Chamber of Magic

Chapter Six - Promised Emotionally

დ. Ellora. დ

 “That’s enough for today,” I heard Jareth informing me. I sighed in relief and nodded over at him.

“Thanks,”

“Your welcome, go take a hot shower or bath,”

“Sure, see you later,” I left the gym and headed back to the mansion. As I went through the kitchen, I spotted Jane. “Morning Jane,”

“Oh, morning Ellora, early run?” she asked checking me out.

“Yeah,”

“Good, I got your email about the diet you wanted me to prepare for you. Jessica is on that diet too, so it won’t be a problem adjusting it for two,” she gave me a warm smile and I nodded.

“Thank you, Jane, I appreciate that,” I gave her a small wave before heading upstairs to my room. Riley was still sleeping, and I shook my head. She should be up already. I took a hot shower and dressed in comfortable loose-fitting black pants and a blacktop.

“What the hell?” Riley asked as she sat up.

“Morning sunshine,” I greeted her as I dried my hair.

“Mmm, morning, you back from your thing?”

“If by the thing you mean my morning workout then the answer is yes,” I watched as she slowly got out of bed. She wasn’t looking too good and I wondered what was going on.

“Ugh, I feel really shitty,” she mumbled as she went into the bathroom. I frowned. How was it that a healer was feeling shitty? I shrugged and made a note to ask Adam. Checking the time, I knew that there was still enough time before breakfast would be served. I poked my head into the bathroom.

“I’m going to see Adam,”

“Just make sure you-” her voice trailed off and was replaced with a horrible gagging sound. Knowing that she was literally vomiting in the shower, turned my stomach and I heaved. When she was done, I breathed carefully, I had nothing in my stomach to bring up but the will to vomit was strong.

“Are you ok?” I asked her.

“I don’t know, could you do me a favor and get a nurse?”

“Sure,” I said quickly before leaving our room to search for a nurse. Realizing I had no idea where I would find a nurse, I changed direction and headed to Adam’s office. Opening the door and finding it empty was alarming. I facepalmed myself as I had no idea where Adam’s room was. Luckily, I had grabbed my phone earlier and I quickly took it out and called him.

“Hello?” his voice was rough, and I knew I had woken him up.

“Adam, where will I find a nurse?” I asked him.

“What?”

“Oh, for f**k's sake, never mind,” I snapped as I hung up on him and ran to the kitchen, remembering that I had seen Jane there earlier. Relief washed over me as I saw she was still there. “Jane!”

“Ellora, is everything alright?”

“Where will I find a nurse?”

“Oh, hold on I’ll call Kate,” I watched as she took out her phone and spoke to the Kate person to come to the kitchen. “Are you hurt?”

“No, it's my roommate, Riley,” I tapped my foot nervously on the tiles of the kitchen floor as I waited for Kate to show up. Five minutes passed and finally, she arrived. Without waiting for anything, I grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction of the stairs. Understanding my need, she followed me quickly. Noticing that the bedroom door was still open, I rushed in and saw Riley wrapped up in her fluffy purple towel, sitting on her bed. Kate pushed passed me and kneeled down in front of Riley.

“Talk to me,” she demanded softly. 

“I don’t know, I woke up feeling bad and I thought a shower would help but then I got sick and I feel even worse,” Riley explained to her. Kate nodded and looked over at me.

“And you are her roommate?” she questioned.

“Yes,”

“Can you tell me anything about her? Allergies?” she was looking at me, expecting an answer. One I couldn’t give her.

“I’m a terrible friend!” I groan out loud. Riley managed to roll her eyes at me.

“No, I don’t have any allergies, in fact, I’ve never been sick before,” Riley answered her. Kate frowned and slowly moved her hands over Riley. I watched in awe as Kate did this, her hand was flat, palm facing Riley with a very soft pinkish glow. That must mean she also had some kind of healing ability but nothing happened that I could tell, and Kate’s frown turned into worry.

“Odd,” I heard her mumble.

“It didn’t work did it?” Riley asked.

“You aren’t sick, whatever is going on it isn’t some disease or virus,” Kate stood up and looked at me. “You are the mind controller, right?”

“Yes,”

“Can you enter her mind and maybe see if there is anything that can help us?” she asked me. I looked over at Riley and she nodded. I turned on my power and started shifted through her thoughts, her desires (Eeww) and lastly her memories.

“Yeah, I see the problem, thank you, Kate, I can take it from here,” I gave Riley a knowing sly smile as Kate nodded and left the room.

“What’s wrong with me?” Riley asked slowly, I could see she was visibly upset, confused and so much more.

“Ok, first of all, I need you to take a deep breath,” I watched as she took a deep breath. “And out, slowly, good, in with your nose, out with your mouth,” I watched as she followed my words and I smiled. My mom used to give me these breathing exercises to calm me down or help me fall asleep. I could see her cheeks turning a soft pink and I smiled. “Feeling a bit better?”

“Yeah, so, doc, what’s wrong with me?” she glanced up at me and I quickly placed my hand on her arm, sitting down next to her on the bed. Not really thinking of what I was doing yet taking Riley to my all-time favorite place.

დ. Opening my eyes, I looked over at Riley and smiled. I never knew I could do something this big and yet, I was happy to share this place with my best friend. Riley looked down at herself, as she wasn’t wearing a towel but rather, she was wearing a bright purple bikini. She looked over at me, surprise evident on her face as she took in her surroundings.

“Ellora? Where are we?” she asked hesitantly.

“Riley, welcome to my island of peace and tranquillity,” I looked around the island and smiled once again. A tropical island, filled with coconut and banana trees, white sand with different colored shells scattered all over and the clearest bluest sea stretching for miles and miles around us.

“How? I don’t understand,”

“This is my thinking place, this is where I come in my mind to relax and just, well be alone with my thoughts,” she nodded in understanding, yet I could see she was in awe.

“You truly have a powerful and enchanting ability,” she complimented me, and I blushed. I walked over to the big blue blanket that was laying on the sand and sat down.

“Come sit with me and let’s talk,” she was still looking around her but walked over to me and sat down. “Riley, why didn’t you tell me that Kael asked you out on a date?”

“Oh, I, um…you were already sleeping when I got back,” she told me.

“Alright,”

“Is that why I was feeling sick? Because I didn’t tell you about the date?” she asked me confused as she frowned.

“No, you made yourself sick,” I informed her.

“What? How?”

“Riley, you are my best friend, the first ever to pierce my cold heart,” we giggled at my choice of words, but I gazed over at her seriously. “I would never judge you and I don’t want you to overthink what I am going to say, ok?”

“Ok,”

“First of all, I want to say that I am sorry about your parents,” I didn’t want to go into too much detail for obvious reasons. I mean, she knew exactly what I was talking about. However, I wanted to give her the chance to open up to me about it. Talk to me about it on her own.

“Mum and dad divorced when I was five. I didn’t understand it but a part of me knew it was for the best. My parents always fought. My mum and I moved away not long after the divorce and I only heard from my dad on my birthday. I was eleven when my mum told me that my dad had a heart attack and died. She was upset but mostly she was worried about me, how I would take the news,” Riley lowered her head and I reached out and grabbed her hand, giving her silent comfort and encouragement. “I didn’t feel anything though, he wasn’t part of my life and although I wished things had been different, I was ashamed to not feel much of the loss, I suppose everyone was expecting me to feel. My mum and I lived our lives with no regrets. Two years ago, I came home to find that she wasn’t around. I panicked because it was so unlike her. I wasn’t home for long when she called me and told me she was at the hospital. Ellora, I ran as fast as I could,” she looked up at me with unshed tears in her eyes and my heart broke at the sight of my friend. “She told me she had been fighting cancer for well over a year, a year! A f*****g year, I was so caught up with my own selfishness that I didn’t pick up anything. I mean, thinking back now, there where definitely signs but I had chosen to ignore it. Four days later, she died. She didn’t make it. Everything changed for me, I mean, aside from getting the ability to heal. I went into a very dark place Ellora, a place I would still be in if it hadn’t been for Adam who found me,”

“Adam?” this was news to me, although everything she was telling me was things I already knew, I had not known that.

“Yes, Adam, I get that you can read my mind and stuff, but you might see him as my hero instead of it simply being him,” I nodded in understanding. I had seen the person as what she thought was her hero, her guardian angel. “He didn’t take me to the safe house at first, he set me up in an apartment and helped me through my devastation of losing my mum, he helped me survive and then, of course, he helped me to understand my ability and that was when he brought me to the safe house,” I felt an appreciation for Adam wash over me, he had helped her in her time of need. I respect him for that.

“Do you think you understand now why I said you made yourself sick?” I asked her. I didn’t want to push her, but I wanted her to see why. Her feelings, her memories and her fears didn’t just amount to her making herself sick. It was a lot more than that. Silence filled the air around us as the soft sea breeze whipped around us softly. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she spoke.

“When I got older, my mum explained to me what had happened between her and my dad. How he had been having an affair and had chosen the other woman over her. Over us. I hated him for it, but I suffered and developed an abandonment issue. I didn’t want people to get too close to me, in case they left. The only person I ever allowed in my heart was my mum, so when she died, I felt even more abandoned. As much as I am grateful to Adam, and owe him my life, I never allowed myself to feel anything towards him, just in case you know,” she glanced over at me and I nodded. In case he also left her. I understood completely. “When you came into my life, I didn’t want to get close to you, yet, I felt that connection with you. I know what Adam told you about you having a wall up, well, it wasn’t just you, I also had a wall up. Seeing you try so hard to drop that wall made my heart hurt so bad that I gave in and broke down that wall too,” Riley reached out and wiped my cheeks, startling me. I hadn’t even realized that I was crying. It was too much for me, hearing her words, her struggles. It was one thing to invade a person's privacy, but it was a whole other ball game for them to confide in you. “Ellora, in our short time together, you have become my best friend, my confidant, and my sister. I love you unconditionally and although I am terrified of losing you, I am also beyond happy to have you in my life,”

“I love you too my sister,” I whispered, smiling at her. I hadn’t realized that she felt that way, more so, I hadn’t even realized that I felt that way. She was the sister I never had. She was all the family I had now.

“I was happy just having a crush on Kael, loving him in my own way from afar, but then suddenly, he is showing me attention, telling me about himself and asking me to go out with him,” Riley blushed as she gazed out at the ocean. “I panicked. Everything is happening so fast and now I stand to lose so much more, and I don’t know if I will survive it if anything had to happen to you or Kael,” Riley burst into tears and I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly. Her painful sobs filled my ears and I cried with her. I felt her pain and I pained for her, for her past, for her fears but most importantly I pained for my sister. I cooed out soft encouraging words of love and compassion. Slowly, she calmed down and she stopped crying. I didn’t let her go though, I couldn’t.

“You deserve to live and be happy Riley, you deserve it more than anyone else I know,” she pulled away from me and looked me in the eyes.

“Thank you, Ellora,”. დ

დ. Kael. დ

For some unknown reason, my heart hurt. I leaned against the wall for support as pain washed over me in waves. What the hell was going on? I thought to myself as I tried to calm my racing heart. I saw Jareth frown at me, and I tried to shake my head but couldn’t. Something was wrong. He was by my side in seconds.

“Kael? What’s wrong?” he asked me, concern evident on his normally cold and distant features. I wanted to make some snappy comment but as I opened my mouth, another wave of pain hit me. “What the hell?” I heard his voice, but my vision blurred. I knew I was going to faint. How embarrassing. I felt myself slipping, darkness approaching all too soon. As I squeezed my eyes shut, an image of Riley flashed through my mind.

დ.დ.დ

“Kael? Can you hear me?” I could barely hear the voice but still, I felt as though I was reaching out.

“Man, come on,” another voice, deeper, rougher and familiar. I tried to open my eyes and when I did, I quickly closed them as the bright light hurt. I tried again, blinking rapidly.

“Kael? Can you hear me?” that same voice asked me again, I nodded slowly as I tried to focus on the two dark figures that seemed to be hovering over me.

"He will be alright now," I looked over at the other voice and saw a woman dressed in white. I guess she is the nurse.

“What…what happened?” I asked dazed and confused.

“You blacked out,” Jareth explained softly. “You scared the s**t out of me man,” I rolled my eyes but quickly regretted it. I wasn’t sure who the other person was, so my gaze shifted to him.

“What? You are looking at me as if you don’t know me,” the guy said, and I frowned.

“Well, who are you?”

“Kael, you don’t know him?” Jareth asked in disbelief. I looked at the guy, but I had no memory of him. No idea who he is or what he is to me. I shrugged as I lost interest. The guy looked upset and quickly excused himself before rushing out of the room. “Man, what the f**k?”

“I don’t know him,” I stated simply.

“How the hell do you not even recognize your own f*****g brother?” Jareth screamed out in shock. My eyes opened wide as I took in the word. Brother. I had a brother. Since when? I noticed Jareth throw a look over at the nurse and then look back at me. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell you man, but I have zero memories about having a brother. As far as I know, I am an only child,” I sat up, but Jareth placed his hand on my chest, pushing me back.

“Just relax, get some rest, I’ll be back later,” I watched as Jareth left the room and I sighed out loudly. The nurse left soon after Jareth and I smirked.

“This is going to be a lot of fun,”

დ. Ellora. დ

“Wait, what?” I looked at Jareth and then at Riley.

“He doesn’t remember his brother. Hell,” Jareth ran his hand roughly through his hair, messing it up a lot more than it already was. “I don’t think he remembers this place or even knows that he has an ability,”

“But he remembers you?’ I ask him cautiously.

“Yeah, but I don’t know why,”

“I want to see him,” Riley announced. I looked over at Jareth, but he didn’t deny her, he simply nodded.

“Just, be warned, he may not recognize you,” Riley nodded before heading to the room Kael was better kept in. Jareth and I followed behind her silently. She pushed open the door and although I couldn’t see her face, I heard her squeal as she rushed to Kael’s bedside.

“Hey babe,” he greeted her. Hmph, guess he had no problem remembering her. Which was a good thing? Kael was sitting on the bed and had pulled Riley up onto his lap. When he saw me and Jareth, he smiled at us warmly. “Hey, guys,”

“You remember us?” I ask curiously and he nodded.

“Yeah of course, why wouldn’t I?”

“Oh gee, I don’t know maybe because you can’t remember your own brother?” I snapped out annoyed. Riley threw me a look of disgust and I brushed it off.

“Priceless,” Kael breathed out, trying to hold back his laughter. Riley and I both looked at him as if he belonged in the loony bin.

“I agree, man,” Jareth said, chuckling. Another guy walked in, looking very much like an older version of Kael. He was laughing too, and Kael couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

“Cruel,” I stated before turning on my heel and stormed out of the room.

“Ellora! Wait!” I heard Jareth calling out to me, but I didn’t stop, and I didn’t turn around. He caught up to me soon enough and stopped me by grabbing my wrist and pulling me back. The force of it was strong and I landed with a ‘thud’ against his hard chest. Blushing from the action as well as the anger, I turned to him.

“What the f**k kind of sick joke are you two playing at?” I growled out.

“Look, Kael really did blackout and he was momentarily disorientated, but one look told me he was going to play his cards, so I played along with it,” Jareth explained. I didn’t understand the joke.

“So? Why did he do that?”

“Simple, Kael is a jokester and he enjoyed it,” I thought about it for a moment, but I shook my head.

“I’m sorry I don’t see the joke and I don’t think it is funny,”

“Yeah, I know but that’s Kael for you,” he said as he let go of my wrist. I hadn’t even realized he was still holding onto me.

“Any idea why he blacked out in the first place?” I asked him. Jareth suddenly couldn’t look me in the eyes, and I wondered what the hell was he playing at now. “I’m so not in the mood for this,” I snorted as I turned around, ready to dash off.

“Ok, ok,” Jareth moaned out as he grabbed my wrist again. This time I pulled away. “Ellora, it’s somewhat complicated. All I can say is, Riley, must’ve been going through something pretty emotional for it to affect Kael in that way,”

“Huh?”

“Kael and Riley are each other’s promised,” I looked at Jareth in awe.

“Woah, you really know how to lay it on thick,” I made a move to turn again but he stopped me.

“I’m dead serious Ellora. Kael and Riley are each other’s promised,” he repeated.

“I don’t even know what that means!” I shouted out.

“It’s like, soul mates, the other half, um, life partner, you know that kind of thing,” I looked at him and I did the one thing I had promised never to do, I turned on my power and I entered Jareth’s mind. He knew what I was doing because his face scrunched up and he squeezed his eyes closed. I hated doing it, but I needed to know for myself. His thoughts immediately overwhelmed me, and I quickly left his mind and ran away. I didn’t look back to see if he noticed I was gone. I just ran straight to Adam’s office. He better have some answers for the crazy-ass s**t I had seen in Jareth’s head.

Jareth   ➺ Please, don’t freak out

Ellora     ➺Too late!!

I replied back to his message and pushed open the office doors. Thankfully this time, Adam was seated behind his desk. Hearing me, he looked up and smiled.

“Ellora, what a pleasant surprise,”

“No time for chit chat, I want answers and I want them now,” he was taken aback by my harsh and demanding tone.

“Ok,”

“Do we magically gifted chosen ones have soulmates?” I asked him and he stared back at me. I was unable to tell what he was thinking as his expression was blank. “Answer,” I whisper as I sit down.

“The answer is yes, but the correct term or the term that I’ve read about and learned about is called promised,”

“Promised?”

“Yes, it is exactly what you said, soulmates, but each one of us has a promised,” Adam said as he looked at me seriously. “Did you find your…promised?”

“No, Jareth said that Kael and Riley are each other’s promised. You see, Riley was sick this morning, hence the reason I asked you about a nurse. But Kate said Riley isn’t sick, I did a tiny bit of digging and I decided to reach out to Riley. She was very emotionally and apparently her situation caused Kael to be affected,”

“There soul’s realized they are each other’s promised,” Adam stated softly.

“Yeah but like how? They’ve been around each other for so long and only now they know this?” I asked confused by it all. I’ve read novels online about being mated and all that but the one thing in common is that they immediately know. So how come they didn’t know?

“Being promised to someone is all about an emotional connection. Because of who we are, we tend to see the physical appearance or physical connection before the emotional side of it all. Being promised to someone is emotional. An emotional connection between two chosen ones is what defines the bond,” I listen intently to his words and I nodded.

“Well, Riley wasn’t even in the same room as him so?”

“She didn’t have to be, Kael must have been more emotionally ready than she was. You must’ve helped her more than you realize, by her accepting her emotions and or fears, she opened up herself to be connected to her promised,” I nodded again, thinking about what he was telling me.

“So, we have like a wall up?”

“I guess you could say that. We are emotional creatures Ellora, our abilities are activated after a traumatic experience, so therefore it would be a lot more appropriate to connect to someone on a deeper level,”

“Makes sense, but then? This confuses me, so I can be physically attracted to someone, but he may turn out not to be my promised?” I asked him, thinking about Jareth.

“Correct, fate designs our souls to our other half, many go through life connecting to people we shouldn’t but because we are human, we do. If I may make an example?”

“Sure,”

“Well then, for example, I find you attractive, inside and out. Let’s say we take a chance on us and we enter a relationship, if our souls are promised to each other, the minute we open up to each other emotionally, we will feel the connection. If we aren’t promised to each other then we won’t feel that connection,” Adam explained to me, I nodded again, thinking I felt like one of those nodding head toys.

“And let’s say we didn’t feel the connection, would we continue the relationship?”

“We could, but we wouldn’t. We aren’t normies, Ellora and although it may sound horrible, we crave to be with our promised. Even if we fell in love with each other, the fact that we aren't each other's promised would make us end our relations,” he paused and then added. "As an example of course,"

“Alright, I think I get it,” I thought back to the novels and smiled. It would be a whole lot easier to immediately recognize ones mate, um, promised instead of all this.

“Are you worried you aren’t Jareth’s promised?” Adam asked me suddenly. I looked up at him in surprise.

“I don’t know, I mean, I haven’t thought about it like that, to be honest. Right now, I want to focus on training and studying,” the words sounded cold coming out of my mouth. The truth a reality as I realized that I wanted to train, I wanted to study, and I wanted to be the best I could be. Promised or no promised, I would find that during my own journey. That just sounded weird. Promised or no promised. Ugh, I'd rather say, mate or no mate.  “I like Jareth, I want to get to know him better, but I can’t worry about whether or not he is my promised right now. I still have so much to learn and as much as I want to have my very first boyfriend, I can’t,” I whispered the last sentence. I realized that in a way I was very much like Riley. Hiding. I didn’t have any fears of abandonment, but I hadn’t even come to terms with my parents being killed and them being gone.

დ.დ.დ

I was sitting at one of the tables in the small library. Yes, this mansion even has a library. Adam had kindly noted a few books he thought I should start off with and with the help of Riley and Annie, I now had all the books spread out on the table. I looked back down at the book I was currently reading. Adam had suggested I start with it. It was written by Gregory Ronald.

… ❝ Chapter One – The beginning…Many of you start your journey, asking yourselves, the big 5 W’s. Why, who, what, when and where. This first chapter is to help you understand.

* Why – Why is this happening to me? The answer is simple, you have been chosen.

* Who – Who chose me? The answer is unknown. The answer could be anything. Let's settle with us being chosen by something more powerful. Greater than anything we think we know.

*What – What does this mean? It means simply that you have been chosen by a greater power and been gifted with an ability.

*When – When did everything change? Unfortunately, this is a hard one because being chosen happens after you’ve gone through a very traumatic experience. May it be the death of a loved one, abuse (emotional or physical) or an incident (an accident or worse). When you’ve gone through such a traumatic experience, you open up a door and could be potentially chosen. ❞ …

I lose interest as I push the book one side. It wasn’t that his writing was bad, it was just, well, pointless. Maybe the other chapters would be more informative. I pulled another book closer to me and read the title. ‘The truth behind the curtain’. I opened the book and read the first page.

… ❝ What is the truth? I’ll tell you the truth, the truth is that the things we watch on tv or read in books are very much real. Demons, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, angels, hell, the list is endless. It is all real. I know what you are thinking that I must be some kind of crazy! Well, I did too, at first. I came across a very real and very scary monster. I later learned it was called a Ghoul! Yes, a ghoul. A flesh-eating creature of the night. Something I had only ever read up on was in fact very real. Diving into the world of the supernatural is scary and doesn’t seem real. Mere humans don’t believe in such things, even when facing it. It's easier for us to see people robbed, murdered or r***d than to see a creature that shouldn’t exist. ❞ …

I sigh as I close the book. Ok, monsters exist. That much I knew. An understanding seemed to settle within me and I continued reading.

დ. Kael. დ

I spotted Riley leaving the library with Annie and I ran to catch up with them.

“Riley!” I called out. They both stopped and turned to look at me. Annie said something to Riley and then carried on walking. Riley gave me a shy smile as I stopped in front of her.

“Hi Kael,” she whispered. I thought back to earlier and I pulled her against me and hugged her closely.

“Hi babe,” I kissed her cheek before releasing her from my grip. “I wondered if we could talk?”

“Sure,” I led her outside through the kitchen and dining room, ignoring the curious gazes of the others. My all-time favorite spot in the backyard was, of course, the swimming pool. The air was crisp and warm, the sun shining high in the sky. Those that had finished lunch were now making their way back inside. Riley and I lowered ourselves down onto the outdoor three-seater hammock. We shifted until we were comfortable.

“So, you are my promised!” I blurted out, making us both blushes.

“Seems like it,” she whispered.

“Are you disappointed that it is me?” I asked curiously. A slight edge of fear could be heard in my voice and I gulped loudly waiting for her answer.

“No, I am very happy it is you. Are you disappointed that it's me?” she looked down at her hands and I smiled.

“No, I mean, I don’t think I deserve someone like you to be my promised. Which is why I want to make a promise to you, right now, right here,” I leaned closer to her and gently shifted her head so that she was now looking at me. “I promise to always be honest with you, I promise to give you every single part of me,” I smiled as I watched her eyes light up. “You are so beautiful Riley, I cannot wait to learn everything there is to know about you,”

“I can’t wait to know everything about you,” she informed me, and I smirked, leaning back, gently swinging the hammock.

“Feel free to ask me anything,”

“Would you tell me about your traumatic experience?” she asked me the one question I was hesitant to answer. I looked away from her and gazed out over the backyard. I sighed loudly as I glanced back at her.

“Normally, I would just say no and leave it at that, but you are my girl and I promised to be honest," I took a deep breath and started telling her my story. "My brothers and I both lost our parents when we were little. I hardly have any memories of them, I was so young. Our grandparents took care of us, raised us and did all they could for us. My brothers, Kolton and Keagan, left for college but I stayed behind because,” I paused as I blushed. I didn’t like showing my vulnerable side.

“Please, continue,” Riley softly encouraged me.

“Yeah so, I stayed behind because I didn’t want to leave my grandparents. Jareth and I attended the local college, which was two hours away and we shared a dorm room together. My grandpa suffered from diabetes and he got really sick. My grandma hid this from me, every time I called, she would tell me they were fine. I was so busy studying and having a good time in college that I didn’t go home very often. Jareth was planning a weekend back home with his parents, so I thought I should do the same you know? Anyway, I got home, and my grandpa was literally on his death bed. My grandma didn't want me to worry, that's why she didn't tell me. I forced the stubborn old fart into my car and took him to the hospital. Two days later he died. My grandma was a total mess,” I brushed the single tear that had managed to escape and continued. “She kept telling me that diabetes is a silent killer, I had no words and I was so torn up about his passing. I dropped out of college and stayed at home with my grandma. I was worried about her, you know? Not even a month later, she passed. It was horrific. I woke up that morning, expecting her to already be up since she had always been an early riser. When I didn’t find her, I went to her room and there she was. She looked so peaceful, after the weeks of crying and pain, she finally looked at peace. That’s when I knew she was gone, she had died from a broken heart,” I stopped talking as my emotions are rising high as I remember the loss of the only people I ever truly loved. My grandparents were my parents. I felt Riley take my hand in hers and squeeze softly.

“I’m so sorry Kael,” Riley said as she caressed my hand.

“Kolton and I fell apart after that, our abilities kicking in almost simultaneously,”

“And your other brother? Where is he?” Kael avoided her gaze and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He didn’t want to discuss his brother. Keagan was a sore and touchy subject.

“He is dead,” I said so softly that I knew she would struggle to hear me but alas, her being so near she heard my whispered words.

“What? How?”