Chapter 173

Hannah

The look on Wren’s face was something I would never get out of my mind. She saw my mom shifting into somebody, or something, else. I held onto her tightly as she nuzzled her head into my chest. Her entire body was trembling. We had to put a stop to this. I had to figure out how to help her.

“It’s going to be okay,” I whispered to her. “You did well. You can rest now.”

Her body seemed to have relaxed a little. She was so exhausted. What was the moon goddess thinking? Making her go through all of this. I wish I could get a hold of the goddess herself and ask her what her thoughts were when she chose Wrenley as the chosen daughter.

I released her and stood to face Sebastian.

“We need to go to the elders; right now,” I told him.

He nodded in agreement. I turned to Raya.

“Can you keep an eye on her for a little longer? Liam too?”

She gave me a faint smile and narrow her eyes at me.

“I’ve been watching her for 5 years. I think we can handle another day,” she said.

I hugged her tightly before going to Liam and hugged him. He still seemed frozen on the couch; everything that had happened the last few months while he was in the underworld was replaying in his mind. He was realizing how terrible it really was; everything he had suppressed was resurfacing in his mind.

“I need you to stay here,” I told him softly. “Raya and Arnold will take care of you and keep you safe. You can trust them, okay?”

He was only a year younger than me, but he still had the mentality of a child. It was due to the condition he was born with. He finally pulled his gaze away from his hands and fixated his eyes on me.

“Okay,” he whispered; but I could see the uncertainty on his face.

I felt Wren’s hands placed over mine and I turned my attention to her.

“I’ll stay with him, mommy,” she told me kindly.

I gave her a small smile and kissed the top of her head. I hated that I missed out on so much of her life, but I was unbelievably grateful that she knew who I was and that she trusted me.

“I know, sweetheart,” I said in return. “I love you both so much.”

I wrapped my arms around both of their shoulders and pulled them close. After a moment longer, Sebastian came toward us as well.

“We will be back as soon as we can,” he assured everyone. “The elders are located a few hours away. So, we shouldn’t be longer than a day.” He glanced over at Arnold. “We’ll need to use your car.”

Arnold nodded his head once.

“Of course, anything you need is yours.”

We didn’t have much for clothing, but Arnold and Raya allowed us to take a couple of their outfits to change into. We also packed a small bag of supplies for our journey before leaving the house. After another round of much-needed and long hugs, we headed out and were on the road to the elders.

Like witches, elders enjoyed staying hidden in their small towns. Most of them were in the eastern region of the kingdom. Sebastian used to be close to them at one point, but that was a long time ago. It took us hours to reach the village and by the time we got there, I was exhausted. Sebastian mentioned I should try to nap because I have yet to sleep since we returned from the underworld. But how could I sleep with everything going on?

We reached a small house; a house that I didn’t recognize, but Sebastian seemed confident that this was the place we needed to be. I followed him to the door and waited as he knocked. A woman answered, she was much older, definitely an elder. She had white glistening hair that was so long and ended around her lower waist. Her eyes were silver, and I was 90% positive she was blind. She had a bunch of jewelry around her body like the witches usually wore.

“I have been waiting a long time for you to return,” the woman said with a faint smile as she looked up at Sebastian. Now I wasn’t so sure she was blind.

“It’s been a long time, Madam Calliope,” Sebastian said to her with a head bow. Being respectful to elders was a must.

“You have brought your luna?”

“Yes, I have,” Sebastian answered, glancing over at me with a smile. He reached his hand out for me to take. I took it without hesitation and walked to stand beside him. “Hannah, this is Madam Calliope. She’s an old friend. She’s also one of the elders who told me that I needed to marry the daughter of Alpha Steven.”

I bowed my head to her; still unsure if she could see me or not.

“It’s an honor to finally meet you, Madam Calliope,” I said as politely as I could.

Calliope gave me a fond smile and reached her hand out to me. I took her hand and saw how wrinkled her fingers were. She must have been centuries old; elders were known to have extended lifespans They lived much longer lives than the rest of us. They have the sight; a gift given to them by the moon goddess. They were meant to walk this land and help us navigate to appease the goddess in every way we could.

I couldn’t help but feel a warmth embracing me as I stood in the presence of this elder. She had a warm feeling to her, and I appreciated that.

“I might not be able to see you with my eyes, but I can see you with my mind and you are quite beautiful, my darling. You also hold a lot of dread and fear in your heart. We’ll need to take care of that if you want to have a chance at defeating the vampire king.”

I nodded and took in a steady breath, trying to calm down my rapid heartbeat. She finally released my hands after a short pause and motioned for us to follow her inside. Her house was quant; not at all how I would imagine an elder’s house to look. It was so modern and there didn’t seem to be any magical things in sight. I thought maybe it would look like it belonged to a witch, but I guess elders were different.

Sebastian and I sat down on the couch, side by side, while Calliope sat in her reclining chair. It looked like it pained her to walk, so sitting was her best option.

“Would you like some tea or anything?” Calliope offered.

“No, thank you,” both Sebastian and I said at the same time.

“We don’t wish to keep you long, Madam Calliope,” Sebastian told her kindly.

“Nonsense,” she said with a light chuckle. “You’ve come all this way. Please, stay as long as you’d like.”

Sebastian gave her his thanks, but when I didn’t say anything, she glanced at me with a timid frown.

“Though, I suppose you’d like to return to your daughter.”

I nodded before remembering she was blind.

“I do,” I answered out loud. Sebastian gave my hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance. “We’ve just been through so much as a family. I’m sick of the fighting and being apart. I wish us to be a normal family again.”

“And you will be again soon,” Calliope assured me. “Once you destroy the heart that feeds his powers. You will defeat him once and for all.”

“How do we do that, Madam Calliope?” Sebastian asked. “What do we need to destroy the heart?”

“A tool,” she said. “A tool that you do not have yet, but you will get. It is being held at the palace by the king and the queen.”

“Jack and Amy?” I asked. “Of course, they have the tool.”

“I didn’t say it was Amy,” she said, shooting me a look. “I said the queen. It’s an emblem that she holds dear to her heart.”

“The queen?” I asked, trying to figure out what she meant if she wasn’t talking about Amy. She obviously wasn’t talking about me.

I looked at Sebastian curiously and his face hardened.

“Magnolia.”