Chapter 157
FLANA
The soft hum of Dr. Voss’s voice was like a current running under my skin–steady, focused, grounding. I let myself sink into it, the earthy scent of burning herbs drifting from the brass bowl on the table beside me. My hands were clenched in my lap, but my breathing had evened out, and my mind was open.
This wasn’t like the other sessions.
With Dr. Emmerich, I always felt like I was being pulled–dug into, as if someone was poking around my memories with a scalpel. But this…this was like following breadcrumbs left by my own heart. Dr. Voss spoke of memory as something sacred, something living and breathing,
Something that wanted to come back, if only I would stop trying to wrestle it into submission.
“I want you to picture the scent of the woods,” he said gently. “The moment just after the rain
And I did.
My hands relaxed in my lap as the scent filled my imagination–wet pine needles, rich soil, the faint tang of ozone. And suddenly, I was there.
Sixteen, barefoot, hair clinging to my neck, and soaked to the bone as I raced through the trees behind the Moonstone estate. Mason was ahead of me, laughing as he splashed through puddles, his voice echoing through
the trees.
“Come on, slowpoke!”
“I’m not slow,” I shouted back, breathless and grinning
He let me catch up–he always did–and we collapsed beneath the old cedar, the one with roots like crooked fingers. I flopped onto the damp earth beside him, both of us gasping, blinking up at the gray sky breaking open above the canopy.
“I don’t ever want to leave this place,” I whispered.
Mason turned his head toward me, a rare softness in his expression. “Then don’t.”
That was the moment. A simple, quiet promise sealed between siblings. The kind of moment that only made sense in the hush between raindrops and memory,
I gasped, eyes flying open. My heart stuttered, and tears welled up before I could stop them. Eclutched the edge of the table, trembling.
Dr. Voss simply nodded. “That one was ready to come back!
By the time I left his office, the sky was a rich indigo and I felt…whole. Not complete, not yet–I had so many memories left to recover–but elated. The kind of elation that made my skin buzz and my legs feel like dancing
The memories were coming back. And with them, I was starting to remember who I’d been. Who I still was.
1 practically floated into the house, still lost in the memory of raindrops on my cheek, of my own laughter echoing through the trees. I didn’t even notice Logan in the sitting room until he cleared his throat.
I paused, startled. “Hey.”
Chapter 157
+25 BONUS
He was leaning against the back of a leather chair, arms folded, face unreadable. “You had a good memory session?”
had a great memory session,” I said, practically beaming
His brows lifted slowly. “Really.”
“Yes, why?”
He tilted his head. “I spoke to Dr. Emmerich earlier. He said you didn’t have an appointment today.”
The air in the room seemed to shift.
I blinked. “That’s because I didn’t see Dr. Emmerich. I had a session with Dr. Voss.”
Logan straightened. “Who’s Dr. Voss?”
“He’s a world–renowned memory specialist,” I said. “He uses the old ways. Derek set it up. Something in Logan’s expression faltered. Just for a second “Derek set it up,” he repeated.
1 frowned. “Why do you sound like that?”
Π
“No reason.” But his voice was tight, and he didn’t say anything else. Just nodded slowly, then walked past me toward the stairs.
I stood in the quiet, confused and a little hollowed out. Was he…checking up on me? Or was this just Logan being overprotective?
He and Dr. Emmerich were friends. That was probably it.
Still, it felt like the warmth I’d carried home from the session was leaking out through my skin.
The warmth returned that evening, though, when Mason arrived with Erin on his arm.
She looked beautiful. Nervous, but beautiful–her shoulders square, her chin high. She wore a deep green dress that set off her blonde hair and made her eyes glow in the soft candlelight. Mason looked like he was bracing for battle, but she…she looked like a queen
Chapter 58
