The Forsaken Keeper

Chapter 28

"i held that grudge 'til it tore me apart. power went to my head and i couldn't stop" ~ castles crumbling by taylor swift

—

"Wait, hold on." Imelda stood up and started to pace. "You're telling me she has been alive this entire time and you're just now telling us?" Sebastian shook his head.

"I didn't know until she took me."

"Why did she take you? We were all there." Natty questioned.

"Because I saw her face. That night we fought her I had broken her mask. She panicked and took me with her."

"She never planned on telling us, did she?" Poppy whispered. Sebastian looked to her and could see how heartbroken she looked. He silently shook his head.

"I don't think so. I think she still wasn't sure what she planned to do when she had me. But when we ran into Anne and Ominis, they recognized her there."

"Did she hurt you while she had you locked up?" Poppy asked. Odette let out a snort, before apologizing. Julian rolled his eyes.

"No. She didn't hurt me at all. The story we told you was mostly a lie up until Anne and Ominis got there. Odette and Julian aren't a couple that lived in the area. They were there with Rosalind and I investigating something."

"Hold up." Imelda stopped her pacing and looked between Odette and Julian. "You guys work for the notorious dark wizard we've been chasing after for years?" Her hand hovered over her wand in her waistband.

Poppy's wide eyes went from Sebastian to Julian, the tears that had formed in her eyes threatening to spill over.

"Julian?" Julian's eyes were on the floor, and he gave a slight nod. He wouldn't look at Poppy.

"Reyes, calm down. It's not that simple." Imelda whipped around on him.

"Not that simple? Are you mad Sallow?" Natty reached her hand out to stop Imelda from advancing on Sebastian.

"My love, let's listen to them." Imelda looked back to Natty, and let out an exasperated sigh before sitting back on the edge of the couch. She waved her hand impatiently as if telling them to get on with it.

He looked to Odette and Julian to let them explain their own stories. Odette started talking about when she met Rosalind back in America.

"The trafficking rings? That was you?" Anne asked. Odette have a sad smile.

"Well, we thought we took them out. I focused more on reuniting the children with their families or getting somewhere safe then busting them. That was all Rosalind. Apparently they have still been functioning without us noticing."

"They're still operating??" Ominis's head popped up. Odette nodded.

"That's part of what we were investigating. The place where you found us was a previous camp that we were checking out."

"How did you know about that place?" Ominis asked. Odette looked between Julian and Sebastian, who both gave her a nod.

"Because Rosalind was one of the children taken back when she was young." A gasp went through the room. "She found the place through a Ministry lead. That's probably the report you were investigating. We had gone back as a group to learn more."

"Slow down there, American. Minstry lead?" Imelda asked. Sebastian cut in.

"The rings are run by the Ministry. It's what Rosalind has been working on all these years. Taking down those rings, the corrupted people in the ministry, every person she's gone after where involved in these things, taking children and others from their families."