I wiped the tears from my face as I continued to read the journal Sara had given me. I couldn't help feeling horrified by what I was reading. I was smart enough to understand that vampires were dangerous, but this book was filled with detailed accounts of humans slaughtered by vampires and vampires slaughtered by Gorman witches.
However, some of the vampires in this book were killed mercilessly for no other reason than existing. I wasn't okay with all of the death that filled page after page. It was just too much death all around. Humans dying, vampires dying, witches dying. How did any of it make sense to any of these people?
One particularly hard entry to read was when Frances Gorman, the owner of the journal, wrote about two of her children being killed by vampires. From then on, it was filled with mindless hate-filled revenge against any vampire she could find.
Finally, after hours of reading, I dropped the journal on the floor between my legs and gripped my hair in tight fists, heartbroken by it all. Every time I read about yet another vampire being killed, I couldn't stop my mind from conjuring images of Everett, Lawrence, Cal, and tiny sweet little Annie.
Because I had no doubt, if Lawrence really was a vampire, the rest of them were too. I was filled with curiosity about how they became vampires, but it wasn't like I could just walk next door and ask them.
I felt like my heart was tearing in two. If the journal was believed, they were soulless, evil monsters, but I couldn't make that image mesh with the family I knew. I'd reached an almost mind-numbing level of confusion hours before. At that point, I just felt broken.
I'd been locked on my floor for over twenty-four hours, not moving, just reading. There had been a few knocks at my door, but I'd refused to open it for anyone so far. My phone had chimed so many times that I'd eventually turned it off.
My final breaking point had arrived when that first text came in from Gran, and that's why I refused to even look again. I turned my phone back on and stared at the screen, wanting to see that first text again. I couldn't squash the hope that it had somehow changed since I'd received it only twenty minutes after she had left my floor. Sitting on the floor of my living room, I just stared at the screen in devastation, once again.
"Don't forget to read the journal. And be careful. Your friend Lucien is a vampire as well."
That had been my breaking point, but it had also been the moment Gran's story had fallen apart. It no longer added up. If my mother had left the coven to hide us from vampires because we were being hunted, then why was my godfather one of the very same creatures we were supposedly running from? Why had my mother had him in our daily lives? I knew then that there was more to the story, but I had no doubt that the part about the coven was accurate.
Vampires and werewolves did exist, and the journal proved that hunting and killing the former was, in fact, my family's legacy.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pictured Lucien's chocolate brown eyes that had brought me so much comfort throughout my life. They were always filled with a warmth that you could bask in every time they looked your way. I didn't know what to think about any other vampires in the world, but that one... that one I could never see as a monster.
When another knock came at my door, I had every intention of ignoring it like I had all the others. I continued to sit there, lost in thought, waiting for whoever was at my door to finally give up.
"Ari, it's me," my uncle said through the door. "Will you open the door, please?" I continued staring at the closed book lying between my legs, paying him no mind. "It's about your mother, Ari."
My head jerked towards the door, and without thought, I got up, stumbling slightly since it was the first time I'd moved in ages. Flicking the lock open, I went back to my spot on the floor. Uncle Ben entered cautiously, and I heard him lock the door behind him. He bypassed the couch and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of me.
I glanced up and met his worried blue eyes and sat, waiting for him to start. There was little doubt that he could plainly see the devastation on my face.
"How much did the evil witch tell you?" He asked softly.
I wanted to chuckle at his description, but I couldn't find it in myself to do so. I was caught off guard that he knew, though. I knew he was human like my father was. At least I thought he was, but then again, I always thought that Lucien was as well. I looked him up and down suspiciously, and his lips twitched.
"Yes. I'm human," he said simply, putting my mind at ease. Obviously, my doubt had been clear on my face. "What did she tell you, Ari?"
I shrugged like it was no big deal. "That vampires and werewolves are real. That vampires hunt our family, that our family hunts vampires, and that as the oldest, it's my responsibility to take over," I paused to take a deep breath before saying the hardest part. "And that I'm surrounded by both werewolves and vampires."
"That's what I was afraid of," he mumbled with a sigh.
"What do you mean? Is it not true?" I asked, clinging to a tiny sliver of hope his words had caused.
He shook his head rapidly, ripping away any hope I had. "No, that's pretty much accurate. That's not all of it, though."
"I don't know if I can handle anymore right now. I'm barely handling this," I mumbled back immediately, and he nodded in understanding.
"I wasn't here to tell you anyway."
I rolled my eyes. Of course, he wasn't. Nobody had ever felt inclined to share anything with me before. I'd spent all night wondering why the woman had chosen to tell me now. Was it because I was surrounded by supernaturals? Or was it something else?
"Your parents didn't want you to know any of this until you were close to your eighteenth birthday," he said by way of explanation.
I raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm only a few months away. So, right on time, I guess."
"No, they wanted to wait as long as we could," he replied, shaking his head sadly.
I wondered what that meant, catching onto his careful wording. Why was it important to know before my birthday, but they planned to hold out as long as they could? Was something going to happen on my birthday? I didn't ask. I didn't want to know anymore right now.
I quickly changed the subject just in case he changed his mind and decided to give me more answers. "You said it was about Mom?"
He sighed. "Since there was always a threat of danger, she took precautions. In case anything ever happened, she wrote some letters to be given to the three of you at certain times. There was always a possibility that something could happen to them. That's why they had this house in your name. If anything happened, Lucien and I were to bring the three of you here and just lay low, waiting for your eighteenth birthday. I don't know why they chose this specific town, so don't ask." He paused to run a hand through his hair anxiously. "Anyway, one of those letters was to be given to you if Sara ever came to talk to you about vampires or taking over the coven. When she showed up, and you suddenly holed up in here, not answering the door or the phone, I figured that's what had happened."
He reached into his back pocket and handed me a sealed envelope. I felt tears gather in my eyes at the sight of the familiar slanted writing across the front. It simply read, Ariella- Coven.
I ran my fingers reverently across the words. So many times, since that night, I'd wished for my mother's advice. The letter in my hands was like all of my wishes coming true. Although I was more than a little scared to open it, not knowing what it might contain. I wasn't sure if I could handle any more big shocks without completely losing it. I was so very close to the edge already. With the strength of my powers, I couldn't afford to go over that edge.
"There are more letters?" I asked without taking my eyes off my mother's handwriting.
"Yes, and you will get them all... when the time comes," he said gently.
Without warning, his hand darted out and gripped the back of my neck, pulling me into a tight embrace. Usually, he respected my aversion to touch, but I appreciated his lack of restraint at that moment. I ignored the discomfort that it caused and focused on the fact that for one second, I wasn't alone in my suffering. He released me and left my floor without a word, making sure to lock the door behind himself. Part of me wanted to call him back, but another part was thankful for the space to read my mother's words in privacy.
After spending a few moments sitting there, staring at the letter like it was a bomb about to go off and destroy the remaining pieces of my life, I finally summoned the courage to open it.
Ariella,
If you're reading this, something horrible happened. I'm so very sorry I'm not there to guide you through what will be the most challenging times of your life. That you were given this letter means that my mother has approached you about vampires and the coven. I will not try to sway your decision, Ari. Only you can make this choice, just as I made it for myself before you.
You see, I was raised to hate vampires. To kill them without question and without mercy, but I was never capable of such things. So, I made my decision, and I left my family, my coven, and the only home I'd ever known because I didn't want my birthright. As the oldest of the next generation of our family, this birthright passed down to you. As the strongest, it would only make sense for you to lead the coven if you're capable of what I was not.
I have no doubt that there will be objections to you taking over if you choose to do so, but I also have no doubt that you can overcome anything life throws at you, Ari. Never doubt that.
I didn't believe that all vampires were soulless evil monsters as my family did. There are plenty out there that are, but there are also plenty out there that aren't. I believe that there's good and evil in any species.
Decide for yourself, Ari. Do not let my mother influence your decision. I taught you right from wrong, and I taught you to think for yourself. This decision is yours and yours alone. Know that your father and I love you no matter what you decide. So does Lucien. Think carefully.
With all of my love,
Mom
Once again, tears poured relentlessly down my cheeks despite the great sense of relief coursing through me. If my mother chose to forego her birthright, I could too... if I chose to. There was only one thing holding me back. I needed to know if vampires killed my mother for no other reason than the family she was born into, and there was only one person I trusted to tell me the truth.
Before that, though, I needed time to think and come to terms with my world turning upside down before I went looking for more answers. Just in case I got more than I bargained for once again.
I folded the letter back neatly and took it to my bedroom, dropping it in the top drawer of my desk. Closing the drawer, my eyes caught on the note Everett had slipped into my pocket that day at the bookstore, and I hesitated. If I accepted my birthright, that would make him my enemy. I would be expected to kill him without hesitation. I pushed the thought aside and rolled my eyes in annoyance when another knock sounded on my door.
"Ariella, open the door. We have more to discuss," Sara called through the door, sounding almost desperate. "There's no time for you to bury your head in the sand like a child."
Sighing, I made a split-second decision. I needed space from this family to think, away from River's derision and Sara's constant pressure. There was no way I could think with her knocking on my door every twenty minutes.
Throwing some clothes, a sketchbook, pencils, and other essentials in a duffel bag, I dropped the bag on the floor and went to retrieve my phone from the living room floor. I typed out a quick text to Uncle Ben, letting him know I was leaving and where I would be so that he wouldn't worry.
Climbing out my bedroom window onto the overhand of the floor below mine, I carefully made my way to the edge of the roof and dropped my bag over the side. Grabbing the edge of the roof, I effortlessly swung my body down and dropped soundlessly to the ground below.
Knocking, I waited patiently for him to answer. No matter how dangerous vampires might be, I knew without a single doubt that I would be safe with him.
When the door swung open, I only had a second's hesitation when a twinge of fear tightened my chest, but I held firm. Anger filled my mind that Sara had managed to implant that tiny seedling of doubt in my mind. I knew in my heart that he wasn't a danger to me, no matter what Sara thought. He held onto the door with one hand, glancing between my face and the bag a few times before raising a questioning brow.
"That offer to stay here still stand?" I asked nervously.
Without even an ounce of hesitation, Lucien swung the door open wider and stepped aside for me to enter his home.