“But I thought there was some feud between the two lines.”
“There is, but we just ignore them.” She pursed her lips together and frowned. “When have you ever known me to follow the rules? Hell, we had to make up some excuse to tell Jacob’s family so they wouldn’t do any harm to you. I guess they figured out what you were, though.”
I laughed, because I knew Grams and she was right, it wouldn’t be Grams if she didn’t break a few rules here and there. “But wait, if Bernice is his grandmother—Jacob is a Royal heir to their crown.”
She nodded. “Yes, that’s right he is.”
“But then—who is Bernice?” It seemed confusion had hit me hard.
“She’s the Bloodborne King’s wife, but she chose to stay in this world, while he runs off and does his thing in the other world.” Grams seemed very casual and calm as she discussed that her best friend was a Queen.
I laughed. “Why didn’t I see that coming? I mean, you and her together—both of you stubborn as old mules.”
“Hey, you wait until you reach my age young lady, and you’ll be stubborn too!” She chuckled and shook her head.
“I love you, Grams.” I leaned over and wrapped my arms around her as she folded me into her embrace.
“I love you too, sweetie. Your life is going to be wonderful.” She squeezed me tightly.
I pulled back. “Why do I get the feeling that you and Bernice have made plans?”
Grams chuckled, released me, then stood. “A lady never reveals her secrets.” She gave me a wink. “I’ve made your favorite dinner for you. And—I have all your school things in a folder for you as well.”
A soft smile crossed my lips as I stared into her eyes for a long moment. Grams was an amazing woman, in my eyes. I could never look at her or even Bernice the same way anymore. Those two were best of friends, and a perfect balance to one another. Perhaps even more so than I’d imagined.
After dinner, I kissed Grams goodnight and then took a shower before I dressed for bed. It was so nice to be at a place I could call my home away from home. After I got dressed, I noticed my cellphone attached to the charge cord on the nightstand. Grams thought of everything. I grabbed my phone and checked my messages. My mom and dad had messaged me a ton of times. Mom especially, over silly things and sending pictures. I responded to her text message. Then there was a few from my friend back home—I answered her message. Mostly, I told all of them the same thing—I went camping with my Grams, and we were gone for a long while. I hated to lie, but I couldn’t exactly tell any of them the truth. They wouldn’t understand.
As I lay back on my bed, my thoughts traveled down some interesting paths. Just the idea of how interesting it was with Grams and Bernice. Grams, a Dragonborne and Bernice a Bloodborne, both also married to influential people. I didn’t even suspect that Gramps was a Dragonborne, or even the fact that he turned into a dragon. It had been a long time that I heard his human voice, so I forgot what it sounded like. Then again, I only listened to his voice in my head. Either way, having a Dragon as your grandfather—it was cool, and I was chill with that.
On the other side of life, I knew my end, and that would be as all Dragonbornes. I would eventually follow the path of my grandfather and his forefathers. It saddened my heart to think about what would become of me when I turn into a Dragon Blood tree. But that was many, many years away. Maybe there was something I could do to help save those trees, the dragons who lived before us.
While deep into my thoughts, my phone dinged, which notified me that there was a new message. Lazily, I reached over, picked the phone up, and noticed the message was from Jacob. I did remember I’d given him my phone number before I left the Sanctuary. From that point, we just chatted idly. He just wanted to make sure I returned safely, and he already missed me. A smile crossed my lips as I thought about how great it felt to have someone genuinely interested in me—for me. As I laid on my bed, my gaze drifted out the window and up into the star-filled sky.
The summer had brought many good memories, aside from a few hostile ones, but apart from that, these months had been perfect. The unpleasant death experience left me with a new revelation about life itself. Many times, I’d considered myself first and foremost important, but when I died—a part of me had been left behind. Maybe it was a love interest that changed my attitude toward life—I wasn’t sure. I was positively, irrevocably sure of one thing though—there were other people out there whose lives mattered more than mine. It was a good time to stop being a recluse and selfish brat. I had enjoyed making new friends at the Sanctuary. Perhaps my new attitude would come in handy when I started school this fall.
My life had drastically changed over the summer, and with it, it brought a level of newness. In some ways, I looked forward to my new life as a Dragonborn. At least it made sense why I had fangs and the eye color change. However, I wondered where we all came from. Perhaps one day Grams would explain that to me, because it seemed like a story worth my time.
A softness touched my heart when I thought about Mia and her little girl. Aside from her losses, she had stood strong and overcome them, taking her pain and focusing on ways to help others. Perhaps I should do the same for my newfound family. Maybe I could study botany or become an herbalist and create something that would help people, so they would stop harvesting the Dragon Blood trees—our dear forefathers.
One day would come soon. My life for the moment was full, and as Grams would say, “I’m blessed beyond reason.” For the first time in my life, I felt alive and happy. My life had meaning, and so many goals to achieve. Not to mention, I had one hottie boyfriend, who wasn’t that far away—but he had captured my heart with his silly ways.
The world was not what we believed it to be. There were other dimensions in which good and evil things lived. There were evil things which breached those dimensions and must be stopped. Hidden in the shadows was where you’d find them, the creatures who stalked the Claybornes. They dwelled in silence, lurking and waiting for a chance to take them. Those were the soul hunters. Demon-hybrid creatures who hunted young Dragonbornes, my blood kin. And that all brought me only to one conclusion: our destinations had already been written—but it was up to us to determine the journey.
I’m Jessie Connelly, a Dragonborne. I am a Demon Hunter.
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Watch for
BLOOD KIN
Book 2
Borne of Blood Saga
Bloodborne Awakened (Borne of Blood Book 1) Page 20
