Chapter 7
1271 Words
Stefan's POV
Anna gasped beside me as her body went completely still. My eyes met Luca's across the room as Alexis, Killan and Eliza shifted their bodies to stand in a protective arc around Anna and me.
"After all these years, how can you make such a ludicrous suggestion? Anna and I have followed trail after trail. The police report said a body was recovered. It was unidentifiable but who else could it have been in the house?" Alexis questioned Dimitri, who was now watching everyone closely as they maintained their positions around us.
"Again, The Circle has its ways," Dimitri intones, his gaze suddenly shifting to the walkway in the corridor.
We all turned to follow his gaze and Annalise and I still at the same time as the twins, stood in the open doorway, watching Dimitri intently. Dante held Danielle's hand in his, his face a mask of confusion as Dani watched Dimitri with narrowed eyes. She took a step forward, and I could have sworn I saw a spark of ember glaze over her irises.
"I don't like you," Dani says with a strong voice as Dante nods beside her.
"Well, I would assume that is because I am a stranger," Dimitri said while he smoothed his hands down the length of his dark coat.
"No. I get a bad feeling when I look at you," Dani then took a step closer to Annalise, tugging her brother along with her. Her little body visibly relaxing as she continued coming closer to her mother.
Dante lets go of his sister's hand and positions himself on Anna's right side as Dani flanks her left. My children were showing that they were protective of their mother from this stranger. The reason for it though, I could not decide. Until now, Dimitri had not shown us that he was here to cause trouble, but at the same time, I agreed with Dani's words. I didn't like him either.
"I agree with Dani. I believe everyone else in this room feels the same way. You may have given Anna some clarity on the dream, but who's to say you didn't do something with it just to get on her good side? Why have you shown up now? After all these years?" Killian says. He and Luca looked just about ready to throw Dimitri out the door themselves.
"He's scared. His bubble is blue," Dante speaks up, getting everyone's attention.
"His bubble?" Annalise asked our son, who hadn't allowed his gaze to drop from Dimitri.
Dante lifted his right hand and proceeded to trace an invisible circle around Dimitri's body as he stood curiously still watching Dante.
"His bubble is glowing blue, which means he's scared. Nonna taught me that." Dante said softly as he dropped his hand and Dani took a step forward, alarming everyone in the room.
"Nonna also said that anyone with a blue bubble has a stain on their soul. Good bubbles glow white." Dani said as she suddenly took a deep breath and blew out a long gush of air towards Dimitri.
Stefan, what are the kids doing? What Nonna are they talking about?
Luca's voice sounded concerned in my mind as I squeezed Anna's shoulder, and she looked up at me, shaking her head in equal confusion, but there was a slight sense of dread there as well. As I was about to ask her if she was okay, I spotted movement in the corner of my eye.
As Dani stepped back to her spot beside Anna once more, a soft blue light began to light up around Dimitri, making him gasp out loud as the blue bubble of light completely encased him.
"What....what is she doing to me?" Dimitri asked, his eyes watching the bubble close in on itself.
"Dani, what did you do, baby?" Anna asked our daughter, but she merely shook her head as Dante giggled beside me.
"It won't hurt him. Your bubble is your own." Dante says with a hint of laughter in his voice as he watches Dimitri try to touch the blue capsule of air and light around him.
I dropped to my knees in front of Dante, getting him to look at me. "Who taught you guys how to do that? How to show us his bubble?"
Dante's eyes lit up as he looks at Dani, and she smiles as well. Looking back at me, he lifted his little hand and a burst of white light began to encase me, but stretching over Annalise and Dani as well. Killian and Luca both made a move to come towards us, but Eliza and Alexis held them back when Dani and Dante giggled at the white and ember specs of light that began dancing around us.
"Nonna said when we're together, the embers would dance in our bubble. Because Mama likes fire and fire likes us too," Dante says as he waved his hand towards the ember sparks that bounced around us.
Anna's eyes are wide with amazement as Dani walks over to her brother and they both giggle as they place the palms of their right hands together. A thin stream of embers suddenly shot out of their joined hands and began to weave itself around us as both children stood in front of Anna and me, facing Dimitri once more.
A look of horror morphed across his features as the twins giggled together.
I felt Anna grasp my shirt as a shaking hand pointed to the children's necks at the base of their heads. Their birthmarks were now fully ignited. Each mark is now intricately identifiable as a dark wolf, engulfed in embers and flames as gold circles surround it.
"Nonna told us that it was our job to keep our mommy safe from blue and black bubbles. She showed us how to see them. Your bubble is blue, so we don't like you. Stay away from our Mommy." Dani spoke to Dimitri with a strong tone that I had never heard before.
"Dani, Dante, who is Nonna? You never told me a Nonna was teaching you things."
Dimitri suddenly dashed out of the room, while the twins turned to look at Anna. Killian and Luca followed him as the twins smiled and the white halo of light slowly began to dim from around us. Alexis and Eliza kneeled on the floor beside Anna and me as the twins walked back to us, hands still clasped together between them.
"That was so cool! Nonna said it would scare them away. I never thought it would work so fast. Did you see his face, Dani?" Dante began to laugh as Dani shook her head, a broad smile on her face.
"It did work. Lucky for us. Too bad that's all it can do." Dani sighed as the last of the light and embers died away.
"Honey, you guys didn't answer Mommy. Who is the Nonna who taught you two how to show the bubbles?" I asked my daughter, as she moved to sit in Anna's lap and Dante went over to sit with Eliza and Alexis.
Dani shifted her head so that she was watching Anna directly in her eyes.
"Nonna made us keep it a secret because she didn't want you to be scared. She's pretty, just like Mommy. She told us she was Mommy's best friend and that she loved us and Mommy a lot."
Anna's hands smoothed the hair of Dani's fringe from her face as she cupped our daughter's face. "Did Nonna tell you her name?"
"Uh huh. She told us to call her Nonna. Nonna Cora"
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