Yeah, he could definetly use a drink. But that wasn't going to happen. Not tonight anyway.
He was about to call out to Cameron when he heard thumping and decided to simply step around the corner. To see what in the world he was up to.
His steps stopped in the entry way to the kitchen when he saw Cameron rushing around, opening and shutting cabinets. He glanced to Jake over his shoulder when he heard him approach, grunting in aggitation.
"Where the hell does she keep the liquor in two-thousand-twelve?"
Jake's eyebrows dropped as he frowned.
Whoever said great minds think alike was an increadibly stupid person, Jake thought sourly.
Chapter Two: Paint the Silence
"I did not get enough sleep for this," Faye said, sitting down in a huff beside Diana.
She could feel Faye's eyes on her, but she didn't bother looking up.
"I thought you were supposed to be halfway around the world on a boat right now?" Melissa asked Diana, sitting in the chair Cameron had previously been in. Diana's shoulders lifted in reply as she finally looked up, seeing Cassie beginning to move out of the room in the corner of her eye.
"I'm gonna go see what they're doing," Cassie told them before disappearing.
No one made any comment to her as she left, but Faye quickly turned her body to face both Diana and Melissa.
"Am I the only one who noticed that guy looks like Jake?"
"No," Diana said, finally speaking.
Melissa shrugged. "He's from the future, or whatever, right?"
"Apparently," Diana answered in another single worded reply.
"You do realize how insane that sounds?" Faye finally mentioned. "Then again, with our track record..." Faye left it at that.
Melissa sat forward in the chair, her voice lessening. "How do we even know he's from the future for sure? Like Faye said, it sounds insane. No matter what our track record is."
"They did a spell that Cameron knew was in Jake's family book," Diana began filling them in. "And the spell, if the two people have a bloodline connection, allows them to feel eachother some how. I don't know every single detail because they didn't tell me, but Cassie believes it. And I can't see Jake lying about something like this. If he wanted us hurt or dead, he's had plenty of chances to do that by now."
Faye nodded absentmindedly, leaning her elbow against the top of the back of the couch. Her fingers played with the ends of her hair as she stared off in thought. Suddenly, she perked up a little. "So, if that spell worked, they're related?"
Diana finally glanced at Faye, mostly to gage her reaction, and she nodded.
Faye's expression brightened. "He has to be a distant cousin then. They look too much alike. Don't you think?" She bit down on her lip, again lost in thought. But Diana said nothing in reply. Not yet. She watched Faye look towards Melissa, who seemed just as determined to figure it out for herself.
"Or his son," Diana blurted, still watching Faye's reaction.
Her lashes lifted when she looked straight at Diana, any humor or disbelief wiped from her face. And then her face twisted and she grimaced.
"Ew," she mumbled, looking towards the entry to the room. "Who did, or does, Jake end up with? Those blue eyes..."
"Cassie," Diana said, finishing Faye's thought. "It has to be. Where else did he get the blue eyes from?"
"They're blue, but they look like they have hazel in them, too." Faye's voice fell a bit, a deeper tone falling out of her words.
Hazel, which would fit Faye's description. Or Melissa even, though Cameron's skin wasn't anywhere near Melissa's tone, or smoothness.
"I didn't notice that," Diana said, finally glancing back down at her phone. Her phone which would be turned off if she didn't get a job and start covering it herself. Just another number on her list of things to get done while avoiding being killed.
"Yeah, some dark green in the middle. He glanced at me when he walked passed." Faye mentioned, sounding like she wasn't really listening to what she was saying.
"If you want to sleep with him, I'm sure you could just ask him, Faye."
The instant it came out, Diana winced to herself, shaking her hair back from her face as she looked at Faye's risen eyebrows.
"I'm sorry. I'm just-"
"I know," Faye said, cutting her off in a curt tone. "I get it," she said, looking away again. "So," she continued with her change back to the initial subject, "if he ends up with Cassie, I take back that ew and raise it to an I think I'm gonna be sick."
Diana actually snorted, but she shrugged. "It was obvious, wasn't it? They had something. For a while at least."
"Yeah, maybe for a week," Faye argued, getting a huge sigh from Melissa who was obviously sick of talking about this subject. Diana suspected Melissa had probably heard it way more than any of the rest of them had. "But it was more about Jake changing, and reaching out. It wasn't only about Cassie."
"Either way," Diana said with a lift of her shoulder, shoving her phone back into the pocket of her coat that was beginning to make her too warm. "Even if he hasn't been feeling it lately, they will again."
"Obviously," Melissa muttered with a roll of her eyes, checking her phone with a disappointed look before putting it back into her pocket.
Faye seemed annoyed with Diana, and she could only figure it was because of what Faye felt for Jake. Whatever that feeling was.
She sighed, standing up in hopes of physically removing herself from her own feelings. Whatever those were. She couldn't possibly judge anyone else's feelings when she didn't even have a hold of her own. From the anger that came from Blackwell. The anger she felt towards her mother, which she felt was unfair to hold over someone who was dead and resting. The anger against her father for not figuring out something that he had no way of truly being able to know about. She was angry with Cassie for using dark magic so often and so freely, without seeing that it would all come back at her some day, and bite her in the ass. There was anger at herself for not digging deeper when she was young. For not bringing up what she had known about being a witch.
Most of all, there was anger and frusteration at the fact that she was being completely unfair. Unfair in how and where she was directing everything.
Faye asked her where everyone was just as Diana made her way out of the room, heading to where she heard people talking. More like two guys arguing, which could only be the two guys who were already there.
Cameron had just reached over Jake's shoulder, yanking a bottle of what looked like liquor from his hands, turning away just as Jake spun around. Jake's hands went for the collar of Cameron's already loosened jacket, obviously due to him and Jake getting into it before the rest of them walked in. Cameron was shoved against the counter as his hands let go of the bottle, causing it to tip and roll over to the edge where it would have fallen and probably shattered had Cassie not grabbed onto it quickly.
"Get off of me!" Cameron yelled, pushing back against Jake who had no problem in holding him down.
"Shut up!" Jake spat through his clenched teeth.
"Well, this is entertaining," Faye said with a smirk, her eyes on the boys like they were stripping naked in front of them.
Diana rolled her eyes from Faye back to the boys and something came over her, making her lift her hand.
Her right one.
Both of them split apart so harshly that Cameron's legs flipped up and over his head as he tumbled over the island counter, dropping in a thud onto the floor. Jake's body spun at least a couple of times, his feet lifting off of the wood floors before the whole side of him hit against the refrigerator.
Diana's hand dropped instantly, her heart sinking straight down into her stomach.
Her eyes stared ahead until Cassie moved into her view, her eyebrows lifted. She didn't look mad or upset over the fact that Diana had used magic against them. Rather, she seemed surprised. Diana felt thankful that Cassie's face didn't read impressed. It would have made everything much worse. It would have scared her more than she had just scared herself.
She could hear Faye chuckling behind her when Diana looked down, seeing Cameron crawling from around the island, looking up at Diana like he was fed up with her using magic against him. Which only meant she did it often in the future. And if he knew about her doing that, either Cassie or himself were the ones to see it and say something about it to eachother.
Her mind was conjecting what hadn't even happened yet.
If it even would.
Diana left the room instantly, feeling Melissa grab her arm and let go when Diana gave a tug to be released.
Cassie's room was the only place she knew she could probably runaway to, even if it was the one room she couldn't tell Cassie to leave had she wanted to come in and check on her. Something in Diana told her she'd chosen it because she knew Cassie would eventually walk in. Maybe a part of her, a bigger part than she'd thought, actually wanted to reach out. To have someone there for her, even if she couldn't figure out how to put into words how she was feeling.
That was until a knock came and the head that popped in made her frown.
She could do well without Cameron coming for her.
"You've got some protective friends down there. You know what I had to do to get them to let me come up here?"
Diana said nothing, watching him close the door behind him as he casually walked around.
"They're downstairs getting everything ready." He touched the top corner of the fireplace, the loose wooden square clunking as his fingers tapped it.
He knew the house well.
"I think Jake and Cassie are hovering at the end of the stairs. Even Ms- um, Faye, had something to say."
"I'm sure she did," Diana replied to him, standing up when he came and sat next to her. Not too close, but it was close enough when she didn't know him. He sighed, moving in the spot she'd been in.
Her arms crossed over her chest while she regarded him, getting the look of the dark green, Faye had mentioned was in his eyes.
"What scared you off? Mine and dad's fighting, or that you used magic against us?"
"I-" She honestly didn't know which, but she knew what had run her out of there. "Both." She swallowed hard. "It's weird. You calling him dad."
Cameron shrugged, smirking as he looked around the room.
"It definetly doesn't look like this in here anymore."
Diana narrowed her eyes at him, moving around as she glanced around herself.
His hands clapped together before he rested them in his lap, looking up at her as he began talking again.
"Your dark magic isn't a problem in the future."
She frowned at him, a light shake of her head making her hair fall over her shoulder.
"I thought you said you couldn't, or wouldn't, tell us anything."
"Yeah, I did. Things that you all could take in another context and try to change or fix. I doubt you knowing that there aren't any problems with your dark magic in the future, isn't going to make you suddenly want to change that prospect. Unless I'm wrong?"
Another shake of her head and she halfway turned her body away, glancing back to see him looking over her face. She froze, giving him a glare.
"What are you doing?"
"You don't really look different. Shorter hair and laugh lines, but that's about it."
There was a possibilty she had a daughter and that he knew her. Was dating her. Though it seemed more likely he'd go for someone more like Faye's daughter. If she had one.
So many questions she wanted to ask, knowing she wouldn't get an answer. Knowing having an answer would indeed change her way of thinking about it all. She was about to suggest him leaving her alone for a few more moments before he turned his hands over and she paused. Whatever he was explaining was lost on her now because she was focused on the mark on his hand. The Blackwell family symbol.
He was fast to fix what he realized what she was staring at, but she had already taken in what was there.
"There's-"
She cut him off by walking forward, reaching out to grab his hand when he pulled himself out of her way, turning his shoulders away from her before he moved around her body. Cameron walked to the other side of the room, turning around with a look that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than regret. He tucked his hand into one of his jacket pockets, wiping the palm of his hand over his mouth as he stared at the floor, thinking over what to say.
Diana made it easy for him.
"So, it's true. You're Jake's son, but you're also Cassie's. You have Balcoin blood."
He scoffed, a pause before he finally looked up at her, his hand dropping from his softly angled jaw.
"Surprised I'm tall? Considering she's an oompa loompa? That's a thing still, right?"
Diana ignored all of that.
"And you're not planning on telling Cassie you're her son?"
"No. Definetly not."
"But you told Jake."
"Because it won't matter in the long run. Also because I needed someone to believe it. I wouldn't have been helped otherwise."
"What are you trying to prevent? What were you trying to do?" Diana's voice was nearly silent. A whisper that felt so loud in her own ears simply because of how badly she wanted that question answered.
His eyes hit hers and he sighed deeply, a strong elated feeling rose in her. He was admitting defeat. He'd tell her something, and that would be more than she'd had before. He stepped closer to her, his hands once again going palms up as he explained himself. Something she noticed he did each time he went into something serious.
Something she registered Jake did frequently, as well.
"If I tell you this, you can't tell a soul. Especially not Jake."
"Why?" A horrible foreboding hovered over her. "What's going to happen to him?"
Cameron's mouth formed a grim line before opening to its original pout, to reply.
"He's going to die."
Diana simply stood there. Her eyes unable to blink. Her chest unable to move without a breath there to take.
One of them was going to die. In their circle. In her circle.
And it hurt. Badly. Like what she imagined muscle being ripped from bone, felt like.
"What can I do?" She asked him suddenly, getting him to frown at her.
A look she didn't want to see.
"Nothing. That's the thing, you can't-"
"Isn't it on July fifth? The day after Independence Day? If we gathered everyone-"
"Actually, it happens the night of the fourth. Just after midnight."
"Then if we know what you do, we can stop it! We can-"
His hands grabbed her shoulders, shaking the rest of the sentence away from her mouth and thoughts.
"I told you not to tell a soul! It was my problem to fix, and it screwed up. All of it screwed up. You can't fix it, Diana. Something could happen to you, or the others, and it would make everything worse. It would screw with the way things turn out, and despite what you might think of the future, things turn out all right. I mean, as well as they could considering we're witches and naturally draw out the supernatural. Not to mention psychopaths."
Her throat felt tight, her eyes burning with the threat of tears to come.
He released her then and she was left feeling cold.
"I don't understand. Out of all of us, Jake's careful. He's stronger than the rest of us, and braver in some areas. He knows way more than we do."
Cameron's face dropped as he stared at her and it gave her another thought.
"Unless...he uses that."
He said nothing, which only confirmed what she was thinking.
"Jake dies for us, doesn't he?" Cameron's eyes dropped from her face, as if he couldn't stand looking at her. "Because he's stronger and more knowledgable than the rest of us-" She paused shortly, sucking in a breath. "He dies for us," Diana repeated, shaking her head at the floor she stared down at it. Another one of them dead. Another Armstrong, at that.
"Another kid to grow up without a parent," she said slowly, speaking her last thought out loud.
When she lifted her head again, leaning it back so her hair was pushed away from her eyes, she felt anger seeping through the saddness.
"Please tell me you have Cassie, still."
He gave a side smirk until it broke into a small smile, his teeth finally shown.
"Yes. I have Cassie still."
She nodded, looking back towards the door, feeling nervous that someone could be listening. Her head turned back to him, and he nodded slightly, knowing where her thoughts were.
"We should get back and get this done, but before that, I need you to help me with something..."
"What?"
"Buy me more time."
That counteracted with what he'd just said though. He started with his explaination, his hands pressed together as if praying.
"I know I just said we need to get down there, but I need just a half hour more. For the spell to wear off. So when we all join hands-"
"Cassie won't feel anything from you," Diana finished for him, already nodding in agreement. "As long as it won't end up being too late to get you back, sure. I'll help." Her eyes narrowed at him then. "Which means you've known all along how long the spell lasted."
"I know a lot of things," he stated with a smile. "Even without the advantage of being from the future."
He laughed to himself which made Diana chuckle, staring at him with a strangeness that actually warmed her. Better than feeling cold, she thought.
Before he opened the door, his hand stilled on the knob and he looked down at her from right behind him.
"It's better not knowing what happens. Believe me."
"I do," she replied, surprising herself for how fast she answered him. For how right she knew he was about it. Because just as he'd said, knowing the future caused more problems. Instead of just Jake dying, her initial reaction to all that could have ended up with all of them dead.
As bad as one of them dying was, it was worse if all of them died. And at this point, she couldn't imagine the circle without Cassie or Adam. Without Faye and Melissa. Without Jake, as he'd become one of them by how fast he'd joined with them, and how strong that bond was now. He was one of them, despite being thrown into it because of Nick's death, and his bloodline. Even if it was left unsaid and unspoken about, Jake was and would be looked over as closely as the rest of them would.
For as long as they all lasted.
He nodded to her, a small and sad, tight grin spreading over his mouth.
"You seem like you ended up well enough. Even without a parent. Without Jake."
"I had good guidence," he told her, turning to the door again. But he paused once more, his eyes on his hand that was on the knob. "Let's make sure that spell is worn before the three of us join hands."
Jake's hands were clenched tight against his ribcage, hopeful in not showing how angry and annoyed he was.
And it nearly blew smoke from his ears when Cameron and Diana both came walking down like everything was casual. Like they had all the time in the world. Like they had become new best friends.
"We could just let you fade away, or whatever it is that you'll do," Faye mentioned to him when both him and Diana joined them in the room again.
"We're here. She took some convincing."
Diana grinned up at him sharply, moving towards the circle that they'd made. Mostly Jake, since it was in his book and he was most used to setting up spells. Diana reached down, her hand hovering over the flame of one of the candles as Cassie came around.
"Alright, Jake says we have to circle the circle, so-"
"Which I still say sounds confusing, and he's yet to clarify what that means," Faye spoke to the room.
Jake gave her a dark look, getting a glare back from her in return.
As Cassie sat on one of the sides of the circle, she crossed her legs and put out her hands.
"And then you guys'll sit on a side, and we'll join hands."
"I'm gonna use the restroom real quick here..." Cameron's voice trailed as he began walking off, but Jake cut in front of him, grabbing his arm, giving him no choice but to stop.
"You're gonna stop pissing me off and get your ass to the circle. We're doing this now."
Cameron's hands went up in surrender, a lousy smirk on his face once again.
Jake dropped his hands, unclenching them, feeling the air in the room hit the moist warmth that had formed from his closed palms.
"Cameron," Jake said in a warning tone. It was the first time he'd said his name that forcefully, and the sound hit close to home. Too close. Jake received a look from his...son, that forced him to look away.
"Where did that name come from, anyway?" Faye asked, thankfully interupting the uncomfortable moment.
Though it brought up an even bigger uncomfortable moment.
Jake glanced at her.
"It was my father's middle name."
Her mouth formed a small "oh", her eyes looking away from his to everyone else's.
"And mine," Jake added, a voice so quiet he almost didn't even hear himself. Though everyone else seemed to have.
"Well, isn't that egotistical of you," another voice came in, his face red which made it look like he'd been running.
"Adam?" Cassie called as she looked up over her shoulder at him, adjusting where she sat on the floor. Adam glanced around at all of them, taking in the scene that he'd missed so far. "I've been trying to reach you all morning."
"And I've been busy all morning," he instantly retorted, seeing Cameron and narrowing his eyes. "Your texts didn't mention that his face would make me want to punch him. Probably no worse than Jake's, but-"
"Adam!" Diana snapped, giving him a look as if saying, "What the hell are you doing?" Or it could have simply been that Jake was thinking it, and saw it there in her expression.
"Ok, so let's get this going."
Jake frowned at him, watching as Adam walked over to where Faye sat, plopping down next to her. His hand patted her leg before he clasped his hands behind his head. He looked...fresher. More awake. Like he'd had a full week of good sleep each night. He was being especially annoying, Jake decided.
Cameron stepped back from Jake, going back to the original point.
"Jake wasn't egotistical, considering it was my mom who named me." Cameron had the ghost of a grimace in his features, which pleased Jake increadibly. Seemed it ran in the family, not caring for Adam's pressence.
"I think we should go over a few things first," Diana said, looking around the room as she crossed her arms. Jake could feel a sense of defense from her.
Something was up.
Cameron stood on the other side of the room, already nodding to her with a sarcastic look in his eyes.
"Like what?" Jake snapped to her. Trying to read her, though she wasn't an easy one to predict or read at all.
She looked at him, not holding his gaze for very long, which only made him even more suspicious.
"I just think we should be clear on what we're doing here."
"You join hands. You say a few words repetitively. He zaps home, or something close to that." Jake stepped closer to her, not understanding what she was getting at. Why it seemed like she was trying to distract them. "What's there to get? You've done spells before."
"What's the risk here?" She suddenly asked him, facing him full on. "I mean for me and Cassie?"
Jake thrusted a hand out to Cameron. "You both got him here. It's not going to kill either of you to send him back, I'm sure."
Her eyes grew even darker than they already were, narrowing up at him.
"And how do I know I survived it?"
"I don't know, Diana! I guess we'll find out if it's too hard for both of you when we try it!"
Diana's cheeks grew pink from the anger that was building inside of her, though she only looked a little aggitated with him. She had to be angrier than she let on, considering that her face was beginning to darken in color.
Jake knew what it looked like when people tried to hide their emotions. Apart from the coloring of her cheeks, he did it often enough to know.
Cameron cut in then, his voice low and fed up.
"Let's just do this then."
Diana frowned, her head whipping over at him.
"What? No!"
"What the hell's going on between you two?" Jake snapped, stepping even closer to her. Trying to hover over her, hopefully to intimidate enough to get her to just confess whatever the hell it was that was making her keep secrets against the rest of them.
He should have known she'd be stubborn enough to not be effected by it.
"I'd like to know why we're all keeping things to ourselves, especially considering we're attacked on a daily basis!" Melissa yelled out beside Faye.
"Diana, let's just get on with it. Ok?" Cameron looked from her to the circle and sighed, sitting down a few inches from Cassie who re-straightened herself. Diana's shoulders tensed as if she were about to argue with him over it, but she threw out her arms, giving up. She sat in the last spot available, pushing her jacket off of her shoulders just as Cameron started doing the same.
Jake leaned down between Cassie and Diana, knowing it was going to be the best way in leading them through this.
He lifted his book closer into his view, reading off from the old thick pages. The ink soaked into the paper from years and years ago.
"All the candles are lit," he stated. "So you have to join hands at this point. Focus on moving him. Not physically, but with your minds. You have to imagine your power literally lifting him away from the time and space we're in. It'll make more sense once you try."
Diana and Cameron glanced between eachother, Cassie held out her hand to both of them, waiting for one of them to make a move.
Neither of them did.
"Did I speak in spanish, or..."
"I got a B in spanish, so I would have understood regardless," Cameron replied dryly to Jake in the same tone Jake himself, had just used.
Diana took Cassie's hand and gave a quick glare to Jake before looking at Cameron.
As if it were Jake's fault?
He supposed it was, considering he was responsible for getting a woman pregnant. Who that woman was remained unknown. And he wasn't sure he wanted to know, though something in his mind whispered Cassie's name, due to the simularity between Cameron's and Cassie's eyes. But even though they were both blue, the shades weren't the same, and neither was the shape of them. His were wider than Cassie's, and even than his own. But the brightness in them was there. How Cassie's eyes seemed to have a light behind them at times.
Cameron's were the same in that respect.
"Cameron!" Cassie snapped loudly, bringing Jake out of his own thoughts.
"What?" Cameron yelled back, wiping his hands on his shirt. Pushing the time even further. "I'm trying to do you a favor. My hands are gross..."
Jake wanted badly to ask why he was buying time, but he knew it would just cause more time spent, and Cameron satisfied with getting his way.
"Take my hand already!" Cassie thrust her hand back at him, but he fought to avoid it. "Do you want to not exist at all? Not even in this time?"
Cameron visibily jumped when Cassie grabbed his hand, giving him no choice. He let out a long breath, glancing at Diana who stared at their hands with wide eyes, until she lifted them to his face. Cassie's head shook at the both of them as she closed her eyes, Jake watching her.
The spell had obviously worn off.
Cassie would have felt it otherwise, if her and Cameron were connected. Jake had felt it instantly, even after. But she was perfectly at ease, a determined crease to begin the spell between her brows. Jake reminded himself of his previous thoughts. It was better if he wasn't one-hundred percent sure.
Even better that Cassie wouldn't ever find out.
Clapping came from beside them, Adam smiling as he did it. Faye snickered at him, but even she looked over at him beside her like she wasn't sure what was going on with his sudden gusto.
Diana raised her eyebrows at Cameron before offering her hand to him and he nodded once, easily taking it in his own.
It was better now that the spell had worn off, because with two spells, things could have gotten easily messy. Crossing two spells over eachother was sometimes a difficult thing to accomplish. But since they were time crunched, Jake was willing to try it out first before resulting to his next option, which would have been to wait it out.
Cassie knocked over a candle when she jerked, the wax hitting acrossed Jake's hand, making him drop his book, clutching his hand as his skin burned.
The candle flame went out at least, but that was the last thing Jake was thinking of now.
"What the hell, Cassie!" Jake yelled out, looking up at her as she rushed to her feet.
"Diana?" Cassie called out, stepping around Jake who looked where Diana was, or had been. She finished shuffling herself across the flooring until her back reached the wall when she figured out how to use her legs again. Or so Jake assumed.
Cameron was hovering over her, but she was pulling away from him and Cassie rushed over, shoving against his chest just as Adam rushed over.
"What did you do to her?" Cassie screamed up into his face, Adam rushing forward to grab him, leading him away from the girls.
Jake ignored the sheer pain in his hand, pushing himself up from the floor.
"What happened?" He finally asked, getting no answer in reply.
Diana was up on her feet, her eyes wide and terrified.
"Are you ok?" Faye asked her quickly, moving to her side with a worried expression.
Cameron fought against Adam, shoving him back to get him off when Jake stalked forward, taking Cameron out of Adam's hands completely.
He shoved him into the wall himself, getting a roll of the eyes from Cameron who's head dropped back as he said, "Jesus Christ..."
"What did you do to them?"
"Me?" Cameron yelled back at him, finally fighting back against Jake. "You're the one at blame here, dad."
"Shut up!"
"Jake, stop!" Diana yelled from behind him, but he was never one for paying attention to people telling him what to do.
He easily ignored her.
"What happened?" Jake wasn't going to put up getting no answer this time, his hands let go of Cameron's shirt to raise up to his neck when Cameron pushed against Jake's chest, his mouth pressed together as he did.
"Ask your wife!" Cameron screamed into his face, finally giving a straight answer, though Jake was still confused.
"What?"
Jake's arm was yanked on, the second time worked in getting it down when more weight was forced down on him. He guessed she'd had to use her whole body when she'd hopped up, pressing her arms down on his single one.
Diana settled back down on her feet when Jake released him, stepping away so he wasn't tempted at shoving his head through a wall.
"Jake..."
"What?" He snapped down at her. "What is it?"
Cassie walked over to them, her eyes staring straight at Cameron, as if looking for an answer in his face.
"How?" She asked him.
Jake looked from Cassie to the rest of them. Everyone was apparently clued in on what was going on, or what had happened.
"Dad..."
Despite himself, how completely foreign it was, and how faraway he was from accepting all of it, Jake looked over to Cameron.
His palm was held up to Jake's view, first confusing him until he realized what the symbol was.
Blackwell.
Cameron was of Balcoin blood.
As if impatient with no response from Jake, Cameron grabbed up another hand, showing the same symbol; a scar.
Like the brand from an iron.
Jake followed the hand up the arm to Diana's face which held an unreadable face, and unreadable eyes.
Cameron released her hand, and it dropped from Jake's view, but they both kept staring at eachother. Jake's voice was unable to be found, as well as any straight thought, or sensible thought, at that. He was still confused. Still unable to comprehend what all had just happened.
And Diana stared back at him with what Jake could only imagine matched his own expression.
Cameron decided to clear it up for them.
"I hereby pronounce you husband and wife."