Revelations (Formerly known as Promises and Lies (EDITING)

Chapter 27

Twenty Seven.

A r i a.

I had spent the better part of the day running off with my thoughts. Images of Rowan’s body being torn apart, limb from limb consumed my mind. I held the coffee pot with a quivering hand. It didn’t help that every little sound I heard sent my heart rate skyrocketing and had my bones jumping out of my skin.

“Aria, go take a break.” My mom looked up at me from the table she was cleaning. Since when did she clean tables? I thought that was my job. I glanced at the clock, now realizing that I had been stuck in this same position for over ten minutes. Today was horrible. My mind would wander off to things that I didn’t want to see, to even think about. I was doing a horrible job with the customers. And now, as a result of all this zoning out, I was being told to go on a pointless break.

I sighed in defeat, replacing the coffee pot and prying off my apron with trembling hands. I poured myself a steaming cup of coffee, my body suffering from earlier this morning due to a not so pleasant conversation. My thoughts drifted back to that green eyed monster. Nothing could explain the raw, untainted hate that seethed from my very existence when I thought about him. Why the hell would he ask now out of all times for us to release Jonah? He had to have known from before that Daniel was keeping him. It seemed like he knew anyway.

The shop bells rang, but I ignored it seeing as I was on break. We weren’t too busy and my mom or dad could handle it. A shadow was cast over my table, causing me to look up in confusion. Daniel stood there, leaning over with his hair falling forwards into his eyes.

“Mind if I join you?” I snorted.

Why was he choosing now out of all times to be polite? It then occurred to me that I hadn’t seen him since the day he nearly… killed me. A flash of his face, sharp, elongated fangs sticking out of his bloodstained lips and obsidian eyes flashed for a moment, leaving me momentarily stunned in fear. I slowly looked back up at him, my heart spiking to an impossible rate. If I kept this up then I would surely die of heart failure. He just stood there, a sad smile on his lips. I nodded slowly, hesitantly and I watched as he pulled out his chair and gracefully sat down.

I couldn’t meet his eyes. Those were the little demons that always got me. They trapped me in their strange blue-black oasis, always pulling me deeper and deeper until I eventually drowned.

Instead, I kept my eyes focused on my half full coffee mug that was right in front of me. He sighed a small, desolate sound. I could feel my heart clench at the sound. A feeling of broken sadness flowed through me. Tears prickled my eyes, but none fell. These feelings weren’t mine, I realized.

“Great. You won’t talk to me, and now you won’t even look at me.” His voice was low, but still had that husky undertone of anger. I honestly didn’t know what to say at this point.

Another sigh, and this time the pain rippled through me. It was more like a feeling of utter need and the feeling of rejection at the same time. Like I needed him, or he needed me and being distant from him was causing physical pain. I felt my chest tighten and my hand rose to it, resting there. I blinked back the irrational tears, finally looking at him. His ebony hair fell into his eyes, shielding them from me. His head was bowed, looking at the table.

My fingers met with his soft, shiny hair, weaving themselves in it savoring the lush feeling. I hadn’t even realized I had stretched my hand out to him. I let my hand caress his face and tilt it up so that I could see his face clearly. Pain was prominent in his eyes. That much was clearly visible. I couldn’t understand what was actually happening. But it was like I was a part of him. I was feeling what he was feeling. Was this possible? I hadn’t sealed the bond yet. My fingers stroked his cheek. I couldn’t hate this man, vampire, whatever. I just couldn’t.

I looked into his eyes. Yes, he was capable of killing. But that didn’t mean he went around murdering people. I realized now, that no matter how much I wanted to rid myself of this bond, this joined fate, I couldn’t. Not when I knew firsthand what he was feeling every time I rejected him. Not when I was just starting to get a glimpse of his real self. Not when I was so close to feeling something other than loss and pain again. If I didn’t seal this bond, the feeling of emptiness and despair would follow me around forever.

“Daniel, don’t do this to yourself.” I could feel my own emotions surfacing now. I was glad because I didn’t know how much longer I could stand to feel his pain.

“You have to hate me. I fucked up. I almost killed you. I hate that scared look you get when you see me. You aren’t supposed to fear me--” I silenced him by pressing a finger to his lips.

“I don’t hate you. I can’t hate you.” I said, with a small smile forming at my lips. He knew it was the truth, and a small smile graced his forlorn expression. It didn’t reach his eyes though.

“We need to seal this bond. I can tell that this,” I gestured between us, “Will only become a big mess of misunderstood words.” It would only cause more problems. He knew everything I was thinking and feeling and I didn’t know what he was feeling. It definitely wasn’t fair.

His expression brightened almost instantly at mention of the bond. I could tell that he was happy that I didn’t decide to back out. I had a feeling that he wouldn’t have forced me to go through with it if I didn’t want to. The shop bells rang, sending my hand away from his face and smacking on to the table. I looked up to see Rowan waving at someone outside of the shop. I ran to her, spinning her around and crushing her in a hug. Silent tears of relief that she was alive and breathing left hot trails down my cheeks. It was relief just to see her.

“Can’t breathe Aria.” She choked out. I let her go and forced a smile out. I couldn’t believe that what Henry showed me wasn’t real. He hadn’t done anything.

“Where were you?” I snapped, unable to control any of my emotions right now. She waved me off and went to sit by the table where Daniel was watching closely at what was going on. No doubt he wanted to know who Henry was. I didn’t allow his face to surface in my mind. Instead, I focused on the pattern that was in the tiles, watching closely at how the colors changed from blue to white with every other tile. Daniel’s expression was puzzled.

“ I was on a date with Henry.” My breathing stopped and I froze. He really wasn’t going to quit was he? But I realized, this was only a game to him. He wouldn’t stop until he won.

“Who is Henry?” Daniel asked out of the blue. He gave me a questioning look. Rowan answered before I could.

“He’s someone that I’ve been dating for a while now.” 

She then proceeded to talk about him, and his really good looks. Every time she mentioned him I cringed. I could picture nothing but his really creepy face, with his hideous black eyes and ragged teeth. I heard a low growl from somewhere and I looked up to Daniel, realizing my mistake. He just stared back at me, his expression hard. I wanted to disappear. He was definitely going to give me hell about not telling him about Henry.

“Rowan, you need to stop seeing Henry.” There was no mistaking the dire urgency in my voice. She looked at Daniel, and back at me, their expressions mirroring each other.

“Why?” They both said simultaneously. I begged Daniel with my eyes to do something, anything that would make Rowan stop seeing this guy. He didn’t catch on and Rowan’s brow furrowed deeply. It was like a game of silent charades gone wrong.

“H-he’s dangerous. I don’t trust him.” I stuttered out that last sentence. Daniel’s face turned sharply to me, and now he understood. He got up and came to my side, snaking a hand at my waist and leaned his head to mine.

“What did he do?” He whispered. There was no denying the steely edge that laced his voice.

“I’ll tell you later.” I whispered back, not really sure about how I was going to go about that whole situation. I had to tell him about what Henry wanted. This whole thing was getting way out of hand. I just wanted to be done with everything. And I knew that Henry wasn’t going away. I shivered just thinking about the things that could happen if I didn’t tell Daniel.

“I’m not sure I follow…you want me to stay away from Henry? Why? It doesn’t make sense.” No, of course it wouldn’t make sense. She didn’t know anything when it came to who or rather what Henry was.

“He’s not who you think he is. He’s dangerous.” I said the words slowly, letting them hover in the now tense air around us. Rowan’s glare was enough to shatter glass. I didn’t want her to be angry.

“Kind of like how Jonah wasn’t who you thought he was?” I felt Daniel’s arm tighten around my waist. That was a low blow. Shock overcame me, and afterwards tears prickled my already moist eyes. How could she say something like that? But at one point, I was like that as well. Blinded with what I thought was love. Love for someone who I thought would never hurt me.

“I’m just trying to warn you. He is not someone you should trust. You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, Rowan.”

 If her glare was harsh before, it was murderous now. She wasn’t going to listen to anything I said at this point. I knew that he probably charmed her with his ways and false promises of love. I knew because anyone with good looks like that, and an ability that could show people what he wanted them to see had the upper hand. It was fruitless to try to persuade her now. Henry was a bastard.

“Thanks. I appreciate it Aria. But I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” She gathered her things and walked out of the doors. I sighed, defeated. I try to help her and she doesn’t want to hear it. Henry played dirty, using his mind tricks. I hated him.

“I’m sorry.” Daniel said. Before turning to me. His expression was serious.

“Who is Henry, and what did he do?” His eyes kept shifting from black to blue and back again, continuing their dance. I almost got lost in them when he smirked but changed his expression again.

“I think it would be better if I told you when you were with your brother, and J-Jonah.” I still wasn’t used to saying his name out loud.

~
A r i a.

“So he’ll kill your friend if we don’t let the dog loose?”

 Darren had an amused smile on his face and Daniel paced. I was afraid that he would wear a path on the carpet if he kept doing that. We were all sitting, except for Daniel in their living room. Darren was laying lazily on the couch. I was sitting in a recliner and Jonah sat at one of the little chairs in the corner. He was silent and seemed to be very interested in one of the paintings that were on the wall opposite of where he was sitting. There was the sound of light shuffling outside of the living room towards the stairs and shortly after, Dhalia came in holding an energetic baby Dane. He spotted me and made little grunting noises while his arms were stretched out towards me.

“Is it okay?” I asked her.

“Of course.” She said and placed the giggling baby in my arms. He was facing me and captured one of my blonde curls in his hand. He studied the color, and the texture of it and then started twisting it around his fingers. He giggled uncontrollably once he figured out how to untwist it and re-twist it again. I couldn’t help but smile back. He was just too adorable to ignore.

Turning back to Darren, who was also smiling at his little brother I answered.

“Pretty much. He used his…projection ability that you told me about.” I already explained everything to them about what happened with Henry and his weird vision power. They weren’t surprised. A lot of vampires from different covens were able to do different things. But they weren't purebloods like Daniel and his family. They didn’t have the most sought after ability.

“This is so cool!” Jonah’s excited whisper wasn’t well, a whisper. We all looked up at him, seeing as this is the first time he spoke up since he was here. I noticed that Dhalia was sitting in the chair next to him, glaring at Daniel. I didn’t want to know what they were arguing about. A sudden yank made me gasp and I looked down to see that Dane had learnt how to pull hair.

“Dane, stop that.” Darren’s voice was stern and made Dane immediately drop the lock of hair he was tugging on. I was shocked. How was he able to understand precisely what Darren was saying? But he wasn’t a normal baby after all. I didn’t question it.

“What are you talking about, mongrel?” Daniel’s voice was bored as he shot Jonah a glare.

“I-I was j-just looking at your paintings. I can see all of the brushstrokes so clearly. And the mistakes the artist tried to cover up with a different color. It’s amazing.” He finished, resuming his stare at the paintings. It looked perfectly normal to me but then again I didn’t have super awesome vision like they did. Dane let out a yawn and molded himself to me. His head fit perfectly in the crook of my neck. I wrapped my arms more securely around him and moved to the rocking chair where I sat and rocked him to sleep. I could see Daniel’s eyes on me, an indescribable expression in them. His smirk was more like a small smile. I gave him one back, then glancing at the baby nestled on me. He was beautiful.

“So what do we do about Henry?” Dhalia was the one to ask this time. I was growing weary.

“Nothing. If Danny and Aria seal their bond, then he won’t have to worry about Aria’s safety. She’ll be more than able to handle herself. That way, she can watch over Rowan and her family. However, I don’t know how the dog fits in to this. Why does he want to take you back to Angelo if Angelo was the one who turned you and left you to die?”

Darren had a point there. But what was he talking about me being perfectly able to handle Henry. Did he not see what was the problem? He was a vampire and I was a human. He could kill me in a second if he wanted to unless…

“What will happen to me when I seal the bond?” All four pairs of eyes snapped to me. I chewed nervously on my lip, waiting for someone to say something. Darren looked away uncomfortably. Dhalia had a smirk on her face and Daniel was shifting from foot to foot.

“You didn’t tell her?” Jonah asked smugly.

“It’s not necessarily true. This whole thing was supposed to be a myth after all.” Dhalia chided.

“What didn’t you tell me? What‘s not true” I was now looking at the siblings. I got up and placed Dane in cot and walked towards Daniel.

“What are you hiding from me?” My voice was harsh, with a steely edge to it. Whatever they were keeping from me couldn’t possibly be good. He looked away from my hard gaze but didn’t say anything. I stood my ground. I was going to get some answers from someone tonight.

He sighed and then took my hand and led me a little ways from the group. I was very aware that they could still hear us, but I didn’t care.

“When we seal the bond, there’s a chance that you will die.” All the anger and fight was drained from my body. I could die?

“How?” I couldn’t say anything other than that.

“It solely depends on the person’s will to be strong enough to succumb to the bond. You have to essentially give a part of yourself up, your privacy so that you could share my thoughts. Its all overwhelming for both of us but the risk is higher because you’re human. You aren’t able to heal yourself like vampires are. I don’t know how true this is. It was written in one of the old journals left from the Originals.” His eyes were pleading with me to understand what he was trying to say.

There was a higher chance that I could die, because I was human. A human was never bonded to a vampire before. If I didn’t seal this bond, it would drive both of us to the edge of insanity. If Daniel wasn’t able to focus on anything but the bond, then he couldn’t focus on getting his father away from Angelo, and helping me with the Henry situation. I had to seal the bond, and I had to do it now.

“Alright. Lets do it then.” There was a round of audible gasps around the room.

“Right now?” Darren said.

“Why not?” my answer was almost instant.

“Think about this for a second. You could die!”

Darren exclaimed, getting up from his comfortable position from the couch. I could die, and I would gladly die, id it meant that Daniel was able to save his father and my best friend. I needed to find a way to stop being the obstacle that was in his path. I needed to stop clouding his judgments.

From the looks on their faces, I could tell they all understood why I needed to do it now. If I didn’t do it, then I would never want to seal the bond. It was literally now or never. Daniel’s strong hands framed my face and he made me look at him. I searched his nearly manic expression for any sign telling me to stop this. But there was only anxiety of what could happen to me. I put my hands on top of his and pulled my face to his. I kissed him lightly on his forehead.

“I need to do this Daniel. I’ll be okay.” His hands drifted lower to my shoulders, searching for any sign of hesitation from me. I was calmer than I had ever been, and for once, I was the one making the decision.

“Okay.” He finally said, when he knew for sure that I wasn’t forcing this. I wanted it to be done. I needed it to be done.

“You can’t seriously say that you’re going to go through with this.” A new voice spoke up, a voice that had me instantly second guessing my decision. No. I wasn’t going to cave and turn my back from this. Jonah didn’t have that power over me anymore. And, it wasn’t about him. It was about Daniel and I.

“Watch me.” I said, giving him my coldest stare. His was broken. Pain filled his turquoise eyes and I tried my best to keep my expression blank. I hoped he could feel the loss and abandonment tear through him, just as it tore through me. I hoped he suffered the same way I did because honestly I was stuck in the past and needed to let go of it.

I watched Daniel slowly roll up the sleeve of his midnight blue shirt, revealing a tan and lean arm. He looked at me while he brought his wrist up to his mouth and his fangs tore through the skin. Blood gushed out of the wound, running down his hand and dripping on to the carpet. I walked over slowly to him, my eyes on the crimson river.

I took his warm hand in mine, and brought it up to my face. This was it. There was no backing out now. I had to do it or else we would never be at peace with ourselves. I needed to do it so that we could get Darius back. His family needed him. I had to do it because I needed Daniel.

With my thoughts on Daniel and the life we could have after all of this was over, I brought my lips down to the wound, feeling the warm blood gush into my mouth.
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Hey guys :) Well, I don't know how to word this.. I'll be going away on vacation for a month. The internet there is really slow and it would take ages for me to upload. I'll be back on August 12th. Just thought you guys should know. No, this isn't the end of the story. Don't think that. i'll be uploading as soon as i get back, because I plan on finishing it while I'm away and posting everything up when I get back.  And please feel free to comment and vote. I really appreciate all of my fans and votes :) -Jess.