"I told you she spent too much time with that circus to be trusted," the other twin said. She stood and walked over to me, stopping in front of me with her hands on her hips. "You can't possibly think any member of that group cares for you?"
My heart fluttered in my chest as my memories shot back to Brenon and the look in his eyes when he told me he'd never felt this way before. The way he just tore up the contract without argument, the defeat in his face. He had to care about me, at least a little, right? I shook my head. "It doesn't matter how they feel about me. Nobody deserves to be locked away from their home."
"They've been here five-hundred years already. If this isn't their home by now, no place will be." She walked over to Aunt Kay. "She's more harm than good to us if she's not on our side. Fix her."
I stood. "Excuse me? I'm right here. And I'm fully capable of making my own decisions. I just met you all. I'm not ready to jump into the middle of a war with a bunch of people who never cared enough about me before to even acknowledge me."
Twin two shot me a look. "That's your aunt's doing. She had you hidden from us. We've been looking for you since you were born."
I nearly fell back down into the seat behind me. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"A child of Tristan's can't be trusted," twin one said, then moved to stand next to her doppelg?nger. The men, who had been silent this whole time stood as well, and the group walked toward the door.
"You've got a week to figure out where you belong, Ara," twin two said.
"Are you threatening me?"
Before they could answer, another knock sounded on the door.
"Great, more people to try to control my life?" I asked.
The knocking stopped, then a bang sounded as the door shattered, flying into the room. I lifted my arms over my face to keep the debris from my eyes. Screams rose in the room, one of them coming from me.
When I dropped my arm to assess what had happened, I found myself staring at Tristan.
Chapter 8
Flashes of light flew through the air and Tristan lunged away from the doorway, wolves leaping in where he had been standing. Dozens of them filled the room in a heartbeat. Jumping to my feet, I held my hands out in front of me as I had done when I faced off against Terra. Could I find the magic again?
Moving in front of Joe, I watched as the other Sayges battled the wolves. My Eyes darted around, trying to find Tristan. He wasn't in sight. Where did he go?
A gust of wind flew past me, and I stumbled forward, almost knocked over from the force. Lightning flashed near where my aunt had been standing, and a wolf yelped in what sounded like pain. The room was full of movement and chaos. Breathing hard, I didn't know where to step in to try and help. I didn't even know how to use or control the magic I had. Would it help for me to try?
I thought about the lightning I'd sent to Terra, recalling how it had come from every part of me. My insides were buzzing, and the hair on my arms stood on edge.
Surprisingly, sparks rose to my fingertips, and I extended them, trying to find a place I could potentially relate them. Every time I thought I had a shot, a Sayge moved in front of me. Dropping my hands, I decided it was less risky for me to stay out of the way.
The room darkened as the light was blocked out by a murder of crows surrounding me. The wings brushed over me as they passed, making my skin crawl. Forming a cloud in front of me, the birds tightened their formation until they fused into the shape of a man.
"What the fuck?" Joe said from behind me.
"Go hide, Joe." I was surprised how calmly the words came out.
"No way, Ara," he said.
I turned to him and shouted. "Go hide now!"
He nodded once, then left my side. When I looked back in front of me, Tristan was smiling at me.
"Nice to see you again," he said.
"Wish I could say the same," I said.
A flash of light flew over Tristan's shoulder and in a second, he had his arm around my throat, spinning us around to face the originator of the attack.
I looked over at Aunt Kay. She had both hands raised, her gaze was focused, intense. She was out for blood. "Let her go, or I'll kill you both."
"You don't want to do that," Tristan said. "You need her. I could care less, though. You move any closer, and I'll snap her neck."
"No, you won't," Aunt Kay said.
"What makes you so sure? You'd be willing to gamble her life on your assumptions?" Tristan squeezed tighter, and I gasped.
"Because she's your daughter," she said. "Ever wonder what makes her so special? Why Terra wants her so badly? Why do you think Mina ran from you?"
Tristan loosened his grip on me for a moment, then tightened again. "You're lying."
"Ask her," Aunt Kay said. "If she's keeping this a secret from you, what else is she hiding?"
I didn't want to believe my aunt's words. I didn't want to be related in any way to this - Dark Fae, whatever that meant. Tristan pulled my chin toward him and locked his eyes on mine. A rush of fear spread through me. Not fear of Tristan, rather fear that Kay was right. I could see the realization donning in his expression and as much as I wanted to argue it, at that moment, I knew he was my father.
Tristan looked away from me, then tightened his grip on me. My vision blurred as black wings swallowed me whole. Feathers beat against my body sending a chill through me. I tried to cry out, but there was nothing but blackness - silent and impenetrable.
When my vision cleared, I realized nobody was holding me anymore. I looked around to find that I was standing in the middle of nowhere. Sparse plants dotted a barren landscape, and I saw a Joshua tree in the distance. Where am I?
A tumbleweed rolled past me, the way they do in the movies. What the?
"It's true, isn't it?"
I spun around to see Tristan watching me. His expression was unreadable. Loose strands of blonde hair blew in front of his face, but he ignored them.
Ignoring his question, I took a step closer to him. He'd shown up with a pack of Terra's wolves and attacked innocent people. He could have killed me or Joe or my aunt or any of the other Sayges. "What happened back there? Why are you trying to kill me?"
"Nobody died," he said.
Hands on my hips, I glared at him. "You showed up with a whole pack of wolves."
"Nobody got hurt."
"That's not the point," I said. How could this be my biological father? How could I be related to someone who would put so many at harm?
"I called off the wolves. They're fine." He stared at me as if studying my face.
"Thank you." We stood there in silence for several long moments, and I felt the anger subside.
Tristan cocked his head to the side. "You look like her, you know."
My brow furrowed in response.
"Mina. Your mother."
"I never met her," I said.
"They didn't tell you anything, did they?" he said.
I shook my head. "Kay says you're my father. But I've never met either of my parents."