Chapter 24

Final stroke.




"This is the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard," I said, sitting back down and folding my arms together. Why did I have to mention this stupid contract? Dad was joking. Grandma couldn't have believed that a member of our family possessed the power to make other paranormals immortal. Elves and fairies were ageing, and no one could do anything to prevent that.
Dad pressed his lips together, glancing back at Mum, who wasn't saying anything.
"Your grandmother believed in the contract. I know how this sounds, Julia, but it's true. Apparently, the contract was renewed just before I fell in love with your mother."
"What happened after that?" I asked, not convinced that my grandmother would carry on with something like that.
"She didn't approve of your mother, but she never gave us a reason why we couldn't be together. At the time I had no idea there was a document that prevented us from getting married," Dad kept saying. "Things weren’t easy back then. We fought over this many, many times. My mum used a spell to make me forget about your mother. She was ruthless and didn't care about our feelings."
I was sitting between my parents and my fiancé, not believing that my father had kept this from us for so long. No one had ever mentioned it, until now.
"I went ahead and married your mother anyway. I didn't believe in the prophecy either. There haven't been any boys born into our family in the past sixty years," he added.
"Barbra didn't speak to Jerry for two years," Mum suddenly said. "Then you were born, and she showed up, saying that she had forgiven your dad."
"That sort of explains why she didn't want me anywhere near you," Nathaniel said.
"I thought my mother was simply old fashioned and worried about her reputation. After you were born and she apologised, she said that she wanted to be involved in bringing you up."
"She was murdered because she was trying to protect me, but I still don't know who would do such a thing," I said.
“That's what we need to find out. This letter is proof that she was murdered. The royals should have stayed away. I’ll take the first available plane to Norway and demand to speak to the king," Dad said. I sunk back into the seat, rubbing my sweaty palms over my jeans. The contract was with Karina, the white fairy. Dad wasn't going to be happy about that turn of events.
"No, Dad, you can't just arrive there without an invitation. This whole story sounds like a fairy tale. First of all, we don't have any evidence that the contact was ever drafted, besides the statement of a wizard—"
"Julia, this is not up for discussion. This family has suffered enough, and that contract should have been voided a long time ago."
"Jerry, calm down," Nathaniel said. "Listen to yourself. You’ve been working in a different department and you’re not in any position to demand anything from the royals. I have no doubt your boss is keeping an eye on you. You’ll risk your job and your reputation."
"It's none of your business, Nathaniel. I asked you to keep my daughter safe and you let her get involved," he spat, with anger.
Nathaniel went quiet and Dad kept shaking his head. The atmosphere went frosty and I felt foreign energy drifting around us. I would have recognised it if it was Dad’s.
"Jerry, there’s nothing I can do if your daughter turned into a complete slut. She does what she wants and fucks whoever she pleases." Nathaniel scowled, letting his fangs descend.
I gasped in disbelief. My father swung his arm, punching Nathaniel straight in his face. Everything happened so fast, that I didn't have a chance to react or even process what Nathaniel said. The impact of Dad’s punch sent Nathaniel over the sofa, and he crashed into the porcelain on the table. My heart practically stopped, and I sat there, shocked, not believing he would talk to my father like that. I had never seen Dad so furious, standing over the dhampir with his eyes glowing like two neons.
"Don't you dare talk about my daughter like that or I swear to God, I'll teach you proper manners and your face won't be pretty anymore," Dad snarled back.
Nathaniel was scrambling back to his feet, touching his bleeding nose. His eyes were darker, not recognisable.
"I should have never proposed to her. Getting involved with her was the worst thing that ever happened to me," Nathaniel said, brushing the dust off his clothes. These words stabbed me right between my ribs, piercing my heart.
"Nathaniel, you don't think that. This isn't you," I shouted, trying to fight with my magic that was going berserk around us. His eyes were suffocating me, and he was looking at me like there had never been anything between us. Is that what love was? Constant fighting, and now the hatred? I couldn't believe he was capable of speaking to me with so much repulsion.
He laughed and shook his head.
"I have never loved you. I only wanted to fuck you and then suck your delicious blood, you slut!"
Dad swung again, but Nathaniel beat him to it. He roared and smashed Dad’s jaw then sunk his fangs into his neck. Mum started screaming. Blood was everywhere and all of a sudden, I lost control of my magic. I used the raw energy to separate him from my dad. My so-called fiancé went flying across the landing, crashing against the wall, and parts of the ceiling came down. My fingertips were sparking; magic buzzed in my ears. I was ready for so much more.
I didn't remember much about what happened later. I must have unleashed more power, because every movement was suddenly painful. Potent, dark energy swirled around the room, trashing everyone in its path. The pain in my chest kept spreading. Mum was trying to take care of Dad’s wound. Nathaniel went flying through the door, landing on the pavement outside beyond the porch. Dad had thrown him out, not paying attention to the fact that he was bleeding and told him to stay away from me. I was shaking when the magic finally faded. The room looked trashed.
"Hon, hon…it's okay. Calm down. He’s gone," Dad kept saying, holding my hand. The buzzing had stopped.
"I'm sorry, Dad. I don't know what got into him. He’s never behaved like that," I said, sobbing. The headache was gone, but my dignity was crushed. Dad used his own spells to put the house to the way it was before I showed up. When we looked outside, Nathaniel was walking away; he was on the phone. My heart was pounding away, and I’d never felt so numb.
"Julia, that man is no longer welcome in this house," Dad said once he was back on his feet. He was bleeding but used his magic to heal himself. I didn't know what I was supposed to do now. Nathaniel had hurt me before, but this was something else. He sounded like he was possessed.
"I don't understand, darling. He was always so polite. What’s gotten into him?" Mum asked.
"No idea, Mum."
"It's better that you didn't marry him. He nearly killed your father!"
I couldn't speak. My father was still cursing looking out the window. I tried to count, but that didn't work. My head started to hurt. All the information about my grandmother, and the contract, none of this mattered anymore. I was broken, my heart shattered.
"Dad, can you please take me home?" I asked, trying to sound normal, though my voice vibrated. I was still breathing, but the past few minutes were a living nightmare.
"Julia, maybe you should stay here. Being alone in a situation like this might be difficult," Mum told me when I picked up my stuff.
"No, I need to be alone right now," I said. "Dad, come on."
We didn't talk when we got into the car, and for the first time in my life, I was glad my father was silent. There was no point going over and over what happened in the house. Nathaniel had humiliated me again, this time crossing the line even more. I didn't cry. I didn't want to appear weak in front of my father. An hour later we were outside my apartment and neither one of us moved. There were a lot of things that I wanted to say to my dad, but I couldn't. I felt like I had no voice, no dignity left. All my life I’d looked for a man who would love me and I thought I’d found him, but Nathaniel never cared for me. Our love was an illusion.
"Julia, if he ever contacts you again, you let me know right away," Dad told me, turning to look at me. His pupils were dilated, and he looked like he was ready to explode. When I left the house this morning, I never thought that I would end up like this. Lost and hurt.
"Okay."
"Are you sure you want to be alone?"
"Yes, Dad. I don't want to talk to anyone right now."
"Fine, Julia. Remember, let me know if that creature bothers you again. In the meantime, try to get some rest."
He kissed me on my forehead. I got out of the car and started walking towards my building. Somehow, I managed to get inside without throwing up and without trashing whatever was under my hand. I locked my apartment door and then ran a bath for myself, trying to clear my head. My excess magic didn't bother me anymore; my energy was gone. Something had shifted inside me. I was hurt, but I couldn't cry. We were done with each other. When the bathtub was filled, I slid into the warm bubbles, closed my eyes and tried to forget about everything that happened.
I had no idea how long I was in the bath, an hour maybe. I kept staring at the water, thinking that my life was in shambles. Then I heard banging. Someone was at the door.
"Julia, open up, come on."
"Yeah, we know you’re inside. There’s no point hiding!"
For some reason Kate, Nicky and Kelsie were here. I closed my eyes, counted to five and got out of the cold water. I wrapped my robe around my body and marched to the door, feeling lightheaded and still pretty numb. Nicky, Kelsie and Kate stood on my threshold.
“What's going on? What are you guys doing here?"
"Are you fucking kidding us? Nathaniel broke the engagement. The story is all over the paranormal news," Nicky shouted, marching inside. "What the hell happened? Why didn't you call?"
I stood there, looking at them unable to say anything. I had no idea how they and the press knew what happened in my parents’ home only a couple of hours ago. Kelsie pushed me inside and Kate shut the door, locking it with magic.
"This just happened a couple of hours ago. How do you—"
Nicky picked up my laptop and brought up the paranormal gossip page. There across the screen was the latest gossip.

Exclusive: Julia Taylor and Nathaniel La Caz split.

I started checking paranormal Facebook and Twitter feeds. This story seemed to be everywhere. I sat on the sofa, feeling sick. He must have gone straight to the papers. I couldn't believe it. The girls were looking at me in silence.
"We were at my parents’ house. I needed to talk to Dad about the letter, but the conversation didn't go very well. When Dad heard everything, he started accusing Nathaniel of not keeping me safe. Then Nathaniel flipped. He called me a slut, told my parents that I’d been sleeping around. Dad lost it and punched him."
"Oh, my God," Kate said.
"I can't believe this," Kelsie shouted. "He must have gone to the press straight away. What a prick!"
"Unbelievable," Nicky added, shaking her head.
I couldn't talk about this anymore. I was suddenly glad they were here; I needed their love and support and could feel instant warming energy coming off of them in waves. Nicky hugged me, and I started sobbing. I thought I could be strong, but it seemed like my life was just one catastrophe after another. Kate and Kelsie joined her.
"Don't cry, darling. He doesn’t deserve your tears," Kate was saying.
"Julia, maybe your grandma was right. Maybe it was never meant to be," Nicky said, holding my hand.
"I don't know. He was normal the day before. He just said it, out of the blue," I said, wiping my tears. "Nathaniel was right about the letter. I had to tell Dad what was in it. Apparently my great-great-grandmother made some sort of deal with the royals."
I told them everything I knew, what I found out right before my ex-fiancé flipped. Once I was done, the girls were in shock. It was a lot to take in and I hated myself for what happened with Grandma. She could be still alive if I hadn't gone out with Nathaniel. I felt Nicky's energy moving, calming me, the same way that Ella’s did.
"Hold on, didn't that witch who tortured you want to gain immortality?" Kate asked, all of the sudden.
"Yes, she believed I was the perfect vessel or some crap. Half of the time I didn't know what was going on. She was using her magic to hurt me."
"Okay, but your father was right,” Nicky began. “There haven't been any boys in your family in over sixty years. Maybe your grandmother had no choice; maybe her mother signed the contract with the royals and she couldn't cancel it. Your father married a human and then you were with a vampire. Don't forget that elves’ magic goes back centuries. Years ago, families were obligated to marry their daughters off, sometimes even to a complete stranger. Obviously, that changed as years went on."
Nicky had a good point. My grandmother had to make sure our bloodline remained pure. Apart from Dad, I was the first woman in our family who dated a non-elf.
"Maybe, but this thing about immortality sounds absurd. I appreciate all of you coming over, but there’s no point dwelling on what Nathaniel’s done. We’re over and that killer is still out there."
"Fuck men—let's have a drink,” Kelsie said, pulling a bottle of vodka out of her bag. “We’re not leaving you on your own right now."
“She's right. We’re celebrating, not crying. I'll get the glasses," Nicky added, then vanished into my kitchen.
Kate nodded, letting me know I wasn't going to be alone. I had friends who cared for me. Maybe they were right. Tonight, I needed to forget about my shitty day, and if vodka was the solution, then I was all right with it. For the first time in my life I didn't feel I had to prove something to anyone. Tonight, I squeezed my love so hard that it burst. It was easier to think that love didn't exist anymore.