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Chapter Seven
Emory's POV
I grimaced at the explosion of pain I felt deep in my soul as I watched him writhe in discomfort. I knew if it was this painful for me then he was undergoing nothing short of agony. No one could tell us how long he would have to endure the effects of breaking a long term spell especially one that obscured his entire existence. Not only physically would he suffer but mentally and emotionally as well. I wish I could take all of it away from him but I understood I could not.
The hardest part other than watching your soul mate undergo something like this was the possible rejection when he learned the truth. Would he reject me, his family, his legacy? Those were the real issues that I knew we were going to have to overcome as soon as he woke up and the truth was dropped on him like a bomb. Aggie told me that he might not even survive the transition because it had been so long and that his only hope was that he was a born vampire from a strong line of royalty. I seriously hoped she was right because I was done with all of the drama and heartache I had gone through just getting him here and I knew that if I lost him for real that I would follow shortly behind him.
The thought saddened me and I watched as he tried so hard to wrench free from Aggie's hold as the look of confusion and intense discomfort was painfully etched on his beautiful face. As I looked at him I could see how his emotions flitted across his facial features showing that panic was beginning to set in and that scared me. He was too strong to panic and if he was in fact losing his ability to deal with this he would never make it through the next step.
Sighing loudly I shuddered as I felt his emotions slam into me through the weakened mate bond. I wanted to reach out to touch him but I remembered what Aggie told me, that any deviation from her spell could end it all and my touch was a huge deviation. I closed my eyes, concentrating on him and tried to channel some calmness to reassure him. As the chaos that swirled inside of him ambushed my senses I sunk further into the couch trying to silently help him through this. While I sat there and watched Aggie work her magic I thought about the past couple of years more specifically the last couple of months. There was only one person that could be blamed for this and it always came back to him, Ian Reid.
Ethan's uncle Ian was always the one person that was never happy unless he was surrounded by trouble and it ultimately brought to the sudden and dire relocation of the entire Reid family. Just thinking about this made me so infuriated with what that entire family had to endure, the majority not even realizing what he had done. Scrunching up my face in anger I realized that after tonight each one of them would know just how deep the betrayal of their beloved brother, uncle and father ran. I would like to think that Ian had started preparing them but as selfish as he was I had serious doubts that he would. I closed my eyes letting my thoughts replay the last couple of years almost reliving all of it but especially the day I found out about Ethan.
The day I turned eighteen I knew that something was missing in my soul and with each question to my family I was met more and more resistance. Every single time I inquired about finding my mate my father and brother would avoid the topic. I found myself becoming lost in misery and depression. Lost in a world of royalty fast became an existence that I found myself not wanting to be in. My brother, the crowned prince of the Irish vampires was always close with me but it was quite clear that even he was hiding things from me. Although he was ten years my senior that never seemed to interfere with our relationship that I thought never held secrets. I suppose the real trouble began once he found his mate and I became hell bent on finding mine. Or maybe it was the small little fact that he stepped in to watch over the Scottish realm for King Reid, which was labeled for safety reasons.
I grimaced as I continued my assault down memory lane that lead me to this very room sitting across from my beloved mate. Looking at him reminded me of watching my brother once he found his mate. It was absolutely magical watching their relationship evolve and no person would ever not want that after watching it firsthand. The more I expressed my desires of finding my mate to my family the more my father and brother's secrets became obvious. As much as I did not want to believe it then I knew now everything they had done was to protect me from Ian.
The more I thought about it the more I knew that I still had not forgiven my brother or my family for hiding their precious little secrets concerning my fate. Sadly, their very secrets were probably the one reason that I became interim Queen in lieu of Ethan. If it had not been for me unraveling the travesty known as Ian I would not have landed on the throne ever. Thinking back, I sadly thought about all they had lost realizing that not one person in the entire Reid family would have had to suffer if my family had taken a stand back then.
The longer I sat there the more my memories ran rampant through my brain. I remembered that the older I got I found myself always drawn to the Reid estate and thought it odd that my brother would try to keep me away. I always made excuses to visit him and usually wondered the halls of the expansive estate just hoping to unravel the why's the Reid's left. There was always a pull deep in my soul while I was there which is totally explanatory now. I flipped through my memories fondly remembering the day that I met the one person that was instrumental in my search for answers. I caught myself smiling as I silently thanked the heavens above for the day I found myself inside the seer's room that inhabited the south quarters of the estate and was none other than the woman that sat before me.
Unbeknownst to me Aggie was the Reid's seer and witch who was part of the Scottish witch clan that worked side by side with the vampires to ensure the safety of the supernatural realm. Although Aggie had opted to stay behind to continue her duties to assist my brother, her sister, Fiona had traveled with the Reid's to ensure their protection across the pond. Over the years, Aggie and I developed a friendship that would later contribute to me finding out who my mate was and all of the secrets that surrounded the Reid family's disappearance.
I frowned as I thought about the day I asked Aggie to help me find my mate. It was after she found me crying my eyes out in despair over the soul piercing pain that one experiences when they go a prolonged time without connecting with their mate after their eighteenth birthday. That day I turned 23 years old I really thought I was dying a slow and painful death when she helped me to her quarters on the estate. After hours of her attempts to console me she finally gave in and cast a spell that would change my life forever. When she told me that Ethan was my mate I was elated but once the elation left I realized how hard it was going to be not only to find him but to convince him what we were to each other. Aggie warned me that with her sister involved there was a good chance that Ethan did not remember he was a vampire and it was a recipe for disaster, but the heart wants what the heart wants. That day my life completely changed and I used every connection I had to find out why the Reid's left the way they did and why my family was covering for them. It was a heartbreaking story, one that even today I have a hard time believing.
I had turned to my family once I found the evidence I needed on Ian causing my own father to almost turn against me. My determination was probably my saving grace and my brother's mate if I was being honest. My brother even warned me it could end up with rejection that was a chance I was willing to take. Although he knew my daily struggle of loneliness and depression he was more worried that Ian would come after me once he knew I knew what had really happened. I was going to be eternally lonely unless I tried to bring him and his family home safely.
A groan stopped my trip down memory lane for a moment and I jumped up and moved closer to Ethan wanting so badly to just touch him. I could hear Aggie's chants become louder and more intense and knew that we were coming to the end of the spell. We would then have to wait. She nor I could be sure how long the wait would be, it would depend on Ethan. I glanced over him quickly, noticing that he was pale, and was sweating profusely. Tendrils of sweat was running down his face as if someone had poured a glass of water over the top of his head. His eyes were closed tightly as if he was forcing them to stay shut against their will and his lips were drawn into a frown showing the discomfort he was clearly in.
Guilt flowed throw me to the point I felt like falling to my knees. I could only hope that his brain had finally shut the part of itself down that caused a body to feel so that he did not have to endure the excruciating discomfort that I knew was a side effect of changing into a vampire. As a born vampire, he never had to feel this but I had been told that as a human it was some of the worst pain anyone could go through. A shiver of worry ran up my spine and the feeling of dread came over me. Another wave of guilt bolted through me and tears filled my eyes. The doubt of not giving him the option to decide was eating at me fiercely and I could only hope that when we explained everything that he would forgive me for taking away his choice.
Thinking about choices I could feel the drastic change in the atmosphere and knew what that meant. His family was close and I could feel that their presence held uncertainity, fear and anger. It swirled in the air with the undeniable elements mingling together and flowing through the room reaching every one of my senses. I sucked in my breath and closed my eyes trying to concentrate on them attempting to sense where they were. There was another presence that was intertwined within the room, and I could feel her. Fiona, she was sending out feelers to locate him. If I could sense her then I knew Aggie could too and that was another distraction that we did not need.
I let my eyes fall onto Aggie as the same feelings of guilt and shame I let assault me for Ethan tore through me for Aggie. Aggie's eyes were shut tightly and her color was almost a yellowish hue. She had warned me that this would take a lot out of not only Ethan but herself. She had planned for this and her husband Rory, who was also a powerful warlock would take over with the protection wards just in case things got out of control while Aggie recovered. Although Aggie was one of the most powerful witches in the world she had told me that a twenty plus year spell would take a lot of energy and power to overturn. I could not be sure if she felt her sister's presence but I needed to be sure that Rory had taken over and put up all of the wards in place before Aggie was finished.
I turned slowly glancing back over my shoulder one more time to make sure both Aggie and Ethan were okay as I made my way out of the room and down the hall. Stopping at the door to their study I took a deep breath as I knocked on the door. I heard him beckon me inside and motioned for me to sit down.
"They are in town but have headed towards the estate. I estimate we have about an hour before they figure out where he is" he said quietly.
"I can feel them" I told him which earned me a nod of his head.
"I can feel them too; the good thing is that they feel tired and exhausted" he told me.
"Do you think Ian told them anything" I questioned hopeful that they would be on my side through all of this and there would not be a war.
Again, Rory nodded to me "There is an unsettled feeling that is radiating from them all" his voice full of sadness.
This was all so hard for everyone involved. I looked down at my feet, sighing loudly as I felt my shoulders slumping forward in sadness and exhaustion. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes as I felt someone lift my chin with their finger.
"Emory my dear you have to be strong more so than ever. As emotional as this is for all of us, this is what you have wanted for a long time".
I looked into Rory's soft hazel eyes for a long time, drawing strength from them. He and Aggie had been there for me since what felt like forever. They had supported me even when they feared I would cause havoc and pain to each person that I encountered but never less they had always pushed me to find Ethan. And when I did find him they had been there to encourage me to bring him home. Strength is what they gave me to confront Ian and start the wheels of where we were at today in motion. I took a healthy breath in and smiled at him, a real smile that woke me up. I felt a surge of strength roll through my body and calmness override my senses.
"Are all the wards in place to protect us" I heard myself ask.
The wards would buy us time and allow us to at least get Ethan to his room where Aggie could seal it off until we were ready to allow his family inside. Rory nodded and stood motioning me to stand with him.
"Emory, we have prepared for this. Be confident that we will win this" he said as he grabbed me in a fatherly hug.
They both knew what was at stake for the entire country if this did not go as planned. I hugged him back giving him a pat on the back as I released him.
"Aggie is done let's get Ethan moved to his room" he said as he walked out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I hope you liked it and Emory will be back next chapter to finish where she left off about Ian. Wonder what he did that was so bad he had to make the entire Reid family relocate.
So I know I have been MIA for a couple of weeks but honestly life got hectic and I just needed a break. But I feel a lot better and I am again inspired to write again.
If you like it make sure you vote.