Chapter Ninety-two

It was Izabella’s turn to ask a question. “Is there anything else I should take with me that’s in this room?”

Eudom tapped his chin as if thinking. He grabbed a couple of soft, leatherbound books and placed them with the box he pulled from the weapons chest. “Yes, father’s journals should be read. He explains more about the promise and who Eudom is and why he’s here. It will become very important soon. Take this too.” He pulled a small case that looked like it held a ring. When she opened it, there was a small silver band with a small polished black stone covered in tiny gold flecks. “Having the entrance in his office worked for my Matt, but he carried this ring—”

“He wore it on a necklace. It disappeared while he was in the hospital. I just assumed a nurse or another patient stole it.”

Eudom nodded. “It will give you access to the shadow room at all times.” Izabella grabbed the ring and placed it on her right hand. It fit perfectly. “Then you tap, tap, tap it. It will bring you back to the last place you were before you left. So, don’t use it on a boat.” He giggled incessantly, clearly having amused himself with his own joke. His smile grew as she touched the stone softly.

“I can’t thank you enough for returning this.” She threw her arms around him without thinking. He was like a large, overstuffed animal made of silk, who squished like an icy-cold marshmallow. “Sorry.” She stepped back, realizing she may have scared him. With his cloak leaving his features mostly in shadow, she could only ever see a small portion of the skin on his face, but his cheeks looked pinker than before. She thought that it was cute that entities could blush.

Shaking his hands out, he smiled widely. “Got a little excited there, didn’t we deary.” He looked around the room, then back at her. “Should we leave now?”

Izabella nodded and he reached up, removing two books from the topmost corner above where the stool with the books under it sat in the corner. “If you use the office entrance, you use this exit. If you use the ring, use the ring’s exit.” His red eyes locked on hers until she agreed she understood, and then he tapped out his passcode and was gone.

Izabella sighed. What a strange night. She looked around the room again until an old, World War II phono caught her eye. In the phot, several men stood. Only one smiled in the picture while the rest glared. The caption on the bottom was circled with a bold red marker. **THE UNSUNG HEROS OF THE WAR**.

Plucking the photo from its place, Izabella touched it gently. Bram stood in the center with Tyler, who had his arm around Bram’s shoulder. Gavin also glared out, from the side of the photo. She was surprised by this. If they had been soldiers together how had Tyler not realized his mate was there with him the entire time? When Bram explained it to her it had been like he’d known from the moment he saw her she was his mate. She couldn’t help but wonder if everyone had a different experience? She would need to ask him or Tyler to explain it more.

Tucking the picture into one of the journals Eudom had offered her, she climbed on the stool and tapped out the passcode. A moment later, they were standing alone in her father’s old office. Tom and the hunter were gone, and she and Eudom were alone. He smiled, turning to leave the room, and she followed him back, closing the door softly behind her. No one in the church seemed any wiser about their excursion so she settled in on the bed. Eudom was back standing near her dresser. His fingers click, click, clicket-y clicking on wood of her dresser.

“I’m sorry, deary. This is where our game ends. If you have any questions, now is the time.” Eudom looked displeased though.

“You said I would feel betrayed. Why?” Her eyes met his burning red ones. Now that they were back in her room, he seemed to disappear into the shadows again. When he looked away from her, chills ran up her spine. She didn’t like when he got that look in his eye.

Waving a hand in the air, he dismissed the question. “That will come. You’ll know it when you see it. It’s not because it’s what I want, deary. It’s just… necessary.”

“Why?” She asked. Eudom simply shook his head. He wouldn’t be answering this question. So, she proffered another. “Can I trust Pastor Tom?”

Eudom sighed heavily. “Only in matters where you want information from the church. He’s not your enemy and has the makings of a great ally. Much like your father. But he is stuck. He doesn’t know what Matt knew, and information is power. It will be a difficult road to get him to be trustworthy. It took your father three years of meeting with Eudom to learn that he could be trusted. And your father was more open minded. It’s why I sought him out in the first place. You have to realize it may never happen.”

He was finally being candid with her. “What am I supposed to use those darts for?” She sat on her bed as he clicked his fingers on the wooden dresser.

“A magical being will come into your life. Quite unexpectedly, might I add. You will want to suppress those magics anyway you can, because it will be a danger to you, and everyone involved. Those darts will help you navigate this person’s magic. It is not your Bram, or anyone known to be affiliated in a way you think. I know I didn’t answer the question as well as you would have liked, but you will see it the moment it happens. This person will be important to you both. No matter what. And always.” Eudom seemed distracted. He was playing with the plant near the window and she couldn’t help but think about their conversation, when he jumped up and down like a giddy child who had gotten everything he ever wanted for Christmas.

Izabella watched him for a bit. Smiling as he spoke so softly to the plant that she couldn’t even hear him. He pet the leaves and was looking at it with soft red eyes which warmed her heart. “Is that the seedling you wanted?”

Eudom turned, looking at her and his smile faltered, but didn’t disappear. “The seedling I want cannot have a witness to it. Would you lay back on the bed and close your eyes, deary?” His head cocked to the side. This was the last part to the promise he made that he had to fulfill. She knew that’s what he was really here for. Clearly, he and her father had been close. Closer than she ever knew.

Laying back on her bed, Izabella closed her eyes. She would let him do what he needed. It was a promise to her father after all. No matter what she learned of him, nothing could sway her love for the man, or what he had returned to her. Matthew Corvino had been a pillar in her life, and always would be. He took her in. If anything, these last few weeks had proven he’d saved her from more than she’d ever known. He had loved her. Izabella knew that without a doubt. She even had the feeling that some of those emotions had rubbed off on the entity in her room. Who was currently petting one of her plants like it was a cat.

Izabella would do this. For him. For them. For Eudom. He seemed like he needed to close this part of his existence. And until the promise was fulfilled, that couldn’t happen.

Her lower body suddenly felt cold. Izabella tried to move, but her limbs felt too heavy, she couldn’t. Struggling against the feeling for a moment before her eyes opened to see Eudom, standing over her, his hands in a triangle over her lower belly. His eyes were as dark and cold as coal. “It was unanimous. I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry. It will all be better soon though. What you are losing is worth the sacrifice for what you’re able to gain. You can only take Eudom’s word. I already know you won’t believe until you find the answers. I’m sorry.” His red glowing eyes met hers for just a moment before focusing on his hands. “Before you ask, I’m taking the seedling. You’ll… see him soon.” Eudom looked away, but there was no disguising the smirk on his lips.

“Wait.” Izabella couldn’t just let this happen. A baby? No. No. That couldn’t be. “What do you mean? What seedling? What baby? I was never pregnant.”

Eudom smiled at her. “That’s right. You were never pregnant to begin with.” That was not a convincing smile. Pure sarcasm oozed from him. “You’ll see him soon. Don’t you worry. He’s mine until then though. We played for him. *You* gave him to me.”

“No. Wait, please, Eudom. Tell me. Am I having a baby?” When he said nothing, only staring at her, she couldn’t stop. “I requested you not to ask me questions I couldn’t understand. I even said I have plants up here! You can’t—”

“I’m sorry, bunny. I have to.” His too long arm reached over, stretching through the distance to the window, pressing it open. “You’ll see soon. I promise. And you know my promises don’t mean nothing.” He laughed. Slipping out of the room.

For the longest time, Izabella could only stare at the window. Not quite sure what just happened. When sorrow and pain enveloped her, she didn’t know how to respond. Instead, she screamed and cried, unable to bare the thought of having just given away her baby. Bram’s baby. Devon, Gabe, Jessica, and Rose were all in the other room. Where she couldn’t go see them. Jennifer, Alex, Missy, and Mable were still missing. Bram was hunting for them and Tyler.

Izabella was alone. In this moment, she felt more pain and despair than ever before. All she could do was curl up in a ball on her bed and scream for help.