The Red Wing Mansion

Chapter Nineteen

I stand beside Claudius as he sleeps on our bed that night, he is exhausted and drunk after the full day of wedding celebrations. He fucked me outside, shared me with Rudolph and here we were now, in our bedroom... back to the beginning.

I look around the furnished room. I imagine it empty, faded, smelling ancient... and I miss it so madly.

The future... that's where my home was.

This was his.

Just as I'm feeling depression set in, that my future lies in this world... and that I'll never see my own people again – I hear the sound of carriage wheels turning from the slightly open window, and I walk over to look out front.

I can't believe it.

I see a Gypsy wagon in the dead of night, it stops out front, the door opens and Aelia steps out. As she does so, an owl lands on the roof of her wagon.

She looks right up to the master bedroom window, wearing her red dress and corset, her hair done up. Our eyes clash.

But this time, I don't feel hate... and she looks just as depressed.

I nod at her.

She tilts her head, acknowledging my presence.

I'm coming down.

I carefully grab a coat off the hook and sneak outside, after tip toeing down the stairs. I walk to the front and slip outside, where Aelia waits on the cobbles.

I walk over, hiding my undergarments with Claudius' large coat. A pair of socks keep my feet warm.

I stop a few feet from her, as she looks me over, then holds my eye steady, "How was it?" Aeilia asks, "Congratulations," when I don't answer, Aelia pauses then freezes her gaze – then abruptly moves in to grab my chin, looking deep into my eyes. Her gloves protect her from my skin, "You hate it."

"No," I whisper, "I don't hate him."

"Rather. You hate that you are cursed," Aelia raises a brow, speaking my truth perfectly in a way I can't even acknowledge, "I hate that you are his wife. I hate that it was all planned by my family. And I was a puppet. But I did fall in love with that man."

"Why are you here?" I ask her, curious, "You left. You left him."

"I was scared," Aelia doesn't let me go, her voice is so sultry and heart broken, "I want him back."

"You can't have him–"

"I will give you, what you want most," Aelia cuts me off, talking slow, "Hear me out... hear me out, please..." she intrigues me. I pull out of her hold on my chin and I wait, allowing her to continue. She looks up, checking the window to make sure Claudius is not looking down, "I can send you back – I can even reverse the curse," Aelia begins, "You don't belong here."

"...but I also love Fontaine..." I whisper, scared.

"The difference is while he will live forever as the demon I made, I will not, I will die," Aelia gulps, and holds my eye with a genuine honesty, "Let me have him back. He will live. Then he will come find you. In your time. Not a ghost. A real man like today."

"Still an incubus," I remind her.

"He is still a man," Aelia shakes her head, "The difference is he wanted this curse, he asked for it, Claudius craved immortality, even begged me for it. That's when a perfect curse can be wielded, when someone craves to pay the price... and you know how patient he is."

"He won't agree," I murmur, unsure.

"You know that's not true, in time he will see why this is wise," Aelia shakes her head, "He loves me too. He loved me first," I cannot refute that, she pauses, lets the information sink in, and then she continues, "Alexandra – if you do not want this. I will leave you both in peace, to live forever. All I'm asking is for the rest of my life, so you can enjoy the rest of yours. And we both win."