Owned by Shadows: Chapter 6

IRIS

I flop on the sofa, my body tired but in the good way that only a walk can give. The weather was on our side today, warm with only a hint of a breeze as autumn colours the leaves. We didn’t go shopping in the end because the idea of facing all those people made me feel queasy, and as I told Hunt, we can order what we need online. So instead, we went for a lovely walk around Holland Park, having something to eat at a little cafe near the theatre.

My heart hurt when we passed the Chinese gardens, memories of Nik and Roman threatening to undo me, but I held it all at bay. I know it’s not the most healthy thing, and Julia keeps telling me to allow myself to feel the sadness. That it needs to be acknowledged and experienced, but it just hurts so damn much, and sometimes I just can’t face it.

It was getting dark when we arrived back, and the smell of cooking fills my nostrils as Hunt sets about making us dinner like the feeder he is. I don’t mind. His cooking is incredible, and it helps him to have something to focus on, some way to take care of us.

My new phone buzzes in my dress pocket. My dress is made from the softest corduroy, and it’s a loose pinafore style, which allows for my bump.

I pull the device out as Rowan comes back into the room, taking a seat next to me and peering at the screen.

My heart gives a patter inside my chest, something tugging at my memory as I stare at the random numbers.

“What’s that, Lamb?” Rowan asks, and I glance away from the phone screen to look at him.

“I don’t know,” I admit, looking back down at the screen, at the numbers that I feel like I recognise somehow. “But this looks familiar, like I know it but can’t remember.”

He shuffles closer, holding out his hand. “May I?” I give him the phone, watching as he does the witchcraft he does, his brows dipped in concentration. “I can’t track the sender, but when you put these numbers into Google, a place four hours away from St. Petersburg pops up. These are the co-ordinates.”

As the words fall from his lips, a memory slams into me, one of my last memories of Nikolai before he went away to Russia and I was sent to finishing school.

“Just like a house has an address, Malyshka,” Nik says to me as we sit at a table in the library of my house, the rain hitting the glass windowpanes outside. He’s got a map out in front of him and he’s pointing to a place in Russia. “Every single point on earth can be specified by their longitude and latitude co-ordinates.”

It’s hard to concentrate on his words because my gaze keeps drifting to his beautiful face, and a small smile plays around his lips, like he’s aware of my attention and the blush that fills my cheeks.

“And what is that place, the one you’re pointing to?” I ask, dragging my eyes from his face once more and looking down at the map, at his long finger on it.

“That is a secret place, Malyshka,” he whispers. “One that no one knows about, except me and now you.”

My gaze flicks up to his, my eyes wide and my lips parted. “Why does it need to be a secret?” My voice is hushed, some part of me knowing that it’s important that no one overhears us.

“Because one day we may need it. So you need to memorise these co-ordinates, and swear that you will not tell another soul about them.” His dark eyes bore into mine, my pulse rushing in my ears.

“I swear,” I say, and the smile he gives me is the one that I’ve only ever seen when he’s looking at me. “What are the co-ordinates?”

He stares into my eyes, his so serious. “Five-nine-point-four-six-seven-four-zero-eight latitude, three-three-point-six-seven-nine-four-four-one longitude.”

He spends the next two hours making me repeat those numbers until they’re all I see, then I dream of frozen landscapes and a wooden house hidden in the woods.

“Iris?” I blink at the worried hint in Rowan’s tone, the memory fading as I look at him. “You’ve gone pale, Lamb. What is it?”

I swallow, my throat dry as my hands tremble.

“Those are the co-ordinates to a place that Nik owns. A place only he and I know about. He had me memorise them before, when we were growing up,” I tell him, Hunt coming around to sit on the coffee table before us.

“You’re saying that Nik sent that message to you?” he asks, his forehead creased and his eyes so fucking tired my heart hurts.

“He told me back then that one day we might need a secret place, Hunt.” I chew on my lower lip, that kernel of hope flaring bright inside my chest. “What if…”

“What if what? He’s using this to fucking trap you, to trap us all because he’s a fucking snake who needs his head cut off,” Hunt snarls, getting up and pacing in front of us. He runs his hand through his hair, but I can’t stop the thought now that it’s taken root.

“What if Roman isn’t dead? What if Nik has taken him to a safe place and is asking me, asking us to meet him there to regroup?”

Hunt freezes, turning to face me, and I rear back at the look of venom in his eyes, which is also laced with pity, and I fucking hate it.

“Roman is dead, Peaches. We watched Nik shoot him,” he says, his voice gentle despite the anger swirling in his green orbs.

“But there isn’t a body!” I yell, getting up and facing off with him. My heart thrashes wildly inside my chest, and I know I need to calm down, for the sake of our child, if nothing else. I take a deep breath. “They never gave us a body, Hunt. There’s still a chance.”

“No, Peaches. There isn’t.” His words are final, his jaw hard and his tone unwavering. “And the sooner you accept that, the better.”

Then he storms out, the sound of the front door slamming behind me making my body flinch. I swallow, tears stinging my eyes, anger at Hunt just dismissing my idea, causing my fists to clench at my side.

“He’s right, Lamb,” Rowan’s soft voice cuts like a knife, and I glance down to find him staring into the distance, his body rigid, his hands clenched into fists on his lap. He stands up, his head turning until he’s looking at me. “You’ll just hurt more if you keep believing anything else.”

Without a backward glance, he grabs his gym bag and leaves the flat, closing the door softly behind him.

I’m left standing there, all alone for the first time in forever with my phone on the table before me, those co-ordinates on the screen, teasing me. I know in my gut I’m right, and even if a part of me isn’t sure, I have to try.

I take a deep inhale and pick up my phone, my fingers hovering over the screen.