I took my mate by the hand and led him back across the yard towards the house. Chuckling at my sudden enthusiasm to leave my sanctuary, he followed behind me.
We walked into the house, smiling as we went, not caring who was waiting for us. The two of us passed through the kitchen and into the hallway that opened up to the living room to find Di, Amos, Camille, Grayson, and several other supes who I considered to be part of the inner circle. Apart from Camille, they were all secluded in meetings and talked in hushed tones to one another whenever they were out among the rest of us.
Every single person looked to us when we passed, their conversations stopped. It was as if we were interrupting or something. Xander and I came to a halt at the living room door when we saw all those eyes firmly planted on us. My mate moved in front of me partially, blocking me from whatever they were up to.
“Xander! Emelia! Will you join us?” Di called out pleasantly.
I peeked around Xan’s large frame and took in the emotion in the room. The feelings ran from anger to confusion to intrigue. My eyes slid to our host here at the house to gauge her expression. She was excited, it was plain to see. Why? What was she up to?
Tired of her games, I rolled my eyes. “We were planning on going to bed, Di.”
“Oh, it’ll only take a few minutes, I promise!”
I put my hand on Xander’s arm and stepped to the side of him. He peered down at me and I knew he wasn’t sure about it any more than I was. But what could we do? We were guests in the house, no matter how much we contributed to running it. We were at their mercy, Di’s in particular.
That didn’t mean I believed everything she told us blindly. I knew she was constantly scheming. About what, I wasn’t sure exactly. But she was way too excited to have me in her grasp and I knew she wasn’t above using others to further her cause. I say her cause and not the rebellion’s cause because I wasn’t sure they aligned as perfectly as she let on.
“I think we can manage a few minutes,” I replied, not taking my eyes off of Xander’s. I squeezed his hand and let go, walking toward one of the large couches that took up the room. My mate followed me, but stood next to the armrest rather than joining me on the cushions.
Amos, my grandfather, cleared his throat and put his fist in front of his face. He was looking down at the ground and I wondered why he wasn’t making eye contact. He was sad. I could feel it in his aura and see it in the way he held himself.
I wrung my hands in front of me, itching to be anywhere but on that couch. “Is everything okay?” I asked out loud to no one in particular, but I hoped my grandfather would answer me, and answer me honestly.
“Everything is great!” Di told me. “I was just getting ready to tell everyone a story and you’re just in time!”
“A story?” My brows furrowed, confused. “Is it important? Because I’m tired and I’d like to go to bed.”
I put my hands down on the cushions to push myself up when Di rushed forward a step to stop me.
“Yes! It’s very important! I promise! Don’t you want to know more about what we do here?”
I sat back down in my seat and reached for Xander’s hand. He squeezed it, but otherwise didn’t look away from his defensive position.
“I’m guessing you want to tell me, us, more about what you do here so go ahead, I guess.”
Di relaxed and moved back to her spot next to her snooty assistant, Jeb. She took a deep breath, and a smile slowly spread across her face.
Chapter Twelve
“Emelia, did you know some casters are able to make prophecies?”
“Like predict the future? I think Dev told me something about that.” I shifted in my seat and settled in further.
“It’s a bit more than that,” someone said from the doorway. I looked up to see Irna standing there, fidgeting with her hands nervously. “The caster giving the prophecy is moved by magic to foretell something important that will come to pass. It’s more than a prediction. Much more important.”
Irna slid from the doorway as if stepping away from a stage and hid in the corner of the room. I hadn’t seen her since I told her my entire story, thinking I had an ally in her. The way Di was watching her and the way Irna was shrinking back in return made me realize how incredibly foolish that was. If I were a betting person, I would put all of my money down on the idea Irna ran straight to Di that night and told her everything. My eyes narrowed at Irna, making the caster curl into herself more, intimidated.
Di stepped in between us and my eyes shot up to her smug face.
“Thank you, Irna,” she grinned and took another step toward me. “Amos and I were talking a few days ago about prophecies. It got me thinking about one I heard when I was a new vampire a few hundred years ago.” Di held her hand out to Jep and he produced a large tome. Di flipped through the pages until she found the right one. “Ah. Here it is! ‘An accursed child of earth and fire, bathed in blood during the darkest of nights will rule supreme. War will be waged, lives will be lost, but harmony and peace can be found when three
