“And the child will definitely not just be a magik? It will have the genes of both my daughter and that... thing?”
The prophet had nodded wearily.
His eyes had burned on her as she’d begun to cry harder.
“Father, no.” Ethan had stumbled up from his seat in the corner of the room. Adriana’s heart had pounded for him. How brave of him to face their father for her sake.
Devlyn had shaken his head. “No, old man, I won’t kill my daughter when she has done only what I asked of her.”
She’d drawn in a huge breath of relief and smiled tremulously at her brother.
“What is to be done then, Father?” Ethan had asked for her.
“Adriana will return to the pack,” he’d told them, taking them by surprise. “We don’t want them suspicious. The child must be killed but so shall the pack be. We have everything we need to destroy them and the abomination growing in your belly. After the birth.”
“I’m sorry, Albus,” Rafe groaned, tears spilling down his cheek as he cradled his baby daughter to his chest. “I’m so sorry I’ve brought this upon you.”
“You didn’t,” Albus bit out, anguished at the sight of his friend in such a state of grief. “My brother brought this upon us. If anyone should apologize it is my family.”
“I can’t believe... Adriana...,” he moaned, and held the baby girl closer.
“She... her family is not finished with us, Rafe. We must leave.”
Rafe nodded, but made no move.
“We have to leave now, friend,” Albus demanded, and pulled him to his feet gently. The rest of the pack was already headed where he had told them to go, and Marion, who had revealed Adriana to them when she visited with Magnus, was protecting them on their journey from any attack.
Rafe nodded again and followed him outside to the car. Ella waited anxiously with Lucien and Irini who, although young, were unusually quiet, fully aware something was wrong.
“Albus.” Rafe stopped him before they reached the car.
“What?”
“You’ll protect her, if something happens to me,” he pleaded, his eyes falling lovingly on his daughter. “You’ll protect my Caia.”
Albus nodded vehemently. “I already have a suggestion... but it can wait for now.”
17 - Alone
“Three years after your mother’s escape, she returned,” Magnus continued her tragic story quietly, “The pack’s guard was down and she tried to get to you. Your father got to you in time but Adriana... she killed him,” he whispered, grief cracking his voice. “Again, she escaped the pack, and again she waited. It was another four years... she returned for you, but Albus was ready and he sent you and Irini into hiding under Marion and Daylight protection. Albus, as you know, went after your mother and she killed him. That’s when Lucien went after her.” Magnus looked up at Lucien and Caia followed his gaze. Lucien stared back at her, his jaw clenched, his fists tight, pain screaming across his eyes.
“It took me five years, Caia,” he croaked, “but I finally got the opportunity, and I killed her... to protect you, to protect the pack.”
She felt her head shaking back and forth as if trying to shake their words, the truth, out of her ears. All the secrecy, the vague comments, the weird crap that she had been going through, all had been this, lies covering up the awful truth.
“So, I’m what... a magik?” her voice sounded dead to her. “Am I a witch?”
Ella leaned forward. She could smell her, could see her hand reaching to clasp her own, but she couldn’t feel her touch. “Yes. You’ve been showing signs towards the approach of your majority. Your eighteenth birthday. That’s why Marion is here.”
“By the sounds of it,” Marion added, “You’re a water witch.”
She pulled out of Ella’s grasp to hug herself, to keep from falling apart. A water witch?
She felt like laughing hysterically, what does that even mean?
The table in the center of the room began to shake as she watched it, and she felt everyone’s eyes fall on her worriedly.
“My mother killed my father. Tried to kill me?”