"Is Hayden okay?" Nora asked. "I know his magic fights itself but...."
"Yeah....." Birdie dragged the word.
"Birdie," Nora pinned the young girl under her gaze. "What's going on with Hayden?"
"I don't know if it's my place to say anything," Birdie looked uncomfortable. "You and Hayden should talk about it."
"Birdie, please," Nora frowned. "I can feel his stress and anxiety right now....if I ask him anything, he won't talk. Please....I want to help him. But I can't do that if I don't know what's happening."
Birdie began to chew on her bottom lip. She looked at Nora through her lashes as her fingers picked at the label on the water bottle. Her brain told her to walk away but her heart told her to stay. Her brother was most likely in love with the girl sitting in front of her. And if Nora could do anything to help Hayden.....
"Hayden is dying," Birdie's voice was so low and silent Nora almost missed it.
"What..." Nora leaned in a bit closer.
"His magic," Birdie sighed, pushing her hair out of her face. "It's still very unstable. Whenever he has an attack, if baba or Clare don't heal him.....he'll die."
"How long has this been happening?" Nora's hands began to grow numb.
"Since the day my parents found out they were expecting a baby," Birdie frowned. "Hayden wasn't supposed to live past seven."
Nora's ears began to ring. She stared at the jinn with her eyes filled to the brim with tears and her hands numb.
"Every day that I see my brother is a blessing," Birdie continued quietly. She shook her head before trying for a laugh that only made Nora's heart ache harder. "We try to be normal. We act normal...but nothing about our family is normal. But it makes us value everything, you know? We never know if we'll wake up the next morning and not see him."
If Nora hadn't been sitting, she would have definitely fallen on the floor. Her knees felt weak and her muscles were useless. She stared at the cabinets above Birdie's head as the jinn picked at her water bottle. Her stomach twisted in the most ugly way and sent the pain crawling up her spin and into her heart.
"He likes you a lot, Nora," Birdie said after a while. "I've never seen him like this with anyone."
Somehow Nora managed to turn her eyes to the girl.
"His whole face lights up whenever anyone talks about you," Birdie smiled. "And he actually talks about you. A lot. That's very rare for my brother. He has never openly talked about any girl he ever dated in the pa-"
Birdie didn't get a chance to finish as Nora slowly got up from her stool and walked out of the kitchen. Her brain was scattered into a million different directions and she had no idea why she was headed upstairs. But the tugging in her chest was impossible to ignore. She needed to feel warm. And there was only one person who could help with that.
Nora climbed the stairs slowly before turning the corner and making her way to the library. She felt her icy tears soak her face as she neared the door and stopped.
Hayden looked up immediately and frowned, seeing the lost look in Nora's eyes. He sat down the spell book he was holding and stood up with worry.
"What's wrong?" Hayden asked, catching his parent's attention.
His voice pulled Nora out of her head. She looked around as more tears fell down her face. Maya's eyes bounced back and forth between her son and the girl crying at the door.
"Nora," Hayden walked around the coffee table and appeared in front of Nora in seconds. "What's wrong?"
Nora looked up into those beautiful green eyes and felt her chest tighten once more. She let out a quiet sob as she remembered the feel of his lips against her ears, holding her, healing her....
I love you, Hayden had said.
Nora's bottom lip trembled as she stared at the boy.
Hayden wasn't supposed to live past seven....We never know if we'll wake up the next morning and not see him.
"I...." Nora parted her lips.
Hayden immediately stepped closer.
"I want to go home," Nora said.
"We still don't know what's happening," Hayden frowned.
"Hayden," Nora's lip trembled. "Please.....I want to go home."
___________________________
As soon as Kiara's feet touched the floors of her room, she pushed away from Killian's arms and created as much space as she could between them.
"Kiara," Killian held out his hand but pulled it back, not knowing what to do.
"Who are you?" Kiara asked, her eyes bouncing around the room, looking for a way out.
Just then the door opened and Posey and Tobias walked in. Their eyes landed on Kiara standing by the wall with her arms held out in front of her. Her cheeks were tear stained and scarlet red. She took in a breath as her body shook with discomfort.
"Who are you people?" Kiara asked once more. "Who is Kia? What just happened? Who was that little girl?"
"She teleported," Killian said as he felt Tobias' eyes on him.
"Teleported?" Kiara shrieked. "How? How did I do that?"
"Honey, calm down," Posey took a step forward.
"No!" Kiara backed away, colliding with the wall. "Answer my questions. Who are you people? What is going on here?"
"We'll explain everything," Tobias promised. "But please, calm down."
Calm was the one thing Kiara couldn't not understand at that moment. Her mind raced like a storm, her heart following behind. She felt her insides flutter like a trapped bird. Nothing made sense.
"Please," she sobbed. "Just tell me what's going on."
"We will," Posey's eyes watered. "Baby, I promise we will explain everything."
"Are you..." Kiara swallowed the hard lump in her throat. "Are you really my parents?"
"Yes," Posey nodded. "I'm you mom and this is your dad. This is our home."
"No," Kiara shook her head. "This is not our home."
"This is one of our homes," Tobias stepped in.
"What's the underworld?" Kiara asked. "Is it...."
"It's exactly what you're thinking it is," Killian said.
Kiara's face paled, "How....how is that possible?"
"There is a lot that's possible," Tobias said slowly. "We can't stand here and talk about all this....we should sit dow-"
"What are you?" Kiara stopped Tobias. "What am I?"
How do you think Nora and Kiara will handle everything coming to light?
Sorry about the late updates and short chapters :/ Job hunting is hard lol
Ch.39 Like it's your last day
Start from the beginning
