away. “Thank you, Malachi.”
“No problem.” He walked up to the edge of the table holding all three chests and put his hands on one. “Let’s divide and conquer then, shall we, ladies?”
Granny popped up from the chaise lounge she’d been sitting on and opened the chest nearest to her. “I’ll search this one.”
Mum smiled and moved to the other side of the table so she could get to the opening of the middle chest. “Be careful with this stuff, please. It’s all we have from home.”
Home. Like we weren’t standing in it. For me, this house felt more like home to me than the palace did – I’d lived here more years. But my mother, well I couldn’t imagine what this was all like for her. To get lost for a few hours and come out centuries in the future. Now that I knew the truth, I understood my mother better.
Malachi opened our chest and my eyes widened. Inside, folded neatly on the top, were stacks of clothing. My old clothing. As Malachi carefully lifted the stacks up and out, I recognized many of the pieces. Later, when this business with the locket was over, I was going to come back and dive into these chests. For now, I snuggled into Malachi’s back and stayed there as he dug through all of our old belongings.
Every time I giggled at him, my mother looked up at us.
Every time I kissed his neck or ran my hand over his arms, she flinched.
He pulled out a stack of six books, but a quick flip of the cover and pages told us none were my father’s journal. He sat them on the table, then reached in…and pulled out a sparkling diamond-encrusted tiara. I gasped and slid around Malachi’s body so I could grab the tiara.
“What do you think?” I placed it on my head and gave him my best smile. “How does it look?”
He grumbled low in his chest. “You look beautiful.”
My heart fluttered. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. Warmth filled my veins and I could have just stayed like that for an eternity. But we had a mission and an audience. Kisses would need to wait.
I couldn’t reach into the chests for some reason but I inspected each and every item Malachi sat on the table. So far, nothing was a small red journal. This was going to be a bust, which only mattered because of the demon-beacon, soul sucking locket stuck on me.
Malachi cursed. “That was everything in that box— oh, what’s that?” He flicked his wrist and a red stuffed bunny rabbit floated into the air.
I gasped. “Ruby!”
Ruby was my stuffed animal, an adorable red bunny with big floppy ears. She was my favorite. I took her everywhere. She’d been my best friend at one point. My heart hurt but I surged with happiness at the same time. I reached for her but she floated out of my grip.
Malachi chuckled.
I swung for her again and she flew up over my head. The cheeky smile on his face told me he was enjoying taunting me a bit. I see you. You play dirty. I bit my bottom lip and swung around so I was hanging from the front of him…and then I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth. He gasped against my lips, his tongue slipped out seeking mine.
Someone cleared their throat real loud and we jumped apart. When I looked, I found my mum watching us with narrowed eyes. I knew she wanted to ask about us but I wasn’t ready to talk about it. All we knew we had for sure was right now, and I wasn’t going to squander it any longer. I would seize the moment and the day and answer questions later.
With Malachi distracted, I snagged Ruby’s ear and pulled her into my chest. Memories rushed to the surface. Too many. I hugged it close, remembering the moment Dad gave it to me.
But then I felt something. An energy source that seemed to beat with its own pulse. “What’s that? You feel that?”
Malachi frowned and then his eyes widened. “That’s the journal.”
I held Ruby up. “I think it’s in here.”
Malachi took it and carefully sliced open the side of the bunny rabbit stuffed animal. He held it up to me. I reached in through the cut and my fingers instantly landed on something hard. My heart stopped. I was almost afraid to look. But Malachi wasn’t. He dove in, tossing stuffed animal