Chapter 8: Chapter 8

It was a rainy day so I spent the day cleaning guest rooms on the third floor of the castle. God, it was exhausting. Seeing that the castle has multiple rooms per floor. The third floor is probably the most dirty considering all rooms in that floor weren't occupied and that's where they threw most of the old, unused furniture. Each room must've collected its fair share of dust and spider webs within years.

I went into the bathroom carrying new clothes that Sage bought for me from the town market. I wanted to come see the town market but I'm not allowed to be seen by vampires or even werewolves, we all know that.

On my hand is a pretty white dress, some underwear and a pair of doll shoes. Sage picked out the nicest clothes and I'm thankful to him for the effort. I quickly stripped off my robe and took a shower. Scrubbing my body with soap, I could feel every scar on my skin. I hated every single one of them. The robe is enough to hide them. I'm sure the dress is just as long.

The water running down the shower was cold. I enjoyed a minute of silence, just me relaxing. I can't help but to recall the night when I spoke with Ambrose. I didn't really give him detailed answers, I also didn't want to lie to his face. So I gave him only little information like I was trapped in some room. Ambrose asked more than one question but he seemed to be convinced that I don't remember much about the nightmares.

It's been days since that fire incident and the redhead lady still lingers in my mind every night. I had plenty of nightmares but I never did wake up in flames. They're always the same. Prison cells, fire, golden eyes, the same redhead lady and the aching back muscles. Everytime I wake up, I feel lightheaded. My body exerts this intense heat as if my blood is being boiled.

After tidying up, I let my hair down. Just as I thought, the dress was able to cover my legs but not the scars on my ankles.

I shrugged it off. I'm not comfortable with people staring at my scars but everybody in this castle has already seen my scars anyway.

Today, I'm planning to go to the castle's library. Ambrose is not here at the moment because he went to a meeting with the town councils. I don't know much about their jobs but I know for sure that Ambrose is a powerful man. Since Ambrose is not here, I am free to visit the library. I want answers and the key to finding these answers is in the library.

I opened the door and quietly went inside. This is my first time being in the library. I'm not really permitted to go in here but who cares? I want answers.

My feet were light and careful. The scent of old books and papers welcomed me. I walked to every shelf until I found this one old book. It was huge and it was covered by a thick blanket of dust. The cover was made of wood with little carvings on it, a red stone in the middle that made it look even more ancient.

Flipping through the pages, my index finger stopped on a specific picture. It was an image of a pale creature with fangs, almost human in its appearance. He holds a dagger on his chest and on his feet is a goblet filled with blood.

“Demons that feed on the blood of the living.” I read the first sentence. Hm, this book is all about different kinds of creatures.

An amused smile stretched on my lips as I flipped the next page. This book is quite interesting. Upon turning the pages, an old picture fell from the book. Lowering my head, I picked up the piece of paper. It was a ripped picture from an old newspaper. It was a picture of several men, I recognized only Ambrose. The other faces were unfamiliar.

“Emberton, 1700,” My lips parted at the date that was written behind the piece of newspaper.

I flipped the next pages and another picture was attached in the book, there were two men, Ambrose and another man. Ambrose looked intimidating here but the other was smiling. The man beside Ambrose has this neat, black hair. He wore a white linen shirt with frills and a black knee breeches.

He's familiar.

Ah, yes. That man. He's also in the ripped newspaper I saw. Holding the two pictures together, I compared the faces and I was right. It's the same man. But who is he?

“Cassius Baltimore and Ambrose Colter.” The penmanship was legible and delicate.

Cassius. The name rolled out perfectly on my lips. Like I knew that name and my mouth remembered saying it.

“Feyre?” I heard the door closed.

I heard heavy footsteps coming. My eyes widened and put back the book from the shelf where I took it.

“You're not allowed in here.” A familiar voice echoed in the library.

It was Daniel in his usual rugged pants and oversized shirt. He walked towards me slowly, dark eyes fixed on the shelves.

I looked at him nervously, “I'm sorry to barge in here. I'm bored so I wanted to read some books.” I lied.

“How come I can't seem to hear your thoughts?” His eyes were curious and surprised. Brows furrowed, he's deep into his thoughts. I'm not sure about what he's talking about.

Daniel nodded, “Well, then go ahead and grab any books and leave.” His tone is light but the stars were different, oddly suspicious. I'm starting to think, do I look that suspicious? I mean, yeah. I panic easily and I'm shaky when I'm lying.

I grabbed random books and left Daniel in the library. I was in a panic that I couldn't really see what book I'd grabbed.

The books were dusty, some pages were ripped on their edges. I just hope no pages are missing. Looking down at the heavy books I'm carrying, I smiled upon reading the first book's title.

“Emberton.”

I walked straight to my room and placed the books down on the carpeted floor. Since my bed was caught in fire, Ambrose told me to move my things in another guest room. There are tons of rooms in this castle so it's not really a problem for Ambrose. The room is the same as the previous one only it is further to the bathroom.

Crossing my legs, I sat on the carpet and started reading. If Ambrose won't give me answers. No one will. So I might as well help myself in finding out who I really am.