166
Lucy
"You really don't remember me, do you, Lu-Lu?" she said with a mixture of sadness and fondness in her eyes.
I sniffled and shook my head.
Jessie smiled gently, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from my face. "You look so much like your mother, Auntie Allie, Allison. We used to play together all the time when we were kids. And Duke," she turned to Duke, "you were the best babysitting gig I ever had in the family, besides Lucy, of course."
She laughed a little. “Man, you two were the highlight of the week after babysitting certain other members of the family…”
I couldn’t help but laugh and look at Duke.
“S-Seems like it’s not that bizarre after all.”
He cracked a smile. “I guess not.”
The door opened once more, and I turned to see Luke enter the room. He was accompanied by several others, all of them beaming with joyous tears in their eyes. Luke gathered them each close, talking to them gently, stroking their faces. His eyes were red with tears as he came in and swooped the baby from the witch’s arms. She gave a thin smile and left as soon as he started cooing at her. As for the others, there were about five of them, and all of them looked to be around my age.
Jessie turned and gasped.
He turned and went still. His eyes widened as he looked at me and then at Duke. His eyes filled with tears as the door closed.
“Jessie?”
“Uncle Lu’!” Her tearful eyes lit up with joy, and she rushed over to him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. “I can’t believe you’re here!”
She sobbed gently, and he rubbed her back. She drew back to look down at the child. She cooed and took the child before he stepped around the table and cast a wave of light in Jordan’s direction just before he faded away completely. He turned almost solid, and Jessie gasped again before tears started rushing down her cheeks.
“Jordan?”
He beamed at her and waved. “I’m… glad you made it out.”
He stood and rounded the table, passing a hand over her cheek. “It’s all I wanted.”
“B-But…”
“I have to go now.”
“Wait!”
He walked through the wall, and Jessie turned to go after him, but Luke grabbed her.
“He hasn’t moved on,” he said gently. “He still… lingers around the coven campus. The Council Hall is just… hard on him.”
She sniffled and nodded. “O-Okay.”
“You… know Jordan?” I asked.
She wiped her face. “H-He’s my brother.”
The pain that shot through me almost took my breath away. Luke took a seat near us.
“I take it that means… you’re members of White Moon,” Luke said slowly. “I… thought when I first saw you, but I didn’t…. I couldn’t let myself hope that.”
I exchanged a stunned glance with Duke. None of this was making any sense. There was no "Luke" on any of the paperwork we had seen so far. And now, this woman, who claimed to be our cousin, was calling him "Uncle."
“I’m… confused.”
He smiled. “My real name isn’t Luke.” His voice grew tense as he met my gaze. "My real name is Lucian.”
My mind was racing, trying to make sense of the pieces falling into place.
Lucian…
Lucy…
He was the uncle I was named after.
“A-Allison,” I sniffled. “I-Is the sister you were….”
Lucian looked at me with understanding and nodded.
"Lucy," he said softly, reaching out to touch my shoulder. "I'm so sorry I didn’t… I don’t know. Hope? Your mother and I were inseparable when we were kids. You are my first and only niece…”
He shook his head and tucked a curl behind my ear. "I thought I had lost you forever, Little Lu’. W-When I found your parents… When I couldn’t find you. You have to know that I searched for you, but I suppose luck brought us back together."
He wrinkled his nose. “I wish fate had taken better care of you, though I suppose it was better than the alternative.
“It’s okay,” I whispered. “You’ve… taken care of me all this time. Will you… tell me about her?”
His eyes brightened. “Whatever you want to know.”
As the misty tears blurred my vision, I realized that this was the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I wasn’t alone at all. The shock took over. I could barely breathe as I looked around the room. The little girl who was going to be sent to Blue Moon was my relative. Luke was my relative. Duke was my relative. As the pieces of our family connection fell into place, a surge of powerful emotions surged through me. I almost cried out as I felt something snap, and a bolt of lightning shot out, breaking the overhead lights and dousing the candelabras.
“I’m so sorry!”
Laughter erupted among the others in the room, and I blushed in embarrassment. Thankfully, the lightning was harmless, and everyone seemed to find amusement in my unexpected display of power. The door opened and Riley shrieked as she ducked and a lightning bolt shot over her head. The witch that followed her looked surprised as she entered, but she quickly regained her composure.
My face burned, but I felt something tingling beneath my skin like my blood was made of soda or something.
Lucian put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "It's alright, Lucy," he said with a gentle smile. "It's not every day you discover your long-lost family."
I nodded, trying to steady my breathing and my heart, which was still pounding in my chest. "I-I can't believe it," I stammered. "This is all so overwhelming."
Duke, who had been laughing along with the others, leaned closer to me.
"It's okay, Lu-Lu," he said, grinning. “Welcome to the magic wielder club.”
Jessie smiled warmly at me, her eyes filled with kindness. "It's incredible to see you all again after all these years."
She grinned at everyone else. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again… Wait until I tell Sierra!”
Lucian’s eyes widened. “Sierra? You’ve been with Sierra all this time?”
She nodded. “We found each other in… Black Moon territory and moved a year ago. She had to work today, otherwise she would have been here too.”
I looked at Riley. “This is the meeting?”
She nodded. “It is… though it’s a bit earlier than I thought it would be.”
I couldn't help but smile at Jessie, wondering what Sierra was like and if I’d get to meet her soon.
"I still can't believe all of this."
“What was it like in Black Moon?” One of the young men asked.
Jessie shrugged. “It wasn’t so bad. We just… had an urge to leave is all.”
The room felt charged with emotions as everyone embraced and shared stories of where they had all been all this time. Duke and I were mostly quiet, listening to everyone talk about what they remembered from our childhoods. I didn’t remember anything, but Duke seemed to remember bits and pieces, and I couldn’t be happier for them. I could feel the deep sense of family, but it made me wonder what kind of person the Moon Goddess had been if this was my family and Lucian hated her so much.
Was the woman who appeared to me, really the Moon Goddess or just someone else? How could she have made people like this?
I chuckled as a child’s shriek of laughter filled the air. The little girl was playing with a bit of lightning with one of my cousins. He looked a little older. His eyes sparkled as he looked down at her.
“She’s going to be trouble.”
I looked at Lucian. “Is she…”
He nodded. His eyes grew dark. “I still… don’t have a perfect solution.”
My heart swelled with concern for the little girl. He passed her down the line and soon she was in my arms, grinning up at me with a gummy smile. The others started to chatting and I wondered if this is what family reunions were usually like.
Then, the door opened and the council representative from earlier entered the room.
Her expression composed yet serious. "I'm glad to see everyone in high spirits," she said. "However, we have important matters to discuss."
We all turned our attention to her. She looked at each of us with as if she didn’t even care what we thought of the announcement she wanted to make. The atmosphere in the room seemed to grow heavier as she entered, and my heart began to race in my chest. I could feel the tension building around me, and my nerves were getting the best of me.
I heard the Moon Goddess laughing in the back of my mind. Duke reached out and took my hand, squeezing it tight.
"Listen, everyone," she started, her voice stern and cold.
My stomach plummeted with dread.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
