CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
— family over everything
GAIA KRANE WASN'T A VERY SUPERSTITIOUS WOMAN, A FACT THAT HER HUSBAND FOUND TO BE RATHER IRONIC SINCE HIS ENTIRE FAMILY WAS EXTREMELY SUPERSTITIOUS. He had been raised to believe that black cats symbolize good luck and a bird flying home was a sign of death. There were hundreds of superstitions that the Krane's vehemently believed in, but Gaia had been raised by Sofia and Anton Cercel and despite the fact that they, like the Krane's, had the same upbringing rooted in Romanian beliefs and superstitions, her parents had been realists and they raised her to be one too.
Krane Manor had come to life with the announcement that there would be guests joining them to stay the week. Gaia had heard a range of all sorts of stories about the Hel family and when Atlas introduced her to the youngest of the Hel twins at the Rosier's Easter party, she became utterly fascinated by the family. While the Krane's dabbled in their fair share of forbidden or forgotten magic, the Hel's had always been known for their dark ways. When she attended Durmstrang, she remembered spending time learning about the Hel's in her Dark Arts class even though they were an English wizarding family and she was all the way in Russia. Their reputation preceded them and Gaia had to admit that she invited the Hel's to her home for completely selfish reasons.
But, the Krane's were superstitious and when her husband's sister, Keres Krane, walked into the sitting room to tell her sister-in-law that she had a dream, Gaia found herself wondering if she made a mistake in expressing interest in the Hel's.
Gaia Krane wasn't a superstitious woman, but when Keres Krane had a dream, she listened.
"Rhea Hel will be the death of your son," Keres warned. The scarlet-haired woman's face was gravely serious as she looked at Gaia through the same dark, lidded eyes that had become a staple of their family. Her slender and narrow face reminded Gaia of the woman that had come before her — Deineira Krane, who died the year after Gaia joined the family. Keres, like her mother, never liked Gaia all that much and the feeling was mutual. Gaia had to stand by while her husband opened his home to his sister and her two sons, Vano and Silvanus, following the death of her horrible husband two summers ago. Her and Keres had formed a silent agreement that they would stay out of each other's way as much as they could. Gaia would stay silent about the weird rituals and seances she caught Keres conducting while Keres would turn the other cheek to Gaia's meddling ways. "She spoke to me in a dream."
"What did she say?" Gaia asked. It wasn't uncommon for Keres to have dreams of people she had never met before. Adonis always told her that Keres inherited their mother's talent for seeing things in dreams.
"Wherever that girl and her family goes, death and destruction follow. She warned us to not let her marry Atlas because he would die if she did."
Gaia froze. She knew Keres wasn't aware of the conversation she had with Adonis and Atlas the previous night when Adonis told Atlas he would be advocating for a marriage between Rhea and their son. Atlas yelled and screamed and argued long into the night, but Gaia knew his efforts would prove futile. When Adonis Krane set his mind to something it was extremely difficult to convince him otherwise. Atlas begged them to reconsider. He begged them to think of his future and what he wanted, but Adonis shook his head and told them both that a union between the Krane's and the Hel's would be in their best interest.
"Atlas will die if he marries Rhea Hel." Keres said again. Her voice was firm and Gaia knew she was trying to convey how dire the situation was, even though Gaia fully understood the gravity of Keres' words.
"I will speak to Adonis at once." Gaia nodded. She turned on her heel and left the sitting room, venturing through the long halls of Krane Manor to catch a glimpse of her husband. There was her daughter, sweet Selene, sitting at the piano with her hands dancing across the keys as she hummed a soft melody to herself; She spotted Atlas down in the foyer speaking to his best friend, Andrei Dragavei while his sister, Alina, lingered off to the side; and Vano and Silvanus were wrestling in the family room.
Gaia pushed through the door's of her husband's study where they had held many of their 'family meetings'. Adonis was seated in the chair at his desk, hunched over a pile of documents that were causing his brows to turn down in a way that let Gaia know that he was deeply troubled by whatever it was that he was reading.
"We cannot let Rhea Hel marry our son," Gaia said. She always got straight to the point and that was something Adonis always said he loved about her. His gaze flickered up to give his wife his undivided attention while she stood before him. "Keres had a dream —"
"Since when did you believe in Keres' dreams?" Adonis chuckled.
"Since they involved my son's death." Gaia narrowed her eyes at him.
Adonis let out a long sigh.
"We're not going to prevent one of the smartest union's this family could ever make because my sister has an overactive imagination." Adonis spoke in a tone that told Gaia he was rather unimpressed with her. "Keres's dreams have been wrong on more than one occasion. She told me that my wife would be fair-haired and French, yet you are dark haired and Romanian."
Gaia didn't crack a smile at what was supposed to be Adonis's attempt to lighten the mood by brushing aside her concerns.
"I thought you said Keres inherited your mother's talent for seeing visions through her dreams."
"Keres can be wrong, my mother wasn't. Besides, the Hel's are on their way. In a few hours, Rhea Hel will walk through our front door and at the end of the week I plan to speak to Elvira Hel about the idea of wedding Rhea and Atlas after Rhea graduates from Hogwarts." Adonis spoke calmly. Gaia's head was spinning as she tried to think of a plan. Suddenly, it struck her and she knew what she needed to do to prevent the engagement.
"I want to do the test."
Adonis froze, his fist clenching at Gaia's words. He met his wife's unwavering gaze and let out a long sigh.
"We told Atlas we'd never do the test again. Not since —"
"I don't care what we told him. He wants this union to happen even less than I do. If Rhea decides not to take the test — which she probably will when she learns what the test is — then she will not marry into this family."
"If she takes the test and fails, then you'll have started a war between the Hel's and Krane's. From what I've heard about that family, I'm not confident it's a war we'll win."
Gaia and Adonis stared at each other for a few moments.
"Then, I guess she better not fail."
***
Krane Manor was located in County Cork, Ireland — a wizarding neighborhood home to notable wizarding families, such as the Prewett's, the Rowle's, and the Shafiq's. Rhea had never spent much time in Cork and she didn't visit Ireland much, but the town reminded her of Wiltshire in some ways, though Hel House couldn't have been more different from Krane Manor. As they drove down the long path that led to the secluded Manor, Rhea caught sight of the house in the distance. Krane Manor was gargantuan. It was the size of Hel House and Malfoy Manor combined; it would even put Rosier Manor to shame. The gates had giant gargoyles on them whose heads turned as they continued down the path. There were large turrets on the house and it was made of red-brick with vines creeping down the sides.
As they approached, Rhea could see several figures standing outside the large doors, ready to welcome the Hel's into their home. Rhea instantly recognized Gaia, Adonis, and Atlas since the three of them stood front and center. Atlas looked as though he'd rather be anywhere else as he twisted the signet ring on his finger. Standing beside him was a girl with golden blonde hair that contrasted from the rest of the family's dark locks. She had the same dark eyes as Atlas, though she looked significantly happier than he did. This, Rhea deduced, was Selene Krane, the youngest child of the Krane family. However, the five other people standing on the other side of Selene were completely unfamiliar to Rhea.
"Rhea," Gaia Krane stepped forward first. There was a smile on her face, but Rhea could see the hidden edge in the woman's actions before she started speaking. The dislike in her eyes when she looked at Rhea was certainly new and her smile was too tight to be anything but forced. "We are so glad to welcome you and your family into our home."
Rhea gave Gaia one of her most dazzling smiles and exchanged pleasantries with the woman before she greeted Adonis. His gaze was noticeably different from his wife and Rhea instantly knew that she, at least, had him on her side and that was all that really mattered to her.
Atlas greeted her with much less enthusiasm than his parents did.
"Rhea," Atlas nodded stiffly at her. Her gaze wandered down to his knuckles and she was surprised to see that they were covered in what looked like fresh bruises. Her gaze flickered to one of the unfamiliar men that was standing in line to greet her to find one of his eyes blackening.
"Atlas." Rhea greeted.
"This is my sister, Selene." Atlas directed Rhea to the girl who seemed to be bursting with energy. Rhea opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't have a chance. Selene threw her arms around her and pulled her in for a tight hug. Rhea looked to Pluto for help as her body stiffened and her arms locked at her sides, but he was too busy hiding his laugh behind a cough to do much to help.
Rhea hated hugs and she especially hated them when they came from complete strangers.
"It's so exciting to meet you! We just finished learning about your family at school —"
Atlas let out a cough to keep Selene from talking, but Rhea was rather intrigued by what Selene had to say. They learned about the Hel's at Durmstrang?
Selene's cheeks flamed red when she realized her mistake, but she brushed it off and let Rhea go, her eyes bright and full of life.
"You're going to love it here." Selene beamed. Rhea stared at the girl with slightly narrowed eyes. For a moment, she wondered if Selene's kindness was a front and that there was secretly a heinous individual lying underneath, but when Selene's smile only widened Rhea knew it wasn't an act and that left her even more unsettled.
Rhea turned to the five people she didn't recognize. The woman that stepped forward had an air to her that reminded Rhea of her mother. She exuded confidence and power with fiery red hair that fell to her waist that matched the red dress robes she wore. Her eyes, like the rest of the family, were dark and there were a few similarities between this woman and Adonis.
"Rhea, this is my Aunt Keres Krane and those are her sons, Vano and Silvanus." Atlas directed Rhea's attention to two brothers standing side by side with one another. Though the brothers shared the same shade of dark brown hair, they didn't share any other similarities. Vano stared at Rhea with an unwavering gaze. His hands were tucked away into his pockets and he didn't necessarily look thrilled to be in her presence. Vano was also the one sporting the black eye and Rhea wondered what he did to make Atlas punch him. Silvanus, on the other hand, had a slight twinkle in his cobalt blue eyes as he looked Rhea up and down. "And, lastly, these are our good family friends — Alina and Andrei Dragavei."
Upon first glance, the Dragavei siblings were rather intimidating individuals. Alina's dark brows fell into a hard line and her eyes were the darkest shade of brown Rhea had ever seen. Her hands were tucked into a pair of trousers and her shoes were covered in mud and dirt. Her brother, Andrei's, cool gaze swept over Rhea with mild disinterest, as though she wasn't even worth his time. He shared his sister's dark appearance, though his clothes were cleaner than hers and Rhea could see his wand peaking out of the pocket of his trousers.
"It's a pleasure," said Alina, her Romanian accent thick when she spoke. Rhea made a mental note to do some research into the Dragavei family when she had the chance. She could see the flashes of matching rings on Alina and Andrei's pinky fingers which gave her the impression that in Romania, the Dragavei's were of some importance.
They were brought into Krane Manor by the house-elves. The Manor was large and spacious with many rooms to accomodate for its many guests. The entrance hall was well-lit with candles that illuminated the dark blue and silver wallpaper. There were large portraits of past and present members of the Krane family lining the walls adjacent to the main staircase. Atlas's was the one that Rhea was drawn to immediately. He looked as stony in the portrait as he did standing beside her. He had the same slightly arrogant glint in his eye that Rhea had seen in people like Abraxas Malfoy and Orpheus Mulciber, though there was something else that Rhea hadn't anticipated seeing on Atlas's face. The artist had managed to capture the intense sadness Atlas tried to bury deep.
Rhea recognized it immediately. It was the same sadness that had nearly destroyed her two years ago — the sadness of losing someone you loved.
"I'll show you to your room." Atlas offered, taking Rhea's luggage from her. She cast a look back at her grandmother, Elvira Hel, as the woman's undecipherable gaze took in her surroundings. Rialta, Pavlina, and Cato stood idly by as they were led to where they would be staying on the other side of the house. Rhea and Pluto exchanged a look with one another, both realizing the same thing.
They were being separated.
Atlas led her down the hall to a bedroom that was next to his own. The room was bigger than her own room at Hel House with a large four-poster bed and enough room for a fireplace, a sitting area, and a vanity pushed up against the window beside the door leading to the small balcony.
"Dinner will be served shortly. If you need anything, I'll be next door." Atlas said in a clipped tone. Rhea resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It would help if he would at least pretend that she wasn't some sort of unwanted guest.
As Rhea changed into the dress she brought for dinner, an unrecognizable tawny owl swooped through the window. The owl dropped a letter on the desk of the vanity and pecked at her head until she dug through her luggage and pulled out treats. Curious, she opened the letter and was only slightly disappointed when she realized it was from Tom.
Rhea,
We will leave for France on 1 August. Come to Wool's Orphanage in London.
Tom
Rhea frowned and took out a quill and parchment so that she could write a quick response.
Tom,
The first of August is Lughnasadh. I will come to Wool's Orphanage on the second.
Rhea
Lughnasadh was one of the only holidays important to her family that Rhea was home for and it was something she looked forward to each year. She certainly wasn't going to miss the celebrations to go to France with Tom Riddle.
Rhea gave the letter to the owl and sent it on its way before there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Rhea called out, briefly glancing over her shoulder as she fastened her sapphire earrings into her ears. The door opened and Keres entered the room, her red dress robes trailing on the floor behind her. "Hello, Keres."
Keres leaned against the bed and met Rhea's eye.
"Did you know that, like you, we come from a very ancient bloodline as well?" Keres asked. Rhea remained silent, figuring that Keres would get to her point eventually. "We may not be descended from witches as naturally gifted as Morgan le Fay and we may not be as skilled in the Dark Arts as your family is supposed to be, but we've passed our practices down from generation to generation. Tell me, Rhea, does your family believe in the importance of dreams?"
Rhea pursed her lips.
"No."
"We do. My mother was a Seer and all of her visions would come in the form of dreams. There are other families like ours who have the gift of Sight as well, but my mother was the greatest Seer of her time. Some say that I inherited my mother's power." Keres said. Rhea raised an eyebrow at Keres as she began to realize what this was. Keres was trying to intimidate her. "I had a dream last night and many strange things happened in it, but you were there."
"Was I?" Rhea continued to stare at Keres as she nodded her head slowly, a small, sly grin on her face.
"Who is Eddie Stubbins to you, Rhea?" Keres asked. For a fraction of a second, Rhea froze at the name. Her family didn't even dare say that name out loud, yet here was this woman who didn't even know half of the story and she was speaking Eddie's name so off-handedly as though he was just anybody else. Rhea's hand drifted over the top of her wand which was hidden in the pockets of her robes while she continued to stare at Keres as though she hadn't been phased by the name at all.
"Eddie Stubbins was a muggle boy who lived in Wiltshire. He died a few years back." Rhea said, sounding rather apathetic. "Why do you ask?"
"You mentioned him in my dream. You said, "if I marry Atlas, then he will end up just like Eddie Stubbins"." Keres said. Rhea stared at Keres without giving away what she was thinking on her face. Truth be told, Rhea was growing quite angry. That was the second time Eddie's name had been mentioned in the past two minutes and it was being used to provoke a reaction out of her. Rhea had a short temper and it was even shorter when it came to Eddie. It was the reason why her family tiptoed around his name or didn't mention him at all. Hearing Delphine speak his name made Rhea's hands grow hot from the fire she tried to keep at bay.
"Well, my family has never been one to put much faith in dreams." Rhea spoke and her voice sounded oddly detached from the situation all together. Keres continued to analyze her as she desperately tried to figure the girl out.
Keres decided to give Rhea a smile to let her know that the name Eddie Stubbins wouldn't be forgotten.
"Dinner will be ready shortly." Keres pushed off the bed and left the room as quickly as she had come in.
Rhea turned to the vanity she was sitting at and looked at her reflection in the mirror. There she sat, looking beautiful in a dress made of fine material with honey blonde hair styled in a way that was popular at the time, but her face was beginning to turn red from rage. Keres had poked a bear when she came into Rhea's room. Rhea was normally very good at compartmentalizing and shoving everything aside, but sometimes, like now, her anger would come dangerously close to boiling over and the last time that had happened the results had been . . . catastrophic.
Rhea settled for punching a hole through the mirror instead.
The glass shattered around her and she watched as her blood poured profusely from the several fresh cuts on her hand. She didn't feel any pain — she almost never did. Instead, she only felt cold and numb as she shoved her anger aside and stared at the mess she made. A puddle of her blood formed on the tabletop of the desk and she heard the door open again as Atlas stepped into the room to escort her to dinner.
He stared at Rhea through the reflection of the mirror with a curious expression on his face. Silently, Atlas took out his wand and approached her.
"Let me see." He said. He held out his hand and Rhea gently placed hers in his palm. Atlas pointed his wand at the cuts on Rhea's hand as he began to mumble a healing spell underneath his breath. The cuts cleared in an instant and Atlas glanced at the broken shards of the mirror. "Breaking a mirror gives you seven years of bad luck."
"I've never been very superstitious." Rhea didn't take her hand out of Atlas's as she stood from her seat. She stared up at him curiously, wondering if his aunt had told him about her dream. "Shall we?"
Atlas took Rhea's hand and placed it on his elbow before he led her out of the room. She tried to imagine what they looked like walking down the stairs to everyone else. Rhea was beginning to feel the weight of what she was signing herself up for: a lifetime with this man beside her who she knew next to nothing about.
There was no turning back now.
"Our head house-elf, Minnie, is wonderful when it comes to preparing food." Gaia gushed to Elvira as they entered the dining room. The table was seated for fifteen and Atlas pulled out a chair for Rhea so that she was seated between him and her brother. "Minnie's been with our family since Adonis was a child. She's breeding now, so she's working a lot less, but she loves preparing food for dinner parties."
The first course came out and Rhea made idle chatter with her brother since Atlas didn't seem to be in the mood for much talking.
By the time the third course was served, however, Atlas leaned over to her and whispered, "Why'd you punch the mirror?"
"Would you believe me if I said it was an accident?" Rhea asked, drinking the red currant rum from her glass before one of the house-elves filled for her. Atlas stared at her with an unimpressed look on his face.
"I saw Keres leave your room. What did she say to you?" Atlas asked. Rhea opened her mouth to tell him a lie when Gaia tapped her glass and interrupted their conversation. A hush fell over the table as everyone turned to look at the woman.
"I'd like to propose a toast to our guests," Gaia raised her glass and everyone followed suit. "Thank you all for making the journey to our home. It's a pleasure to have you here."
Rhea drank from her glass, but she kept her eye trained on Atlas's mother as she kept standing.
Something was coming.
"I'd also like to speak to Rhea directly." The attention shifted to Rhea, but she continued to look at Gaia. "I know that this is only the first time our families have had the opportunity to come together and we're all just beginning to get to know each other, but I'll get straight to the point."
"Mother," Atlas said, looking at her with a confused expression that Gaia ignored.
"My husband and I have been looking for a bride for our son. As you all are well aware, families like ours have to start thinking about the next generation quite early. But, we are Krane's and who our son marries is extremely important." Atlas's entire body went rigid at the mention of marriage. Rhea's gaze briefly shifted to that of her grandmother, who looked more and more displeased by the second. She could tell the woman could sense it too. Something was coming. "We have discussed the possibility for Rhea to become a part of our family through marriage."
Out of the corner of her eye, Rhea could see her stepmother's face light up at the sentence, but Rhea wasn't thrilled.
Something was coming.
"Having the Hel's as allies and family would be greatly beneficial to the both of us. However," There it was. Rhea glanced at her brother and she could see that he, too, was waiting for Gaia to get on with it. "We can't just let anyone into our family. There are a strict set of rules and regiments that Rhea would have to follow if she were to become engaged to our Atlas, but it all begins with a test."
Gaia was abruptly interrupted by the sound of wood scraping. Atlas was on his feet and he was looking at his mother with fury blazing in his eyes.
"No! You said —"
"Sit down, boy." Adonis commanded. Atlas swallowed and he looked down at Rhea, his jaw clenched tightly. She could see in his eyes that he was urging her to run — to leave and never look back.
But, Rhea had never run from a challenge before and she wasn't about to start now.
"What's the test?" Rhea asked. Atlas sighed and dropped to his seat, looking disappointed with Rhea's question. Selene's once happy expression appeared crestfallen now as she sadly stared at her hands and Silvanus was downing his rum at an extremely rapid rate, but it was the looks on Andrei, Alina, and Vano's faces that gave Rhea pause. They were looking at her like she was a dead girl walking.
"We can't disclose the exact nature of the test, but know that it is not easy and it will not be kind to you, Rhea. The last person to pass the test was me and that was nearly twenty five years ago." Gaia said.
"How many people have taken this test since then?" Elvira asked.
"Dozens. All of Atlas's potential matches have, but none have passed. There was an unfortunate incident that resulted in the death of a young girl who Atlas was extremely fond of." Rhea glanced at Atlas out of the corner of her eye and she could see him seething at the mention. "Since then we put a halt to the test, but Adonis and I decided we wouldn't want our son to marry someone who couldn't pass a test that has been tradition in our family for hundreds of years. But Rhea could decide not to take the test at all. Of course, we wouldn't allow her to marry our son, but we understand why she may be hesitant."
Even if Rhea wanted to, she knew her family would never allow her to pass up the opportunity of marrying a Krane, even if it meant she could die.
"Rhea, listen to me." Atlas said sharply before she had a chance to respond to Gaia. Rhea turned her head to Atlas. He stared at her seriously, his eyes piercing right through her. "You don't want to do this. This test is impossible. It's designed to attack your fears and your darkest moments. It's designed to destroy you and that's what will happen if you fail. You'll never be the same again."
Rhea looked at Atlas curiously. She wondered how many other girls had put his family before their wellbeing and took the test in the hope that they would be able to marry him. But, Rhea knew who she was and she knew what she was capable of. She was Rhea Augusta Hel and when faced with a challenge, she persevered. She wasn't afraid of anything, not even death.
Rhea turned to Gaia and she could see that the woman was struggling to fight back a triumphant grin. She wanted Rhea to say no to the test. She wanted Rhea to leave and never come back.
So, Rhea said, "I'll do it."