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39
Something ethereal blew past as the wind caught against my back. It rolled across my back like a barely-visible wave across the ocean, striking against the boys’ chests as a strange, almost glazed look came over their faces. Their wolfish features quickly retracted, returning Aiden and Clyde to normal as ‘glazed’ quickly shifted to ‘dazed’.

“S-Sorry, Aria,” Clyde mumbled under his breath.

“I...I don’t know what came over me,” Aiden added apologetically.

I hadn’t, either. The stick fell from my hands as they began trembling, forcing me to stick them in my jacket pockets. “S-So, now that we established fighting won’t help, can I please just get some answers?” Adrenaline quickly turned to tears as I blinked furiously. “Vanessa made it s-sound like my life was going to be ruined by this. I--what’s the Custodian supposed to do?”

The boys exchanged looks between each other, genuine guilt shimmering in their eyes. “If Vanessa’s not lying about this,” Clyde began. “Then it’s possible she wasn’t supposed to know.”

“Dad’s not one to keep major secrets from me,” Aiden added. “It wouldn’t help me in becoming the next Alpha.”

I let out a loud groan, hand running through my hair and making it a tangled mess.

“But,” Aiden added quickly, sloshing out of the water and taking my hands into his. “I know people who can tell us. Dia and Aurora are the ones who hold onto this kind of stuff; I’d bet you anything they’re the ones who told the Alphas about your place in this prophecy.”

“Why the hell are we waiting around here, then?” Clyde had long-since stepped out of the water, shaking down like the dog he was before starting down the path. “Library’s just down this way--hurry up, Northerner!”

The rage I’d seen before had all but vanished in Aiden’s eyes. If anything, the jab seemingly registered as witless banter to him. “I’m happy to carry you, if--”

I shoved Aiden lightly in the chest, setting off into a jog behind Clyde. “Don’t think I can’t out-pace you, Aiden Lowell!” I only caught the tail-end of his grin while turning my attention forward.

Clyde’s body was barely visible through the brush, cutting a path that I could easily use. Aiden quickly caught up and a small part of me knew he had purposefully slowed his pace for my sake. But there was no time to think about any of that; those witches were buzzing around my head, rekindling the rage I’d smothered once the boys made their ignorance obvious.

“And Vanessa,” I gritted my teeth, feeling the fire fully ignite in my chest. I’d figure out how to deal with her later.

Chapter Twenty-Two  

W

e were all careful not to cause a scene upon entering the library. Maybe if it had just been me (or Clyde, honestly), there would’ve been more of a public disturbance. But with Aiden having come back from his mental spiral, the three of us managed to keep our collective cool. Quickly walking between the shelves, I led the way towards Dia’s office, retracing my steps from the last time Laura had brought me here. Luckily, the building itself wasn’t all that big; it took mere minutes before I’d found the door once more.

Clyde leaned around me and grabbed the knob first, twisting and yanking it before I could even ball my fist to knock. There, in the center of the room, sat not just Dia, but Nurse Aurora as well, both with cups of tea in hand. The two witches didn’t even seem in mid-conversation, only looking towards us expectantly with frustratingly serene smiles on their faces.

“Well, do come in, won’t you?” Dia asked. “We’ve just finished a new pot for all of you.”

My eyes darted to the table again, catching three empty tea cups as the sound of a whistling kettle sounded off behind us. Something pushed my feet to move a few steps forward, allowing the door to close on its own behind us. Aiden and Clyde looked equally ruffled, glancing down at their own bodies before all three of us looked back at the witches.

Aurora stood up first, silky black hair pulled into a gentle braid and threaded with the typical, floral arrangement I’d come to expect. Dia, meanwhile, remained seated, wild blonde hair pinned back as usual while an all-knowing smile spread across her richly-dark face.

“We thought you would be on your way, soon,” Aurora began, once more gesturing to the couches and table. “So we decided to all meet in the same place. Makes it easier to share delicate information, yes?”

Aiden stepped forward to speak, but I stepped straight past him, dropping onto the couch beside Dia while taking my cup in hand. A stream of hot liquid came twisting out from the kettle on the stove, tumbling through the air before settling gently into my cup. I gestured to the boys, they exchanged looks. But, with a sigh, Aiden gave in first and followed my lead.

“I’ll stand, thanks,” Clyde growled, stubbornly leaning against the door’s frame.

We sat in silence for a moment, my icy glare fixated on Dia. Out of everyone here, she was the one who had all the answers last time. And she seemed well aware of it, only continuing to wear that grin of hers while leaning towards a table lamp. From underneath the table lamp she pulled a familiarly-worn journal up onto her lap, its leather-bound title just as eerie as the first time I’d laid eyes on it.

The entering point to the world of lycanthropy.

Aiden was continuously sizing up the situation, eyes flickering about nervously as he took sips of tea. Clyde remained sullen by the door, arms crossed tightly, but unwilling to make the first move. Even the witches, who obviously knew why we were here, were just glancing between everyone with that stupid, seemingly clueless smile on their face.

“I’m about three seconds away from throwing that book at the window,” I finally hissed, “unless you start explaining things, Dia.”

Dia chuckled lightly, trying to hide her mirth beneath her hand. “And you were so keen on preserving it before, Miss Aria! Don’t be angry; it’s not the book’s fault it only now gleaned your possible influence.”

“Such a curious thing, fate is,” Aurora added absentmindedly. “I do wonder why it chose now to reveal its true intentions?”

My hand moved on its own, reaching forward to snatch the book as promised. But much to my surprise, Aiden’s quickly found its way around my wrist, gently-- but firmly--holding it in place. There was this look in his eyes, a clear warning directed my way; don’t piss off the powerful witches. So, I sat back down in my seat, eyeing Clyde off to the side to see if he agreed. I’m not sure if it was more comforting to see that he, too, had a similar look or not.

“Okay, what’d you do to them?” I asked.