“What, Blue?” Orion asked, my own fear mirrored back to me in his eyes.
“Mortal,” I whispered and I swear everyone in the room flinched.
“That’s not possible,” Orion rejected the idea instantly, but Darius looked to Gabriel, seeking the answer from him as I did the same.
Gabriel shook his head, staring at me in disbelief. “I wouldn’t be able to see your fate at all if you lost your magic,” he rasped. “It wouldn’t be like the shadows, it simply wouldn’t occur to my mind at all.”
“But it’s not possible,” Orion insisted, rising to his feet as his fangs snapped out, looking to aim his anger somewhere, but there was no one to blame in this room. He grabbed Gabriel, dragging him closer to me. “Look at her fate more closely, you must see an answer. There must be one you can find.”
“I will look,” Gabriel swore to him, to me.
They all started discussing what to do and my breaths came heavier as the sound of their voices bounced off my ears and I brought my knees to my chest, hugging them tight. I couldn’t become mortal, I couldn’t go back to the life I’d come from. The fear crept up on me so fast, I could hardly stand it. A tide of memories drowned me as I recalled living in poverty in a world I’d never once felt I belonged in. Of nights wrapped around my sister, my twin the only comfort in a world so dark it had always been so hard to find the light. And it was worse than even that, because if I had to return there, I would have to go alone. And if I had no magic in my veins, I could never come back to Solaria. And the people I loved would rarely be able to visit or over time, they’d get sick. I’d have to be away from them all, my sister, Orion, Gabriel, all of my friends…
I knew I was getting ahead of myself, that right here and now that fate wasn’t yet set. But how long did I have? What if my magic was gone tomorrow for good and I started getting weak from being in the Fae world? What if the only option was for me to leave Solaria, to have to abandon my friends and family to a war I would never get the chance to fight in again? It was unthinkable. Unbearable.
I took a slow breath, forcing myself not to panic. I was Darcy Vega. I didn’t worry about the bad, I always focused on the good. And I had to do that now, because if I didn’t, I’d be engulfed by this terror and it would never let me go.
Nothing permanent had happened yet, and I was surrounded by people who could help me find the answer. I had the best Seer in Solaria for a brother and the smartest professor for a boyfriend.
“What’s going on?” Tory’s voice snapped me out of my own thoughts and I gasped, leaping up and running to her as she stepped into the room. I slammed into her, hugging her tight as tears welled in my eyes. “I’m so sorry. It was all my fault.”
“It’s alright.” She squeezed me against her and my heart slowed a little at being reunited with my twin.
Darius grabbed her from my arms, kissing her hair and growling protectively. She had to half fight her way free of his arms to get to me again. “What happened?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” she said firmly, looking to me in concern as Gabriel moved to hug her too. “What’s going on? Why is everyone looking so anxious?”
I took a breath and told her the truth, but raising my chin in defiance of it.
“I’m cursed,” I said, those words seeming to fill up the whole room and my sister started shaking her head in immediate refusal.
“No, you said you fought it off. You said your Phoenix dealt with it,” she said firmly like she was willing it to be true.
“I was wrong,” I said, my heart hurting more for her than myself because I could see fear taking hold of her and I hated to be the reason for it.
Orion moved to my side, his arm sliding around my shoulders. “We’ll leave immediately for the library.” He looked to my sister. “I’ll find an answer to this,” he swore and Tory’s throat bobbed as she tried to place her faith in him.
I looked up at Orion and a frown pinched my brow as I spotted two silvery pin prick marks on his neck. “What’s that?” I reached up, tracing my fingers over them.
“Caleb and I…” He cleared his throat, looking to Gabriel who gave him a knowing look. “We drank from each other back at the altar, and accidentally formed a sort of…Vampire Coven. It’s something which is against the Vampire Code because it drives our instinct to hunt. He’s my blood brother now, my sanguis frater. It’s a bond that has made us form an alliance and ended our rivalry.”