by C. M. Owens
My entire family had apparently stayed here until they knew I was okay. Jay forced Tallis to put me down, but he seemed reluctant. As soon as my feet hit the floor, numerous pairs of arms were around me, everyone taking their turn.
The striking pang of guilt made me want to kick myself. I'd put them through hell and forced people to risk their lives for me.
I looked over to see Tallis talking to a girl I didn't know, and my small world got even smaller. I felt the tears trying to surface, but I fought them back. It had to be her—his soul mate. He wouldn't be able to leave her for long, especially after just finding her. Jay and Ayla were still inseparable.
My breaths were shallow and hard to catch. And it took all of my focus to keep from hyperventilating. Right now, I needed to be a big girl.
I sat down next to Amelia as everyone celebrated my still being alive and well.
"What happened? How did they find me? How did they even know?" I asked, doing all I could to distract myself from Tallis.
Amelia looked so sad and guilty. This family had the guilt thing down too well.
"When you didn't check in, I tried calling you. You didn't answer, so I called the Verdan house. Desmond said you had been there, but you ran off, and he mentioned you were upset before letting a few choice words out. Then he said he had to call Tallis and hung up on me.
"That was weird, so I told Henry about the whole situation—about you leaving upset from their house. He sent Tallis a text with just your name as code that something was wrong. Tallis called and said he would be here within an hour. It's normally a two hour drive from where he was. I jumped in the car to make sure no one left me, and then Desmond and Ayla showed up. We got there as quickly as we could."
"Okay... How did you find me? Was I not masked?" I asked, wondering why McKee would have left my scent behind.
Henry smiled as he sat down beside of Amelia and leaned over to answer my question. "Well, I had to use my power. I should have known that you would find a way to make me reveal my secret."
He chuckled, leaving me just as confused. He finally noted the question marks hovering over my head, and explained.
"I can track an essence through a bodyguard. A bodyguard thought he masked your essence, but I could track you anyway. I followed the trail to Graven's house. We had to wait outside the gates—because of the crests. That was where the Verdans came in handy and took a cue from Lokan.
"They knew the crests wouldn't hold up against blood, since Graven didn't consider them to be a threat until recently. We knew it was unlikely he had taken the time to crest against them."
Once he had told me his power had no use on our side, but he'd helped save my life with it.
"I guess your power can be used for good after all."
He smiled bashfully, but I could tell he was proud. "That's not all I can do either. It just proved to be the most useful tonight."
I just laughed, but my laughter ceased quickly as I looked up to see Tallis headed toward me. He sat down beside me and pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around my waist and nuzzling me. It took me a second to even be able to breathe, so formulating words was impossible.
The fire from his touch surged through me viciously. It was so painful, that I pulled away.
He frowned down at me as I tried to put some much needed distance between us.
"I need to talk to you, Aria," he said softly.
He tried to touch my hand, but I pulled away again. His pity was the last thing I needed. I certainly didn't want the new girl dealing with the pathetic mortal in love with her soul mate. This was humiliating enough. I didn't feel like having him pour salt on my open wound.
Our families were too tied together now. That meant I'd have to watch him be with her. I was now Selesha.
My voice was hollow as I averted his eyes. "You don't have to explain. I get it. I don't need you to baby step me through it. Thank you for saving my life… again. I swear I'll stay out of trouble from now on. Just don't make me cry right now in front of my family. I've put them through enough because of my feelings for you. Don't make me hurt them again. Not tonight. I'm begging you." I had tears in my eyes, and the stubborn things refused to be banished.
"Why would I make you cry?" He sounded so sincere, making things all the harder.
"Look, Desmond already told me about your new girlfriend over there." I pointed to the girl I still didn't know, who was standing next to a tall guy in the corner. "I get it. I didn't at first, but I do now. I don't like it, and it's killing me, but I'll find a way to deal with it. I promise. Please don't tell me what I already know. This has already been hard enough to deal with. Hearing you actually say the words... It'll only make it worse. So I'm begging you not to do this right now."
My voice cracked on the end, promising me I'd have a small breakdown if he pressed this too soon.
Tallis scowled at Desmond who shrugged innocently in response. He walked toward us with Ash on his arm.
"That sounds like Des," Tallis muttered, scrubbing his hands over his face in frustration. "He's good at saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. That explains why you took off like you did. Everything is starting to make more sense now."
My stomach slapped my throat and tried to strangle me when Tallis waved the girl over to us.
She was incredibly beautiful, and I hated her already.
I couldn't do this. Why was he doing this to me?
My head grew lighter as my oxygen supply continued to shrink. I tried to flee and retreat back to my room, but he pulled me back down, holding me captive in my newfound hell.
In an effort to calm me down, he put his arm around me and pulled me closer, but it only made things worse. Now I felt like the tragic, lovesick girl they were trying to let down gently. I couldn't have been more embarrassed or humiliated.
I almost wished that Jared was here. At least then I would've had someone on my side.
The girl walked up, a broad smile playing on her perfect little lips. Yep. I hated her worse than I initially thought.
Of course she was smiling. Magic had just given her the most incredible guy out there.
The list of reasons why I hated her just kept growing. Sure they were spawned from being the scorned woman, but—
"Aria, this is Mylen," Tallis said, interrupting my silent rant.
I flinched noticeably as he said her name. But that didn't stop him from continuing.
"She's half changer, half witch—just like me."
If I didn't love him so much, I'd hate him for putting me through this right now. Tears started making their way out of my eyes, despite my monstrous effort to keep them locked away.
Then the tall guy that had been in corner moved closer. He wrapped his arm around Tallis's... well, I'd just call her Satan's daughter.
I looked at Tallis who was smiling at me, amused. "This is Hank," Tallis said, his smile staying in place. "Mylen's soul mate."
My heart raced and stopped on the next beat. It was like a sputtering engine getting an extra strong dose of high octane.
"Oh, I thought…" I just dropped my sentence, because, well, I felt confused and stupid at the same time.
I had run off to end my life, mostly because of them, and they weren't even together? Someone should have slapped me.
"I know what you thought, thanks to Des and his big mouth," Tallis groaned.
He kicked Desmond roughly, forcing the big changing baby to jump up and down on his good leg while he held onto his bad one. Desmond whimpered and wined, possibly threatened to do something to Tallis in his sleep, but I tuned it all out.
Tallis hadn't found his soul mate. And that was all I could focus on in the moment.
I leaned into Tallis, finally finding my breaths start to come in easier. His arms wrapped around me without hesitance, and he kissed my forehead, letting me feel his incredibly large smile against my skin.
I wasn't sure why he had gone to find Mylen, nor did I care anymore.
"Mylen fou
nd Hank while he was still mortal," he said randomly, souring my moment of happiness in his arms. Couldn't he tell I didn't care? I still hated the girl.
He waited on me to respond, and I waited for him to drop and kiss my forehead some more.
When he realized I wasn't probing, he continued on his own. "She kissed him and it made him feel like he was burning alive."
My eyes widened as those words crawled in and nested in my mind. I was wrong. I did care about this conversation—very, very much.
Tallis gave me a knowing grin as everything started to unfold for me, but I was too scared to get my hopes up that high—Mt. Everest stacked on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro high.
Mylen's voice was startling, mostly because I was stuck in between heaven and hell, the purgatory between the two worlds as the suspense toyed with my emotions.
"I knew Hank was my soul mate, so I did everything I could to figure out a way for us to be together. He received his immortality a year later, and we were finally able to be together," she explained, giving me time to absorb it before moving on.
In that moment, I decided she was the most awesome girl I had ever met. Who could hate such a wonderful person?
"The magic was just too much for his mortal body. The bonding of soul mates is one of the most powerful things in magic. Your friend Amelia is lucky she's an empath, otherwise she would be burning up, too."
The shock turned to ecstasy as I threw my arms around Tallis, my tears falling for a whole new reason. "I knew it! I frigging told you!"
He hugged me almost too tightly as he let out a content sigh close to my ear.
Amelia smiled triumphantly as she exclaimed, "So Henry and I are soul mates?"
Hmm. I didn't even pay any attention to that part, considering I had just found out I wasn't crazy after all.
Mylen smiled at her. "Yes, I believe so, and that's one of my gifts. That was how I knew Hank was my soul mate before his transformation. I just didn't know why my kiss was almost deadly to him. I figured that out later. Your body has had magic coursing through it since you were born, so it's used to how it affects the body."
Amelia threw her arms around Henry, mimicking my reaction, as they dove into a passionate kiss. That made me a little jealous.
Desmond's voice chimed in, pausing my moment of euphoria.
"I was trying to tell you that it wasn't anything bad, but I was in the middle of something."
Ash held up her left hand and a swirling, crazy pattern of different colored stones were set inside a small ring on her petite little ring finger.
I jumped up to hug Ash, whose magical night had been stolen by my madness.
"Oh, Ash, I'm so sorry. I messed up your big night."
I was an even bigger selfish idiot than I thought.
Desmond continued, still defending his actions before Ash could speak. "I thought you would just come back here. I was going to call Tallis and have him come straight home. Tell him the cat was out of the bag. He didn't answer, though. When we got ready to come to explain and share our news, Amelia called to say you were gone, and she was worried.
"Tallis was already on his way by the time I finally got a hold of him. Henry told us what he could do, and we got there as quickly as we could. I'm so sorry, Aria. I was trying to keep the secret, but I didn't mean for it to sound like something bad. I didn't even realize how bad it had sounded. That was why I kept saying it was good news."
A simple misunderstanding turned into a suicide mission. In my sane frame of mind—before magic—I would have never done such a thing. I was starting to think magic was toxic, and I needed to learn how to live with it before it killed me.
I slumped down in the seat and shamefully said, "It's okay, Desmond. It was my stupidity and selfishness that got me into this mess, not you. You risked your life to save mine."
Tallis frowned, but then tilted his head, his hold on me never loosening, and I hoped it never did.
"Why did Yastine even have you?" he asked softly, as though that detail was driving him crazy.
Oh no. They didn't know yet. McKee and his family...
Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing in order to listen to that answer. Most of my family was refraining from speaking to me—probably because they wanted to kill me themselves.
With a heavy breath, I started the explanation that was sure to break their hearts—in so many ways.
"I went to the woods and begged for death. It just... it hurt too much," I murmured softly, ignoring the tensing jaws and teary eyes.
"I should have just called when I found Mylen. I wanted to be sure, and I wanted to show up tomorrow—that's when she originally said she and Hank could come back with me. I was trying to surprise you, and I nearly destroyed you. I'm so sorry. I never thought of how much harder it was on your mortal state."
I shook my head, refusing to let him carry the guilt this time. "It was me, not you. I would've been dead in the woods if Lokan hadn't saved me."
"Lokan saved you?" he asked, seeming as shocked as everyone else.
"He's bound to protect me until my transformation. He was actually just like a member of my family in that moment. It sucks to know that one day he'll be an enemy. I feel a connection to him, and he felt one to me."
Iris sighed heavily as she sat down and faced me. I could tell this was weighing on her, too, because family had always held the highest meaning to her. Even her extended family was just as precious as her blood.
But Tallis wasn't to be derailed from his original question. And he spoke before Iris could.
"That still doesn't explain how you ended up with Yastine," he says, looking as though he knew I was stalling.
The last thing I wanted to do was deliver another blow to my family. The look that Henry had on his face when Tallis asked the question made me wonder if he didn't already know. I tried to ignore him—again. I was worried he might go after McKee right away if I told him, and right now I just had to be with him, because he was finally mine.
"Did Allaysia not know Edmond was her soul mate when she was mortal? They knew each other before she turned immortal right?" I asked, acting unfazed by his narrowed eyes.
Allaysia's gentle voice interjected as she made her way over to me to answer the question herself.
"I wish we had known. Edmond left shortly after his transformation—to search of his soul mate, ironically enough. Little did we know it was me all along. He was my best friend, but I had never had those types of feelings for him. Then after I transformed, we ran into each other, and... well, we just knew. I can remember how much perfect it felt to have my best friend as so much more."
Edmond walked up behind her and put his arms around her in a gentle embrace, nuzzling her neck with his face.
"I only wish I had known when we were mortals. I couldn't have been happier that it was her," he said softly, smiling as he placed a chaste kiss on her cheek, adoration oozing from his eyes.
Allaysia stroked her husband's cheek affectionately, and turned back to us.
"Magic grows stronger by the minute. Now it's apparently seeking out soul mates before they even turn. I hope this is all true. I hope that our magic is so strong that it placed you two together before Aria even received her immortality."
I didn't like her skepticism. I thought we were beyond the realm of doubt now.
Mylen nodded, taking over the conversation once more. "The magic is so strong here, and they're obviously soul mates. She felt as though she lost Tallis forever. I honestly can't believe she found the will to live.
"The stronger the magic, the stronger the bond between soul mates. That bond just makes the magic that much stronger the longer they are together. This is a powerful connection. It's the most powerful one I have ever felt, and Aria is still mortal. I'm eager to see how it is when she gets her eternity.
I was torn between sticking my tongue out at my whole family or snuggling in better with the guy who was no longer fighting his feelings for me. I could feel all the passi
on resurfacing that I had tried so desperately to bury, so I chose option number two.
I had been right all this time, so it was hard not to gloat.
"Told you so," I said to everyone in the room, causing a few lips to twitch.
I turned back to Mylen. "So why hasn't this been heard of before? If it has happened to you, Amelia and Henry, and to us, then why was it thought to be so frigging impossible?"
She grinned as a few snickers spread across the room. Everything seemed so much easier—less intense. I was breathing easily again, and I loved it.
"I think it was coincidental for you and Amelia to your mates while mortal. Everyone questioned me when I told them I knew that Hank was my mate. That's just the way most everyone has believed. I don't know how many times it has happened, but I know we didn't exactly advertise our relationship.
"Hank's family had a hard time adjusting to the fact that a changer could be anything but bad. My mother is a changer, and my father is a witch. My father was almost killed by a group of changers when my mother and her pack swooped in. She's the leader of our pack, and she stood in front of him, defending him when he was on death's door.
"The rest of the pack was attacking the others while she took on ten changers on her own. My father was too wounded to even help her. She shredded through them and carried him to safety. The moment their eyes met, it was all over.
"My father never went back to his coven because he knew how they would react. Everyone assumed he died that day with numerous others from his group. We've lived in secrecy, only making ourselves known to a few changer packs. It's old magic clashing with new magic, and rarely does old magic relent."
I sighed, glancing over toward the tight lips of all the old magic here. Iris had nothing to say to defend them, because she was guilty of the same thing.
"Yeah. I kind of noticed that," I murmured, noticing the way many people bowed their heads in shame. "Most of them were very good with accepting the Verdans though," I added, needing to defend my family.
Mylen smiled teasingly at her soul mate who was holding her close. "I saved Hank so many times that his family finally conceded to the notion that I could be good. I worried that there was going to be a war between our families for a while. I'm glad to hear that it wasn't so dramatic with your families. I wish I had known about the Verdans and their pack as well. Our pack is very strong, but more allies are hard to find, given our unusual bonds together.
