Wicked Omen (The Royals: Warlock Court Book 1), page 14
When she gave me a soft smile that lit up her face, my heart leapt at the sight of it. I forced myself not to smile back at her. “Just put it on the table and when we get back, you can put it in your room. For now we need to get going.”
She placed the paper down, and the smile dropped from her face. “Where are we going?”
“Well, you said your father kept some of your mother’s things and she’s obviously the Lockwood side of the family. So, we start looking there.”
Chapter 18
Astrid
I stumbled out of Beckett’s portal and caught myself on my dining room table. “Gets easier every time.”
Not a single light was on, only the glow from the streets below illuminated the floor-to-ceiling windows. Gauzy white curtains hung in front of them, muting the streetlights. At night I used to walk around my penthouse without a single light on inside. I spun around in a circle, taking in all the expensive cream-colored furnishings and boring marble flooring. Maze stepped through after me.
“We only have a minute, so I’ll make this quick.” He held up two fingers. “One, follow your instincts. You’re going to be right. Two, torture whomever you like. I find it refreshing.”
“What?” I had no idea what he was talking about.
He pressed his finger to his lips. “Shhh, they’re on their way.” He turned on his heels and walked out of the living room and straight into the kitchen. The light flicked on and the sound of the fridge opening reached my ears.
The portal swirled then Cross came through, followed by Logan and last Beckett.
Logan gave a low whistle. “Nice place.”
“Um, thanks.” It was a nice place with every luxury in the world. Yet it didn’t feel like a home. It was cold and empty, the place I grew up in. It was difficult at Warwick, but I felt alive there, like I belonged. Here among all the pretty things, the perfect white couches, the marble coffee table that matched the floors, the million-dollar view over Central Park I didn’t belong.
He ran his hands over the back of the couch. “Very nice indeed.”
Beckett took one glance around then turned his focus on me. “Okay, are you ready?”
Was I ready to face the memory of my mother? Oh, hell no! I’d been putting this off for as long as I could remember and once a year my father would bring out my mother’s things to show them to me. I both loved and hated it. I longed for the mother I’d never known and now I had to face this world, her world, without her in it. I’m not ready. “Um, yeah, I’m ready.”
I waved for him to follow me as I walked across the living room toward the foyer. With each step I took down the short hallway, I felt him behind me like a silent shadow. When I glanced over my shoulder, his eyes were on me. They nearly glowed in the dimness of my house. “Where’s your dad?”
I shrugged. “LA, Paris, Chicago, who knows.”
It was true, when we decided to portal right into my living room, I wasn’t even worried they’d be here. They were never here. “Come one, this way.” I crooked my finger at him to follow me up the stairs toward my father’s study.
I held on to the spiraling banister and walked up the same stairs I’d climbed a thousand times before, except now my heart was hammering in my chest. Everything I was about to see took on a whole new meaning to me. These pieces were left to me, for a part of me I didn’t understand just yet and Beckett was here to witness it all. It was true I trusted him now, but did I want him to be so close to me while I worked on this?
“It’ll be okay, Astrid.” He spoke to me as if he knew what I was thinking, what I was feeling.
I sucked in a deep breath when we hit the second level. At the end of the hall was my room, but on the right side stood the door to my father’s study. I stopped at the door and turned the knob. “It’s in here.”
I shoved it wide-open. My father’s office was so different than the old world beauty in Beckett’s family home. It was ultra-modern complete with clean lines, white walls, and black cabinets. An oversized black desk sat at the center of the room with the floor-to-ceiling windows right behind it.
“Cozy.” Beckett arched his eyebrow at the empty vase sitting on the small table between the two chairs facing his desk.
“Yup, that’s Dad, never settling in anywhere.” I strolled over to his desk and pulled out the center drawer. The pens were grouped into colors, the pads stacked from largest to smallest, and at the back of the drawer I found the small red velvet box he kept the key to the safe in. “Jackpot.”
Though very few of my mother’s things had real value, my father kept them under lock and key. I tossed the box across the room to Beckett. His hand shot out and he caught it. With his thumb he flipped the top off the box and let the key drop into the palm of his other hand. He held it up. “Where’s the safe?”
“Over here.” I moved around the desk to where the area rug sat. I bent down and flipped half of it back. There in the floor was a seamless panel that blended in with the wooden planks perfectly. I reached down and pulled it up to reveal the safe my father had installed. “I’m going to enter the code and put my thumb print in, then you twist the key, okay?”
“Bit extreme for some family heirlooms, no?”
“My father is, let’s just say an intense guy.” I pressed the numbers on the outside of the safe then held my thumb to the small pad. “Key, please.”
Beckett dropped down to his knees across from me and leaned over then shoved the key into the lock. Our heads were nearly touching. He was so close I could smell his heady scent. The lock slid to the side and the door clicked open. I raised my face to look up at him at the same exact time he did. Our noses nearly touched, and our lips were mere inches away. If I leaned forward, I’d be able to brush my lips against his. Tension hung in the air and in that moment, I wanted to do it. I wanted to feel his mouth on mine, to know exactly what he tasted like. The tension crackled and for a moment I sat there frozen and powerless to look away.
His tongue darted over his lips and my eyes were drawn down toward them, so full and plump. On any given day he infuriated me, frustrated me, and made me want to strangle him. But in the moments when it was just the two of us and he relaxed, his pull on me was something I’d never want to admit to myself. He cleared his throat and looked down into the safe.
I sat back on my heels. I hadn’t felt myself leaning forward but apparently I had been. I reached down into the safe and pulled the small wooden box out. The contents rolled from side to side as I placed it on the floor next to us. Beckett flipped open the lid, revealing the only pieces I had of my mother. I grabbed up a locket with my baby picture in it and held it in the palm of my hand. The small heart shape always struck me as odd to have for someone who left their daughter. There was a string of pearls, several bracelets, a single dried flower that’d dropped two petals my father refused to throw out. But at the bottom, for the first time ever I felt the pull of power. A tiny fraction of it, nothing like standing next to the other founding heirs but it was there, faint as could be.
I dipped my hand in and pulled out a single ring. “This is it.”
“Are you sure?”
I climbed to my feet and walked over to the lamp on my father’s desk and clicked it on. The ring was simple yet extravagant. It was one of the reasons I never took it out and wore it. On top of the simple platinum band sat a vibrant emerald that shined even under the dim office light. I never noticed it before, but surrounding the emerald was a thin platinum band that was shaped in a smooth snake. The head had its mouth open, swallowing the tail. That band was so thin, so delicate it was feminine in form, not what I expected from a snake ring.
“What’s that on the inside?” His hand brushed against mine as he took the ring between his thumb and pointer finger.
Electricity sizzled through my veins and those annoying butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Is it just me? Am I the only one who feels this? Beckett didn’t act like he’d felt a damn thing. Just me then . . . greeeaatttt.
“Look at this.” He held it out to me.
I took the ring back and examined the inside of it. “There’s an inscription.” The lettering was faded and hard to read, but I squinted my eyes. “When lost, return home. What do you think it means?”
“I don’t know.” He stepped away from me to the other side of the desk. “But we should get back to the school and try and figure this out.”
He knelt down next to the open safe and replaced the box, then closed the safe door and replaced the panel over it. I slid the ring onto my middle finger and stared down at it.
When lost, return home. Where the hell is home?
He kicked the rug back into place. “Astrid, did you hear me?”
Home? Home? Home? I turned away from him, looking out over Central Park. During the day it was a beautiful array of fall colors, but at night was full of shadows and places to hide. Places to hide . . . His fingers slipped around my elbow and I was pulled around to face him.
“Astrid.” He gave me a slight jostle. “Are you okay?”
“Um, yeah. If you were Gregor Lockwood, where would you consider home?” I spun around and started pacing. “There’s only one place I can think of.”
We faced each other and his face lit up at the same time mind did. In unison we uttered the name. “Lockwood house.”
Chapter 19
Astrid
“Are you sure we should be walking in there now?” By the time we got back from my house it was nearly two in the morning and I hesitated on the walkway leading up to Lockwood house. Instead of being that bright red I’d seen on my first day, it was now a dark gray. The flowers that’d bloomed out front now looked withered and dead. The haunted woods encroached all around the house and this late at night it looked like it was about to swallow the house whole. Above the front door was the wrought iron rendering of medusa. Her face was beyond beautiful with dozens of snakes swirling around it.
“Whether or not you live here, this is your house.” Logan motioned for me to pass him. He was so smooth like all the preppy boys I used to go to school with. “As the Lockwood heir, you have an all access pass here.”
I stepped in front of him, but Beckett and Cross moved to walk on either side of me. Maze fell into step beside Logan behind us. I felt like a woman on a mission leading a pack of the most dangerous guys I’d ever seen. Even Logan, who was as suave as the best of players, seemed dangerous to me. It was the charming ones I always watched out for. At least with the other three I knew where I stood. But the four of them combined made a formidable team. My only concern was what did I add to it? Why did they need me so badly? And would I be the weakest link?
“You guys know Kitty and Kyle aren’t my biggest fans, right?” I stomped up the stairs to the front door.
“Like their opinions matter?” Beckett reached out and pressed the doorbell.
I didn’t know why, but I liked the idea of him not caring about anything that Kitty thought. I shrugged. “Fair enough.”
The five of us stood outside the door for two minutes without a single word and without anyone opening the door. I shifted from one foot to the other and reached for the handle. Maze chuckled. “You sure you want to do that?”
“Follow my instincts, right?” I twisted the knob and shoved it. It creaked as it swung open and smacked into the wall. I leaned forward and peeked in at the foyer. Black and white checkered tiles lined the floors. Two opulent staircases ran up from the center of the floor, one twisted from the left and one from the right. They met in the middle where they opened up to the second floor. A small balcony overlooked the foyer and a darkened chandelier hung low enough that if I were standing on the second floor it’d be at eye level.
I took a step inside. “My instincts are telling me it’s time to explore.”
Maze walked past me then spun around and held his arms out. “My first time in this house and I plan on making it my bitch.”
A giggle escaped my lips and my nerves suddenly vanished. Kyle and Kitty weren’t the only ones with a medusa on their jacket. I had just as much right to be here as they did. Hell, maybe more so if I was who Beckett thought I was. Maze walked through a door under the stairs and disappeared farther into the house.
Cross motioned toward the door. “How much do you want to bet he went straight for the kitchen?”
“Bottomless pit. It’s disgusting.” Logan wrinkled his nose and looked up at second floor. “It’s a bit similar to the council house apart from the double staircases.”
It was eerily quiet with only a few lights shining down from the second floor, casting the rest of the foyer in dark, ominous shadows. The golden railings were inlaid with a snake skin print that I longed to run my fingers over. I moved to walk up the stairs and Beckett pressed his hand to my elbow. I sucked in a breath and felt that sizzle I always did whenever he touched me. Damn him for it!
“I’m going first.” Beckett stepped in front of me and walked up the stairs. He didn’t look at me once since getting here. His eyes were on the floors, on the little balcony overlooking the foyer, and on every shadow. Cross silently fell back behind me.
“What are you all doing here?” Kitty’s snide voice snapped from just above us. “Last I heard no one was allowed to enter one of the houses at school uninvited.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “I invited them in.”
Kitty leaned her arms on the railing of the second floor and bent down low, exposing what little cleavage she had. She stood before us in a spaghetti strap, silky nightdress. It clung to her body like a second skin. Her hair was loose and down around her face. Never trust a girl who doesn’t wear sweatpants when they’re alone. I’d learned that one from Tilly and looking at Kitty in the cream-colored getup I one hundred percent agreed with Tilly.
She bit her bottom lip and smiled down at Beckett. “I’d invite you any time. All you have to do is ask.”
Beckett chuckled and climbed the stairs two at a time. My heart raced as he approached her. He stopped only inches from her. “I don’t ask for anything…ever.” He walked past her and turned down a hallway off to the left.
Was he flirting? Before I could analyze it, he looked back at me and motioned for me to follow. I climbed the stairs and moved to march past her.
Kitty stepped back, blocking my path. “He won’t have to ask for anything from me.”
I arched my eyebrows at her. “Didn’t realize easy was something you wanted to advertise. But then again I’m not surprised.”
She wrapped her fingers around my arm and pinched my skin. I jerked it back. “Let go.”
“You are not part of the Lockwood line and when they all realize what a fake you are, you’re going to regret not playing nice with me.” She hissed low enough for only me to hear.
“Who says I’m playing?” My temper rose and I felt the burn in the palms of my hands. Golden smoke flowed from my hands and over the floor.
Beckett popped his head back from the hall he’d gone down only moments ago. “Astrid, don’t.”
“Don’t what?” I smiled up at Kitty. Her eyes widened with fear and the smug smirk she had on her face dropped. My smoke drifted up her legs and around her thighs. “I don’t think we’ll be needing you in our way.”
My smoke turned to cement, locking her to the ground. I stepped around her as Logan went into fits of laughter and Cross snickered while he knocked on the rock-hard block around her legs.
I turned for the hallway off the balcony and Beckett fell into step beside me. “You need to learn magic isn’t the answer to everything.”
“And you need to learn to mind your own business.” Every time I came into contact with Kitty she wanted to remind me I didn’t belong here or how unworthy I was. I knew it wasn’t right, but it felt damn good.
I threw my shoulders back and held my head up as I walked down the hall. He wasn’t going to make me feel guilty about defending myself against a school bully. I tried to turn my attention away from him and to the task at hand. Which was finding the next clue and for some reason I’d gone this way down a long hallway lined with portrait after portrait of the Lockwood line. Each of them was dressed in historical clothing sitting unsmiling as they posed. There were more men than women. There was only one constant in each of these pictures. They all had the signature dark red hair that was nearly black . . . just like me.
“Magic isn’t here to solve your problems, Astrid. You can’t go around cementing people to the ground because you’re annoyed.” He chided me like a small child when in reality he should be excited that I’d used my powers the exact way I’d intended to use them.
Another set of paintings and not a single door in sight. I didn’t need him to tell me every time I did something wrong. I knew it wasn’t right to stick Kitty to the floor. Sometimes ya just gotta cement a bitch. It wasn’t like I cut her.
“Are you even listening to me?” Beckett snapped and stopped dead in the hall. “This isn’t a joke.”
I spun around to face him. “I know this isn’t a joke. I know we have a job to do and I know I have to prove myself.” I stepped in closer to him. “But for one second can you imagine what it might be like for me to be in the middle of all of this? How confusing it is or how hard it is? You expect me to step into this world and fit seamlessly. Newsflash, I don’t fit in anywhere!”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Zinnia found out she was a queen recently and she didn’t go around gluing people to the ground.”
Just what a girl wanted to hear. “I’m sorry I’m not your all-powerful Queen Zinnia. I’m me, Beckett, and I’m doing the best I freaking can.”
“By using magic on stupid high school bullies.”
I hated it when he made good points. I hated it when he bossed me around. I hated it when he lectured me. I hated the way I wanted him and I hated the way he made me question everything.
