Old Promises, New Mysteries: Book 2 of The Kinstone series

A week passed since our trip to France and the Court. So it really didn’t take that much time in order to settle back into my old routine. Even being a few days away from home didn’t diminish my ability to simply reconnect to home.

In fact, the moment Rachel and I got home, I quickly headed back up to my room, laid my suitcase onto a caddy, opened it, but then flung myself onto my bed, opening a book and began to read it.

I recalled what the whispered voice spoke to me. Clearly Rachel couldn’t hear it, neither did Fenris. What did it mean by “Beware death’s corrupting flames”? I was slightly hesitant to delve into it, and I also wasn’t even sure if I should tell Rachel about it.

I heard Fenris bounding into my room and rested his head onto my bed. I smiled as I leaned over and stroked his face. “What troubles you Aria?”

I shook my head, “Nothing.” The wolf coughed in disbelief.

I smiled, spinning on my bed, and kissed his nose, “It’s nothing, really.”

Again the wolf stared into my eyes, “You can talk to me about anything, which includes your mother.”

I nodded, stilling stroking his face, “I know.”

He finally relented and hopped onto my bed, causing it to shake slightly. I smiled as I crawled into his side, resting my head onto his chest. The wolf curled his neck, laying his head next to me.

My fingers gently strummed through his fur, feeling its cooling touch, smiling as tiny chilled breezes escaped from the folds of his fur. I then reopened my book and began to read. My toes flinched as I heard the sounds of approaching footsteps.

I quickly hopped off of my bed and started to unpack my suitcase, carefully putting away the folded clothes and shoes into the closet and wardrobe. I finished by tossing my dirty clothes into the hamper in the bathroom.

I zipped up my suitcase and placed it into my closet, just as Rachel opened the door, “Finished unpacking have we?”

I nodded, closing my door, “Just did.” Rachel peered over to my bed, where she saw a still open book and Fenris lying upon my bed.

She peered over to me and nodded, curling a smirk, “You better get some rest sweetheart. Despite our absence from home, I fully intend to resume your training proper.” I nodded, walking back to my bed, kicking off my shoes and socks.

My mother shook her head, “Dinner will be served shortly young lady.” I nodded as I poured into my book. Rachel glanced at Fenris, who gave her a nod. She smiled and exited my room.

I resumed my nightly calls with Jenn, who as predicted, was utterly jealous of the fact that actually got to visit a real castle. We spent hours talking about my brief time in France.

When the topic of my encounter with the two girls came around, Jenn was simply stunned by it. “Who the hell gave those two the right to tell you to leave your mom? Plus, on top of that, demanding that you hand over Fenris to them?” she asked.

I shook my head, “I have no idea. They must’ve chalked it up to their lineage, that it somehow afforded them some notion of authority.” I paused for a moment, “And then they attacked me, just as I was walking away from them.”

Jenn quickly switched us to video call, “OH, my god. You can’t be serious. So you wouldn’t bow to their demands and they attacked you for it?”

I nodded, “That’s when Fenris showed up, blocking their attacks.”

She smiled to me, “Well it’s always a good thing to know that he’s there, watching over you,” grinning, “like a good doggy.”

Fenris’ ears perked up as he peered over to me, his eyes glaring at Jenn on the screen. Her grin never faded as she bowed her head to him, “Not to say anything bad about you sir. I know how much you think of Aria as your lil pup.”

I blushed softly as I looked at him. The wolf coughed and laid his head back onto the bed. “In any case, I think we should end it here for tonight,” redirected Jenn.

“I think so too.”

She smiled, “Oh, just wanted to let you know that we loved having you here with us last month. My mom really enjoyed having you around.”

I giggled, “It was fun hanging out with you.”

She grinned, “Well I hope we get to do it again real soon. But until the next time, night Aria.”

I waved, “Night Jenn.” We smiled to each other as we ended the call. I then rolled over and placed the phone onto my bedside table and flipped off my light before crawling under the covers.