Chapter Twenty-One

My internal alert system goes off making me feel very anxious and aware of my surroundings, I’m thankful that I am in the middle of a very crowded place. I nod at the guy “yes, I am. What can I do for you?”

He smiles warmly at me “there is no need to fear me Falencia, I am a cousin and ally to you.”

I look at him in disbelief. “What are you talking about? I’ve met all of my family.”

“You don’t know that you’re adopted?” He asks looking at Freyja with an interest.

I raise my eyebrow at him “adopted?” I ask, hoping that my act is convincing this guy.

“This girl.” He says pointing at Freyja “seems to know exactly what I’m talking about.”

I look at Freyja who seems to be in some kind of trance. “What the hell are you doing?” I ask as I reach out to Freyja.

“Reading her mind. I can’t seem to get into this girls mind though.” He says pointing to Cherie.

I bust out laughing, unable to help myself “You’re delusional.” I say and pull Freyja and Cherie with me towards the parking lot to our car.

As soon as we’re out of the mall and into our car, I put it in reverse with the guy still staring at me, and pull out of my parking spot. “Call mom and tell her we’re going to Fenirick’s place and to meet us there, not to pack up anything just to meet us.” I tell Freyja who is still in a state of shock.

“H-How did he know who you are? How co-could he get into my mind? I-I-I felt him i-in my head!” She stumbles with her words as she explains how it felt for him to be rifling through her thoughts. “D-do you think that’s how he knew that you were adopted? W-wh-what does he want with you, and why was that older guy at the apartment this morning looking for you?”

I grip the steering wheel of Freyja’s car tightly to where my knuckles go white as I head out of town towards Fenirick’s. “I honestly don’t know Frey, but I’m starting to think that our plan of waiting has just gone out the window. With people starting to look for me, I don’t know if I can safely stay here.”

I breathe a sigh of relief as soon as the packhouse comes into view. My thoughts are whirring around my head that I almost miss Cherie’s question.

“How do you think he knew who you were?”

I take a deep breath to think about the question before I answer her. “I honestly don’t know, Berik said that all of my documents state that I am her biological daughter, and no one would bat an eye, as I look so very similar to both Berik and Freyja, that we could be biologically related. So either they’re grasping at straws to try to find me, because if the prophecy is true, I only have another year or two maximum to figure out how to control whatever powers are going to pop up and deal with the downfall that I’m supposed to cause.”

“That is honestly too much to put on a teenager’s shoulders. Hell, there are many adults who are in their thirties that don’t know what the hell they’re doing, so in all honesty this prophecy sounds like a lot, and unfair.”

I shrug “I haven’t really thought about how to feel about all of this. I know what I was showed and what I’ve seen with my own two eyes, but there’s a side of me that is still processing the majority of everything that I’ve learned since my birthday, I don’t everything has fully sunk in yet, if I’m being completely honest.”

I pull the car into the last empty parking space in the garage and turn off the engine, as Fenirick comes out. “Everything ok girls? Berik just called me frantic.”

I blow out a gust of air that I was holding. “Honestly, I don’t know, but I don’t think I’m safe here anymore.”

“Berik told me about the visitor you had this morning.” He says worriedly.

“Actually, it was noon, but either way, I don’t think I can stay here any longer. If what you say is true, and is going to come about, if there are people who are truly hunting me, I feel I may have been found.”

“What do you mean ‘if’?” Fenirick asks.

“To be completely honest, Everything hasn’t fully set in, I know what I was showed and even then my brain doesn’t want to fully accept that it is real.” I explain.

“I can understand that it truly is a lot to process.”

“Yeah, it really is.” I say taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

“Why don’t we go inside and plan the next step.” Fenirick says giving me a side hug and leading us into the house.

As we walk into the house, I notice that there are a lot more people than there was the last time I was here. “Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said this place gets packed on the weekends.”

He chuckles “Yeah, weekends are pretty busy, Saturday being the busiest.”

“Hey! I thought we were meeting up later?” Addam says as he comes into the living area from the kitchen holding a bottle of water.

“About that.” I reply.

“He looks at me, you’re seriously rethinking going to prom with me, this close to the time?” He asks defeatedly.

“Yes, but not for the reasons you’re thinking.” I say trying to figure out how to explain what’s going on.

“What reasons then?” He asks, coming to stand next to me.

“Remember the guy I told you about and said that I got a crepey vibe from?”

“Yeah, what happened?”

“He asked if I was Falencia Black, and somehow read Freyja’s mind.” I say running my hand over my face, starting to feel drained.

Addam puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into him. “So, what are our options?”

“Well, with the guy showing up on Berik’s doorstep and now this guy coming out of the blue and asking her if she is who she is, I think we can safely say that it isn’t safe here for her anymore. I think we might have to start your road trip a little early.” Cherie says with sincerity.

“I don’t know if leaving right now would be the best option, I mean, if they do in fact think that they are hot on Falencia’s trail, wouldn’t us leaving kind of show that they in fact are?” Freyja replies.

I slump into the nearest seat feeling utterly defeated. “Honestly, I feel as if I’ve been cornered between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, if we leave then we have the opportunity to actually get out of here before too much damage has been done, but on another hand, I feel like it would alert these people that they were on the right trail all along.”

“This is a decision no seventeen-year-old should have to make!” Berik says as she walks into the room.

I take a deep breath reigning in the tears that are threatening to spill over onto my cheeks as Addam rubs soothing circles on my back. “Whatever the decision is, just know that we all have your back.”

As I start to feel myself calming down, Fenirick walks into the room with the guy who came to the apartment earlier today along with the boy who cornered us in the mall.