Chapter 96 Reunion

Chapter 96 Reunion
Chapter 96: Scarlett
The war was over. But my pain remained.
How could it even go away? How could I begin to live with the new grief?
It was already hard living without my parents. Not knowing if they were alive or not… it was already hard surviving without my younger brother, Blade—
“Oh goddess,” I whimpered as tears filled my eyes again.
With all of this pain, how was I supposed to add Aunt Emily to that list?
And this time, it wasn’t an uncertain feeling… it was real. I knew what had happened because I saw it myself.
She wasn’t lost or wounded or simply dispersed by war. She was gone.
She was dead.
My tears flowed even faster as thoughts came to me like a storm. I saw the scene happening before my eyes again…
There was this pain in my chest that I couldn’t ignore. It was like a feeling that I had to do something.
I had to find something or someone to replace the pain.
As for Axel, it was easy. At least he had Violet and his baby by his side.
But I had no one.
No mate. No one to keep me company. No one to hold me when it began to feel like my chest wanted to explode.
And I just couldn’t deal. I couldn’t continue like this…
I had to find a way to live with this. A way to get distracted enough to forget.
With this in mind, I slowly walked to my window and watched as the kingdom went on with their usual lives.
To the common wolf on the streets, called this victory. To them, Willow and her shadows were gone.
Yet to me, each time I closed my eyes, I saw my aunt’s dying smile. I saw the way her body fell apart… I saw her body being dropped into that casket six feet under.
And each time, it broke something inside of me. I fell deeper into my grief.
Even though I knew that it was wrong, I couldn’t bring myself to stop it… it was too hard to pretend like she wasn’t gone…
So of course, watching the people go about their normal lives, didn’t help in keeping me distracted. If anything, it made my pain worse.
I needed something more… I needed someone.
Instantly, a cold tremor coursed through my body and my mind instantly went to the crystal ball I brought back.
I had found it on our way out of the old palace. It was what Willow used to bend her magic.
And somehow I just couldn’t let it go.
I could have burned it along with her other items. But I kept this one safe. Because I had plans for it.
If she could use it to manipulate magic, then surely we could use it too.
Fiona was already very good with magic, using the crystal would only enhance her abilities further— Which was exactly what we needed, if Willow ever returned.
But for now, I could use it for something else.
I moved closer to it. The crystal was a pulsing ball of black glass.
As I stared into it, my head became full of thoughts. From what had happened; my grief and something else…
Something I couldn’t quite put a finger on. But I knew that I needed it.
I knew that I had to find it. Whether it was a person or an object…
But whatever it was; “You are going to help me find it,” I whispered to the dark ball before me.
Taking a deep breath, I let my fingers hover above it and then I closed my eyes.
I had no idea what I was doing. But I didn’t stop.
I focused my concentration on whatever force could be in the crystal ball and waited.
Yet nothing happened.
I tried again. But this time, I made sure to channel all of the pain I felt into the crystal ball before me.
I thought of how Axel was coping with the loss… I thought of how the common people were coping and I wished I could also find a way…
Suddenly the atmosphere in the room shifted.
The air instantly turned cold. And then strange voices began to whisper in my ears.
At first I thought I was only imagining them, but no. They were real.
“Scarlett… daughter of Talon…” they whispered.
My breath caught as cold filled my chest.
“There are three wishes for the broken heart…”
The voices were like a choir singing in a language that didn’t belong in our realm, yet, I understood them.
“Th—three wishes?” I repeated. “Can you grant me that?”
“Anyone who holds us gets the power to become whoever they want… what do you want, child of Talon?” They chorused.
My hands were trembling at this point, but the ache inside me swelled. And the rational part of me was shut down.
“My brother!” I blurted out before I could even think. “Please show me Blade Black, my little brother who we lost.”
My throat tightened as I waited with burning anticipation.
Yet for a moment, nothing happened.
Then suddenly, just like how the voices started, a bright light shot out of the crystal ball. Changing its color instantly from black to white.
The light grew brighter, spiking across the walls until it burned with the image of a face.
My heart stopped as my eyes recognized the face before me.
“Bee?”
As if the crystal ball felt offended by the shock in my voice, it instantly went dead. And a familiar voice spoke behind me.
“You didn’t have to waste the wish, Princess.”
I turned sharply, to find Fiona standing in the doorway. Her expression was caught between sadness and guilt.
And her eyes said everything before her lips could even more.
My heart flipped. “Is it true?” I blurted out, my voice barely audible.
She nodded once. “The brother you’ve been searching for,” she said softly, “he’s been here all along.”
The words hit me hard. Too hard.
I didn’t even know what to feel. Or even process the news—
“But Bee is human?” I heard myself saying. “How can he be…”
The words died on my tongue as footsteps echoed in the room and then Bee himself appeared.
His face was streaked with tears. His chest heaving as though he had been struggling with pain… but when his gaze landed on me, I saw it.
I couldn’t deny the resemblance anymore… From the very first day I met him, I thought he had my mother’s eyes…
He felt too familiar… but they said he was a lost human boy…
“I taught him how to suppress his Lycan side for his safety,” Fiona added, “he is not just human. He is a hybrid. The perfect blend of a Lycan and a human.”
As if powered by her words, the crystal before me, flared again. And this time, it turned its light like a spotlight over Bee.
And my memories started flowing back…
Fiona had always called him my brother. She had made the slip so many times but I always assumed that they were nothing but slips.
“Help your brother…” Fiona had told him back at the old palace when he helped Axel.
And he had done it without complaint. He did it like it was his responsibility. Not just that, the way he had taken care of me.
They way he kept risking his life to make sure that I was safe. The way he dealt with Luciano…
“Oh goddess,” I cried as it finally clicked.
It was true. Bee was indeed Blade. My missing younger brother.
My knees weakened in both relief and shock, but I still crossed the room to where he stood.
“Bee— why didn’t you— Why didn’t you tell me?! Why did you hide this from me all this time?”
“Scarlett—” he choked, holding my trembling wrists. “I am so sorry… but I was scared. I thought you wouldn’t want me. That you would push me away. That if I said I was Blade, you’d look at me like I was a stranger—”
“Yes, you are a stranger!” I screamed, the words tearing from my throat raw and jagged. “Because my brother, my Blade will not lie to me. They will not keep their identity from me!”
“I am so sorry…” he cried, his body shaking as the tears fell. “I was being a coward… I should have—“
The word stuck in his throat as tremors of pain shot through him. And I could not watch anymore.
His pain broke me and my anger melted away.
With a sob, I threw my arms around him and we both cried.
He clung to me like he was drowning, and I clung back because I couldn’t lose him again.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what he must have gone through by the hands of those who bought him. I couldn’t imagine how scared he must have been…
“Oh my dear little brother…” I whispered through my tears. “I should have been there for you… I tried— we tried searching for you everywhere… I am so sorry.”
His grip tightened. And he croaked out; “It’s okay Scarlett… all of that is over now… I have found you and Axel and that’s all that matters.”
His statement clicked something inside of me and I quickly broke away from the hug. I took his hand and started leading him out.
“I need to tell Axel and the others. They must know that our Blade is back!”