"Sweetie, it's time to wake up."
Nadia slowly opened her eyes as the sound of a soft voice awoke her from her slumber. For a moment, she was disoriented. She could tell that she was not in her room, but didn't immediately recognize the white walls or the blue comforter which surrounded her.
As her vision cleared, however, the sight of a large figure standing at the foot of the bed made her sigh with relief.
It was Aunt Shelley, holding a breakfast tray with a gentle smile on her face.
Nadia remembered now. She had come to her Aunt's apartment at the top of the White Tower after fleeing the scene at the Godfrey Manor. She had still been frantic when she had arrived, but Shelley had held her patiently while she wept, and spent the night answering her questions until she finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
"What time is it?" The girl muttered as she rubbed her eyes. The sun had risen by the time she managed to calm down and climb into the guest bed. Nadia figured that she had only managed to get a few hours of rest.
"Almost two o'clock." Shelley replied, placing the tray on the bedside table before sitting down in a nearby chair. "You looked so peaceful and I figured you needed time to recover- I didn't want to wake you sooner."
Nadia sat up quickly, surprised that she had slept for so long. She had probably needed it after the stress of the previous night. Her body still felt jittery, and the slight feeling of nausea had not abated, but it all probably would have been much worse if she had not slept.
Her Aunt, as always, had made the right decision.
"Thanks for letting me stay," she said, swinging her feet over the side of the bed. "I should probably call Peter. And dad. I told them I'd get in touch in the morning. They must be freaking out by now."
Shelley placed a comforting hand on her arm. "Don't worry Nadia, I called them hours ago. They know you're here, but I asked them not to come until you're ready. Your dad understands, and he isn't going to push you to come home until you're comfortable."
Nadia nodded, thankful that her Aunt had dealt with her dad and Uncle Peter.
To be perfectly honest, she wasn't sure how she felt about the situation at the moment.
She still loved her dad, of course. And a part of her craved the familiarity of home. But that didn't change the fact that he had been hiding a massive secret from her her entire life. And, after what she had seen, she had to admit that a part of her was afraid of him.
Last night, Shelley had told her more about upirs and how her father had struggled over the years. And while she was sympathetic to his plight, that didn't change the fact that he was capable of doing a lot of damage. Nadia knew he would never hurt her, but it would take her a while to get over what she had seen last night.
It was still difficult to reconcile the bloodthirsty monster with the father she had always loved.
"How are you feeling?"
She turned towards her aunt, instantly comforted by the concern in her eyes. Despite it all, she knew that this was still a safe place, and she was thankful for that. Shelley had always been the closest thing she had to a mother figure and, as her aunt had explained last night, Shelley had been spared from the Godfrey curse.
Shelley was not upir, and she had never lied to her niece.
"Okay." Nadia replied quickly. "Not great. Still overwhelmed." She amended.
Her aunt nodded.
"I know it is a lot to take in, sweetie." Shelley began tenderly. "I wasn't sure what to think when I first found out what my mother and brother were. But I came to realize that Roman always had been, and always would be, the brother who loved me and took care of me. In the end, that matters more than anything else."
Nadia nodded, wanting to agree. Shelley had always had a way of seeing the best in a situation—but the girl wasn't sure if she was strong enough to do the same.
With a deep sigh, she reached for a piece of bacon from the breakfast tray, devouring it quickly to ease her rumbling stomach.
A comfortable silence fell between them as she ate. Nadia had always liked that Aunt Shelley enjoyed the quiet. She was a woman of few words—but when she spoke, she always made it count.
"What about your mother?" Nadia asked, placing down her fork.
The topic of Olivia had come up last night, but they hadn't discussed it in depth. Nadia had been more concerned about her father, and the revelation that a whole supernatural world existed.
She still wasn't sure what to make of her newly discovered grandmother, however. Clearly her father hated the woman, and Peter didn't trust her either—but Nadia could not deny the instant bond she had felt the night before.
And, although Olivia had instigated last night's drama, it had seemed like she had been on Nadia's side. She hadn't lied to her. She had wanted her granddaughter to know the truth.
Didn't she deserve some credit for that?
"Mother is…complicated." Shelley began softly, her gaze directed down towards the marble floor of her spotless apartment.
"Your father and I both had an interesting upbringing. Mother was never affectionate, but I always knew that a part of her cared. Even for me. She wasn't a good mother in the conventional sense, but she was always there when we needed her." She paused, as if recalling a distant memory. "And there was a time, shortly after you were born, that it seemed as if she had changed. Some of the medication Uncle Johann was giving her brought out her softer side. For a moment, she was the sort of mother I had always dreamt of. But it didn't last."
Nadia nodded sympathetically. She could tell from the tremor in her voice that none of this was easy for her Aunt to talk about, but she appreciated her willingness to share.
"She was terminally ill, and scared, and she acted selfishly." Shelley continued with a sigh. "As you may know, mother and Roman had a huge falling out after that. Mother claimed that she regretted her actions, and begged for our forgiveness, but Roman wasn't willing to hear it. I can't say I blame him, of course. She killed two people to save her own life, and she should not be forgiven for that."
The girl felt her breath catch in her throat.
Killed two people?
She found it difficult to picture the elegant woman she had met last night committing such acts. But, then again, Olivia was an upir and could probably be just as fierce and deadly as her father had looked last night.
A shiver ran down her spine.
"I haven't seen her since then." Shelley noted, a hint of sadness in her voice. "But she has reached out to me a few times over the years, asking for my understanding. I couldn't stand to hear the sound of her voice at first but, eventually, I managed to hear the genuineness in her words. I have been told I am naive, too trusting, but there had been enough moments in my life when I have seen glimpses of what she can be. Olivia Godfrey has done some truly terrible things, but she is still a mother—and a grandmother—and she is capable of love. I am sure of that."
"Do you think she loves me?" Nadia asked softly. She knew it was a silly thing to ask, and she felt like a helpless child almost as soon as the question left her lips.
But the vulnerable part of her wanted to know. She had always wanted to part of a larger family—to have a grandmother she could turn to. Despite it all, a part of her still hoped that could one day come to pass.
"I'm sure she does." Shelley said, patting Nadia's shoulder with one of her heavily bandaged hands. "As you may have guessed, mother is very proud of bring upir—which is why I was always a bit of a disappointment. But you and Roman…to her, you are perfection itself."
The girl snorted finding it absurd, at first, that anyone would see being a bloodthirsty upir as a good thing.
But another part of her, a part she was ashamed of, felt a slight flush of happiness.
She couldn't lie to herself—even though she knew it would make her father angry, she still wanted to give the woman a chance and she hoped that he had not banished her once again.
"Try to think about all of it for a little while, Nadia." Shelley said soothingly. "Enjoy your breakfast. And perhaps we can go for a walk on the grounds after. Whatever you feel like."
Grateful, Nadia smiled up at her. It was ironic that the most frightening looking Godfrey was, in fact, the only one who posed no threat.
The only one who was safe.
"Thanks for everything, Aunt Shelley." She said, feeling calmer than she had since this ordeal had begun.
"Anything for my favourite niece." Shelley replied.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Olivia stared out of the manor's dusty window, her white dress elegantly accentuating her statuesque body.
The house was oppressively silent, and even the warm glow of the afternoon sun had done little to change the dreary atmosphere around her.
Last night had not gone entirely according to plan, and the Godfrey matriarch was not pleased.
It was good, of course, that Nadia knew the truth now. But perhaps the shocking way that it had been revealed had been too much for the girl. Olivia had not wanted to let Roman hide what he was, but seeing her father quench his thirst had been overwhelming for her.
Nadia had fled quickly, before the grandmother had had a chance to explain or take her under her wing.
Olivia had always been one for drama but, it appeared, her flair had backfired on her once again.
She knew, however, that all was not lost.
Perhaps the girl just needed a bit of time to come to terms with things. And, while Roman was undoubtedly furious with her (as always) he had been too distracted by his daughter to banish her from the town.
Shortly after Nadia had left, her son had followed, desperate to apologise for who he was.
Olivia had found the entire thing pathetic, and she wasn't sure what had happened next. She hoped that her son hadn't spent the night poisoning Nadia against her and took comfort in the fact that he was probably too preoccupied with winning his daughter back to care too much about his mother. Although she was impatient, Olivia was willing to take a bit of a step back and wait for an opportunity to reach out once again.
Perhaps it would take years, or even decades, but she was determined to have Roman and Nadia by her side.
The sound of a distant creak gave her a sudden jolt, and she snapped her head around quickly. It was not unusual for the historic manor to bend and groan, but Olivia had been a bit more cautious than usual after a few recent incidents.
She had dealt with her share of hunters and enemies over the years and the most recent nuisance had been a vigilante group of slayers based in Milan. They were armatures, compared to some of the people she had encountered in the past, but she'd had a bit of a close call with one of them during her last trip to Paris. The woman had caught her off guard, and somehow managed to escape with her life. That was a rare thing indeed, when Olivia Godfrey was involved.
Ever since, seemingly harmless creaks and knocks had put Olivia more on edge than usual.
She knew it was absurd to think that the pesky Italians had tracked her all the way to this pitiful Pennsylvania town, thousands of miles away, but she could not ignore the annoying prickle at the back of her neck.
"Bloody paranoid." She muttered to herself as she drew a deep breath.
Nevertheless, there was strength in numbers, and Olivia did not relish the thought of spending another night in the manor alone. Even if her fears were imaginary.
Straightening her back, the upir grabbed her white coat off of a nearby chair and threw it around her shoulders.
It couldn't hurt to take a little drive. Perhaps she would pass by Roman's house and, if she happened to encounter members of her defiant family, maybe they could continue things where they had left off.
Victory would still be hers.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
She watched, silently, as the deadly upir got into the white Porche.
She had allies stationed throughout the property and, while they had not managed an early attack, Maria was not worried.
Quite the contrary, in fact.
As Olivia revved up the car and made a left turn, the woman could not hold back a smile. She pressed the small red button on her handheld device and brought it up to her mouth.
"The target it on the move." She said, quietly yet forcefully. "Heading west on Oakwood Avenue. She must be going to the hive. Get ready to move out."
"Copy that. Over."
As Olivia's car turned the corner, Maria sat up in her seat, no longer worried about detection. She stuck her keys into the ignition and eagerly awaited the arrival of the others.
Her monitors showed her that only one upir had been at the manor that day, but that others were definitely present in the town.
If her suspicions were correct, Olivia would lead them straight to the others…
Before the night was over, all of the Godfrey abominations would be eliminated, once and for all.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
For the first time in nearly twenty-four hours, Roman smiled.
To say that the day had been long and torturous would have been an understatement, and the worried father had spent much of the last several hours sprawled out on the living room couch, anxiously waiting to hear from his daughter or Shelley.
He had known that his sister was right not to force Nadia to come home. "She'll come when she's ready." The woman had said when they had spoken on the phone that morning.
On one level, Roman agreed—his little girl had seen a lot last night, and she needed time and space. But the protective father in him just wanted to hold his princess in his arms and never let go.
It was agony not having her there, and not knowing when (or if) she would be ready to return. He hadn't eaten or slept, despite Peter's attempts to reassure him and snap him out of his daze.
But the buzz of his phone in his pocket had sent a frantic wave of hope through his system and he had retrieved the item to find that his optimism had not been misplaced.
Nadia says she wants to come home tonight. I'll dive her. We should be there soon. Love Shelley.
As soon as he finished reading the text, he jumped up off the couch.
"Peter, she's on her way home!" He shouted, unable to contain his joy.
He was still worried of course. Not sure how things would be between them or what he would say.
But at least she would be there. That was a start.
Eagerly, he straightened his hair in the nearest mirror and rubbed his cheeks in an attempt to bring a bit of colour to his deathly pale face.
"Nadia is coming home." He said softly to himself, scarcely able to believe that she was willing to return so soon. "Everything is going to be okay."
At that moment, he could not have known how wrong he was…
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A/N—Sorry if that was a bit slow. The next chapter should contain the action packed climax, and I have two more wrap-up chapters planned after that. Please let me know what you think!
Big thanks to Anglesinstead for being such a loyal reader! I'm glad at least one person is hanging in there :)
