“You guys look like you were just awakened from a deep slumber. Man, Julian's gift really is powerful.” She says that last sentence without realizing at all how it crushes me.
I have to get this jealousy beast out of my psyche before it builds a divide in our relationship because it could really tear us apart. Even though I have the honor of being Scarlet’s Anima Partem and since meeting her she has been my entire world and reason for being, I also realize there are others trying to come into the picture. Julian and Theo are both powerful beings that Scarlet may have in the back of her mind. I don’t believe she would ever be with Julian, but Theo...
He might be someone who could make her think ‘what if I choose a different path?’As we walk towards the Elder’s estate, I hear Hunter and Nova speaking as they recall what Scarlet did back at the lockup. Even hearing them chatter about it has my stomach feeling uneasy.
“Wait until Charlie hears about what you did.” Nova squeals, as she personally obsesses over having an actual angel fighting by our side.
This year has been quite unbelievable for casters. As if things weren't exciting before, having Scarlet in the mix definitely spices things up. Especially for me. Maybe that’s why it’s so hard for me to come to terms with her using her power and gifts in ways I don’t always agree with.
I'm sure there may have been other ways to succeed, but she did it all so quickly and on her own. Scarlet was smart to do what she did, and I wouldn't want to be the reason why we fail in a mission that can help us defeat the Dark Coven. Hurt feelings or not, we all have one thing in common - to fight for the survival of the caster and angel realms.
Finally inside, Scarlet spins around and gives me a wink.
“So, I have something I want to share with all of you.” But before she can spread the news of our ceremony, Ava and Rick both step forward.
“So do we.” Confused and caught off guard, Scarlet steps back into the group and folds her arms in front of her.
“You first.” She says. Rick shakes his head.
“No, Scar. You have something to share and I would like to hear it, honey.” Taking a deep breath, Scarlet walks by my side and takes my hand in hers.
“Evan and I are ready to have our ceremony.”
The announcement is received with loud applause, whistles, screams, and squeals of excitement from everyone in the room. It immediately brings a huge smile to my face, especially when I see Scarlet’s cheeks turn crimson. Rick gives us both a strong hug and leans back to give us a good look-over. He seems genuinely happy and I will forever remember and cherish this moment.
“Okay. Now you.” She laughs through her happiness. Now Rick stands next to Ava and takes her hand, they look at each other and surprise us all with their announcement.
“Dimitri is awake!”
Another round of applause and loud squeals come from everyone except Scarlet. I look over to see she has gone completely pale in the face. Before any of us can ask if she’s okay, she is already gracefully falling to the floor as she faints with the news of Dimitri finally coming back into her life.
Chapter 21
Dinner Announcements
Scarlet
Feeling completely out of sorts, I wake up in a chaise lounge chair that has been placed under a window in the kitchen. Groggy from fainting, I don't know whether I am in a dream, in a vision, or actually grounded in my own world. All I can do is lay where I am and look around moving my eyes while laying still.
Everyone is here, sitting at the long dining table. There’s a buffet of sandwich meats and cheeses, along with rolls, condiments, and drinks. Even Demi is here. She must have come when she heard the news about Dimitri. I squeeze my eyes shut, not really understanding why I don't want anyone to know I am awake.
The news of my uncle waking from his nightmare put me out like a light. Not even coming to the realization that my caster wedding is going to take place soon has made me dizzy enough to pass out. Maybe it’s just the fact that I feel responsible for what Dimitri had to go through at the hands of Lenora.
What happened to him only occurred because the Dark Coven wanted to capture and kidnap me. I don't want to alarm anyone with my sudden grim demeanor, but I should have known that Evan would be in tune with my emotions. With my eyes still closed, I feel his fingers gently make their way through my hair as his voice softly sounds within the privacy of my mind.
“No one else knows you're awake, love. Are you alright? Would you like me to move you to our bedroom?” He is always so chivalrous and it warms my heart.
“I'm okay. Thanks. It’s better for me to approach this head on so we can concentrate on Dimitri's health.” I open my eyes and sit up as slowly as I can manage.
“Scar!” Hunter shouts, as she shoots up from her seat and runs over, with Demi and dad right behind her. An embarrassed grin appears on my face, causing a few of the girls to giggle.
“I know, I know. Who faints when hearing good news?”
Shoving my face in my hands, Evan attempts to rub the embarrassment away as he moves his hands in slow and gentle circular motions on my back. Demi sits next to me as Hunter kneels down on the floor in front of me.
“There is no need to be embarrassed, Scar. That was huge news to hear. None of us are judging you for your reaction.” Demi’s words heal my discomfort. Peeking up at her though my interlocked fingers, she softly tries to pry them down and away from my face.
“Come on. I think you should eat before seeing our crazy uncle.” Again! Just those words make my head spin.
Why is this happening to me?
I can see Ava's eyebrows come together in confusion and it matches my own.
“Would you mind if I stole Scarlet for just a moment?” Now everyone in the room looks just as confused as I am. She holds out her hand without waiting for anyone to respond to her rhetorical question. In a daze, I take her outstretched hand and walk just outside of the kitchen doors with her.
“Correct me if I'm wrong, but every time the mention of Dimitri’s recovery comes up, you break down. I thought this news would bring you happiness. Is there something I'm missing? Did something happen back in the cave with the prisoners?”
She looks concerned that something happened with my mind. But I know deep inside that I'm reacting this way because I'm terrified of seeing my uncle.
How do I tell her that?
“No, nothing happened back there. I just…um…feel responsible for what happened…” I spit the last few words out as fast as I can because I can feel the retch coming up in my throat, bringing tears to my eyes.
“Oh, honey. I swear it, he does not feel that way. And no one else in the room does either. It has never even been a thought to any of us. I think seeing you would help Dimitri immensely.”
I believe her because I can hear the truthfulness in her voice. I'm the only one putting these awful thoughts in my head. I need to stop, and stop it quickly before it consumes me. Dimitri should have everyone who loves him by his side. With a small nod, I agree with her assessment without speaking because I still can't find my voice.
“Good, I agree with your sister. Let’s eat before we go see Dimitri. Demi has been so eager for you to wake up. She has arrived with an almost-exploding binder full of ceremony notes and plans.” Ava smiles, as she explains that Demi has a bit of an obsession with ceremonies. I guess I never realized this, since so much of this world was kept from me due to my caster powers emerging so late.
We re-enter the boisterous room full of elated casters. As we step through the threshold, I realize I should be just as jovial as the casters. I successfully thwarted the captured members of the Dark Coven from escaping while controlling and fully utilizing my angel gift. On top of that, Evan and I are having a caster wedding and my uncle, who was comatose, is now awake and doing well. With my confidence restored, I walk in with my back a little straighter and head right to the open chair between Evan and my dad. As soon as I sit down, Evan plants a kiss on my forehead, causing
butterflies to flutter in my stomach.
A loud smack sounds directly in front of me. Demi, with her enormous binder, sits across from us more than ready to discuss every detail of our wedding ceremony. Evan has an amused look on his face and I just immediately feel overwhelmed before she even starts speaking.
“Scarlet Winter, do not give me your defeated look when I haven't even begun to tell you about my well thought out process. We haven't even gone through the questionnaire yet and you're already three shades paler. Breathe Scarlet, breathe. I will start slow, I promise.”
Like a mad woman, Demi pulls out two sheets of paper and hands them to us. Questions cover both the front and back of the long white paper. I only read the first question and the last.
1. What time of year is the ceremony?
80. Are you sure this caster is the right caster for you?
“Demi, I am not filling this out. Eighty questions? Who even has time to answer these? And really, some of these are just…nuts.” As I skim over the ridiculous quiz, I look over to see my Anima Partem is already almost done answering the first page of questions.
“Well, Evan doesn't seem to mind.” Demi crosses her hands over her chest and puts her mouth in a pout that reminds me of Layla. Rolling my eyes, I succumb to her stare.
“Fine. But anything else you want to go over will have to wait until next time.” She stretches her hand towards me to shake on the deal.
For the next thirty minutes, I eat and fill in my answers to the personal questions my sister made up. I always knew she helped most of her friends with their wedding plans, but I had no idea she had an entire system. A system that has me unhinged already. And this is just the beginning.
Evan finishes his paper long before I do and Demi is elated as she reads through his answers. I swear, if she wasn't already madly in love with Silas and if I wasn't with Evan, she would have hit on him.
But he’s mine, all mine.
Arriving at the last question, I answer with ‘most definitely’ and push the paper towards my sister. Without reading any of my answers, she stuffs it neatly into her over-sized binder and sets it aside.
“Great. Now let’s go see Dimitri. Took you long enough.” She teases, causing me to groan. Evan chuckles and takes my hand as we all leave together.
I sure could bake something right now. I know I'm trying to avoid this situation and that I need to stop. Dimitri has always been there for me, always, especially as I was growing up. There’s so much I’m going to have to fill him in on. He doesn’t even know about any of my angelic gifts yet.
If it wasn't for Lenora trying to turn his brain into mush, I know he would have enjoyed my welcoming ceremony, as well as my Elder ceremony. Now that he’s awake, he can at least be present for my Anima Partem ceremony. Before we even reach Ava's ethereal doors, I can hear the echo of loud music. Runaround Sue blasts through from the other side of the doors.
Ava doesn't look fazed. In fact, she looks grateful to hear it. She opens the doors and Demi runs inside first. My dad’s hearty chuckle reverberates loudly as he walks in after. Then Ava waves her hand as she lowers the music for this reunion. Evan begins to lead us through, when I just stop walking, frozen in fear.
“What if my uncle hates me?” I can only form the words in mind speak to Evan. Saying them aloud would make it too real of a possibility.
Evan lightly takes my face in his hands and looks me directly in my now-teary eyes.
“You didn't do anything, Scar. I can understand why you feel that way, but none of this was or is your fault. Hate is something Dimitri would never feel towards you, love. Ever. No matter what, he will always love you.”
Taking a shaky breath I look down at my feet and allow him to walk me into the head Elder’s wing. It is now eerily quiet as someone shut the music off, which makes me even more nervous than I already am. Nausea rushes over me and I swear I feel like I am about to faint again. Instead, before I can look up, someone comes running at me at full force. Dimitri picks me up and swings me around, then squeezes tightly, elated to see me.
“Hey pal! I have missed you! I am so happy you're here.” He sets me down, looks at me, and pulls me in for another bear hug.
I stare at him in awe because he looks exactly as he did before he met that evil bitch. His sickly skinny body is gone and has been replaced with his thick muscles. His face is now full of color and his hair has just as much life in it as he does.
“You…look awesome.”
It is the only logical thing I can think to say. He laughs dramatically as he takes my hand and we walk over to sit on the leather couch that adorns the living room. With bright and curious eyes, Dimitri stares at me like he’s seeing me for the first time.
“I want to hear everything!” It’s a simple request, but also so complicated. How can I even begin to tell him everything that has occurred since his mind was taken over by Lenora?
“I don't know where to start.” Everything feels numb. For a moment, I wish we were alone so I could apologize the way I want to.
“Well, we can talk about it all later. Demi just told me about your ceremony with Evan. I am so happy for you.” He genuinely looks happy. And healthy. Like nothing ever happened. And I can’t hold back any longer.
“I'm so sorry, Dimitri. I didn't know who she was or that she’d even go after you. You shouldn't have gone through all of that pain. I am so, so sorry.”
The tears are flooding out of my eyes and there is nothing that can stop them. I can see Evan flinch by where he is standing next to my dad, but my dad places his hand on his shoulder, letting him know this needs to play out. Dimitri finally places his arms around my body and pulls me closer to his chest.
“Scarlet, whoa. What are you even talking about? I would never place any blame on you for what happened. Don't you ever think that was your fault. It wasn't. The Dark Coven would have found a way somehow to get what they wanted. And you know what? I'm grateful that it was me and not someone else. I'm fine and I'm back and I'm ready to kick some ass.” He holds me at arm’s length to see if he cracked the thick shell of remorse that was covering my entire soul.
And, thankfully, he does. I feel free of the guilt that has been clouding me for a very long time. Now that I am reassured, the only thing I can do at this exact moment is tackle my uncle with my strongest and fastest angel hug to show him just how much things have changed in my life. By the way his eyes are bulging out of his head, I can tell he wants to know more. A lot more.
Chapter 22
Day of Goodbyes
After just a short time with Dimitri, it almost feels like he was never gone. With everyone talking all at once, bringing him up to speed with everything that he’s missed, time went by much faster than I thought. He is already giving his opinions and suggestions on what we did or should have done when we clashed with the Dark Coven, and I couldn't be more grateful.
What he enjoyed most was my angel gift. He would shout his surprise every single time I did it. It felt like I was training because of how many times he wanted to see me use it. The amazement in his eyes when Evan told him how I used my gift in the prisoner’s cells and how I tricked them was something really special.
Hearing it from Evan’s perspective gave me a different sense of pride. The smile on Dimitri’s face was enough to repair all the pain we felt when we thought we were losing him. Ava says that in about a week he should be completely back on his feet.
His mind could still be vulnerable if he was to return to New York. So dad has decided to stay with him in Eden. Dad had a look of absolute bliss painted across his entire face when he looked at his brother. It was comforting to see him beam that way again. It was a lot harder to say goodbye to Dimitri. To ease my departure and conscience I set three separate tiers of protection casts over his mind, body, and soul.
Now as we step foot back in New York and walk to Evan’s house by the campus, my heart slightly breaks. I already miss my uncle and will until I see him again, but at least I k
now he is safe. Even with him being in such close proximity to Lenora.
If she ever gets her hands on him again I will break every bone in her fingers.
I hear Victoria snicker behind me and I instantly know she heard what I thought. With only a shake of my head, I continue towards Evan’s house that is now in sight. The loud sound of flapping wings stops us all in our tracks. Charlie lands directly in front of us in a crouch that makes her look even more ethereal than she already is.
“Heard what you did in Eden. Your aunt is proud of the way you're harnessing your gift.” Charlie has her own little twinkle of pride in her eyes.
“Wow, that was fast. Tell her I said thanks?” I don't know how to respond because I didn't even know I had an aunt until recently. Or that she looks over me, protecting me.
Charlie laughs and walks the rest of the way to the house with us as Derek pulls up in his car, blasting loud hip hop music that I’ve never heard before. Lucas looks like he is ready to kill his brother and exits the car the second it comes to a stop. Mack jumps out and runs over to us to pull us into a hug.
“Scar! Word is spreadin’ fast! Everyone at the Village already knows what you did in Eden. You are somethin’ else! Proud of my girl! This calls for some drinks! Scar, do your little protectin’ thing you do so we can crash here tonight. I'm in the mood for a massive slumber party! Woo!”
Mack skips into the house, not waiting to hear a response from anyone. And still, with her gone, no one rejects the idea.
“Well, I guess that’s what we’re doing then. I’ll be right in.” I tell the group to go inside without me, but Charlie and Evan stay put.
“I'm just going to do a protection cast, like she said.”
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