“I went to see the Empress,” she responded.
Her words were sure and confident and all he could feel was shock. The Empress ruled the Dark Fae and its allies. She was said to be evil and hungry for total control of the entire land. Rafe was not exactly sure how he should be feeling about what Ísábella was saying.
“Why would you go see her?” he questioned curiously.
“Because we should be fighting for our home, to return to it and she is the ruler,” she stated, almost firmly.
“You want to ally with her?”
“I already have. We are all sworn to her.”
“Excuse me?”
He was trying to not get angry while he waited for her to answer. This was not something they had ever discussed. As far as he was concerned, the Empress was the last person he wanted to side with. Now he had no choice because of the woman he loved. Why would she do such a thing? What could the Empress’s power give her that he could not? Was it the fact that it satisfied her never ending ambition for more that they had? Or was it power she truly lusted for?
“I pledged to her and said that I would bring my family in as a part of it, including our child,” she finally said in response.
“Our child?” he asked, confused by the last words she had spoken.
“Rafe, I’m pregnant.”
His words hit her like an anvil over the head. She was pregnant? He was going to be a father? Then he took in a breath and realized her words again. He was going to be a father! This was something he greatly desired in his future and did not expect to come now. He had vowed before he ever knew of the child that he would never be like his own father. But now, things would be different. His love had betrayed his trust. She had promised their child to the Empress of the Dark Fae, to serve her, just as she had promised their entire family. This was never the plan he had for his life. This was never what he wanted. Now he had no choice as he would do anything for the child that was now to come. If this is what he had to do to be sure to give his unborn child a good life, then it is what he must do. He already did everything and more to make Ísábella happy. This was just one more thing to the list. The only difference was that this was the one thing he never wanted to do.
“Are you sure?” he asked aloud, not sure what else to say.
“More than sure,” she answered. “Our child will be here in about eight months.”
“Yet you told the Empress before me?”
“Oh, Rafe! The alliance with her is important. She has given us a mission.”
“And what is our child to her?”
“She’s not interested in our baby. She is interested in us finding a girl around Dalía’s age, living somewhere in Corinthia.”
“Who is this girl?”
“She’s part of a prophecy and the Empress wants us to find her.”
“Is that all she wants from us?”
“Our loyalty and for us to recruit more Ilysians to her side.”
“So we are working for her now?”
“Yes, love. I did this for us. Our lives will be much better this way.”
He gave her a smile, not for her words about the Empress but for the child growing inside of her. He truly was happy that he was going to be a father. He just was completely unsure on how to feel about everything else Ísábella had told him. Now he owed allegiance to the Empress. He just had to remind himself that his unborn child would be his reason for following his love’s choice of ally because that child was now everything to him.
Eight months passed quickly in the home of Rafe Lucíano and Ísábella Ortíz. The day had finally come for their child to arrive. Rafe was anxious, pacing the floor of the hospital waiting room while his younger brother, Julíus, and Ísábella’s younger sister, Dalía, watched from the nearby chairs. He could not help but worry and wonder about his soon to be born child. Would he have a son or a daughter? Would the child be healthy? How was he going to be a good father now that he had no more time to prepare? He had a promise to keep that he had made himself the day his mother died, that he would never be like his own father. His father was a violent and cruel man, the complete opposite of the loving woman his mother had been. He vowed to only show his child love.
“RaFael Lucíano?” a doctor called from the other side of the waiting room.
“Yes,” he answered quickly. “That is me.”
“If you would come with me, Miss Ortíz and your daughter are waiting.”
He eagerly ran towards where the doctor stood then slowed to a walk to follow him down a hallway. He had a daughter! He could barely feel his feet touch the ground as he was lead into a room where he found Ísábella in a bed with a small pink bundle in her arms. He smiled at her and she returned it quickly. She was obviously tired from the birth but still glowing as she held the babe in her arms. He walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed.
“The doctor said we have a daughter,” he spoke quietly.
“We do and she is beautiful,” she responded with a smile.
“I would love to hold her.”
She smiled at him as she gently placed the sleeping baby girl into his arms. He looked into the bundle of pink blankets at the little girl who was now everything to him. He made a silent promise right then that he would do anything to keep her happy and safe.
“She’s beautiful, Ísábella,” he said aloud, the smile never wavering. “What should we name her?”
“I was thinking Adela,” she replied, still smiling herself.
“Adéla Míchelína Lucíano”
“It’s perfect, just like her.”
Ísábella had never seemed so happy to him. He hoped she truly was happy. Perhaps Adela was the one thing she needed in her life to see things differently. He only hoped this feeling would remain with them forever. Her smile was genuine and true. He had not seen her like this since they were teenagers. She seemed like the happy and carefree girl he fell in love with all those years ago. Their beautiful and healthy daughter could be exactly what she needed to begin to change. He only prayed that is what would happen. He had been concerned for her and the way she was changing when she first told him of this child and their new alliance with the Empress. If this did not turn her away from that direction, then he knew that nothing would. All Rafe could do was hope for the change but until then he would remain under Ísábella’s lead and an ally of the Empress.
Chapter Four
Three years had passed since the Empress gained her first foothold in Corinthia. Now far away from the Empress’s allies, in another country of the same land known as Gemaronica, Kélinae’s daughter had finally come of age. She grew up in a happy home, learning about Ilysia and the magic inside of her. She and her brother were inseparable, still not knowing the truth of their heritage. James and Katie Moore had worked to provide a stable and secure home for the two children they adopted almost seventeen years ago and the two children of their own they had nearly ten years later. The resistance forces they had begun to build only grew over this time, with none of them knowing the truth of Addí’s birth. If only they knew that the war was about to begin and the tragedy that it would bring them, right into their own homes.
Katie Moore smiled as she finished preparing the tray of breakfast for her eldest daughter. Addí was seventeen today. The baby she had held in her arms the first time almost seventeen years ago had come of age. She quietly turned her attention towards the roar of laughter at the small table in the kitchen. Her only son, fully grown and eighteen, sat there with his closest friend and her youngest two daughters telling them jokes over their meals. The innocence and laughter warmed her heart but she knew that the day was coming soon that this would all change. Her husband had told her that much the night before when they discussed things in Ilysia with the very man that had brought them Zak and Addí and the other members of their council. War was starting to brew and she was not ready to see the smiles on her children fade. They deserved as much time as they could to bask in every happy feeling they coul
d before having to face the fate that awaited them all.
She took the tray of food in her arms and exited the kitchen, taking a turn just outside of the entrance to ascend the stairs. She knew that Addí was likely still sleeping but she could not think of a better way to wake the birthday girl than with a tray of her favorite breakfast. She turned to her left at the top of the stairs and walked down the hallway until she reached the door to her daughter’s room. She turned the knob and opening the door, entering the room quietly as she looked over to find Addí still asleep, wound up in the blankets with her curly hair a frazzled mess in all directions. Katie smiled as she sat the tray down gently on the side table and took a seat on the side of her daughter’s bed.
“Happy Birthday, Addí!” she exclaimed quietly as she gently stroked her daughter’s arm to wake her.
Addí quietly stirred as she rubbed her hands over her eyes and stretched.
“Mom?” the young woman questioned before letting out a yawn.
“Happy Birthday!” Katie exclaimed again, louder this time. “My firstborn girl is now a young woman.”
“Oh, Mom,” Addí sighed as she sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. “I’ll always be your little girl no matter how old I am.”
“I am certainly glad to hear that! I brought you breakfast.”
Katie stood and picked up the tray as Addí continued to adjust herself to a comfortable position. She sat the tray in her daughter’s lap and smiled.
“All of my favorites?” Addí questioned as she examined the tray. “Mom, this is way more than I can eat right now!”
“Then eat what you can and bring the tray downstairs with what’s left when you’re done,” Katie responded with a laugh. “Zak and RJ are down there with your little sisters.”
“RJ’s here? Already?”
“Oh, my sweet girl, the two of you need to admit that you like each other already.”
“Mom!”
Katie could not help the laughter that escaped her. She had been watching Addí and RJ try to pretend they did not like each other as more than friends for months. It was not as if everyone did not already know. They had both become quite obvious in the way they had started to act around each other but remaining oblivious to how everyone around them already knew.
“Addí, do you really think that we all do not know how you and RJ feel about each other?” Katie asked her.
“What?” Addí shouted in response. “How does everyone know? And how are you so sure he likes me?”
“The way he looks at you, my dear. That is the look of a man in love. Your father looked at me the same way. Robert even looked at Adelaide the same way.”
“He’s also my brother’s best friend, Mom.”
“And Zak is very aware of all of this.”
“This is so awkward!”
“Only if you let it be.”
Addí groaned aloud before she began to eat some of the berries out of her bowl of fruit. This was not the first conversation she expected to have today. It was her seventeenth birthday and here was her mom encouraging her to admit her feelings to RJ. That was so much harder than it seemed. She had known it was more than a crush. He was her friend and most of all Zak’s best friend. This was all so confusing for her.
“Love is a beautiful thing, Addí. You should embrace it and not be shy. If you think I wouldn’t say the same thing to RJ or Zak or anyone else then you’re wrong. No matter what happens in our lives, we need love,” Katie said. “I’m going to go back downstairs and then get your father out of the basement. Just bring the tray with whatever you don’t eat when you come down.”
“Thank you, Mom, but I still don’t think I can just say how I feel to RJ,” she replied.
Addí watched as her mom walked out of the room. She was torn. What else would anyone expect of her at seventeen? She knew that her mom was right but just was never exactly sure how to speak to RJ without her brother around. She knew that she could never say this in front of Zak. She sighed loudly as she ate a piece of bacon. This situation was too complicated for her to think about this early in the morning. Besides, it was her birthday should she not be able to celebrate it without worrying about her nonexistent love life? RJ was a friend and might never be anything more.
It was his sister’s birthday. She was finally seventeen, finally considered an adult. Zak knew that there was something different about him and Addí. It had been evident since they were younger to the point he had figured out that the people they called mom and dad were not their real parents. Not that knowing that changed anything for Zak because they were the best parents anyone could ask for. He just didn’t have the heart to tell them that he knew. He was scared it would not only break their hearts but Addí’s as well. He especially couldn’t do this today, it was important that she have a good birthday no matter what was on his mind. The best was for her to start that was to finally get RJ to speak to her about his feelings. It was more than obvious to everyone that his best friend and sister had feelings for each other they were both remaining silent about.
“You have gotten lost in thought,” he heard RJ remark.
“I’m just thinking about Addí and how important today is for her,” he responded quietly.
“She is finally considered of age in Ilysia and almost an adult here.”
“I don’t have a memory that she’s not in, RJ, and few without her in it. I’m only saying this to you once, hurt her and I may have to kill my best friend.”
RJ looked at him with curiosity. Was it that obvious to his best friend that he was in love with his sister?
“You know I’m almost as telepathic as Addí. It is painfully obvious and what makes it worse is neither of you will say anything to the other,” Zak said hoping for once RJ would listen.
“Are you telling me to date your sister?” RJ asked, slightly confused.
“I’m telling you not to hurt her so what do you think that means?”
“I thought you would want to kill me!”
“Only if you break her heart would I even think of that. You’re my best friend!”
“So it’s ok if I ask her out for her birthday?”
“Yes, you idiot!”
RJ scowled at him. He was far from an idiot but he felt like one, at least that’s how Zak was making him feel. He never expected to actually get the older brother’s blessing.
“Do you actually thinks she will say yes?” RJ asked him hopefully.
“She would be lying if she said she wasn’t interested. I know my sister. She feels the same way you do,” Zak answered quickly.
“Should I ask now?”
“Gods no! Give her time to wake up!”
“Ok ok, after she comes downstairs then.”
Zak sighed loudly in frustration. He never wanted to play match maker for anyone, especially for Addí but it seemed to be a necessary evil in this situation. Neither she nor RJ would ever do anything about it if they both weren’t pushed to do it. He felt like a parent not an eighteen year old.
RJ felt like he had been waiting all day for Addí to come downstairs. He and Zak had been spending the morning trying to plan what they should be doing for the day. They wanted to make the day special for her. She deserved it and he just hoped that he would find the courage to tell her the truth of his feelings before the day was up. He felt it would be the best birthday present for her.
“Whoa, little sister!” he heard Zak exclaim, tearing him from his thoughts.
RJ looked up to see Addí at the bottom of the stairs and his mouth fell open. Her usually curly, auburn hair had been straightened and was flowing down her shoulders. He had never seen her hair any way but curly. She was just as stunning, if not more so this way. His eyes followed down her body to take a lingering look at her simple dark green t-shirt and jeans.
“You can close your mouth now, RJ,” she said with a slight laugh as she approached them.
He could feel the warmth fill his cheeks as he blushed. He had silently hoped she
wouldn’t notice how he was looking at her.
“Sorry, Addí,” he responded quickly as he looked down at the table.
Zak was unable to hide his laughter at the awkwardness between his best friend and younger sister. It was just as annoying as it was adorable. He wasn’t sure how it made him feel to want them to be together because they were the people he was the closest to. It was going to be just as strange for him as it would be for the two of them. He had a kind hearted, beautiful sister and a caring, loyal best friend he knew would never intentionally hurt her. It was hard for him to hope that she would find someone other than his best friend to love. To him, no one else was good enough for her.
“Will the two of you just kiss and admit how you feel already?” Zak asked aloud with a loud sigh.
“What?” Both Addí and RJ questioned in a near shout.
Laughter took control of Zak again at their reaction. If they were going to both act like this then it was going to be a long and awkward day.
“Is your hair why you’ve kept us waiting so long, Addí?” Zak asked her.
“Yes,” she answered quickly. “I really wanted to see what it looked like this way.”
“Well as long as RJ doesn’t drool all day then we’re going to have some fun.”
“We seem to be missing Shane though.”
Addí was observant as ever. Shane had yet to show up and the four of them were supposed to spend the day together. Yet, they had not heard from him at all. It was certainly strange.
“No one has heard from him,” RJ said. “His phone isn’t even working.”
“That’s odd,” Added replied. “I thought he was excited to spend today with us instead of going to school.”
“We all believed that. I hope everything is ok with him.”
“If it wasn’t we would know it, wouldn’t we?”
“We would all like to think so,” Zak answered confidently. “Either way, we’re still having fun today. It is my little sister’s special day.”
A Darkness Awakens (The Elements of Ilysia Book 1) Page 4
