Bound By Blood: The Pureblood Prince

Chapter Fifteen

"Did he have any distinguishing features on him? Maybe a... scar on his wrist, or a tattoo?"

The woman, who introduced herself as Detective Karla Reedy, was trying her best not to upset me, but I could sense that she was frustrated. She had been asking me questions for thirty minutes, and I had given her essentially nothing.

"I'm sorry, I never saw anything like that. It was always too dark."

I had sold her the story that I had been kidnapped by a man, who blindfolded me and drove me to a place with no windows or lights, and kept me there until he suddenly decided to take me back. He always covered his face, always wore gloves, and no he never spoke. His height was average, his clothes were nondescript. The longer she pried, the more exhausted I felt, and I sensed that she was starting to question my story.

I looked down at my wrist, fiddling with my wristband from the hospital. I was there for such a short time, they took me to the station to wait for my mom. They said I was slightly anemic, but in otherwise perfect health.

"What kind of food did he give you?" she asked.

I sighed. "I don't know... normal stuff I guess. Look, I'm really tired. Can I come back about this tomorrow?"

Karla lowered her gaze, leaning back. "I apologize. You can wait in the lobby until your mother arrives, if you like. Could I get you some more water?" she asked, standing. It seemed like she just wanted an excuse to leave, so I nodded politely. "Thank you."

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The relationship I had with my parents was complicated from the day I was born. They met in medical school, my mother becoming a cardiologist and my father an obstetrician. On the night of my birth, my father left so that he could deliver his patient's child. It was a story that both of my parents used to tell proudly. To them, their career was the ultimate responsibility. Everything else came second.

It took two hours for my mother to arrive at the police station. I watched her walking through the door and I stood up, surprised at the overwhelming feeling of relief when I saw her. I didn't often find myself missing my mom, but it hit me all at once. She outstretched her arms and sort of skip-walked towards me, entrapping me in a tight hug. 

After she spoke to Detective Karla, we finally headed back. She didn't say a word on the way home, but communication was never her strong suit. We had that in common.

I was surprised to see my father when I arrived at her house. My parents had been separated for a few years, and they never found a reason to be in the same room with one another. He looked tired, more tired than usual. When he first saw me, it seemed like he didn't know what to say.

"Cora, I'm so happy you're alright." his voice shook, and it startled me. He wrapped me in a tight hug that felt very awkward, but I was grateful.

I stayed downstairs for a while, drinking tea and sitting in awkward company with my parents. After a while, I told them I wanted to go to my room and rest. My mother looked to me, with weary eyes, and smiled. It came out more like a grimace on her face. I could tell that both my mom and my dad wanted to be doing something to fix me, but for once they didn't have a remedy.

I hugged my father goodbye, and headed to my room. It seemed so eerily empty now that I didn't live at home any more. I stared at the blank walls, sitting on my old bed for the first time since I'd left for college. I set my bag beside me, pulling out Gabriel's letter. I unfolded it carefully, running my fingers along his words.

Do not search for me.

I went to my bathroom and ran the shower water, sitting on the tile floor with the letter still in my hands. I slumped over, and pressed the paper against my chest. I swore I could feel the letters burning against my skin.

There was a pull... a nagging, burning hole inside of me. It was like two magnets, spinning and pulling, desperate to stick together again. I had never felt anything like it in my life.

I laid sprawled out over the covers on my bed, limp like a rag doll. I had pulled on a worn-out t-shirt and left my hair unbrushed and wet, dampening the pillow. I watched the sun set, and yet it felt like time had stopped passing.

It was completely dark when I heard my mother turn on the TV downstairs. She watched the news for a while; I could hear the anchor's garbled voice through the walls.

"Nineteen year-old Cora Delavine, who disappeared without a trace last Saturday, was found safely in her dorm-"

My heart skipped at the sound of my name, then the TV clicked off. I sat there for a moment, listening to my mother's footsteps as she walked to her bedroom and shut the door. I stared at the ceiling for a long time, unable to sleep despite my exhaustion. After a while my brain gave up, and my body gave in to sleep.

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A swelling, heavy feeling yanked deep in my chest, nearly sucking the breath out of me. My eyes shot open, and glided out of bed. My ears were ringing and my cheeks burned. I needed to get to something, I could feel it- rushing through my veins. Every organ in my body begged for it.

I felt myself rush down the stairs so quickly it shocked me. Through the living room, out the door... down the street, past the park and the fast food restaurants and the library... past a pond I didn't recognize. It all happened in a rushing blur, like I was caught in a jet stream. Then I stopped- all at once, in the center of the woods somewhere. Suddenly I could feel my bare feet on the wet ground. I looked around me, barely able to make out the silver branches illuminated by the cloud-veiled moon. I saw something that looked like a branch at first but... it wasn't attached to a tree at all. It was bluer than the moonlight, and grew brighter the longer I looked at it. I moved towards it slowly, watching it grow brighter. It was like a... sliver, a seam, suspended in thin air. I reached out my hand to touch it, watching a thin ribbon of fog escape from it.

A white, blinding light filled my vision, and I jolted awake, sweating and shivering in my bed. I jerked my body upwards in bed and gasped. Something instinctive within me knew immediately what I saw... glowing, burning blue...

Gabriel.

I pulled on my shoes and threw on my jacket, rushing down the stairs as quietly as I could. I grabbed my mother's keys from the hook by the front door. I started out the door, but stopped cold. I turned and fumbled through the pockets of jackets piled up on the hall tree, pulling a crumpled receipt from my mom's coat. I picked up a pen left on the coffee table, yanking off the cap with my teeth, and scratched the words on the smudged paper.

I have to go. Don't look for me, I'm okay. I'm sorry.

I slapped the note on the fridge and walked out. I didn't give myself a moment to acknowledge the pang of guilt in the pit of my stomach. I had to do this.

I was going to find him.