Elysian House: The Bitten Elixir [Remake] (1)

Chapter 31: The Darkness

Chapter 31: The Darkness

So Olivia knows now that Viola is my mate. Styx is Viola, Viola is Styx. It makes so much sense now, it baffles me how I hadn't seen it before. Her eyes, they were the same. Now that I look at them, I can't help but feel winded, breathless. Olivia wasn't mad, thankfully. Naturally, she was disappointed that she didn't even get a chance for it to be just her and I. But she knew she wasn't Styx the moment after we kissed. 

The door behind Olivia and I opened. 

Speak of the devil. 

"Am I interrupting something?" Viola asked Olivia and I when she saw our smiling and laughing. 

Olivia shakes her head. "No, we were just telling old stories. Reminiscing a bit." She turns back to me and leans down to hug me. When she has herself wrapped around me, she whispers, "Be good to my sister, okay?"

"I will," I whispered back.

Olivia backs up, smiles at her sister, then heads inside, where the talking was continuing. 

Viola steps beside me on the porch, hands on the railing. She looks down at me, biting down on her lip. Which wasn't helping me at all, because I wanted her to stop. Or else she'll hurt her lips. And lord knows how much I don't want that. 

"I saw some things," she begins with, keeping her tone low. "When we bonded, I saw it. I kept seeing old memories. And... it makes sense now." 

"What are you talking about?" I step closer, moving my hand so it rests right near hers. If I move it, I'm sure I could hold it. 

She seems to notice this as well as she moves her arm to shift against mine. "When I was a child, I thought I had a guardian angel. I saw someone every time I was feeling unsafe. And they kept me safe. When we bonded, I saw you. Standing there, holding me at times. It makes sense. You were going back in time to protect your mate, just like every time you were in trouble, I could feel it. I knew you were. It didn't make sense to me why I always knew you needed me, but I could never tell when others did."

"You were trying to protect me," I reached out, very slowly, hesitantly, out and laid my hand over hers. I sighed at the contact, because it felt like, even if I didn't realize it, I had been waiting for Styx to come back to me for years. Now here she is. And the contact is bringing me into euphoria. "That's why it was always you saving my ass." 

Her hand is shaking, I realize when she brushes her finger over my palm. "When you went down into the Catacombs... I felt so afraid. I came rushing as soon as you were gone. I didn't know why I was so scared until I saw you being held by Jasmin. When she bit you," she looks over at me. The guilt I feel when I see the fear in her blue eyes makes my lips press together tightly. "I didn't understand it until then. That I wanted to protect you." 

Her hand finally threads through mine. "I tried so hard to accept that Olivia would be closer to you and that I would not interfere with that. But now that I see who you are, and who I was, I don't want to accept it," she steps away from the railing and pulls my hand along with her. "I've never had feelings for another girl before. But I feel like the reason my relationships never worked out before was because I was only interested in you.

"And now, I just have to know," she pauses to inhale. "If you feel the same."

"Yes," I answer, almost too quickly. But I needed her to know that the moment it all came crashing down, I was ready to be Viola's. 

Relief sweeps across her face. It made me want to kick myself for letting her think for even a moment that I wouldn't return the same feelings. 

Her head falls down onto my shoulder and her entire body relaxes. Then, I felt my shoulder becoming wet. "I found you." She whispers, her voice trembling. I felt my own eyes burning and I tuck my face away in the safety of her neck. My arms coming around her waist to squeeze tight. "Rowan... Riley..."