The Ghosts Who Loved Me
Allison
The grey-haired man kneels there for a moment longer, staring at me like he’s looking at a ghost. Then slowly, he rises. His hand lifts toward me, hesitant and trembling, like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he reaches too fast. I put my hand in his, allowing myself to stand in front of him. His smile warms before he speaks.
“My name is Arian,” he says, voice thick with something old and scraping and raw. “Arian Blackwood.” He breathes in deeply and unsteadily. “I… was your father’s best friend.”
My heart slams so hard it bruises something inside me.
“My… father?” I whisper. The word feels foreign in my mouth. I’ve never spoken it with meaning before.
Arian’s throat works around a sound that might be a suppressed sob. “Daelen Vaelor,” he says softly. “That was his name.”
Daelen Vaelor. My father had a name. A real name. A name I never knew, but one I know now I'll never forget.
Arian keeps talking, voice cracking. “He was a good man. One of the best I ever walked beside.” His hand stays warm around mine, like it's the only thing stopping him from breaking down right here. “And you… Gods, girl, the moment I saw you, I thought my heart was going to stop. You’ve clearly got his strength to have survived all this time on your own.”
My fingers move around his, squeezing once as my heart squeezes in my chest, before I let his hand go.
“And your mother…” a new voice murmurs, softly. I turn to see Vale step forward. She gently cups the back of my hand with her fingertips, her touch warm and tender.
“Seren Vaelor was one of my dearest friends,” she says. “She taught me how to lead, how to build a system that protects instead of punishes its people. Half of what keeps this rebellion standing… she created.” Her smile trembles. “She would be so proud of you.”
My chest tightens until it hurts. I feel a squeeze in my throat that I try to push down before I choke on it and cry.
Lyra, the fae emissary, moves in next. Her wings shimmer faintly with gold dust, flickering like sunlight caught in breath.
“I remember you when you were tiny,” Lyra whispers, voice musical. “You chased the floating lights I conjured until you fell. Seren laughed every time.” Her eyes soften. “You have her fire and her eyes.”
My vision blurs. I swallow hard, trying not to unravel.
Then the vampire steps forward. He's tall, elegant, a presence like liquid night. His red-tinted eyes narrow not with threat but… with care.
“Allison,” he says, voice deep and smooth. “Your parents saved my coven more than once. Seren protected us during the siege at Duskfall.” He extends a hand.
I flinch. It’s instinctive, violent...unwanted. My body remembers chains and fangs and burning iron before my mind does. Cassian moves instantly, sliding between us like a wall of steel and storm.
“She’s had a bad history with vampires,” he says quietly. Not apologising, just informing.
The vampire freezes....Then bows, low and respectful.
“We are not all like those who hurt you,” he says softly. “I apologise on behalf of my kind. No innocent should ever have been harmed by us, but unfortunately, not all creatures in this world are of the same like-minded nature.”
I nod softly, offering a small smile, and slowly reach out to take his hand. His touch is cool but not unkind.
"My name is Marek, and I am at your service, indebted to your parents."
"Thank you I say softly."
A robed figure steps forward next; he's thin and pale, with runes glowing faintly across his sleeves.
“I am Riven,” he murmurs. “Your father saved my life at the southern breach. Your mother saved my sister. Her magic was… extraordinary.” He bows slightly. “If you ever wish to learn runic mind-wards, I would be honoured to teach you.”
I nod again, offering another small smile because words seem to be failing me now. I fear that if I even try to speak, all that will come out is tears. My breath shudders as I inhale deeply, and then a mountain of a woman steps forward. She introduces herself as Cora. A bear-shifter, and she is built like a fortress wrapped in braids and muscle. She stops inches from me, looking into my face as though reading entire lifetimes from it.
“You’re Seren’s girl for sure,” she says, voice rumbling and warm. “Gods above and below… we thought you died.” A huge, gentle knuckle brushes my cheek. “Your mother protected every little one she could. Cubs. Pups. Fledglings. Anyone who couldn’t fight.” Her eyes soften. “It’s an honour to see you standing here with us, ready to join the cause.”
My breath is gone. My voice is gone. All that is left is a huge aching hole in my heart that I had long since stitched together by sheer will and determination. Now it's all torn and shredded and bleeding feelings over the floor.
Arian squeezes my hand and guides me gently down onto a cushion beside him.
“Your parents were leaders,” he says. “Real ones. Daelen could quiet a battlefield with a gesture. Seren could burn one down if it meant saving a life.” He smiles sadly. “They died protecting the people they loved and protecting you.”
My chest caves inward. Rhaziel moves behind me, his shadows curling over my shoulders, his tail wrapping my ankle, his presence anchoring every trembling piece of me. Evander rests a warm hand between my shoulder blades. Kael crouches beside me, thumb brushing my shin. Cassian keeps a steady hand on my shoulder, grounding me exactly the way I need without asking. Arian looks at each of them, then at me.
“You were never abandoned, Allison,” he says. “You were loved, deeply and profoundly. It's very important that you know that. They would want you to know that.”
A small, cracked sound escapes me. I didn’t mean to make it....But the truth is finally settling into my bones. My parents didn’t leave me. They didn’t throw me away. They didn’t choose the world over me...They died fighting for me. And somehow, by some impossible miracle...I lived.