Cursed (The Brookehaven Vampires #4) (68 page)

Felix rested his elbows on his thighs and clasped his hands together, his eyes still never leaving mine. “Your mother was adopted.”

“What?”

I suddenly felt a little wobbly. Carter grabbed hold of me and settled me
on the ottoman that was in front of the dark blue balloon chair.

“My mother wasn’t adopted,” I protested.

There was no way. Lilly would’ve told me. Right? And my grandparents, I was just getting to know them, and Felix was trying to tell me they weren’t really mine…

“No,” I said quietly, not actually meaning for the word to come out of my mouth.

“Your biological grandmother escaped your grandfather and the Otherside when she was pregnant with your mother,” Felix said, his voice low, attempting to comfort me, I think.

I just stared at him.

“The Otherside?” Carter questioned.

I
couldn’t seem to find my voice. This wasn’t happening. My mother was not adopted. My grandparents were good, nice, retired people. They loved me. They missed me. They wouldn’t do me any harm. Not like Felix was claiming my biological grandfather was inflicting.

Felix nodded in response to Carter’s question. “It is another realm outside of our own. There are several. This particular realm, the one we refer to as ‘The Otherside,’ is like no other.”

Amber gave Felix a gentle pat on his forearm and returned her hand to his leg. Her hand looked so tiny next to his immense size and next to my enormous nightmare.

Felix looked to Amber for a moment, then back to us. “I am not at liberty to say more at this time. I am sorry. Actually, I should not be telling you of your lineage at all. Neither of you.” His eyes fell on Carter.

“Wait…” I said, and then I trailed off as I realized, if this was all true, Lilly had never truly been my aunt. Not by blood…

Tears filled my eyes. My whole family was a lie.

“Delaney,” Amber said in a caring voice, “Felix tells you this information for your own good and safety. Your biological grandfather is a feared man in the other realm. He is a feared man in our own. He is the meaning of chaos and discord. You must understand, this terror is the reason your grandmother fled, to keep your mother safe.” She glanced to Felix for a moment. “There is so much more, but as Felix has said, we are not at liberty to tell you.”

“Then who is?” Carter questioned, his voice taking on an angry tone. He was crouched beside me, holding my hand, trying to comfort me.

I needed the real Oliver…

I need this nightmare to end, but it just keeps getting worse.

Felix and Amber both shook their heads. “We cannot say,” Felix added.

“Can’t or won’t?” I asked, my head snapping up from staring at “Oliver’s” hand holding mine. I knew about the magical contract Oliver was under, and I questioned if they were under one, too.

Without giving me an answer to my question, Amber said, “Please try to understand, Delaney. In time, you will have your answers. However, for now, we must focus on the fact your biological grandfather has breached our world. He is looking for you.”

“Why?” I asked.

“You are his heir,” Amber responded.

“So?” What did it matter if I was his heir? I was my father’s heir and he’d left me out in the world on my own. Why couldn’t the rest of my family do the same?
Wait.
“Heir?” I questioned. Why not family, kin, relation? Why heir? Was this just her old way of speaking?

Felix and Amber looked to each other for a moment, then they both turned their attention back to me.

Amber was the one to respond. “He is a powerful man in his realm. He is brilliant and ruthless. He is the product of an affair. A bastard child, he is the son of their king and a very powerful enchantress.” She paused for a moment, searching my eyes as I stared at her, wide-eyed. “He rules as king, though he took the title by force. He does not hesitate to take another’s life. He has executed everyone who shares his bloodline. Except for you. You are a threat to him. He fears you will try to overthrow him and take his reign.”

I needed a moment. Or several. I pulled my hand free of “Oliver’s” grip and hugged myself while
desperately trying to make sense of my ever-growing nightmare.

“If he is so powerful,” I began, lifting my head so my eyes could meet theirs, “why hasn’t he just killed me? Why is he going through all of this trouble?”

Did he think this was a game? Was messing with me amusing to him?

“In our realm, his power is weak. However, he still has power here,” Amber began. “He has breached our world once before, when your mother was about your age. He came for her, as he has come for you now. He makes deals with those who will bargain with him, making empty promises to gain his followers. He fears you have inherited his powers, as he did with your mother. He fears that you may be able to defeat him. He will attempt to weaken you, make you desperate, so that you will obey him. Yet, like your mother, it is unlikely that you inherited his magic.”

A psychotic, magical grandpa. Every girl’s dream. Did this make me some sort of magical princess in another realm?

I would like to pass. Was that an option? Could I just pass?

“And you think this man is the one who’s leading all of this, the one who caused Oliver and me to switch brains?” Carter questioned.

“We suspect,” Amber told him.

“But you aren’t sure?” he questioned.

Amber shook her head ever so lightly. “We have no actual proof of his return. However, the signs are there.”

“If it is true, what is his endgame?” Carter asked.

Amber heaved a deep breath and released it.
This was something that seemed so out of character for her. “The previous time he breached our realm, when your mother was alive,” she said, looking directly at me, “he was here for one reason. Her.”

“How do you know all of this? About my family?” I asked, my voice crack
ing. I wanted her to admit what I suspected. I wanted someone to tell me what the hell was happening. I wanted someone to tell me something real.

“When your grandmother crossed over, she warned us. We had heard rumors of your grandfather from others who had crossed over to our world, but your grandmother was the one to confirm what we had feared.”

I swallowed hard. “Where is she now?” I asked.

“Your biological grandmother?” Amber questioned.

I nodded, just one quick nod, while holding my breath, desperate to hear her answer.

“She passed during childbirth. She never even held your mother, but she did what she came here to do. She kept your mother safe, and your mother lived.” A very sad smile touched Amber’s lips.

Staring at the two of them, I knew they both held the answers to my life—answers I wanted but also feared knowing. “Did you know her? My mother?” Tears were stinging my eyes. I was sure I already knew the answer to my question.

With their eyes on mine, they both nodded ever so lightly.

I choked out a sob.

Carter wrapped his arms around me. He moved to sit beside me and pulled me against his chest
while I tried to control myself.

“Does Oliver know? Does he know my mom isn’t from…here?” I questioned, wiping away a steady stream of tears as I lifted my head from Oliver’s chest. My voice was far from steady.

“No.” Felix responded. “Your mother’s records are sealed. As are yours.”

I nodded, I don’t know why, it just seemed like the right response.

“Delaney, I am aware that this is some very disconcerting news, but as I have said, in time, you will know the truth,” Amber softly told me. My eyes were on hers. “You must put this aside for now. We must focus on the task at hand, and you must be prepared. That is why we told you of him, of your grandfather. If you are to be the bait to get back Carter’s body and Oliver’s consciousness, you must be informed. If he is leading or even a part of the group which has been forming, you must know that you are the target.”

“Group?” Carter questioned from beside me, his arms still around me, attempting to comfort me.

There was no comfort.

Amber looked to Felix, as if telling him to proceed in answering the question. He did. “I have been monitoring several different groups
, such as Weres, enchanters, demons, and even the angels. There have been some…discrepancies within our coven, and within the other groups, as well. Members are turning on their own; much like Marcus and the others did within our own coven. These members are pitting other members of their own kind against one another. They are turning on those who stay loyal. The ones who leave are congregating. They are mixing races, and they are uniting. We have yet to pinpoint their whereabouts, or who is encouraging this behavior.”

“You believe the leader of this group is Laney’s biological grandfather?” Carter asked.

Felix and Amber nodded in unison. “We have gone over countless records and documents. The only thing that comes anywhere near a crisis like this one was the last time he breached our realm. I cannot share the details, but I can tell you that the dark magic used then is very similar to the magic that was used on Carter and Oliver,” Amber explained.

“If he’s so powerful, why does he have others doing his bidding? Why didn’t he just take Laney himself?” Carter asked.

“Whoever is leading, they are creating an army, trying to, anyway. He knows who he is dealing with, and he knows that we will overpower him, again,” Felix said. “Also, if it is Laney’s grandfather, his magic is reduced to that of an average witch in our world. He would have to use stronger sorcerers to boost his powers. Therefore, if it is him, he is not alone.”

I stared at them. This was a lot to take in, but even though I wanted to know more, there was the pressing matter of getting my Oliver back. I expressed this. The others agreed that we needed to focus.

“There is one other factor the two of you need to be aware of,” Amber said. She glanced up at Felix for a moment. He nodded for her to continue. “Your grandfather may have enlisted the help of the fallen ones, the angels. Thankfully, he does not favor the demons, nor do the angels. Even so, it cannot be discarded as a possibility. Back to the point—you are aware vampires and the fallen do not tolerate one another, say for a very few exceptions.”

“Cyrus being one of those exceptions,” Felix added.

“Why do you need to tell us this?” Carter asked, voicing what I was thinking.

Felix looked right at me and said, “Because Ashton’s father, Tobin Weslin, was your mother’s angel.”

I’m pretty sure I blacked out for a moment.

Next thing I knew, Carter was angry. He was shouting at Felix. “Are you saying Ashton’s dad is a freakin’
angel?” Felix nodded. “That makes Ashton…” he trailed off, his gaze hitting the floor.

“Nephilim,” I breathed.

“Yes,” Amber answered.

“Ashton is half angel?” Carter asked. Felix and Amber nodded. “That means Avery is, too…”

This was all very hard to swallow. Especially since Avery was far from angelic. However, I wasn’t quite sure angels themselves represented the meaning of angelic.

Then a thought occurred to me. “But my mother died,” I said, realizing the Weslins were probably demons. That made more sense. “Doesn’t that mean he
didn’t fulfill his duty?”

“He did not fail,” Felix said, his eyes shifting away from Carter and me.

Uhh… Ew! If Ashton’s dad hadn’t failed to save my mother, that meant… Uh, yeah. As disturbing as it was that my mother had had…sex with Ashton’s dad, this information led to other questions. “Does he know who I am?” I asked. “I mean, does he know who my mom is?”

“Oh, yes,” Felix answered, somberly. “They all do.”

“Oh,” I responded, very quietly. It seemed like everyone but me knew about my life… about who I was. I felt like everyone else knew more about my parents than I did. That hurt.

Again, more questions surfaced. I focused on Felix and Amber. “If he saved my mom, why is she dead?”

They shared another quick glance, their faces serious. “We cannot tell you that, Delaney,” Amber said. I had never seen her look so disheartened.

Fine. “If he did save my mom and fulfill his assignment, why didn’t he go back to his own realm?”

“He had no desire to go home. He was happy to stay and create a life here in our world. It was what he wanted, just not with your mother,” Felix responded.

“Why are you telling us this?” Carter questioned.

Felix sighed. Amber patted his arm and left her dainty hand resting on his large forearm.

Both of them fac
ed me, their expressions grave, while Felix said, “When we lost your mother, a little spark of madness ignited in Tobin Weslin. Although he and your mother had gone their separate ways, her death affected him. He has not been quite right since. There is a strong probability, considering Tobin’s behavior as of late, that he has united with your grandfather.”

The room was silent as I thought of Ashton’s dad, of his gray eyes staring down at me only a short time ago. Had he been thinking of my mother when he was looking at me? Had he been sending his son after me all this time? Or did Ashton have some twisted view on our connection?