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40
Aurora tilted her head gently, a genuine look of confusion crossing her face. “‘Do’ to them?”

I gestured towards Aiden and Clyde, irritation clear and thick in my voice. “Why are they acting weird all of a sudden? Is this more magic-bullshit to try and get them against me?” I sniffed the air, trying to see if I recognized any of Aurora’s signature scents. But, no; it was just the herbal fragrance of tea. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Magic against companions is not something we practice often.” Dia tried to set a reassuring hand on mine, only for me to pull back and cross them tightly around my chest. She sighed, hand settling on top of the journal once more as she continued. “What you see from Mr. Lowell and Mr. Ayers is nothing more than respect.”

I gave the boys another look. Aiden leaned far into the couch, cup sitting against his lap as he gave a nervous shrug.

“I respect the Marillys Witch,” Clyde scoffed. “And I have no choice but to respect Dia.”

Even that didn’t seem to phase Dia, still grinning like a braindead idiot. “Well, I wholeheartedly accept any sort of respect, Mr. Ayers.”

Another scoff cleared Clyde’s throat as he turned his head from the conversation.

“Oh, but that’s a story for another day,” Dia chuckled, shifting the journal in her lap as she held it upright, giving me a full view of its cover. “You’re here to ask about the Custodial Prophecy, yes? I suppose it was only a matter of time.”

“I did warn you that simply telling the alphas would not work,” Aurora chided.

“Yes, I know, I know,” Dia laughed. “But I suppose I’ve always been one for dramatics.”

I don’t think my scowl could’ve gotten any darker at that point.

“Gracious, that’s quite the look.” Dia clicked her tongue, opening the book back onto her lap as she flipped carefully through the pages. “I suppose you did inherit something from your father after all...ah, here we go.” She once more sat the journal upright, giving me a full view of what looked to be a frequently-visited page. The spine easily shifted, showcasing similar drawings I’d seen of lycanthrope nearly a month or so ago. The main picture was similar in design, showing the faintest outline of a humanoid figure with two lycanthropes standing on either side of them. One’s body was scribbled with ink, the other left empty and yellowed as the pages themselves.

“The story is as ancient as time itself,” Dia began. “Just around the time when the first few clans were stepping out of the safety of the forests. It is said that--”

“Dia,” I curtly cut her off. “I’m going to need the expedited version.”

She looked somewhat put off, only for a light, bell-like giggling to come from Aurora. “I warned you she would be impatient, Dia dear.”

Only now did Dia’s good mood seem to falter. “Well, I was all ready to weave a story rich in ancient traditions and long-lost ways, but, as you wish.” She set the book against my lap, pointing to the humanoid figure with a tap of her acrylic nail. “Aria Harvey, we witches of Ayersville believe you to be the bringer of peace and harmony between the Duskfall and Northerner clan. You are their uniter--their ‘Custodian’, if you would--and will finally put a stop to their seemingly endless conflict!”

I genuinely hadn’t expected her to be so blunt. My mind was so focused on readying for a fight, an agonizing back-and-forth with the witches in a desperate bid to peel some semblance of sense from them. I was just...caught completely off-guard.

“But, Aria’s been in Ayersville for weeks now,” Aiden jumped in, trying to save us from the silence. “Why only bring this up now?”

“Yeah, would’ve been helpful to know way earlier,” Clyde snapped.

Aurora shrugged her shoulders, a sleepy smile crossing her face. “Prophecies do not work the way you would expect. We witches can write hundreds, maybe thousands, in our lifetime, but never see any of them come to fruition.”

“Aurora is especially famous for that,” Dia teased. “But all it takes is the right person, in the right place, at the right time, to activate a prophecy’s beginning.” She tapped the page once more, forcing my attention on the humanoid figure. With each second that passed, its proportions became more detailed, filling out to form a far more feminine shape. I winced, hand suddenly recoiling from the page as a prick of blood flowed out from my fingertip, racing across the creases to fill in around the picture’s head as a mess of wild hair.

“H-Holy shit…” By all accounts, it looked like a simplistic interpretation of me.

“But you have been aware of this for quite some time, have you not, Aria? Aurora asked. “Perhaps not consciously so, but your time spent here in our town has brought forth a strange...longing, has it not?”

A sickening wave rolled through my stomach; she’d hit the nail right on the head. “D-Does my Dad know about this? About me being a...you know?”

Dia began to shake her head, but paused about midway through. “Well, yes and no. Your father has certainly familiarized himself with this prophecy, but we haven’t yet told him of your role to play.”

“We had only told the alphas about it recently,” Aurora added. “Though, the prophecy had begun to awaken after the matter with the exiled.”

I could hear Clyde’s blood pressure rising at the mention of Trevor. “So, you did keep this secret, then?” he hissed.

“I suppose we did, in a way,” Aurora said.

“But it seemed like a bit much to take in at the time,” Dia added hastily. “I promise you, Aria, that everything I’ve done up until this point has been for your sake. After all, wasn’t I more than happy to share information about lycanthropes with you?”

She had a point. And, honestly, I was just glad the two witches were being so open about all of this. No crazy-zen riddles to try and decipher, no double-meanings to take into account; all this considered, this was a relatively easy-to-take-in bomb they’d just dropped. “So, what happens now?” I asked. “I get a button with this shiny, new title on it, and tell all the lycanthropes to get along?”

Aiden grimaced slightly as another huff came from Clyde. “I...then, you’re really going to go along with this, Aria?”

“Do I really have a choice?” I asked, holding the book up to show the picture of me in the middle. “Like, this thing literally stole my blood to paint that hair, Aiden. I think it’s pretty safe to say I’m part of all your business, now.” There was something oddly satisfying about saying that; I fought hard to hold back a smirk. “A-And anyway, haven’t I always said you and Clyde’s packs should get along? I mean, look how well we all get along?”

“Willingly get along,” Clyde added. “And no offense, Aria, but I don’t think everyone in the packs feel the same way Aiden and I do about--” he stopped, a flash of red skirting across his face as he once more turned away from the conversation.