Teddy were pretty much the only family she had left-now she only had her twin.

"Caity?" Draco's voice drew her attention and she turned towards him. She hadn't even realized that she had been crying until he reached up to wipe away the dampness on her cheeks. "I promise that I will find a way out of this for you," he vowed.

"For us," she corrected as she turned back to him, scooted closer and rested her head on his shoulder. "We need a way out for both of us. You made me leave you here once, I'm not doing it again. I can't do it again."

"Alright, a way out for the both of us," he amended, smoothing her hair back. "Somehow, some way."