The breeze fluttered my hair and another few pages turned until I read her echoing sentiment of disbelief.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
TWENTY-SEVEN
“Dahlia!” I pounded on the wall and then put my shoulder into it. It still didn’t fucking budge.
My heart slammed in time with each slap of my hand. “Are you all right in there?”
Finally, I heard her voice.
“I’m fine.” It was quieter. Not the excited voice from before.
“Are you sure?” I flicked the latch again and nothing. Frustration lit me up and I dug my fingers into the crevices on either side of the doorway. My nails ripped, but it didn’t matter.
I just needed to get to her.
I thudded my head against the wood. “I can’t believe I let you go in there.”
Suddenly, the doorway slid open. I shoved it wide until the hinges groaned with stress. She stood on the other side with a book clutched to her chest. “I’m okay.”
I rushed forward and cupped her face, pushing her hair back. “Are you sure?” I crushed her to me with an arm around her shoulders and the other at her waist, as I glanced down into the room. It was eerily silent from the last time I’d been inside.
No flying books.
No angry wind.
Just beams of sunshine from the stained-glass ceiling creating a kaleidoscope of colors across the floor and the dark bookcases. Dust motes rolled through the shafts of light, but otherwise, it was achingly still.
Dahlia’s peach and honey scent filled my head and eased my racing heart.
She didn’t hug me back, which finally knocked some sense into me. “Hey.” I stepped back from her and cupped her face again. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“What?” She seemed to be in a trance. Or at least distracted as fuck, because I didn’t want to think about trances and ghosts or I’d freak out.
“Are you okay?” I repeated. The edges of the room fuzzed as my adrenaline spiked again. She sure as hell didn’t seem okay. “What happened?”
“I…” Finally, she seemed to snap out of it and met my gaze. “Harriette talked to me.”
I must not have heard her right.
“Through a book again.”
“Again? How?” I was lost, but beyond that, I was more worried she’d had an episode. She was far too attached to the story of Harriette. Maybe even more than she was obsessed with the house.
She hugged a soft leather-bound book against her chest. “It was strange and... wow.”
“She talked? Let’s get you out of here first. Then you can tell me.”
She shook her head. “Not like that. It was so weird. She kept showing me books on the bookcase to pull out.”
I frowned.
“I know it sounds nuts, but the last time I was in here, she showed me a journal to take with me. This time, she kept flipping pages to talk to me.” Her eyes filled. “Her words were…”
Tears always took me out and no matter how many fights we’d had, there had never been tears. Now? I’d give anything to make them stop, but first, I wanted her out of here. I tried to draw her through the doorway, but she wouldn’t be dissuaded.
“She had such a sad life. So many miscarriages.”
I smoothed her hair back, trying to find a kernel of patience. “It happened a lot back then. They didn’t have doctors who knew what they were doing, like we do now.”
She sniffled and one fat tear trailed down her cheek. “No—I mean, yes, that was part of it, but not for her. I think something was wrong with her. She only managed to carry one baby, and it was stillborn.” She looked back over her shoulder. “Probably why there’s a single cradle in that window.” She turned back to me with her eyes brimming with more tears. “Every word was so sad. And she kept pushing her husband away because she was so lost in her grief.”
I thumbed away her tears. “You can tell me all about it, but I have to get you out of here.”
She nodded and covered my hand. “Yeah.”
I looked down at the book. “Are you sure you want to take that?”
“I need to read it. It’s her last journal.”
I sighed. “I don’t know if you should, if it’s making you this upset.”
“I think it’s just the room. I think I’m feeling what she was feeling in there, if that makes sense.”
It did not, but I just wanted her out of there. And I was going to seal off this damn room. I tucked her under my arm and led her back into the tunnel. I was about to close the doorway when she stopped me.
