My dear sweet fans. I adore you and as always I thank you for the support that keeps me motivated. Melissa72 you remind me so much of my sister, but don't worry too much about Kyran. And I feel your pain on the Moroi thing. There had to be a change.
Read and Enjoy!
_
(special treat Josh POV)
"Kyran! Kyranyetta! Noooooo!" emptiness and a broken heart were all that filled my body. It seemed as though time itself had come to a halt. Nature was paying tribute to this goddess laying before me as the birds chirped and flew around us, and the sun beamed directly on her, making her body glow.
What had I done? How could I have killed the only love I'd ever known? My heart. My world. My very existence. All of it would die if Kyran was really gone.
Struggling to my feet, I picked up the fallen beauty and carried her back to our motel. In the room, I gently laid her down on the bed and went to grab some bandages and hot water. I took my time wiping at every bruise and wound. I cleared the blood from her body and bandaged her up as best I could. Playing medic had always been her job.
When I was done, I kneeled beside the bed and stroked her face with tenderness.
"How could you do this to me? How could you leave me like this? Do you know how lost I'll be without you? My life is meaningless if you're not a part of it. I love you with everything I have and I'll be damned if I'm responsible for you being taken away from me."
"I don't understand why you had to be so hardheaded. If only you would've listened to me things wouldn't have turned out like this. I should've fought harder to keep you away, or called Booka, or did something intelligent. You were right. I am weak. I let the wolf take over and now look at you. The world is a cold, cruel place if this happens to you. The gods must truly be pure evil for taking such a being from this planet."
I raised my tear stained eyes upwards and began shouting to the heavens, "I want her back, do you hear me? This isn't fair! She did nothing wrong!"
I don't know why I expected a response, but after not getting one I lowered my head and stared at Kyran's lifeless body. My tears began to drip onto her face, "Bring her back. Just please bring her back to me," I sobbed.
Ever so slowly, I leaned over and planted a final soft kiss on her lips. The electricity I felt coursing through me was amazing. It was like I couldn't break the touch. But finally, I pulled away and lay my head on her stomach, crying tears that seemed as though they would never stop flowing.
It felt like I was crying for an eternity. i paced around the room for hours, stared in the mirrors for hours, sat and thought about everything that had happened and everything that would happen because of this. Booka and his father would never forgive me. That girl was their world. Her father's pride and joy and the light of her brother's world.
Eventually, I returned to my position on her stomach, crying whatever tears were left in my body. A whole day had passed but all I could do it lay my head on her stomach and think of all the times I had with this girl. The way we would argue as children. How we always acted like we couldn't stand each other, but did nice things that we thought no one would notice. Our time at the academy. The love I had for her. Her smile. Her eyes. Her infectious laugh. How she could liven up any room with a few choice words.
I had one job: protect her; and I couldn't even manage to do that right. Instead, I killed her. Now all I could bring myself to do was lay here trying to imagine the warmth her body once held. I thought so hard on it that it was starting to feel real, but I knew that wasn't possible. I didn't look up, I didn't move. I laid on her stomach and cried my heart out.
My imagination and pain was really starting to mess with me. I was thinking about that heartbeat of hers. Then, I thought I felt her gentle touch, a hand running through my hair trying to comfort me. I started to cry even harder when I thought I heard that angelic voice softly calling out my name. Could the god really be so cruel as to cause such hallucinations?
"Why are you doing this to me?" I cried as I buried my face deeper into her body.
"Josh? What's going on?"
Wait a minute. Was she moving. I could feel her stomach slightly rising and falling as if she were breathing. It couldn't be true. She'd been dead for an entire day. But my protective instincts reacted to the vulnerability in her voice and I decided to take a risk and look up. I almost fell over when I saw her eyes. They were barely open, but still, I could see the life in them.
"You're okay!" I exclaimed before rushing to hug her.
"Josh, what are you - ow. Ow. Ow."
"Oh. Sorry." I pulled back remembering that her entire body would be in pain, "I'm sorry. I just can't believe you're back."
"Back? Where did I go?"
Her confusion would've been cute at any other moment, but right now I had to tell her the truth about what had happened.
"Kyran, you…you died. I killed you." I admitted while hanging my head in shame.
"Joshua look at me." she said in a somewhat scolding voice, "What happened last night wasn't your fault. You couldn't help it. What's important is that everything's okay now. I'm here now and I'm fine."
"I know. I just feel so guilty."
She rolled her eyes as a tiny smile crept onto her face. She slowy sat up and, with much difficulty, reached out and pulled one of my hands towards her chest, resting it over her heart.
"See. It's still beating. No harm no foul. I'm okay and I'll be just fine tomorrow, and the day after that, and the one after that. I'm not going anywhere. You won't get rid of me so easily."
"I wouldn't want it any other way." I gently took her hand in mine and looked directly in her eyes trying my best to convey all my emotions. I know if there's one person who could get that just from a look it would be Kyran, "You don't know how much it hurt when I thought I lost you. I was a wreck. If you were really ever to leave me it would be unbearable. I kept thinking about what Booka and Abe would say. I thought about everything we never got to do. How I'd never feel your touch or your soft lips. How I'd never see that twinkle in your eyes. How I wouldn't have anyone to argue with."
"Josh, believe me I know just how you feel. I'd be incomplete if you weren't around all the time. I love you."
My heart almost jumped straight out my chest when I heard those words escape her lips. She loved me? Me? I was in shock. I never thought I would live up to the princess's standards, but somehow I'd managed to snag her attention.
"I love you too."
And we sealed our love with a soft kiss.
(K POV)
Josh spent an entire day apologizing and pampering me until I finally screamed at him to stop. He couldn't be held responsible for my short death. If anything, I was to blame for not listening to him in the first place and just staying away. I just had to be a hero. I was starting to feel much better, and was even able to move around the room, not that Josh really let me out of the bed except to use the bathroom and shower. He had gone to the bathroom so I snuck out to the lobby of the inn to stretch my legs a bit, making sure a hoody covered my bruises and face.
Everyone was on edge and reading the local newspaper. Curious as I was, I decided to grab one to. My heart fell to my stomach when I saw the front page. A picture of Josh and I fighting was plastered on the front under the title "Girl meets Wolf". There was an entire story about what had taken place last night with quotes from some of the bystanders. I read in horror as I hurried back to the room.
Josh was steady waiting on the bed, ready to come at me for leaving; but I shut him down before he could even start.
"Don't. Read." I said throwing the newspaper at him and going to turn the TV on. Sure enough every news station was either shooting scenes of the destroyed town or interviewing the farmer whose livestock we had slaughtered.
"This is bad."
"We have to go. Now. Grab everything we have and let's check out now. It won't be long before Dad and Booka are blowing up our phones. And we still have Tony to worry about."
"Tony?" Josh asked.
"Um, I meant Antonio." I corrected, mentally cursing myself for that slip. I had to be more careful about letting my real relationship with Antonio slip or I was screwed.
"Since when are you two on a nickname basis?"
"Josh, focus on packing and stop worrying about silly things like that."
"Kyran, what are you hiding from the rest of us?"
"Nothing, okay? Absolutely nothing. It was an accident. That's all. Now can we focus?" I killed the conversation as we gathered our few supplies and jetted out of the hotel. Josh checked out since I couldn't show my face and we hurried from that place, avoiding town.
Where we were headed, we had no clue. The main goal right now was to get away from this town. With newspapers and news channels focusing on what had happened, there was no telling who it had reached by now. Two days was more than enough time for this to go national.
Josh's phone went off and I knew we were busted.
"Hello?" he answered with the phone on speaker so I could hear.
"Why the hell didn't you two call someone?" my father screamed. I looked at Josh and signaled for him to let me handle this one.
"Daddy we didn't know. We were so focused on staying alive that we missed the signs. All we could do was try to keep him under control when it happened. And I couldn't use my magic so there was no way to contain him."
"We have to regroup. Now. You two need to keep hidden and hurry because Antonio probably already knows where you are and is sending someone. Get on the next bus to Detroit."
"No!" I responded a little too loudly.
"What's the matter, Kyran?" my father asked.
I shifted my eyes nervously. I couldn't tell him the real reason I didn't want to go there. If he found out I knew Antonio had a house out there he'd go ballistic with questions. I had no choice but to go along with it.
"Nothing. We'll be there."
Josh gave me a weird look after he hung up, but didn't speak on it. I figured he'd wait 'til we got to safety before he attacked me with his thoughts.
(Narration)
The events of the night of the full moon had indeed gone national. Spread across the country, Rose, Lissa, Christian, Abe, Booka, and Adrian had all either seen the news reports and the papers, or were viewing them now. Shock, horror, fear, all these things and more were coursing through their bodies.
Rose was more pissed than before at the amount of things kept secret from her, while Lissa, Adrian, and Christian were suffering from the shock of Josh's true nature. It was almost no surprise when they received the call telling them the regroup time and location.
With everyone getting ready to meet back up, they were hopeful that maybe they'd finally get some answers, for this was one thing they refused to be denies knowledge to; especially if Josh was really as dangerous as the news made him seem.
Lissa couldn't figure out how people she had thought to be so sweet could turn out to be the total opposite, and was starting to question her ability to judge people. She and Adrian were flying, accompanied by more guardians than they could count on both their hands and feet put together. The queen wasn't taking any chances with either of them.
Kyran and Josh were on a train headed for Michigan, but Josh had chosen to sit as far away from Kyran as the cart would allow. He opted for an empty seat by a stranger rather than beside her. As bad as she was feeling about Josh avoiding her and no longer trusting her, Kyran was even more nervous about this trip.
After the exposure, it would be a miracle in itself if they made it to Detroit without being either attacked or captured. She was positive Antonio had seen, and knew her exact location. He probably even knew where she was heading. He had always liked to toy with her. At one time she'd even found it….no. She had to get those thoughts out of her head now and pray that Josh would leave her little slip of the tongue alone. With them being so close to that fiend she had to be careful of what everyone found out. She would also have to be careful of communication with him. He knew exactly how to lure her to him and if she went that would be the end of her relationship with her friends, her family, and Josh. Forever.
Booka and Abe knew something was wrong. Besides Josh's transformation exposing them, they could tell that Kyran was hiding something big from them. It had to do with Antonio, of that they were positive. And now that Kyran and Josh were headlining news across the country the only thing left to do was begin preparing for the fight of their lives. But first, they needed to deal with all their family drama.
Rose needed answers and Kyran needed to start telling the truth.
(K POV)
Off the train and on our way toHilton to meet the others. Josh hadn't spoken to me since we got on the train in Arkansas. The only contact we'd had was when he'd shook me awake so we could get off the train. Now we rode silently in a taxi towards the hotel. For once we weren't the last ones there. We found my brother, my father, Lissa, and Adrian in the lobby. Rose and Christian were nowhere in sight. Of course Lissa was worried out of her mind, but the guys were cool as cucumbers.
I wasn't in the mood to take crap from anyone. I gave everyone a quick glance before walking off to the side and taking a seat by myself. Might as well enjoy what little peace of mind I could get while I could still get it.
Josh, my father, and Booka were all whispering about me like I couldn't hear them. They didn't care. To be honest, neither did i. let them say and think what they wanted, it wouldn't change anything. I just tuned them out and thought about something happier; about my mother. Of course I blocked out her current situation and just focused on the better times.
My childhood had been one of the best. There had never been a doubt in my mind that I was unloved. My parents spoiled me with gifts as well as attention. Even my brother treated me better than the average elder brother did; that was, when he wasn't busy with Josh. My mother had friends and a happy career.
But no matter how beautiful my past had been, everything in it had been twisted and distorted by something of the present. My mother had been captured, the attention from my father and brother had been stolen, I now had to share my father with another girl. Do you know how hard it is to be spoiled all your life and then suddenly have to feel the shock of the fact that your not daddy's only princess? I'm no longer my daddy's only lttle girl.
But to make matters even worst, I couldn't even think about close friends, because then I remember that before Katya, I'd had another best friend. Back when I lived in the Dominican Republic she and I were like two peas in a pod. Inseparable some would say. She lived with her mother, a dhampir like my mother. But Adela was special just as I was, because her father was a Strigoi. Her parents had married young and had a son, but eighteen years later both he and Adela's father were turned into Strigoi.
Although evil and murderous, the two still held some compassion for Adela's mother. One night of passion led to Adela's unique birth. Of course she was born mostly like a Dhampir. Beautiful, olive colored, perfect jet black hair that flowed around her, eyes that looked like they'd come straight out of a magazine. Adela was gorgeous. Only think is, she had Strigoi abilities, and Strigoi cravings.
She had her father's speed, hearing, sight, sense of smell, strength, all of it. She didn't have magic like me or any Moroi, but what she did have was the bloodlust of a Strigoi. She was also sensitive to the light, which was okay because we ran on a Moroi schedule during the school years, and generally only went outside once the sun started to fade from the sky.
It was through Adela that we first met Antonio. It was Adela who would always help him find us. Yet no matter her actions, I always forgave her. That was my soul sister and blood or lack there of would never change that.
"Kyran!" Booka called, snapping me out of the memory, "Let's go."
Rose and Christian had finally arrived, and no one looked happy. Angry eyes were trained on me as I stood and followed behind everyone. We hopped onto the elevator and traveled to a suite on the thirteenth floor. I stayed isolated all the way into the room. Of course my father had us sleeping in style. Two floors, seven rooms, kitchen, three bathrooms, TV's, we were more than comfortable. Of course the room was under one of his Aliases.
My father told everyone to unload in a room and rest for a while, he would be calling a meeting later. Everyone went off to their own rooms, except Rose and Lissa who decided to share a room. I tried to choose the room farthest from the people I'd known my entire life, but the arrangements didn't work that way. Rose and the others took the three rooms downstairs while I got stuck upstairs right in the center of my father, Josh, and Booka. My luck just seemed to keep running out.
I locked myself in the room and fell back onto my bed. I don't know how things got so bad so fast but they did. Sitting here and waiting for someone to come at me wasn't gonna happen. I rolled over on the queen sized bed, closed my eyes, and drifted off into the first peaceful, non-pain induced sleep since this whole thing began.
I was out maybe three hours before my nightmares thrust me back into the waking world. I clutched at my chest with one hand and tried to wipe away sweat with the other, but my entire body was glossy with perspiration. I jumped and let out a squeak when someone knocked on my door.
"Kyran, let's go. Meeting time." Booka called through the door.
"I'm coming." I answered softly, still trying to get a grip. I hurried out of my bed and walked to the door. My brother was waiting for me on the outside, "Booka -
Before I could even start the sentence he turned and walked away from me. I hung my head in defeat and followed him downstairs to the den. Everyone was seated and waiting. Booka took a spot between my father and Josh. I didn't exactly get a welcoming feeling from any of them so I opted to slump down against a wall, hugging my knees to my chest.
"Clearly, we've been found out." My father began, "Antonio is too smart not to have already learned every detail possible about this incident. It's only a matter of time before one of us runs into the other. So now, we need to start preparing for a fight."
"Well the only way to be fully prepared is to know everything about a situation. So I think it's about time all of us were on the same page, dad." Rose responded sourly.
"No need to get testy, Rosemary. I knew that was coming. What exactly do you wish to know?"
"Ummm, I don't know, everything! How about we start with this family issue we have."
"You know I'm your father. After Jose was born your mother and I had a thing. That love we shared resulted in you, but you know how your mother is. We knew we'd never work out, especially since I was never truly over my first love. I had Kyran after you. The reason you know so little is because Janine wanted it this way."
"See she figured it better if you didn't know about your other family. We were in enough trouble with the queen as it was. She wanted you as far away from this drama as possible so you could focus on your studies and your training."
"What drama with the queen?" Rose asked, confused.
"Tatianna has always been a jealous one." Booka answered, "She was in love with our father - " I winced as I listened to him say "our". However small the gesture, it was still a connection to her, " - but he never returned her affections. This man can get her to do lmost anything with the right persuasion. That's why she doesn't like any of us, nor our mothers. Dad knows how to cause quite a stir."
"Okay. Well I guess that incident at court makes sense now. Tatianna was on Kyran and Josh's case from the moment they got there. I guess she already knows about Josh's situation." Lissa deduced.
"Yeah that witch knows all about me. it's her fault there's no knowledge of my people's existence. She wiped it from memory over the years. She threatens to expose me and start a war against all werewolves if I should cross her. My mother would either be shunned or hunted down by vampires and seen as a traitor. I refuse to let that happen."
"No need to worry about exposure and threats from Tatianna, Josh. Jose and I have already paid her a visit." My father said with a slight smile.
"So what's her deal?" Christian said while jerking his head towards me. I turned away when everyone focused their eyes on me.
"Kyran and Booka are a special case." My father said, "You see, I am a descendant of the Turkish god of thieves and a Moroi woman. After so many generations much of the magic of the god has faded so it had no affect on Rosemary's birth, but Delilah Booka was a descendant of Lillith the goddess of Beauty and Purity. Once our bloodlines mixed, the magic presented itself in our children."
"Kyran and Booka have their great grandmother's eyes and the immortality and power of the gods. It's why they are both Dhampir and Moroi. Apparently, the gods saw something in Kyran as an infant and allowed her to keep all her powers. This is why she specialized in all the elements, including spirit."
"Since spirit is so rare and unstudied, I sent her to 's so that she could learn from Rose and Lissa. I also wanted her to finally meet you, Rose. I had always felt that the secrets were unfair to you."
"So she's a freak of nature is what you're saying." Rose responded, setting me off.
"Hey!" I shouted as I sat up, "What gives you the right to -
"Kyran, from what Josh has told me you are in no position to be shouting at anyone right now." My father said.
"But daddy -
"No buts. Now explain this issue with Antonio."
"You were there. You know what happened." I said.
"Cut the crap, Kyran. Ever since school I've felt there was something you haven't been telling us about Antonio." Booka said.
"Why don't you guys start from the beginning because we're all still lost on this Antonio guy?" Rose said.
"We'll let Kyran take this one over. It seems she has a lot to say." My father said.
I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. I tried to hesitate for a moment, but making everyone wait wasn't my best course of action right now. I'd leave out what I had to. Some secrets were best left untold.
"Antonio has been after us since we were children. Not just me, but Josh and Booka as well. He knew all about our abnormalities and our powers. It was originally his father that began this evil plot to take over the world. See he figured since we were so powerful and had less limitations than he did we could help him overthrow the monarchs and take over the entire world, human and vampires alike."
"He would expose vampires and werewolves to the world, and use us to control everyone. Of course, everyone has a dark side. Antonio and his father Antan had a direct connection to us because of Antan's daughter, Adela. She's halfDhampir and half Strigoi. She was also my best friend in the entire world. Her father saw that and tried to use her to get to us."
"As a child, she was told by her mother to avoid him at all costs. Sure he and Antonio would show up every once in a while when her mother watched us, and they would interact; but Adela's mom Moira would make him leave. One day when all us kids were alone outside, he came with Antonio and attacked and they weren't alone. There were three other Strigoi with them. They grabbed Adela and told us they'd kill her if we didn't do what they wanted us to do."
"I screamed and all our parents ran outside. While Antonio held Adela the adults fought. But two Dhampirs who hadn't trained in years and one Moroi and his guardian couldn't fight unprepared again two Strigoi while trying to protect four children, one of whom was already captured."
"My father and his guardian managed to kill two of the Strigoi, but were left horribly injured, as was my mother. Moira died, killed by one of Antan's henchmen. Booka, Josh, and I were the only ones left. It was either surrender or watch our families die. Hotheaded as we were at that tender age, we fought back. Josh and Jose killed the Strigoi and I attacked Antan and Antonio. My rage allowed me to kill Antan, but it weakened me substantially."
"Antonio took Adela and fled. We didn't see them for another six years. We were still in D.R. and had done our best to forget the incident. I even had a new best friend, Katya. But Antonio hadn't given up. He and Adela showed up again, only this time she was on his side. He has warped her mind and turned her against us, reminding her of how I had killed her father. He'd also trained her and showed her how to fight. With no adults around, Josh, Booka, and I were left to fight for ourselves again."
"My magic was still untrained and I was young. We all were. The promises of power appealed to our dark natures. We were more susceptible than most since Josh's werewolf nature was brutal and we were descendants of the god of thieves and deception. We almost went with him. Almost. I was more swayed than the others, so they had to talk me down. The fight was horrible. After destroying the army he brought with him, Antonio decided to be cruel and make Adela attack me. Although time had driven us apart, I still had love for her. So when I drove I knife through her heart it almost killed mine. I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave her there."
The memory was fresh in my mind. I thought about it like it was yesterday…
I knelt beside Adela's bleeding body on the ground. Antonio, Josh, and Booka all stood and watched in horror. I was crying as I explained to her that I didn't mean it. I didn't mean to kill her or her father.
"Adela, you're my best friend. You're like my sister. I love you. I never meant to hurt you. Please, please don't be mad at me."
"Kyranyetta, I forgive you. Yo te amo tambien, y yo se. I kno you never meant any of this. It was you fault. No te culpas. Don't cry. No te culpas."
I didn't wanna believe it when her eyes closed. I didn't want it to be real. So I made it unreal. As weak as I was from the fight I still used my healing powers and brought her back to life. I didn't know this then, but she was shadow kissed. Connected to me forever after I brought her back from the land of the dead.
But the magic had the same affect on me then as it did now. I fell beside Adela, both of us weak and frail. Antonio carried his sister off and Booka and Josh took me home, explaining to our parents what had happened.
"She used that stupid bond to find me a few times. She refused to help her brother track us down because she's forgiven me, so he took to following her when she would come to see me. Staying on the island became too dangerous and we moved up here. Adela and I don't meet up anymore. After the first few times my father had me train to block my mind from that link and I had to swear never to heal anyone's death again. And I never did." That statement was full of lies. Necessary lies, but lies none the less.
"So what aren't you telling us about you and Antonio? Did you see him again without us knowing?"
"No!" lie.
"Then since when are you two so close that you call him Tony?" Josh shouted.
"That was a mistake. A bad childhood habit. When he and Antan used to visit Adela that's what she would call him, and sometimes I would too. You guys must remember her calling him Tony whenever they were together? That's all it was!" that wasn't a complete lie. Adela had originally been the first to call him Tony.
"Are you sure that's the only reason? You're not hiding anything from me?" Booka asked as his eyes bore into mine. The bond between us was something I didn't want to risk by telling the truth, so I dug deep inside myself and denied it.
"I'm sure Booka. I would never keep anything from you."
"Then I guess we owe you an apology." Josh said.
"For what? Selling me out yet again Joshua? I knew I was right about you all along. You can't be trusted. I just can't believe I let you fool me into thinking we could actually get along." I said before getting up and storming back up to my room, locking the door behind me. After all those lies and all the horrible memories I'd dragged out, my brain needed a rest.