Omniscient
Ahsha and Isaac scanned their surroundings, both getting the feeling that they had been here before. "You have." Ahsha turned her head to see Oshun standing next to her. "Before your spirit chose this particular body this is where you roamed." She explained. Ahsha nodded her head understanding.
"Look," Isaac said as Ahsha followed his gaze. A few feet away the pair could see a large flame dancing in the darkness with several people seated around it. Their view was quickly obstructed by Anansi as he looked at the pair. "You two said you were ready," Anansi said. "We are," Isaac said.
"Very well then go on," Anansi said stepping aside. Isaac walked towards the people but before he could break the circle he was stopped by an invisible wall. Isaac turned and looked at Anansi with an annoyed look. "Now what are you holding on to," Anansi asked him. Ahsha and Isaac stood silent. "I—," Ahsha paused. "What?" Isaac said eyeing her.
"I care greatly about Malik and I'm sure no one will believe me but I feel closer to Ares." She said. "What, that man—," "Let her speak," Anansi interrupted. "When I'm with Ares the passion I feel is so different compared to what I feel with Malik or Pablo." She explained.
"It feels like my connection is deeper with Ares than it is with Malik. I guess what I'm saying is I'm worried I may have more feelings for Ares than Malik and Pablo. And I feel guilty about that considering everything that's happened. But even when everything was happening there was still something in the back of my mind that, in a sick way loved him greatly." Ahsha said. The siblings missed the look Anansi and Oshun shared at Ahsha's words. "Maybe it's the mate bond," Isaac said.
"Then it would be the same with Malik and Pablo but it's not. Originally my feelings for Malik were so strong but along the way, something changed and I don't know what that was." Ahsha said turning away from her brother.
"Ahsha—," "I know what you're going to say but I've been thinking about it for a while now. I love Malik and Pablo but with Ares—I just feel something so different." She said. "Maybe I'm just crazy or this world has fucked up my logic." She added. "You're not crazy but you have always been a little ditzy," Isaac said. Ahsha pushed as a soft chuckle left her lips.
Isaac sighed. "I guess it's my turn." He said. "Veronica is my mate and I love her so much but I think she's jealous of our relationship." He said. "Why?" Ahsha asked. "When you—," He paused unable to speak about his sister dying.
"She and I got into a fight and it became very apparent to me how she felt. She brought up how Ares basically kidnapped me and I don't blame you for what he did. It wasn't your fault. You're my sister, my twin, and my best friend and I would do anything for you, but she is my mate." He said. "I'm worried that there will come a day where I'll be put in the position where I'll have to choose between you two—,"
"And you're scared you'll pick her?" Ahsha asked. Isaac looked at his sister, no words leaving his mouth for a moment. "No, I'm scared I won't be able to choose and I'll lose you both." He said. "Isa I would never put that type of decision on you, ever," Ahsha said as she hugged her brother.
A strong gust of wind whipped around them drawing their attention to the flames. Ahsha and Isaac looked down seeing him in a white blouse and loose pants. While Ahsha was dressed in a white flowy dress. Their attention was drawn to the people in front of her. It was the group of women from the beach staring down at her as well as several men she'd never seen before. "Dad," Isaac said. Ahsha followed her brother's gaze to see their father standing a few feet away smiling.
Ahsha looked down at her hand seeing Oshun was holding her hand. "Now we can begin," Marie said as the women parted ways to reveal their grandmothers.
Isaac went and took a seat across from his grandmothers before Ahsha joined him. Almost simultaneously the pair reached up to touch their marks feeling a throbbing pain. Isaac hummed softly when he caught the light scent of Veronica's perfume. "Sa'aeud quariban" (I'll be back soon) Isaac whispered. Ahsha looked up seeing the night sky staring back at her.
"Sanakun mean qryban , ya habibi" (We'll be together soon, my loves.) She whispered before turning back to her grandmothers. She smiled when she saw their eyes were glowing. She looked around seeing everyone's eyes glowing a different shade of gold.
Malik
My parents as well as Veronica stared at me and Ares speechless. "Ares?" My mom called as she looked between the two of us. "So, this whole time—" "The baby you thought you lost was always here," Ares said. "Had we known—," "You would've been better parents?" Ares questioned.
"Ares," I said. He huffed turning his attention to Nasir. "What about Isaac and Ahsha?" Veronica questioned. Ares and I stood silent. My mother gasped. "She is gone." I finally said. "She couldn't deal with our world anymore." I half lied. "Whoever recorded it will be dealt with accordingly, though," Ares added.
"What about I—" Veronica trailed. "He was her twin. When we told him what happened he snapped before storming off. We don't know where he is." I lied. "But you're looking for him?" Veronica said. "Yes, we are," I said. "How are you two going to fix this?" my mom asked. "We're handling it," Is all Ares said. "I see." My mom said.
I looked to my father seeing as how he had yet to speak since we told him about Ares or the lie, we came up with about Ahsha and Isaac. Ares glanced at me before he followed my gaze towards our father. "Ahsha's parents must be devastated ." My mom said.
"They're upset and they have every right to be, but they threatened to take our son, so my concern for them is very little," I spoke. "They were probably just in shock. This is a lot to take in." Veronica said.
"They didn't even allow us to explain before they were flying off at the mouth," I said before taking a breath. "As I said my concerns are not for them at the moment. We have decided to tell you all about Ares's existence because we want to announce him to the public but given—."
"You don't need to explain we understand. She is your mate and you two are both the rightful heirs. It's only fair Ares gets his introduction to the world." My father finally spoke.
Ares and I nodded our heads. "Can I speak to you two in my office?" he asked. Ares and I shared a look before nodding our heads once more. "My love see if you can work your magic with the Saleems." My father spoke. "Right. Veronica, why don't you help me?" My mom suggested. "I—," Veronica spoke as my mom turned to me and Ares. "I'll take the baby so you three can talk." My mom suggested.
Ares stared at her, silently. "I promise he'll be safe." She spoke. Ares reluctantly gave her Nasir, watching intently as she walked away with him.
Ares
I stood in my father's office leaning against the wall. "What's really going on?" my father asked us. "What?" Malik questioned. "You expect me to believe you just stumbled across all of this?" He asked. "Is that so out of the realm of possibility?" Malik countered. "Yes." He stated pointedly.
"What do you know?" I butted in. My father's gaze shifted to me as did Malik's. "When we told you what happened you didn't seem very shocked like mother or stunned like Veronica. So that would lead me to believe you know more than you're letting on or you have an amazing poker face." I spoke. We stared at each other silence filling the space.
"You know your words hurt your mother's feelings." He finally spoke. "It was the truth," I said with a shrug. "Was it?" he asked. "Are you trying to say you and mother weren't shit parents?" I countered. He fell quiet again. "So, what do you know?" I repeated the question.
"I've spoken to your grandfather." He spoke. "And?" Malik chimed in. "I know he's involved somehow. I also received a call from Mia Saleem a couple of months back." He spoke. "Oh really?" I said with a growing smirk. "And what did you two discuss?" Malik asked. "She told me what you did to Ahsha for—months. I was going to speak to you about it but then there was a lockdown, and then Ahsha had the baby." My father explained. "I want to know what kind of trouble you three have gotten Ahsha and Isaac mixed up in and I want to know now." He barked.
"Is that a demand?" I asked as I pushed myself off the wall. "Are you challenging me?" he countered. "I'm younger and stronger than you. I am pureblood, after all, so I'll ask again was that a demand?" I asked. "Ares, shut up. You know if Ahsha was here—," Malik began before I chimed in. "She'd understand," I told him. "Even so, now is not the time for this." He said stepping in front of my line of view. He turned to our father who had yet to break his gaze.
"We are not a liberty to share any details with you. You no longer have the privileges to be involved." Malik said. "Privileges? You want to talk to me about privileges?" our father said. "When it comes to the safety of Ahsha or our son, yes," Malik said.
"What did you do to that girl?" Our father asked. "We didn't do anything to her?" Malik said. Although that wasn't necessarily true, we weren't totally to blame for this. "You're lying." He said. "We didn't cause any of this!" I finally snapped. "All we've done is try to clean up this mess even though we weren't the cause of it. So don't sit here and throw around accusations when you don't even know what's been going on right in your face." I said not realizing the only thing separating us was his desk.
I felt Malik place his hand on my shoulder pulling me back."Had you been even a little more cautious—a little more observant of the people you allowed around us—around mom, things would've been different. Ares and I would've been different." Malik spoke.
"Just because people call themselves family doesn't mean they're always looking out for you or in this case your children. Living in this world as long as you have you should've known that." Malik said.
"So, we'll ask again, what do you know?" I questioned.
Omniscient
"Well, is it true?" Mira questioned from where she stood sipping her tea. "Apparently it is." There was a pause in the air. "Ahsha is dead." Mira nodded her head. "It's a shame," Mira said. "I thought you hated her." Mira took another sip from her drink.
"On the contrary. I found her defiant behavior refreshing. Life gets boring when people always follow your every command." Mira explained. "If that is all I think I'll pay my grandson a visit," Mira said. "I'm not sure it's really important but It appears that Malik may have a new guard." As the words left their mouth they tensed when Mira's movements stopped.
"Is that so," Mira stated. "Yes, they went to your son's place yesterday and they were together all day today. We can't confirm it yet, but we just thought we'd share the information." Mira hummed quietly. "What does he look like?" She asked.
"He's approximately 6'3, between 190 and 210 pounds. He has tanned skin and dark hair. He's very plain looking if you ask me, but the baby seems to be comfortable around him, so we assume that means he's been around for a while." Mira looked at herself in the mirror before turning around. "That's all for now." She spoke. "Yes, ma'am." Mira turned to the mirror waiting for the click of the door shutting.
"You will be missed Ahsha Saleem. You were quite an entertaining obstacle who I would've enjoyed breaking down." Mira spoke as she fixed herself up before turning to leave.
--
"Sanakun mean qryban , ya habibi" (We'll be together soon, my loves.)
Malik shot up in his bed when he heard Ahsha's soft voice speak. He looked down at his chest at his mark. He dropped his head in his hands finally feeling the strain of not having his mate here.
"It's barely been two days and I'm hearing her voice. I'm already going crazy without her." Malik mumbled as he looked at the empty spot where Ahsha should be. 'I don't think you made up hearing her voice.' Pablo said.
"What do you mean?" he asked. 'Because I heard it also.' He said nerves evident in his voice. "You did?" Malik asked. 'Yes.' Pablo spoke. Malik stood heading out of his room going to the room Ares had claimed.
He went to the door to see it opened and empty. Malik turned and went to check on Nasir thinking Ares was with him but to his surprise, he wasn't. He walked over to Nasir's crib checking on him seeing him clutching the blanket Ahsha had given him. "She'll be back," he whispered.
He gently brushed his knuckle against his cheek before quietly leaving. Malik headed downstairs and into the kitchen to find Ares sitting on the counter eating some cereal. He walked over to the fridge grabbing a drink before leaning on the island.
He opened his mouth to speak only for Ares to go first. "I heard her too." He spoke. Malik sat up looking at his brother. "What did she say?" he asked. "Sanakun mean qryban , ya habibi" (We'll be together soon, my loves.) He said as he took another mouthful of cereal.
"I heard the same," Malik said. "I guess we should be grateful. She can still get messages to us from wherever she is." Ares said. Malik stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Since when are you so levelheaded?" Malik asked. "Since I died." He spoke with a shrug.
"Take it as her way of giving us some hope that we'll get her back," Ares said. Malik side-eyed Ares. "I don't think I like you being so mild-mannered," Malik said. Ares chuckled. "I wouldn't call myself mild manner in the slightest, but its progress." He spoke. "Seems I could use some self-reflection as well," Malik said. "You want to talk?" Ares asked hesitantly.
Malik looked at him surprised. Ares sighed. "I'm trying to be a better brother but if you're going to stare at me, so shocked every time—," "You can't be upset that I'm surprised. When this isn't your norm. I told you I'd try but you can't get mad at me for being surprised at this new you." Malik interrupted. "Sorry," Ares mumbled. "But we should talk," Malik said as he headed into the den. Ares finished his cereal before cleaning his dishes he sighed quietly to himself as the conversation he and Malik had with their grandfather ages ago replayed in his head.
==
"Is Pablo, Ahsha's true mate?" Malik had asked. "Now Malik if I told you that it would ruin all the fun that's yet to come," Imam said. "Fine, I'll tell you this. Over the next few months, everything you know will change. Your relationship with Ares and more specifically Ahsha will change tremendously." His grandfather had said but it was grandfather's last words that rang loudly. "What did you see?" Malik questioned him. "Your world-changing completely."
==
Ares shook his head before joining his brother in the den.
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