I wondered where I was from. What exactly comprised the darkness inside of me? All I knew was that it was darker than midnight. It was cold. It didn’t feel demonic and it didn’t feel evil. I didn’t feel evil, but it lashed out when I was threatened. It hurt others, yet there was no consciousness. It was power and touched by the goddess. I had asked her and prayed for answers as to what was inside of me, but she had not answered. Whatever happened to me that night when I put the protection spell around me, the house, and Landon was the strongest magic I had worked. I hadn’t cracked it again. Each time I went into the darkness, the darkness crept out a little more.
The bell above the shop door rang. I looked up at a happy couple who were perusing the shelves. The man gave me a small smile. I smiled back and remembered being in love, especially when I first met my two mates. It seemed that was a lifetime ago. A lifetime where I thought I’d be happy and things could be different. I thought I could hide from my family and what was inside of me. Now I knew better. It was my punishment to live until the end of my days in a loveless mating.
Another man walked in. His hat was low over his face so I couldn’t see his eyes. You can tell a lot by the eyes. If I could look into his eyes, then I could read his soul. Sometimes I wondered if only Landon would look at me long enough, rather than a passing glance, then he’d see how much I missed him. How much I regretted. The man in the hat glanced at a few blooms, bringing them to his nose and casting glimpses at me. The couple went among the rows and pointed at a few things. I ran my hand along the leaf of an aloe plant, feeling the spiny leaves poke my finger. Its energy flared against my skin. The couple walked out without buying anything and the man was still browsing. I glanced at the man in the store and then turned my attention to a spell that I was working on.
“Do you have any roses?”
I jumped, startled by him being so close, and I hadn’t heard him or sensed him. I blanched at the thought of roses. Ever since that night I hadn’t been able to bring myself to handle them. Melissa bundled them for me. I still grew the blue roses that Nick liked so much, but I barely went into the greenhouse behind the house, except to harvest.
“I think I’m all out, actually. They should be in tomorrow. If you tell me what you like, I can set something aside for you.”
“That’s okay. Actually, I was looking for a specific kind of rose. I was told that you might have them.”
I sighed. “Well, I can special order something.” I pulled out my catalogue and a pen.
He slid his hand over mine. At the first touch, a spark went through me. I drew in a breath and looked up at him. His eyes were finally visible. He had the same eyes that I did. They weren’t the same color, but it was the intensity. They reminded me of Nick’s, dark and fathomless. The power that surrounded him overwhelmed me.
“Do you have any blue roses? I hear you specialize in them.”
The blood froze inside of me. I pulled my hand away from his and backed away. Power gathered inside of me. I was ready to strike if he came at me with a spell. It was time. They had found me after all these years. No one knew I grew blue roses except Landon. The power tingled my fingers. I raised my hand, and was about to throw a bolt at him when he held up his hand.
“I’m not here to harm you.”
“Who are you?” I asked.
“My name is Tannin.”
“How am I supposed to know who you are? You could be anyone, for all I know. You could be here to kill me.”
He chuckled. “Your grandmother sent me to find you.”
“I knew it was too good to be true. I won’t go back to the coven with you. I won’t be their figurehead. I—”
“I’m not here to take you back to any coven. I’m here to bring you to meet your paternal grandmother. I am your grandmother’s emissary. She has been hoping to meet you for a long time. She’s waiting for you. If you would come with me, we can go meet her right now.”
I cocked my head and looked at him. This wasn’t something I had never considered. The gleam in his eye intrigued me. “H-how do I know you’re telling me the truth?”
“You have to trust me. Your grandmother and I are from the same clan. I guess that makes us the same clan as well. Please, come with me.”
The sincerity in his eyes was genuine. I reached out my senses to test what he had said. There was a ring of truth to it. It had been so long since I’d had a familial connection. And he was talking about my father’s mother. My real father. Maybe this could answer some of the questions about my heritage. I pulled my power back and then nodded. “Okay. I’ll go with you, but any funny business and I’ll blast you into next week.”
“Fair enough.”
“Let me close up.”
A smile spread on his lips. “I’ll wait outside.”
He left and I quickly grabbed my cell phone. I flipped it open and was going to call Landon, but then shut it, knowing that he wouldn’t care. Thoughts raced through my mind. What would she be like? Would I look anything like her? Could she tell me about my father? What could she tell me about the darkness inside of me? Would she even know about it? Too many things ran through my head. This might be a setup. I had to be prepared. I dug into my office drawer and pulled out a small sachet that with just a little bit of power I could ignite the seeds and they would tangle around a room and keep people trapped. It would give me enough time to escape and find a safe place to get away to where I could be outside and gather my strength. I grabbed a crystal. It was supercharged with energy and if need be, it could end up being an explosive. I shoved both into my pocket and then snatched my purse. After that I made sure to lock the back door and double-check my wards.
Tannin was waiting for me outside the shop, leaning on the glass windows. The light of the setting sun ignited his hair and made his eyes seem like they were on fire. I bit my lip and could hardly believe that this was happening.
He stepped aside and opened the door to his car. I slipped inside the leather interior and smelled lemon and cloves. I grasped my purse close to me while we drove in silence. We traveled out of the city for half an hour and then turned down a road that changed to dirt. Tannin stopped by a quaint house. Flowers filled the garden along with other herbs. Their scents perfumed the air. The house was small, a cottage, with shuttered windows and whitewashed walls. He led me through a white picket fence. When I walked through the gate, the power of the place hit me. Something inside me recognized it on a level that was akin to the darkness inside of me.
Tannin led me to the door. He did a soft tap and then a double knock. I felt something strong; dark wings unfolded around the house. Whatever was guarding this place was not going to let anyone in that wasn’t invited. The door opened. No one was on the other side. He touched my back lightly and urged me forward. Another spark of energy went through me that made me catch my breath. I glanced at him. He nodded encouragingly and then smiled. For a moment, I wanted that smile only to be for me. I grinned and walked into the darkness of the room. Tannin came in after me.
“She likes to sit out back at this time of day. Between the space where the light hovers on the edge of the world and the creatures of darkness scratch at the locks to escape the prisons they are trapped in.” I followed Tannin through the kitchen to a covered porch. An older woman sat at a table with a pot of tea and teacups. One was empty. She didn’t look up when I went out onto the porch.
“Sit down, my dear. Pour yourself a cup of tea. Tannin, will you give us some privacy, please?”
I sat down in the chair. Tannin bowed and retreated into the house. I poured myself a cup of tea and inhaled the peppermint. I added a bit of honey from the tray. No one except my mates knew that I liked my peppermint tea with honey. I sipped it slowly and studied the horizon just as she was doing. I couldn’t bring myself to gaze at her yet. My stomach churned at what she might think of me. My palms were sweaty. My heart was about to escape out of my chest. I hadn’t been this nervous over something since I had taken the tests that were required to become the high priestess of my coven.
“This is the quiet time of the day. The dark things wait for the Guardians to forget about them or to stop watching over them. But we never forget.” She turned to me.
I set down my cup and met her gaze. When I saw her face, I saw myself reflected in her features. Her face was more angular. Her skin a darker hue than mine, but we were the same. Part of her hair was secured to her head in a rose clip and the rest hung down her back. Her features were strong, and when she smiled I saw myself. She reached her hand over the table and clasped mine.
“You resemble your father. Although I never thought anything good would come from him. He had so much potential when he was a child. Then he was corrupted by the evil that lives inside our clan. He let it take over instead of keeping the balance within us. You are the best thing that could’ve happened. The horrendous thing he did to your mother brought you into the world. And you endured without even knowing what you truly are.”
“What am I? What is this darkness inside of me?” I asked her.
She smiled. Within her smile, I found a calmness resonating inside of me that I had been searching for all my life. “We are Guardians. We watch the doorways between the darkness. We stand at the edge of twilight and night.”
“But what kind of Guardians? You said that my father succumbed to the evil inside of us. I have that darkness too. I’ve killed people with it. I’ve done horrible things. The more I delve into it, the more it becomes a part of me. I don’t want it to consume me.”
She patted my hand again. “Hush now. That part of you protected itself. You feel it hovering on your consciousness. It’s a good thing that you sense the darkness. If it sits and festers, it can turn on you. I know how it was for you growing up. I know what happened to your mate. How things are now with the other one. You must not give up hope.”
All of my walls were crumbling the longer I looked into her eyes. The shreds of hope I had been clinging to, that Landon would come around, were all that I had left. Hearing her say that I shouldn’t give up on him was the first thing that lifted my heart for a long time. She opened her arms to me and I went into them. Her warm embrace enfolded me. Everything that was bad about my family was replaced by this woman. She was my family now.
I don’t know how long it was that I cried, but when I finally looked up, her shoulder was sopped with my tears. “Why did you take so long? Why come to me now when you knew about me all along?”
She took my face between her hands. “Because it wasn’t our time. This is our time. Your wings have just begun to spread. It would’ve been different if we had reared you. I did try, Melina. I approached your family but was sent away by the man who raised you. I tried several times, but he sent me away. They would not let me take you. Even after they locked you up. I came again. The last time I did, they threatened to kill me. Their threats were weightless against what we are. But they didn’t know that, and I couldn’t jeopardize what you truly were to them. All they thought was that you were something from the darkness, even though you had been marked by the goddess. We kept tabs on you. Then you found two mates, a vampire and a werewolf. You connected with them on a primal level and you were already something special. Guardians and witches do not normally produce a child. And being with your mates, you found that their bites and their blood couldn’t harm you.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
She patted my cheek. “I think that’s enough for now. Tonight there’s a party welcoming you into the clan. We will talk more in the morning. Now is the time for celebrating. Your cousins and your sister want to meet you. So do the rest of the clan. Will you stay?”
I nodded. With everything dancing in my head, all I could do was wait and see what else was in store for me.
Chapter Three
People started arriving as the sun disappeared, and the stars twinkled in the night sky. Some of the clan looked like me. Others didn’t seem to be related to me, but I don’t think that mattered. They all came over and brought food with them. They pulled up outside of the house and were welcomed in. Children ran through the garden. The happy laughter filled me with joy. It had been such a long time since I had been banished from the coven. Here no one looked at me as if I had two heads or fifty arms. I mingled with the guests. Their names went by me in a blur. Tannin hovered on the periphery of the party, guarding the family who had gathered. No one spoke to him. They didn’t treat him as a pariah. It seemed he wasn’t there at all, a ghost among his own kind. Whenever I glanced at him, he would smile and nod slightly in my direction. I wanted to go over and speak to him, to thank him for bringing me here, but I never got a chance.