Chapter 417 Don't Trust Her

Chapter 417 Don't Trust Her
Hope Elara's POV

The first thing I did after reaching my study was write down every name from the dream.

I stared at the list for a long moment.

Then my phone rang.

Derek.

I watched his name flash across the screen.

For a second, I couldn't bring myself to answer.

I let it go to voicemail.

The screen went dark.

A second later...

It lit up again.

Derek.

I took a deep breath and answered.

"Hope Elara?"

He sounded just as shaken as I felt.

"Yeah."

The single word came out heavier than I expected.

"That has never happened to me before," he said.

"You were there."

"Did you see it too?"

"I'm still new to all of this, Brother."

I rubbed my forehead.

"I think I'm still in shock."

"I saw everything."

"So did Valduz."

The study door opened.

Valduz walked in with his father.

Both of them looked worried.

"Are you all right?" Mr. Valduz asked.

"I think so."

Valduz handed me a glass of apple juice.

I took it with a shaky hand.

"Something insane just happened."

"Is that Savage?" Mr. Valduz asked.

"Why are you talking to him?"

"She summoned both of us," I explained.

"It all felt real."

"As real as the three of us standing here."

"Where were you when it started?" Derek asked.

"Did you know you were dreaming?"

The two men looked at me, waiting for my answer.

"No."

"I was getting ready to take a bath."

"I was in my apartment in Paris."

"I was looking at the Eiffel Tower."

"That's when I realized I hadn't been there in almost a year."

"I didn't end up in that creepy nursery until I opened the bathroom door."

"What about you?"

"I was in my old dorm room in England," Derek answered quietly.

"I haven't been back there in over six years."

"She said she reached us because we're worried about each other."

His voice turned serious.

"Is there any way to keep her out of our heads?"

"I don't want her walking into my mind whenever she wants."

"Yes," Mr. Valduz answered.

"But first..."

"Tell us everything."

"What did she say?"

"What are these names?"

"What names?" Derek asked.

"The names stitched onto the bassinets," I said.

There was silence.

"I didn't see bassinets," Derek replied.

"I saw those old cribs from horror movies."

"The ones that almost looked like cages."

"They were filthy."

"I didn't see any names."

I stared at the phone.

"Wait..."

"We didn't see the same thing?"

"What the hell?"

I gave up trying to understand it.

"Okay."

"There were twelve bassinets."

"One for each of her children."

"She said Derek and I were the only ones she gave birth to."

"And..."

"There was another child on the way."

"The baby had been entrusted to a witch."

"A witch?" Valduz and Mr. Valduz said together.

Derek answered before I could.

"We have the same parents."

"If that child is born through a witch..."

"It could be genetically like us."

He paused.

"You both know how magic works."

"Blood doesn't matter."

"The child still inherits the power of the vessel used to create it."

"Do we have a name?" Mr. Valduz asked immediately.

Valduz looked at me.

For a moment, I thought he would argue.

Instead, his expression hardened.

It was the same look he wore whenever Perry or Violetta was in danger.

"You guys are actually serious about this?" I asked.

"You don't understand, Angel," Valduz said quietly.

"Some things were never meant to exist."

"When creations like this get out of control..."

"People die."

"You've seen the child Perry is raising."

"There are two of them."

"They're beings we can't truly control."

"That's why we shut down the breeding program."

"And now..."

"It looks like there are more out there."

Valduz's jaw tightened.

"Eliza is being used for something that could destroy everything."

"The life of this witch and her child..."

"Against the lives of millions."

His voice dropped.

"This is the kind of thing that ended the era of mortals."

"These people are playing god with powers they don't understand."

Mr. Valduz's face hardened.

"Your crazy grandmother's rant is finally starting to make sense."

"We need to find this witch."

He looked at me.

"The names, Hope Elara."

"What are they?"

"The others," I said quietly.

"The other children."

I looked down at the list.

"I saw bassinets."

"Each one had a name."

"Each one had a wolf toy inside."

"Derek's and mine were silver."

"Ace's was brown."

"Omen's was pitch black with blue eyes."

"The eyes almost glowed."

I swallowed.

"I didn't get to see all of them."

"They were lined up against one wall."

"I could only see the names on some of them."

"This is good," Mr. Valduz said.

"We need more information."

"Did she say anything else?"

"She only wanted to warn us about the baby," Derek answered.

"She said FATE was behind it."

"And no matter how hard they tried..."

"They would never know we could communicate like this."

"FATE?" Mr. Valduz asked.

I looked at him.

"Do you know what that is?"

"Of course he does," Valduz said.

"FATE is the reason he became this."

He gestured toward his father.

Mr. Valduz stared at him.

For a moment, he looked like he was seeing Valduz for the first time.

"How do you know that?"

Valduz didn't blink.

"You're going to tell me you didn't know I worked for the Falcon?"

"That we killed him and forced ourselves into whatever the hell he was doing?"

Mr. Valduz's expression turned sharp.

"We shouldn't talk about this so openly."

"Especially not on an open line."

"Lycan Tech," Valduz said, almost bored.

"We all use Lycan Tech lines."

"They can't get into them without the right code."

"And they'll never figure it out."

"The code changes all the time."

He looked at me.

"I need to tell the others."

"And we need to find this witch."

"Wait."

I sat back in my chair.

"She has to know by now that we have access to her system."

"What if this is part of her plan?"

"What if she's trying to distract us?"

I looked between them.

"She could be planting these ideas in our heads so we chase the wrong thing."

"She's a liar."

"And if she's as good as all of you think she is..."

"We need to be careful with every word she gives us."

My voice shook, but I did not stop.

"I'm not going to trust her just because she gave birth to me."

"She has to earn that trust."

"So far, all she's done is make sure none of us want her anywhere near us."

I looked down at the names again.

"I think we need to think this through."

"Find the names on this list."

"Find out what kind of lives they were given."

"Because otherwise..."

"We would be hunting people for no reason..."

"Except the word of a woman who abandoned all of us to our fate."