I spent the next two days locked in Lucien's basement, only venturing out for food. I refused to go to school, and my phone had long been switched to silent. Lucien had taken off work, so he was around if I decided I wanted to talk, but aside from telling me that, he'd left me alone. I knew Uncle Ben had told him what happened, and it was probably killing him to not know where my mind was at with all the new revelations.
I was slowly starting to come to terms with my entire worldview changing, but I could feel more coming. The heavy weight of dread in my stomach was like a flashing neon sign warning me to brace for what was to come.
With a groan of exhaustion, I gave up on sleep and headed into the main area of the finished basement. I'd always loved this part of Lucien's house, and I had no doubt my friends would have a blast if they ever got to see it.
The thought of my friends stopped me in my tracks. Days later, I still wasn't any clearer on what to do about the situation. Did I continue with my life as if nothing had changed, or did I take over the coven I was born to lead? Plopping onto the couch, I looked around, looking for a distraction from my confusing thoughts and that old loneliness that was starting to creep back in on me.
The room was beautifully done in dark cherry wood and dark teal. Two walls were covered in sports posters and various framed jerseys, and the fourth had an extensive collection of my sketches. The large flat screen perched on an entertainment center across from me drew my attention, but I quickly discarded that possible distraction. A pool table, dartboard, and a couple of antique arcade games were on the other side of the room, but none of those piqued my interest without an opponent.
Not for the first time since I'd been there, I glanced at the wall of temptation. A dark cherry bar top ran the length of the room with alcohol bottles lined up on the wall like an actual bar. The desire to drown my troubles had been hounding me since I'd arrived, but so far, I'd resisted. My father had always said that if I decided to drink when I was older, do it for fun, not to make myself feel better. He always claimed that was how real trouble started, and it never fixed anything anyway.
Lucien clearly hadn't been thinking when he allowed me to lock myself down here. I chuckled under my breath, imagining his reaction if I were to come upstairs drunk. I knew I couldn't do it, though.
It was time to face reality. I couldn't hide in Lucien's basement forever. I'd spent my entire life wanting to actually live and stop hiding, and now that I finally had the opportunity to do just that, I'd let a few hard facts force me right back into isolation.
If Gran was right, and all my friends ended up hating me for what my family had done, would I end up right back where I started... alone? Just the thought sent an ache through my chest. For one second, I thought it might have been better to just stay alone than risk caring about people just to lose them, but I discarded the thought immediately.
Gathering my courage, I pushed myself up off the couch and went upstairs in search of Lucien. After a few minutes of wandering the house, I finally found him relaxed in a recliner in the theater room on the first floor.
His eyes left the screen and zeroed in on me as soon as I entered the room, and he immediately paused whatever he'd been watching. I sat in the recliner next to his, drawing my legs up under me, and stared at the frozen picture on the screen. I was trying to delay this conversation, even if only for a few more seconds.
Releasing a sigh, he relaxed back into his chair, turning to face me fully. "I have to say, I'm glad you came here even after everything I'm sure Sara had to say." Puffing out my cheeks, I nodded silently. "You ready for more of the story?" He asked.
I subtly shook my head. "Not really, but I don't think I really have a choice. I can't make a decision without having all of the information."
He shifted uneasily in his seat, and my eyes were drawn to the telling movement.
"I'm not giving you all of the information today, AJ." I glared, but my anger faded when he continued. "Trust me, you don't want it all at once. Think about how you felt when you showed up at my door the other day. You couldn't handle anything else right then, and you didn't want to. That was only a small bit of info. What I am going to tell you today is going to be overwhelming. Take the time to recover from each hit before taking another, AJ."
I stared down at my lap, accepting that he was right, and stayed quiet, waiting for him to begin.
"First, I need to know exactly what Sara told you, and I mean exactly."
I nodded, noting the seriousness in his eyes, and told him everything Sara had said that night, word for word. When I finished, his expression showed his displeasure with my words.
"Your mother left the coven for multiple reasons. She didn't believe the same as they did, but that's not why she hid. Yes, your family is hunted, but it's so much more complicated than that."
"So, it's not because my family hunts vampires?' I asked, eyeing him hesitantly. Why else would they hunt my family?
He sighed loudly. "I wish Angela and Daniel would have done this. This is so complicated." Pausing to gather his thoughts, he ran his fingers through his hair, brushing it out of his face. It was a move I recognized, a nervous tic for him. My stomach twisted with my own nerves in response.
"There are plenty of vampires out there that would love to get their hands on a Gorman witch because of what the coven has done for centuries, but your mom was never really worried about those vampires. Her powers were nothing compared to yours, but she was a decent witch. She could protect herself against most attacks. The real threat isn't from any normal vampires." He paused and took a deep breath. "Did your parents ever mention the Gorman prophecy to you?"
I shook my head. "If they had, I probably would have mentioned it to you," I answered sarcastically.
"I wasn't sure if maybe you'd overheard something through the years and never mentioned it. Your parents were always cautious because of your sensitive hearing, but you never know."
He turned to face me, and his shoulders noticeably tightened, telling me that he really didn't want to be the one having this conversation.
"What is the Gorman prophecy?" I finally prompted after a moment of silence.
He sighed again, making a strange sound in the back of his throat. "Basically, it's a prophecy that some powerful old witch told centuries ago about your family. I don't know the whole prophecy word for word. Your mother didn't either. I don't think anyone really does, but there's probably a record of it somewhere. If there is, I'm sure Sara's coven has it, but she would never let any of us see it."
He paused again, and I let him because it was obvious he was gathering his thoughts. "The prophecy said that a witch was going to be born into your family that would change everything. That witch would be the most powerful creature to ever walk this Earth. I don't remember the exact words your mother used, but in a nutshell, it said that this witch would either save the supernatural world or completely destroy it. It said that when the witch approached their ascent, they would be torn between good and evil and that our world depended on which side they chose."
I leaned forward in my seat, completely engrossed in his words, but a slither of anticipation ran up my spine. "What do you mean destroy it or save it? Does it need saving? What's wrong with it? Besides the whole slaughtering each other thing."
He smirked at my final comment, amused by my take on the situation. "Centuries ago, our world was a very different place. The vampires, witches, and werewolves never truly got along, but we coexisted. The slaughtering, as you call it, was kept to a minimum, mostly just personal feuds. No one really had a choice. Each species had a council. A group of people in charge who basically policed their own species. They enforced rules and interceded if fighting got out of control."
"What happened?" I asked curiously.
He scratched his chin and sighed. "A very powerful family happened. Three families of witches made up the witch's council back then. They were the most powerful families. The Gorman family was always the largest and most powerful. Then there was the Lockton family and Petrov family. A certain group of siblings from the Lockton family got tired of always being second place to your family. They found a vampire and convinced him to change them."
"So, they're vampires now?"
He shot me a disgruntled look at the interruption, but he didn't comment on it. "Most witches lose their powers if they're changed, but if the power is strong enough, it can withstand the change. This group of siblings was strong enough. So, they became powerful witches who also had all the strengths of a vampire. They're the most powerful beings in the world, and all of that power quickly went to their heads."
I had to bite down on my lips to keep myself from interrupting him again with all the questions running through my head.
"The first thing they did, was kill the rest of the witch's council, taking over control of the species entirely, but it wasn't long before they wanted even more power. They began hunting werewolves, starting with the werewolf council. At this point, werewolves are hard to find, almost being hunted to extinction. Very few packs have managed to remain hidden."
"What about the vampire's council?" I asked, unable to remain silent any longer.
"They still exist, but the Locktons control them entirely. So, they don't do any good. They allow them to live because they do as they're told."
"So, this one family basically has control of all three species," I mumble, feeling my forehead wrinkle in worry.
He nodded, "And they definitely shouldn't be in control. They're cruel and power-hungry. They have little regard for trying to stay hidden. They don't care in the least if everybody kills each other off. A couple of them are currently working their way up in the human government as well. It's only a matter of time before it gets worse. All three species fear them, but there's just nothing anyone can do about it."
"Couldn't everyone just gang up on them?" I asked, and he snorted.
"If we could all stop killing each other long enough, yeah, that would probably work, but I don't see it happening."
"I'm guessing what you're trying to say is that this Gorman witch from the prophecy is supposed to stop that family?" That horrible feeling of unease running up my spine during the entire conversation increased. My instincts were screaming, telling me that I already knew where this conversation was going.
Lucien shrugged, pursing his lips. "I have no idea, to be honest. The prophecy is open to interpretation. It didn't say specifically what the witch would save us from. It could mean any number of things." He shrugged again. "No one really knows, but that's the interpretation that most believe, yes."
I nodded and drew my knees up to my chest. "It's about me, isn't it?" I finally whispered, already knowing the answer.
He glanced my way, and I could see the sadness and worry in his eyes, already giving me my answer before his mouth ever opened. "Yes," he said simply. "According to the prophecy, the witch would be recognizable by her unusual purple eyes."
I sucked in a breath as my eyes fell closed. "That's why I was hidden."
My mother had always been right. It did all make sense now that I had my answers. I always believed that no explanation could justify how I'd lived, but I'd been wrong all along.
"Ummmm, mostly," he mumbled.
I side-eyed him, unsure if I wanted to ask, but he took the choice out of my hands and continued with his story.
"This family is in power because they're the most powerful, but if the prophecy is correct, they're not anymore. You are. Ever since that prophecy was told, and they got wind of it, they've been searching for Gorman witches in hopes of ending the bloodline before the witch from the prophecy was born."
He paused again to gather his thoughts, his eyes drifting up to the ceiling as he leaned his head back. "There used to be multiple covens run by witches from the Gorman family. According to your mother, there were twelve spaced out in different countries around the world. All have been killed except for two who have managed to stay hidden. Well, we think there are still two. Last your mother had heard, there was, but you'd have to ask Sara to be sure. She moves her coven regularly to avoid being caught. When you were born, and your mother saw your eyes, she almost went back to the coven for your protection despite their difference of opinion. She ultimately decided you'd be safer away from the coven since so many of them had been found through the years."
We sat side by side in a tense heavy silence while I thought of all the implications of his words. In the span of one conversation, I'd gone from needing to protect my siblings from vampires hunting us to the expectation of saving the world from a power-hungry family of witch/vampires hell-bent on ending my bloodline entirely. As my thoughts ran wild, one, in particular, made me snort, and Lucien looked at me nervously as if I might be losing my mind.
"Well, that explains the training, I guess," I said, answering the question in his eyes.
He chuckled and leaned towards me, throwing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me to his side over the arms of our recliners. As I laid my forehead on his shoulder, all the pieces began to fall into place in my mind. It explained everything. Well, except for one.
I pulled back slightly and glanced up at Lucien's worried eyes. "Is my being the one from the prophecy why I'm so different from other witches?"
His muscles tightened, and for the first time during that conversation, he wouldn't meet my eyes. "That is a question for another day."
I nodded and chose not to push for anything else. He'd been right. If I wanted to avoid a complete mental breakdown, I'd need to uncover all the secrets kept from me in pieces. Even the pieces were overwhelming.
"Why do you think Gran only told me part of the story?" I finally asked, dropping my forehead back to his shoulder.
He shrugged, making my head bounce with the movement. "My guess? She wanted to use you. If your main goal in life is to hunt vampires, who better to have on your side than the most powerful person in the world? Also, you could probably protect the coven if the Locktons found them. And if you do decide to take this family on, and you succeed, that would make her coven the most powerful in the world once again."
I grunted and rolled my eyes, remembering how she'd been unusually nice during this visit. I should have known it was for her own selfish reasons.
"What do you mean if I decide to take this family on? Do I really have a choice?" I asked.
He grabbed my chin and forced me to look up into his eyes. I could see the determination there. "Sure, you do. If you don't want to, then we'll hide you like we've been doing. I'll help you, AJ."
"One more question and then enough for the day. Did they kill my parents?"
Again, Lucien wouldn't meet my eyes. "There's no way to know for sure, but that's our best guess, yes."
A sound of distress left my throat, and he tightened his arm around my shoulders. "If it's me they're after, I was there. Why didn't they come for me?"
"You weren't in the house, AJ. There were no pictures of you anywhere in that house or your siblings, for that matter. Your parents were careful. They always knew there was a possibility of the Locktons finding them. I'm guessing they didn't bother searching the house since there were no signs of them having children on the first floor. They would have been able to sense that no one else was in the house. So, without seeing any signs of them having a family, they just left."
My parents weren't just murdered randomly. They were killed because of some stupid prophecy told about me centuries before. The ever-present guilt I'd carried since their deaths swelled to a whole new level.
Jumping from my seat, I kicked the doorframe on my out, causing the wood to splinter. Rage quickly joined the guilt eating at me, and I needed to get out of Lucien's house before losing control.
"I'm going for a run," I mumbled on my way down the hall. I hadn't gone for a run in days, and I really needed the physical exertion after all the surprises thrown at me the last few days. It felt like the weight of it all might crush me if I stayed still for much longer. I need to try to outrun the emotions trying to drown me.
I had just finished running three miles and was about to let my magic loose when my phone dinged in my pocket. I yanked it out with a sigh, knowing I'd have to eventually answer everyone.
I huffed out a breath when I saw Everett's name lighting up the screen. "My brother is worried. He says no one has heard from you in days, you're not home, you're not going to school, and your uncle won't tell him anything. Your friends say they haven't heard from you either. You okay?"
I only hesitated a moment. I couldn't make the image Sara had painted mesh with the experiences I'd had with the vampires around me. If they were monsters like Sara wanted me to believe, would they really be worried about my wellbeing?
With a sigh, I typed out a quick reply. "I'm okay."
I dropped down on a boulder and waited for another text from him. Another one came through almost immediately, but it wasn't anything like I'd hoped. "You should probably let everyone else know."
Obviously, now that he knew I was alive and kicking, he didn't have anything else to say. I groaned, but I knew he was right. I needed to text everyone. I hadn't meant to worry anyone. I'd just needed some space to get my thoughts in order after my entire worldview had shifted. I sent a text to my friend's group message, letting them know I was okay, just busy with family stuff.
Once that was done, I typed out a text to Lawrence. "Can you meet me at the pier in thirty?"
He immediately responded, agreeing. My phone started blowing up, but I pushed it back into my pocket. I had something I needed to do before I worried about all of their questions about my sudden absence.
I walked into the house to find my siblings, Gran, and Uncle Ben all sitting in the living room. River and Gran were talking while Julian sat quietly, and Uncle Ben looked like he would rather be anywhere else.
"Leave," I said calmly, eyeing River and Julian. I'd need to fill them in on everything soon, but I was reluctant to blow their worlds up like mine had been. Julian got up from his seat and left the room without question, but River just stared at me with defiance in her eyes. Sara caught River's attention and nodded for her to leave the room. She huffed in annoyance and glared at me the whole way out of the room.
Walking to the center of the room, I crossed my arms over my chest and met Sara's eyes. "I won't be taking over the coven."
Her face hardened immediately to the old expression of disdain that I was familiar with. "And why is that?"
"Because I don't want to," I said simply with a shrug.
Gran snorted, and her face morphed into a much more hateful expression. "It's not that simple. You can't just decide that you don't want the responsibility you were born to take."
"Yes, I can," I insisted. "My mother did, and so can I."
She laughed loudly, but there was no real amusement in the sound. "Your mother was nothing but a disappointment, and I can see now that you aren't any better. Is this about your friends and that little boyfriend of yours? They're lying to you... hiding who they truly are. Are they really even your friends? You honestly think you can trust them?"
Attempting to reign in my rising temper, I paused to take a deep breath and counted to ten before responding. "Can I trust you? You've hated me my entire life. You've never bothered to hide it. Now you come here, suddenly being tolerable and spouting you bullcrap about ridding the world of evil. I'm not stupid. You want me for my power and to further your own personal agenda."
"Your power? So, you know then?" She asked, standing and getting right in my face.
I refused to back down or shy away from her glare as I'd done my whole life. "About the prophecy? Yeah, I do."
"So, now you think you're something special and too good for your own coven, your family" she said accusingly.
"No, but I refuse to be used by you," I said, dropping my voice to a threatening tone. With that, I turned to leave and caught sight of the small proud smile on my uncle's face.
I couldn't deny that I was feeling a little proud myself. I'd never stood up to Gran before. I'd always just sat back and taken whatever verbal abuse she spewed my way. Standing up to her felt good. It felt right.
"What is the coven supposed to do, Ariella? I'm getting too old to lead. I should have passed it to your mother along time ago."
I shrugged carelessly. "Give it to River. I don't really care."
When I turned away, she grabbed my arm in a tight grip, causing me to wince in pain. I dropped my eyes to her hand before turning to glare into her eyes. I hoped the look on my face made my thoughts on being touched crystal clear.
"You will regret this," she said through gritted teeth.
I yanked my arm away and walked out without a backward glance, going out the backdoor.
Approaching the pier, I saw a tall figure standing at the end of the pier, looking out at the lake. I recognized the form as Lawrence immediately and hoped he hadn't waited long.
I leaned against the railing beside him and felt his gaze on the side of my face but kept my focus on the frozen lake before us.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled guiltily. I really hadn't meant to cause anyone worry.
"For?"
"Worrying you," I answered. In reality, I was apologizing for much more than that, though. In the privacy of my own mind, I was apologizing for having feelings for his brother, for disappearing for days, for suspecting him of being a monster despite knowing differently in my heart. He just didn't know it. I felt horrible for all of it, but I couldn't say any of that out loud.
Things had been much simpler when I first met him. I'd absolutely loved our date. I was happy and mostly carefree. Sure, I was dealing with grief, nightmares, and secrets, but it was so much simpler than the reality I was facing now.
Being around him was easier then, before there was this shadow of Everett and my family's history hanging over us. I wanted to go back to that. Though it had only been a few weeks, it seemed like a different life after everything I'd learned in the previous days.
After a moment of thought, I decided to let everything else fade into the background. All of my problems would still be there in the morning, and I'd worry about them then. For one more afternoon, I wanted to be the teenage girl who went on a date with the boy beside me and dreamed of living an ordinary life.
I turned and wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my face into his chest. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around my waist in return, giving me a tight squeeze.
"What happened? Why did you disappear?" He asked.
"Just some family drama," I responded in the biggest understatement of the century.
I felt him nod against the top of my head. Pressing his face into my hair, he breathed in my scent.
"You want to come to my house?" He asked.
I hesitated, thinking of Everett, but if he was no longer an option, I needed to work on getting over my feelings. I had more important things to worry about now than having feelings for both brothers.
Besides, I needed a distraction, any distraction from the fact that the fate of the supernatural world laid on my shoulders. I couldn't shake Lucien's words about me possibly destroying it either. It didn't make any sense. I just didn't see myself as the type of person to hurt anyone.
This would be my first visit to the three-story Tudor-style home that the Halterman family shared. I was slightly nervous because of what I'd learned, but I pushed my worries aside. I wanted to trust them, but I didn't completely... not yet. However, I knew that if things got bad, I could defend myself if needed, which put my mind at ease enough to follow Lawrence to his home.
Entering the house behind him, I immediately became distracted by the beauty of it. The dark, natural hardwood floors, beige walls, and dark exposed beams in the ceiling created a beautiful picture. My head was on a constant swivel as I allowed Lawrence to guide me through the foyer and living room by my hand.
"You want a drink?" He asked.
I nodded without thought, still taking in my surroundings. The dark wood fireplace in the living room corner continued to draw my eyes back to it in awe. We reached the kitchen before I knew it, and Lawrence dropped his hold on my hand.
"Lawrence, is that you?" A voice I recognized as Cal's called from somewhere upstairs.
"Yeah, me and Ari," he called back.
"Can you come here for a second?"
"You okay to stay here for a second? I'll be right back," Lawrence asked politely while sliding a coke across the granite countertop towards me. I caught it and hopped up onto one of the distressed barstools pulled up to the side of the island.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said with a shrug. Eyeing the can, I wondered if they kept food and drinks around in case of company or if he'd planned to invite me over.
He was only gone for a couple seconds before I felt a presence behind me. I turned with a smile on my face, already opening my mouth to say something about how fast that was, but I was brought up short when my eyes met Everett's. His eyes were on me as he walked through the kitchen and went through another door, pulling it closed behind him without saying a word.
Biting my lip, I made a snap decision. If we were going to be around one another, we needed to learn to deal with it. Before I could second guess myself, I jumped off the barstool and approached the door he'd gone through. Knocking, I shifted nervously on my feet while I waited to hear his assent before I opened the door.
Everything I'd seen of the house so far had been light, open, and comforting, but this room was vastly different. I knew immediately that it was Everett's personal office. I had no idea what he did for work, but I had noticed from his choice of clothing that he preferred darker colors. It was yet another thing we had in common.
His office had the same flooring and exposed beams as the rest of the house, but these walls were painted a charcoal color with dark grey furniture.
Not really wanting to invade his personal space without being invited in, I leaned a shoulder against the door jam while we watched each other silently.
"You lied," he said bluntly.
I tilted my head in confusion. "About?"
"You said you were okay."
"I am," I insisted.
He smirked, finally dropping his eyes as he rifled through some papers on his desk. "Tell that to your eyes."
Not having an argument for that, I stayed quiet. I had no idea what he saw in my eyes, but I would expect it to be pain, guilt, anxiety, and maybe even a little defeat. I thought I'd been doing an excellent job of hiding my emotions, but one sentence from Everett ripped that hope away.
"Hey, sorry about that," Lawrence said, suddenly appearing behind me.
Looking over my shoulder at him, I straightened from the doorway. "No problem. Is Annie here? She mentioned wanting me to see her paintings."
Lawrence intertwined our fingers, pulling me away from Everett's office. I followed him up to the second floor.
"She's not here right now, but she should be home soon. Her art room is up on the third floor, but she doesn't really like us to be in there without her."
I nodded in understanding and followed him into the first door on the right, realizing immediately that we were in his bedroom. I almost chuckled when I saw it. I didn't know what I expected, but it definitely wasn't for it to look like any ordinary teenage boy's room. There were many car posters on the walls and quite a few posters of half-naked women.
While I took in my surroundings, I felt him step up behind me and rest his hands on my upper arms. "Do you want to talk about whatever happened the last few days?" He asked in a softer tone than I'd ever heard him use before.
I immediately shook my head in denial. That was the last thing I wanted. I wanted everyone to stop bringing it up because it just brought all my conflicting thoughts back to the forefront of my mind.
Turning, I wrapped my arms around his neck. "No, but you can distract me," I said with a grin and stood on my tiptoes to press my lips against his to stop any further questions. My mind was once again spinning with all the new information, and I was counting on his lips to be just the distraction I needed... a little bit or normal.