Sam Cortland Lived

Chapter 19

     Rome admired her ring for the fifth time that morning since she had woken up. Glancing at the boy in her bed once again she found herself smiling. Sam hadn't woken up and seeing that he looked so sweet and peaceful Rome had no intention of waking him either. As Rome went back to admiring her ring again her attention was drawn to the tattoo on her arm. Her smile slowly vanished. She couldn't remember everything that had happened the night before but she remembered the man with no face and as she ran her tongue across her teeth she knew she had managed to shift. Dread and nervousness filled her stomach as she realized she would be meeting with Yrene Westfall again today. 

Rowrow who had been resting in her lap jumped off and ran to the door. A moment later Rome heard a knock. 

"What are you guys doing here so early?" Rome asked as she hugged Lysandra and Elide and welcomed them into the room.

"When were you going to tell us what happened?" Lysandra as she walked over to the sitting area.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific." Rome said as they sat on the couches.

"First of all, you shifted!" Elide said, "And second why are you cut everywhere?" She finished gesturing to Rome's arms and right cheek.

Giving her a confused look Rome walked into the bathroom and gasped at what she found. She remembered stumbling through the forest but she didn't remember getting all these cuts and the bruises on her thigh. She paused and examined the bruise again and blushed furiously as she suddenly remembered exactly how she got that one. Pushing the memory of her night with Sam out of her mind she walked back into the room and found Sam now awake laughing with Elide and Lysandra. Rome stopped dead in her tracks and she realized Sam was shirtless. No one else seemed to give this much thought, however. Noticing Rome had reentered the room Sam rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug. She laughed as he spun her in a circle.

"Sam!" Rome laughed while hitting him on the back "Put me down."

Elide and Lysandra were now laughing as well as Sam finally set her down. 

"Don't act like you don't like it." Sam whispered into her ear. She hit him again and he laughed as he walked away. 

"Put a shirt on!" She yelled over her shoulder. "Ya ya." He waved her off.

Rome returned to Lysandra and Elide who were wiggling their eyebrows at her. Rome rolled her eyes.

"Back to our conversation from before, I can't recall everything that happened but I can tell you what I do remember." Rome said as Lysandra gave her a concerned look.

Rome told them of the voice she heard and how she ran after it. She told them of the horses and the strange man. "Then right as he was about to finish me off everything goes blank. The next thing I remember is Sam carrying me back into the castle" Rome finished. 

Elide pulled her into a hug. "Why are you always getting into trouble?" She said into Rome's hair. 

"That's a great question." Rome laughed. 

"So when you blacked out, that's when you shifted?" Lysandra asked.

"Yes." Sam had spoken from behind Rome now wearing a shirt she noticed. He sat down beside her.

"I saw it happen. You shattered his sword and then shattered him." Sam said staring at her hands.

"Oh." Rome said weakly. Sam took her hand in his and the small cold that began to creep over her began to retreat.

"Rowan can manipulate wind and ice too, so it would make sense that Rome can too," Lysandra said. "I'm sure he can help you make sense of all of it." she finished with a reassuring smile. "But why were they after you in the first place?" Sam squeezed her hand.