~~
Talia
~~
I followed my mom to the floors below the residence in the tower. All the while that we walked, Lex followed behind us. We walked and walked until we got to my mom's large and comfortable looking office.
I knew that my siblings were sent back to sleep, but I doubted that they were actually able to sleep at all. I felt bad for having scared them and making them worry about me. It broke my heart that I was the cause of so much pain and worry in my family. I didn't want to do this to them.
When I got to the office, I saw that there were people that were waiting for us there. Dad, Uncle Gabriel, Uncle Vincent, Uncle Dietrich, Uncle Shawn, Uncle Shane, and Uncle David were all there waiting for us. There was also a cart that had recently been delivered by Abigail. She had made breakfast for us. I felt bad about that as well. She had needed to get up early to make food for us. And I could tell that it was all done hastily, that was why it was a simple breakfast that had oatmeal, fruit, pancakes, toast, and scrambled eggs. All things that would be quick and easy to make.
There was coffee on the tray too, and since I didn't get much sleep, I decided to get some. I didn't care that my mom and dad gave me disapproving looks when they saw me pouring copious amounts of cream and sugar into the cup, I needed the caffeine right now.
.....
We all took a moment to get a plate and take a seat at one of the tables that had recently been added to my mom's office. It definitely made it easier to eat like this, but I knew that the tables were here because of the case, and that meant that they weren't here for a good reason.
When I was just about done eating, and when Dad had been done for a while now, I heard him clear his throat so that he could speak.
“Alright Talia, now that we've all had the time to eat and get some coffee in us.” He looked at the cup that I currently had in my hand. He truly didn't want me drinking this stuff yet. I got that, but at the moment I didn't care. “I think that it is time that we all hear what it is that happened this morning. Why were you covered in blood? What was it that terrified you so much? What happened?” He and all the others, Lex included, were staring at me expectantly.
“Well.” I set down my cup and crossed my hands on the table in front of me. I needed a distraction at that moment, and this was as close as I could get to one. “I was having trouble sleeping last night. I was worried about my friends and classmates. I knew that I wasn't going to find out if they lived until the morning came around, but I was nervous and scared nonetheless.” I told them the truth about that part. It wasn't like I needed to hide that from anyone. “Anyway, I was pacing my room and going crazy for hours. It was around four or so in the morning when I finally felt like I was going to sleep, but I wasn't going to sleep. This felt different, weird, and just plain strange. It was like something was pulling me into sleep, something so strong that it happened in almost an instant. It scared me and I wanted it to stop, but it was too late.”
“The other visions weren't like that.” Lex wasn't asking me that. He was making a statement for the others. He had been told what the other two visions were like, so he knew as much as I did about them.
“Exactly.” I nodded at him. “And, well, when I entered the vision I was here at the castle. Well, behind it in the woods and mountains.”
“You were here?” Mom looked like she couldn't believe that. I didn't know why she thought that it was impossible, but there were a lot of those men out there, they were bound to find us soon, right.
“Yes. they were here.”
“That shouldn't be. We captured most of them. There are only a handful of them now. The leaders are all that we need to capture. How could they possibly think about attacking us?” She looked so confused, about as confused as I felt right then.
“You captured them?” I asked her to clarify.
“Yes, Talia. We stopped the girls from being attacked, they are all OK by the way. And then we arrested the men in the park, as well as two other groups that were in the city. We have a lot of them in the dungeons now. There are only the leaders left for us to get.”
“I don't know about that, Mom.” I felt a wave of cold wash over me then. “There were dozens of them in my vision. It almost felt like there were close to a hundred people that were attacking the castle. And they were attacking.”
I started to explain everything that I saw and heard. I told them the names that I had heard: Vogran, Olorud, and Zarinog. I told them how these people, whoever or whatever they were, were flying up in the air. I heard so many voices that it made it seem like there were a hundred of them. And they were facing off against all of my family. I told them how my uncles, all of them, died and were laying on the ground. It was a horrible sight and it terrified me to my core. Then I told them how the man known as King Olorud had shot something out of his hand, some sort of large beast, and that beast attacked my parents. It bit them somehow. And it was so large that it made them rain blood on the ground as they died. And that is how I got covered in blood before I woke up.
I was cold and shivering when I was done telling them what it was that had happened in my vision. I was wishing right now that I had worn clothes that were a little warmer and covered a little more of my body. I was feeling exposed and shaking as I tried to wrap my arms around myself.
It was at that moment that I realized that Lex was always going to be the most perfect bodyguard for me. Without hesitation, he took off his large leather jacket and draped it over my shoulders. I was still so short and he was so tall that the jacket was enough to cover all of me, especially when I pulled my legs up onto the chair and crossed them in front of me. I was so much warmer with his jacket on me. Especially considering that he ran warmer than anyone I had ever met in my life. And his jacket was always warm, no matter what the situation was.
“Talia?” Mom's eyes were wide in shock when she looked at me. She, along with the others, had been frozen in shock for a moment as well.
“I know, Mom. It's not a pleasant vision. And that vision, what happened at the end, that was why I was screaming. I..I..I had watched you die. It was only in the dream, vision, but it felt so real to me at the time. I..I..I just couldn't handle it. I just couldn't stop the screaming. I screamed again, and again, and again. It wasn't until Lex ran the cold water on me that I was able to come to my senses, and that was when I shifted.”
“You shifted?” Uncle Vincent looked at me in excitement. “I know that the circumstances were not the best, Tally, but that is something to celebrate.” He was such a nice man, always trying to make people feel loved and appreciated. He had supposedly been one of the first to do that for my mom when she became the Luna all those years ago.
“Thank you, Uncle Vincent.” I gave him a soft smile.
“We will do something for you later. When all of this is over. And, of course, we will all want to see the wolf.” I knew what he was doing. He was trying to calm me down as best as he could. It was working, a little, and I was thankful for that.
“I am still worried about the fact that we all died.” Uncle Shane said as he looked sick. “Y..you really saw all of us dead? All of us.”
“Yes, Uncle Shane, all of you were dead. And at the end Mom and Dad died. I knew that if they died, then me, Reagan, Rika, Zachary, Zander, Zayden and Zaley were all dead, or going to die. There was nothing that any of us could do. We were all going to die. And if we don't stop that vision from coming true, then we will all die for real.” The shivering was back, but it had nothing to do with the cold. I was scared, and they all knew it.
“I think that we need to talk to some more people about this dream of yours, Talia.” Mom said, not looking scared or worried at all anymore. “You did say that this felt different, so maybe it was different. Alexio, can you call Mr. Amadeus? He is the one that knows the most about visions, maybe he can help us with all of this.”
“Are you sure you want me to call him now?” Lex said as he looked at his watch. It wasn't even six in the morning.
“The sooner the better, Alexio. We don't have a lot of time to waste here.” Mom was right. We needed to figure all of this out as soon as possible. It was a matter of life or death, literally.
I didn't want anyone else getting hurt by these people. Not another shifter out in the world, not another Fae girl that didn't deserve to have her innocence and life stolen from her. But more importantly than all of that, I didn't want my family and the people that I personally knew and loved to be hurt. I didn't want my uncles to be slaughtered like they were nothing but insects that were easily squashed by the enemy. And I didn't want to see the way that my parents had died coming true. I couldn't let any of them get hurt, even if I needed to save them myself. I would protect them all. I would save them all. That I promised.
