Chapter 18
Diana grabbed her overnight bag, walking slowly out the door of the room. The plan was that they were going to take a boat to London, where the coven was supposed to meet them at the port. Her dread had only grown all afternoon.
She had told Nick about Cassie's dream. He hadn't said anything, but she saw the look of disappointment in his eyes.
When she got downstairs, her fellow trip-mates were waiting, Nick being the only without a smile on his face. Aidan was there, lying on the couch . . . under a blanket?
She dropped her things, rushing over to him. "What's the matter, Aidan?"
He smiled at her lightly. "Oh, it's nothing, just a fever. The healers will be over in a little bit. Don't worry. You just have a good time. I'll be fit as a fiddle when you get back."
It all came clear to her. "We can't go on this trip."
He began to laugh but it ended in a cough. "Diana, I'll be okay. I've had fevers before, and I've lived."
She turned to look at the group. Nick had a questioning face, but Katherine knew what Diana meant. "Maybe we shouldn't go."
Aidan's face seemed to wrinkle, starting to get annoyed. "This is nonsense. You are going and that's final."
Katherine spoke to the group. "If you guys could leave the four of us alone for a minute?"
Everyone looked at each other, then turned and exited the room. Diana put her hands on Aidan's head, feeling extreme heat coming from under the skin. "Aidan, I don't want to bring this up, because I know it's probably a horrible memory for you, but do you remember what happened to you before your mother left?"
His face fell. He looked at Katherine, lips slightly parted, then back to Diana. "I have no clue what you're talking about."
"Don't lie to me. You remember. Nick and I have been having bad feelings about this since we first heard yesterday, Cassie had a dream that something bad was going to happen to both of us, and now you have a fever. Plain and simple. For the sake of your coven, we are not going."
He sat up quickly, so fast that he almost fell back to the couch. Diana caught him, but he still had the look on his face as if he had just been scorned. His accent was thick and his voice was strong. "This is my coven, Diana. You will not tell me what I will have it do. Now, you are all getting on that boat and meeting the new coven. Is that understood?"
She stood, taken aback. Nobody had ever spoke to her like that before. She looked to see that even Nick and Katherine were shocked. She turned back to her soulmate, feeling the pain in her heart take over her face. She spoke barely above a whisper. "Yes, Aidan. I understand. I guess we'll be going now."
She turned so that he couldn't see the tears in her eyes. She held her head high and started toward the door.
His voice came hushed, lighter than he had just spoken to her. "Diana, wait."
She kept walking, letting a tear slip down her cheek. She knew Nick and Katherine had started to follow her. No matter that her gut instinct was screaming for her to run upstairs and lock herself in her room, she kept heading out the door.