Free Soothsayer: Magic Is All Around Us (Soothsayer Series Book 1) by Allison Sipe Page A

too long though because Brett still hadn’t returned from the closet. I got the feeling she was trying to give us both some privacy, me with my thoughts and her to analyze every word I had just said.
    I was too restless to sit still any longer so I got up and walked over to the window. It overlooked the courtyard where the reception was taking place. Brett was right about the wedding being mostly over; it was almost one in the morning and nearly all of the guests had departed. The gathering looked different from above: the white lights strung up everywhere twinkled like stars in the night sky. A light mist had blown in from the ocean and clung to the air, making the courtyard look utterly enchanting.
    The bride and groom were tightly embraced on the dance floor along with a few other couples, completely oblivious to the time. The wait staff floated effortlessly from table to table collecting plates, cups and silverware. I felt like I was watching something right off the silver screen, everything felt so surreal.
    “Violet?” Brett said behind me.
    I turned around. Brett had changed into jeans and a long sleeve, black V-neck shirt that had a pretty rhinestone design on the front. She was noticeably shorter in the ballet flats she now wore. Much closer to my height, like I’d originally thought.
    “I think I’m ready to go home now,” I said, though I bit my lip, unsure. I didn’t want to leave if there was a chance I might get to talk to Robert, but nothing here felt real and I just wanted to be back home where everything was familiar.
    “Alright,” Brett said, taking the glass of water from me and putting it on the desk next to the window.
    Brett walked me out of the room, down the staircase and out the front door. We walked in silence to my car. When we got about ten feet away I saw no trace of a bloodstain. I blinked in wide-eyed confusion, finding no sign I’d been attacked at all.
    “What happened to all the blood?” I asked, moving faster toward the car.
    “It’s been cleaned up,” Brett said nonchalantly.
    “Already? That was fast.”
    “We’re very careful.”
    “Hmm.” So this wasn’t the first time they had to clean up a mess.
    “Violet, I’m terribly sorry for everything that’s happened to you tonight. I know you’re confused and want answers but for now you’re just going to have to trust us. We’ll find out what we can but for your own safety, you can’t say anything to anyone about what happened to you tonight,” Brett informed me as politely as she could manage given the warning in her voice.
    “And what am I supposed to say about all the cuts and bruises? People are going to notice,” I replied. My shoulders slumped in defeat as I realized I wouldn’t be getting any answers tonight.
    “Tell them you were mugged but you didn’t get a good look at the guy,” she lied without skipping a beat.
    “I guess you guys think of everything.”
    “Indeed we do.”
    Tired and hurt that they wouldn’t trust me, I felt the tears welling up and blurring my vision. I refused to let Brett see me cry so kept my eyes on the car as I unlocked the door.
    “I’ll keep Robert’s secret. Not for you or for him but because I owe him that much for saving my life,” I said, buckling my seatbelt and drowning out whatever response she might have made with the flaring of the ignition.
    I drove off without looking back. I felt a little guilty for being so rude when Brett had been so nice and helpful. But I wanted answers, and one way or another, I was going to get them.
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 4
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    I sat at my desk replaying everything in my head over and over again. My unanswered questions gnawing at me as I thought about Robert. How could he just leave without so much as a word?
    After I drove off, leaving Brett in the street, everything turned into a blur. It was like my mind shut down after I left the Maxwell estate, overwhelmed by the shock of what had