Chapter 177

Hannah

We returned home with my new dress and for the rest of the evening, Sebastian and I read Gemma’s black book.

“It says that the chosen child is the moon goddess’ eyes, ears, and body. She has the power of the moon goddess to keep the peace amongst the lands because the goddess can’t be here in her physical form,” Sebastian said, reading the pages.

“So, Wren is her version of a vessel?”

“Pretty much,” he answered. “It’s kind of strange to think about. But if the goddess thinks this is the best option, then we have no other choice than to trust her.”

“Of course, I trust the moon goddess,” I retorted. “That doesn’t mean I like that our daughter is being used like this though. Does the book say anything about how to control her powers?”

He flipped through some of the pages.

“Most of these are spells she can do,” he answered. “Spells that only the moon goddess herself could do. It does say though that meditation helps to calm her mind and center her. There are some guided mediation practices in here she could try.”

I nodded as I thought more about that.

“What about her visions? Is there a way to control them?”

He flipped through some more pages until he reached a section about visions. He scanned the pages briefly.

“Okay, so here it says that if it’s a vision she really needs to see, like urgently, then it can’t be controlled. However, it seems that when she’s thinking about something intently, then a vision will come to her. If she’s worried about something, even if it’s just subconsciously.”

“That’s why she had a vision about my mother?” I asked, staring over at him in shock. “Because she heard us talking about it. Or she heard us talking about the heart. So, her vision was answering our question.”

“Exactly,” Sebastian said. “For the 5 years we’ve been gone, she would worry about us. So, her visions were showing her what we were doing periodically. If something is strongly on her mind, she’s going to see it.”

That thought made me feel unsettled; her visions were our fault. We shouldn’t have been talking about this stuff in front of her. We were the reason she couldn’t sleep, and I felt awful about that.

“Maybe meditation will help her with that as well,” I suggested. “It’ll help channel her thoughts and keep her centered.”

“That’s exactly what the book says too,” Sebastian said. “It’s worth a try.”

For the remainder of the night, we practiced mediation with Wrenley. It was nice being able to sit in a quiet area, with our eyes closed, and focus on our breathing Raya helped with the guidance of the meditation. She read the prompts from the book, keeping her tone low and soft to not disrupt our mediation process.

“Imagine you are at the beach. Imagine what you can feel. What you can hear. What you can smell. Can you feel the soft and warm sand under your bare toes? Can you smell the salt from the ocean and hear the waves coming to shore? Can you feel the light breeze and the warmth of the sun? Can you hear the seagulls around the beach? Imagine that you’re safe and nobody can hurt you where you are. Nobody is in danger, and nothing can touch you. Imagine your thoughts are like clouds and you see them drifting in and out of your view of the sky. Allow these thoughts to come naturally and watch them drift away. Don’t fight the thoughts, but don’t force them to stay either. Allow them to move on. You have the power over your own thoughts, and you dictate how long they linger. Give them space to linger and then allow them to drift away naturally. Focus on your breathing. Breathe in and then breathe out.”

I did as she said, breathing in and then breathing out. I could hear Wren and Sebastian doing the same thing. I felt tranquil and at peace. It was nice.

…

The next night came quickly. I had gotten dressed in the gorgeous silver dress I had gotten at the boutique. I allowed Nancy to do my hair. I had a half-up and half-down hairstyle; she curled it so my hair bounced around my shoulders. She did my makeup as well; not too heavy because I wasn’t a huge makeup wearer. But enough to bring out all my features.

“Wow,” Sebastian breathed as I walked into the living room.

“Wow yourself,” I said to him as I took in his handsome appearance.

I shouldn’t have been surprised by how gorgeous he was. He could literally wear a paper bag and still be incredibly good-looking. He had his hair, which had grown in length since this whole thing began, brushed back and out of his face. He wore one of Arnold’s best, dark, suits. Sebastian was larger in muscles compared to Arnold, so he filled the suit out to the max and it left no mystery to the muscles that were hidden underneath.

“Hannah… you look beautiful,” he breathed, leaning down to kiss me.

“You look amazing too,” I said to him with a smile.

“You both look great,” Raya agreed, breaking into our small moment. “But you must leave now; you can’t be late if you want to blend in.”

She was right; we had to leave.

Arnold drove us to the palace; once we revealed our invitations to the guard at the door, they allowed us entryway. The ballroom was already crowded when we entered; everybody was wearing dazzling gowns and suits. They were dancing and talking amongst one another. It reminded me of the dinner party that Xander held when I first arrived in the underworld. Everybody seemed to be drones with plastered smiles. I could tell that nobody was here out of their own free will.

I spotted Amy and Jack at the head of the ballroom, staring around at all their guests. Jack had a look in his eyes that left me feeling unsettled. I could tell he was planning something. It wouldn’t be long before the Bluemoon would be at its peak in the sky. I feared only the worst to come once he manages to take full control of his vessels.

“Do you see Magnolia?” I asked, staring up at Sebastian as he took me into his arms and spun me around on the dance floor. If we wanted to blend in, we needed to act the part and pretend we were having a good time.

So, we danced.

“Not yet,” he says. “We also have to try to get to the dungeon.”

He was right; there was no way we’d be able to get to the dungeon with the gammas who were most likely guarding it.

“Smile,” he said under his breath. I looked up at him and noticed that he had a fond smile on his face as he continued dancing. He danced elegantly and I couldn’t help but smile at that alone. “Pretend you are having fun.”

I continued dancing with him until he stopped and pulled me toward the tables of food. The food looked delicious and as hungry as I was, I knew it was probably better if I didn’t eat anything there. But I also feared they would find it suspicious if I didn’t eat anything.

“I’m glad you could make it, my son.”

I paused as I heard a familiar voice from across the table of food. I looked up and saw her. Magnolia.