Page 33 of Unkindness of Crimson Ravens
Killed. All of those children had been murdered by gruesome human beings. Every single one of them.
My stomach turned upside down at the idea of it, nausea settled deep in my chest. “I am sorry that happened to you.”
Florence sent me a half smile, “It’s all right.”
Silence fell in between us. I wished to ask her what had happened, but kept my mouth shut. I had no right to request such vulnerability from the person I’d been nothing but rude to these past months.
“It’s all right to wonder, Cordelia.” She read into my expression. “It’s in the past,” she shrugged. “My human family were travelers: never stayed in one place for long.”
I held my breath in, catching her every word.
“On one of those trips, some hunters tried to rob our carriage. My dearest father got into a fight with them, protecting me and my siblings.”
My fingers tightened around the reins.
“They killed him first,” she said calmly. “Then the hunters cut my mother’s throat, along with my young siblings, leaving me for last.
“I was nineteen then, the hunters thought I would be a great use for them, but seeing what they had done to my family I couldn’t take it anymore. I took out the knife my father gifted me, and ended my suffering myself.”
An icy chill ran down my skin.
“The next thing I remembered was waking in the cemetery, seeing the unnamed cold stones, lying next to the grave I must have dug out from. I didn’t understand what had happened, I was all by myself.” Florence sighed. “For a while I was convinced my siblings shared the same destiny; I wandered around the world for the longest time hoping to find them.
“Perhaps their souls chose to rest in the end.”
I stared at Florence in horror, unable to say a word.
“My life got better after I met Roxanne, Caleb, and Francis. They offered me a place to stay, food, and companionship. I found the love of my life in this new being.” The sunshine smile was back on her face. “I know you had a rough beginning here, Cordelia, but time will heal your wounds. I really hope you can find happiness here.”
The distraught I had felt when Francis first brought me here seemed childish after hearing Florence’s story, although shenever seemed to judge me for it. I could not imagine what she had to go through before finally finding her peace.
The first sunray glanced from the horizon when we arrived at the castle. For the first time I saw it from the outside in its full glory.
The castle looked to be abandoned—only a few windows shimmered with firelight, giving this place some sense of life within.
Leaving our horses in the stable, I followed Florence through the front gate, passing the ballroom I’d danced in last week. Had it really only been a week? Somehow it felt like eternity.
Florence entered a room I had yet to discover, holding the door open for me. I hesitated entering, fighting the urge to find my own room, not interested in meeting Caleb again; though Florence didn’t let me get away that easily as she pulled on my sleeve to enter.
I walked into the pitch black room, unable to see anything beyond my outstretched hand. Unwelcome fear grew deep in my stomach, forcing my eyes to adjust to new conditions. A few seconds passed before the pitch black room took on a new light. It was still dark, though I could see everything nearly perfectly.
I blinked rapidly, not believing in such abnormality.
The sound of matches being struck interrupted the silence, forcing my head to instinctively turn in its direction.
The room gained color, the fireplace in the center of the stone wall bestowed us with its beauty. Florence’s eyes glowed, reflecting the firelight, as she stared at the dark green settee in front of the fireplace.
A huge wooden table settled to my right, twelve chairs encircling it. Right in the center of the table sat long dead roses, as if darkness itself rushed through the room, sucking the life out of them.
I walked towards Florence whose smile dropped as if it never even belonged on her face. Walking around six settees facing the fireplace in a half circle, I followed Florence’s gaze, and saw the reason for the worry in her eyes.
Fiery hair fell in beautiful waves all around the cushions of the settee. Roxanne laid on her side, staring into the fire with blank eyes.
“I will bring us all some blood, make yourself comfortable,” Florence told me, gesturing toward the settee next to the one Roxanne occupied.
I nodded, even though the last thing I wanted was to be left alone in the room with Roxanne.
Florence turned on one heel, walking out the door after I took my designated seat near her beloved.
