I headed down the wide hallway then down the long, winding staircase, and out the door. As I began crossing the street, my eyes were drawn to the Capius Estate. It stood gloomily with darkened windows where light had always been present. The remaining residents still held my heart. After the night of the Masquerade Ball, things had changed in many, many ways. Some things changed for the better, and unfortunately others for the worse. I’d considered returning to the Capius mansion. To be fair, staying there, even if only for a week which had felt like a life time had been somewhat comforting. Being that close to Evan had made me feel secure, but that wasn’t enough. It wasn’t home, and never would be. I couldn’t fathom living in the house that my parents’ murderers had called 'home'.
I made a clean break. All my of my belongings, as well as Christopher's and Phoebe's things had been moved to our home, back to the Tieron Estate, which I had removed from the ‘For Sale’ list in the Territorial Enterprise. We moved back directly across the street from the Bergnum's estate.
When I pushed open the rusted gates, the dried vines cracked and snapped nearly distracting me from the patchy brown grass, and sun burnt flowers in the front garden. It looked nowhere near what it had looked like on the day of my fifteenth birthday party. The Grecian architecture was hidden by creepy vines that spread across the exterior like an open fan. The first thing I noticed, seeing the interior for the first time during daylight hours since returning, were the small cracks and holes in the bare walls where paintings and photographs had once hung. A thick carpeting of dust adorned the dull marble floors. I twitched my nose as the musty smell, a combination of dampness and mold, fought against the fresh air that filtered in from the front door. With the invigorating light wind came the memories.
I watched myself as a rambunctious little girl darting through the foyer, with Bethany not too far behind, as we chased Victor and Evan and a shiny, bouncing red ball that the boys refused to allow us to play with. I followed the infinite laughter and giggles into the flourishing garden where they met up with Nikolas and Victor’s younger sister Evangelia. We played together, carefree and ignorant to our destinies, the sacrifices, and the mounting dangers that would arise with them.
I walked back into the parlor, and I saw myself at the awkward age of thirteen. Mother and Daddy were trying to explain the levels and changes that I would begin transitioning through. Not the whole ‘becoming a woman’ speech. It was the speech that very few on this earth would ever get to hear. My parents explained my purpose on this earth, which was to secure our place on this earth, and to protect the empire. My heart rate had quickened, and the adrenaline soured to my brain. I couldn’t wait for my powers to ascend. Something in me woke up that day, and every day following, I couldn’t contain the rush of blood pumping in my veins. Meanwhile, I plunged deeper and deeper in love with Evan. Of course by then Thaddeus’ plan had already been in play, Victor and Evangelia had long disappeared, and Nikolas had been living with my family for a few years, and was practically my brother.
Living everyday like the ordinary mortals took great control in veiling our power, which grew with each day. But it was the only way to survive against the evil that plagued us. None the less, we were proud of the strengths and talents we possessed, even if we had to conceal them. We were honored to be the descendants of the mighty Olympians. I wracked my brain to comprehend the eradication of the memory of who I was. I suppose it was partly due to the monotony of life as an average high school senior that had obliterated it all. I had already been dead from the desperate search of something more in life from this former booming town of ruins, whether it be a purpose or love, when Victor had killed me.
Before being sent to the future to ‘hide’, I’d never known the hollow feeling of loneliness. In fact, I’d always felt adequately loved by the family and I knew firsthand about the heart wrenching twinges of falling in love with someone. But how could one be bored with all the gifts that have been vested in us by the gods? In all the days that I lived up until that fateful night when the Capius’ took my parents away from me, I had never looked for anything more in my life. I had always felt completely fulfilled, until now.
Now I felt incomplete.
I still felt like that girl in the future, lacking. And I knew why. For one, my parents were out of my reach, and belonged here now in the physical –
guiding me through my early decades of reigning. I wasn’t quite ready to put the past behind me. I vowed to never stop searching for them.
Second, I’ve considered breaking one of the oldest laws of the Ischeros, the Law of Betrothement. The law states that one is to marry and mate with their God’s appointed match. Only in the case of death may one marry the next in line or newly appointed match, if he or she has not yet married and mated.
Because Victor was believed to be dead– an unwise and uninvestigated assumption, Evan had been next in line. I’ve fallen madly and deeply in love with Evan, and he with me therefore, I believed he to be worth it, although, in the eyes of the gods – Zeus to be exact, it was an offense. Supposed I didn’t oppose the rule? I could never love Victor? I couldn’t. Evan had my whole heart and there was no room for another. The council said that it was up to me to make it right. Evan and my union would never be blessed by the gods. Yet only I would pay the price. Whatever the price was, I would gladly pay it in full.
I wonder what the god’s must have thought as they watched the family dismantle itself in a battle of demons within it. The battle caused my anointment to be postponed. The sacred ceremony is set for the first of the year, strangely the mortals New Year. The elders didn’t want the betrayal of the Capius’ to overshadow my reign. All of the gods will be present, and Zeus will finally ignite my bolt. I eagerly anticipated the ceremony and feared it all the same. I feared it simply because I didn’t have enough time to find my parents. I’ve actually considered defying the gods, and possibly postponing the sacred engagement until I find them, but I knew that my beloved parents would never approve of it. There wasn’t anything that would justify changing the date of my anointment. Zeus was just anal that way.
I continued to ponder all of this as I continued to roam my house. Today, there is a blanket of throat clogging dust on the floors and the walls. The cob webs were draped in the corners, and on the stair railings like heavy curtains. I was relieved that I’d decided to tour the house alone, this time in the daylight hours, before bringing my younger brother and sister along. It took only a couple of seconds to make the necessary changes. The power of remembrance filled the huge rooms as they used to be – in elegant and tasteful furnishings. There wasn’t a speck of dust except the motes floating in the sun’s rays filtering in from the windows. Mother had decorated our home in a fanciful manner. She had taken such care in making it look and feel like a loving abode. I kept everything as it was because I knew that I would find them, restore their hearts, and bring them home. The house was almost ready.
I asked Sun Paw if she would like to come and live with my family. At first, a glimmer of a smile emerged at the corner of her mouth.
“Miss Cordelia, I had hoped you would ask me. I must first ask my mother and Master Evan for permission.”
I waited for Sun Paw outside of Evan’s house gates, while she spoke with them. Several minutes went by and I could hear Sun Paw’s mother, Light Shine, in their native tribal dialect, telling Sun Paw that she should be honored with the request. Then I heard Light Shine talking with Evan. He said he appreciated her asking him for permission but said the decision was up to Light Shine. Evan never failed when it came to diplomacy. But Moon Rose had her own opinion to divulge. She practically attacked her mother and Sun Paw in the parlor with her words.
“She won’t be safe there.” Moon Rose said. “The empress is hunted prey. Sun Paw must stay here where we can protect her. Mother, if you allow her to leave, you may regret it.” Light Shine slammed her fist on the table, scaring both Moon Rose and Sun Paw.
“Sun Paw, the empress is the purist of their kind, and she is fair. She will protect you as long as you protect her secret as we have all along. Go my child.
The distance between is only a heartbeat. As for you,” Light Shine said, confronting Moon Rose. “I’m the first and last word in our family. You are not Sun Paw’s mother. You are her sister. Act like one.”
A few more minutes past, and then Sun Paw emerged with Evan. He looked at me and winked. I smiled because it came naturally, along with the desire to kiss him. He smiled back then turned to Sun Paw. Evan extended his hand.
“Your service to us has been appreciated. I understand that you are needed elsewhere.” Sun Paw nodded with a nervous smile then walked over to me where I stood outside of the entrance gates. I patted Sun Paw on the shoulder, trying to make her feel comfortable with the transition.
“I’ll take good care of her.” I said.
Evan nodded and winked. “I expect Sun Paw will do the same.”
Sun Paw smiled at Evan then at me. Her thoughts about the move, and working with me and my family came through in a wide grin, and her beautiful face was like a good omen.
Besides, my brother, sister, and Sun Paw, a few more additions were vital. Of course Nikolas would be joining us again, not yet ready to live in the home his parents had built. And then there was the newest house guest. Victor needed protection from the Apolluon trackers as a mortal. They would smell the scent of his aura now that he had been stripped of the shield of immortality. Therefore, as long as he was in the home of an Ischeros he would be safe.
Unfortunately, Victor hadn’t proved himself in the eyes of the council; it has only been a day. The elders barred him from being reinstated as an immortal. Of course, I could override there ruling, but I too was skeptical therefore, mortal he stayed, for now or forever was the question. Only Victor knew the answer to that. He would have to prove himself before he could truly be accepted by the members of the empire.
When I first suggested it, Victor had shuffled his feet, and kept his eyes down cast at first, but knew he couldn't be left alone. He walked around the parlor now, browsing photographs of my parents, my brother and sister, and me, probably recalling the last time he’d been here.
“I remember when we were six years old.” Victor said picking up a picture of me when I was about that age. “You had been trying so very hard to hide the crush you had on me when suddenly, Bethany blurted out the top secret information. Your face had turned as red as a cherry.”
I looked him in the eyes. “Things have changed since then.” To my chagrin, I felt the blood creeping up in my cheeks, and I tried to stifle it, remembering those simple days all too well. Victor’s crisp voice brought me back to the present.
“Cordelia, this is ridiculous. You can’t expect me to live in your house. I can live in my own house.”
“No, you can’t. Quit being difficult.” I demanded, lightly. You aren’t safe alone, as a mortal.”
“Then transform me.” He tried to hide his smirk. I pretended not to hear or see him, and he knew it.
“The Apolluon will track you in no time. Suppose one of our brothers and sisters, one who doesn’t totally agree with my decision to accept you back into the family, feels that we are better off without you?” Victor’s eyes became overshadowed, and his mind clouded with regret. “You hurt a lot of people when you were on your own agenda. Although, I’ve asked everyone to forgive your ‘transgressions’, I’m positive that they haven’t forgotten your crimes against them. You must prove yourself first. Sorry, you have stay in this beautiful mansion for now. You know that I’m the only one who can protect you.”
“Don’t you mean the only one willing to?” Victor asked, noticeably saddened.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. Besides, I don’t need any protection. I’m not afraid.”
“Perhaps, not.” I humored him, but I knew better. “Look, I’m not doing this because I feel sorry for you or because I think that you’re afraid. Your strength is greater than Evan’s if used properly, and not distributed to a renegade gang of disciples. The Ischeros need you. Give us some time, alright?”
He nodded, and we locked eyes for longer than I wanted to, but not long enough for him. I hadn’t forgotten that afternoon on C Street when I’d been craving ice cream for lunch. My mind lingered on the moments just before Victor plowed the jeep into me. I had looked into his eyes then, and they were sinister, focused, yet intensely alluring. The eyes I looked into now were kind, vulnerable, beautiful, yet still intensely alluring. It was odd now that he, who was once my predator, needed my protection. What a strange twist of fate.
“I will prove myself, Delia. I have every right to a place in this empire as much as all the other members have. Also, I must make things right in every accord. “I was robbed, and so I made a lot of mistakes. I wasn’t thinking while I was killing. I was pulsating, breathing, and existing in my rage. I know this now, and I’m deeply regretful.”
Victor eyes never wavered as he spoke, and his mind had already been read, so I knew that he spoke from a thawed heart.
I will also make things right with us.
I heard him loud and clear and tried to deflect the rest of his thoughts. I tried to focus on the topic at hand.
“I know that you’re genuinely sorry, but living here with us is necessary, for now.”
“And Evander agrees with your new living arrangement?” Victor raised an eyebrow displaying I small glimpse of his old wicked ways.
“Of course not, you tried to kill me. You came pretty damn close too. He hasn’t forgotten what happened just a day ago, or what took place in the future, not for one second. But he understands.”
“And this is the same Evander who is aware that we’re betrothed, right?” Victor maintained a serious expression, but I knew he was smiling beneath the facade.
Our eyes met again, and he didn’t turn away, but I had to. For some reason I couldn’t look into Victor’s eyes for a long period of time. I could read his thoughts, and there was always something there. The thoughts were new intense feelings that were re kindling the old ones. It was something that would grow stronger if I wasn’t careful. This intense connection of some extraordinary kind, that I had known the very first time I had seen him as a child, was stronger than anything on this earth, and that much harder to resist now. My powers fell second to whatever it was between Victor and I. It would have to be ignored indefinitely. What I have with Evan is what I need, and what I deserve.