Chasing Shadows (25 page)

“Okay. I really do love that one. I just want it to be used for the perfect occasion, you know?” I asked as I looked at her.

“I know. Worst-case scenario, it doesn’t get worn for a really long time and then you use it for something spectacular, or you never find the right occasion.” She shrugged and started the car so we could head home.

“You never told me why you were so weird about the dress,” I hinted.

“Oh, yes. Well, a few months ago I was in there shopping and I saw it. It was the most beautiful dress ever. When I saw it, all I could picture was you spinning in circles and laughing while wearing it. I didn’t want to buy it without knowing if you’d like it or not, but I wanted so badly to. So I talked to the owner of the shop and she said she would put it away for me, since she loved it dearly too, unless someone else she trusted wanted it. I agreed. and that’s why I got so weird, as you put it.” She smiled at me before looking back at the road.

I stared out the window the rest of the way home. Thoughts bombarded me. Why was I so weird about wearing the dress to homecoming? Was I worried that we were going to have to fight and that it was going to ruin my dress? Or was this the dress I wanted to wear when we did the blood rite and the ceremony? Sighing, I sunk back into the seat and watched trees pass us. After a very long five minutes, we arrived at our driveway. My mom pulled the car onto our road and parked a few feet from the shed. She reached back and grabbed the bag while I carried the leftovers from lunch. The silence between us was awkward, and I could tell she was a little disappointed that I might not wear the dress. We reached the front door and my phone rang.

The loud ringing sound was irritating, so I put the food on the porch and answered my phone with a snap. I immediately apologized when I heard who it was. “AubrieAnna, we are running out of time. We have to do the blood rite soon.” Sebastian sounded worried as he forced the words out.

“What do you mean?” I asked, scared of what he meant by running out of time.

“They are getting stronger and faster than we or the gods anticipated. We need to go. We have to do the ceremony tomorrow, first thing in the morning, and then after that we have to do the blood rite. There is no more waiting. I will not let you die because I was too scared to trust the gods.” He sounded scared and anxious, almost like he was still too nervous to trust the gods.

“Sebastian, you have to breathe. You aren’t going to lose me, even if we don’t do the blood rite. I promise. I have no intention of letting these jerks win, or harm anyone I love or care about. Do you understand?” Even though I was scared, I didn’t want to do the blood rite because everyone thought we had to. I needed him to see that we would be okay without it.

“I know. I guess I am just scared, AubrieAnna.” Sebastian’s voice went soft.

“I get it. I am too. I am terrified, Sebastian. But we have each other and Willow and Fiora. We aren’t alone.”

“I know we aren’t. But I want there to be no way to lose you in this mess.” More concern and fear flooded his voice.

“Sebastian, I know. Trust me, I do. Because I don’t want to lose you either. But I want to know that we are doing this blood rite because we love each other and want each other in every possible way, not just because everyone thinks that we will have a guaranteed victory because of it,” I answered him honestly.

“It’s for that, not just for a victory. Remember how I told you that if I did it with anyone I wanted it to be with you?” he asked me.

“Yeah, I do,” I whispered.

“Well, I want to do this with you for everything good that comes from it, as well as saving your life in case anything happens.”

“Sebastian . . . ” I whispered.

“AubrieAnna, please say yes?” he pleaded.

“Okay. But if I feel like anything is going to go wrong or we aren’t doing this for the best of reasons, I will back out. At least I’ll back out of the blood rite, not the ceremony,” I answered him.

“All right.” He breathed a sigh of relief.

“I guess you should come over and tell my parents with me,” I said.

“Okay, I will be there shortly.” He hung up.

Taking a deep breath, I went inside to face my parents before Sebastian arrived. My mom was putting the remnants of a pizza in the fridge, and my dad was finishing off a cold piece when I walked into the kitchen. I sat down next to my dad and smiled at him. Butterflies dove and twisted dangerously in my stomach. Deep breaths, I had to keep taking deep breaths. My dad’s forehead turned and twisted so worry lines mutilated his handsome face. “Sebastian and I need to talk to you guys about something,” I said. Eyes bulged out of my dad’s face. “I am not pregnant. Don’t freak out, please?” He placed his piece of pizza on the counter and glared at me until I gave him an explanation. I took one more deep breath. “Okay. So you guys know in not so many words that I am different. I’m not exactly human. However you guys don’t know that I am supposed to save the world from really bad creatures. Honestly, I don’t even think you guys are supposed to know that. Anyway, Sebastian is going to help me save the world because, well, he’s my soul mate. No, I don’t just think that because I am a teenager, but because Aphrodite told us. So we have to save the world and everyone in it because Hades is a total scumbag and cheated when he created his own supernatural creatures. And those creatures are currently locked away in their own world, which is inside of earth—basically Hell, but way worse. They don’t like it down there and want to take over our planet. So in order to stop them, Sebastian and I have to do something that is a really big deal in the supernatural world. Normally it could and most probably would kill us, but since the gods are going to help, we will be okay. I will be okay. And, well, I would like your approval.” I inhaled and sat in silence after I gave them a really short and scary explanation of everything.

“Don’t you mean our permission?” My dad eyed me.

“Well, not really, because sadly I have to do this. Well, I don’t have to, but I want to. But yes, I want it; I want your support and approval. It’s really scary to think about. And I love him and what we are going to do is something that will save us and allow us to be immortal, literally. Nothing would be able to kill us. Ever. And please don’t hate me or be scared of me, or for me. I know that I will be fine. Everything will be okay. I promise.” I looked down, ashamed at the thought that they wouldn’t approve or agree with me.

“Why can’t this wait until you’re a bit older, sweetie?” my mom asked.

“Because the stuff that is supposed to happen is going to happen soon, sooner than we all originally thought. They are getting stronger, and Zeus’s lockdown on them isn’t going to last very much longer.” I hoped they would understand the severity of the situation.

“AubrieAnna, I know you love this boy and he loves you, but are you sure this is what’s best for you, not just the world?” My dad looked at me with his blue eyes full of concern and pride.

“I believe so. Daddy, he’s really important to me, and I need him to help me through this. I need you guys too, but I can’t risk your lives. And when we do this, I won’t be risking his. Or mine.” I looked at him and prayed that they could see all I felt in my eyes.

“Well, okay. I will listen to what it is that you two need to do, and I will approve of you and what you decide, no matter what. You are my baby girl.” He pulled me into his chest and held me for a while. It had been a long time since he had done that. Sitting there in his arms made me feel like a child again, protected and safe from the world.

A knock on the door made us all move from our spots. I knew it was Sebastian, so I went to answer the door. He shifted from one foot to the other in pure nervousness. After a few seconds, he lifted his head and smiled brilliantly when he saw me standing there. Smiling back, I got lost in his dazzling eyes and forgot what he was there for. Chairs shifting in the kitchen drew my attention back to what we were about to discuss with my parents. Awkwardly, I moved to the side so he could enter, and we made our way to the kitchen.

After hours of talking with my parents about everything, they agreed that we should do the blood rite. They knew that it was not only the right thing to do to save the world, it was also the right thing to save me. My dad in not so many words told Sebastian that he loved him like another son. Of course, my mom agreed and insisted that after everything was right again with the world, we would have a large human wedding. She understood that we wanted to do the blood rite not just to save everyone in the world but to be closer together and stay together for eternity. At some points, she cried and excused herself to get some tissues. My dad would smile and roll his eyes. I was the daughter they almost lost, and they would agree to everything that would allow me to live. I was no longer their baby girl in a crib or a child crying over lost and broken toys. It was sad to see it and realize it was true. Not just for them but for me too. I would always need my mom and dad, and I would always love them for who they raised me to be.

Tears streaked down my cheeks as I climbed into my bed. Legally we wouldn’t be married in human courts. Tomorrow morning we were going to say different words in a different ceremony that would be permanent. We would be married in the eyes of the gods, which was way more serious than the legal courts of the mortal world. I sat up and thought about what was going to happen. In a few short hours, I was going to be forced out of bed by my mother and the nymphs. Clamora would prepare me for a few of the steps that I needed to take before standing next to Sebastian. I was going to wear the dress we had bought for homecoming, and I wasn’t going to wear a veil. The gods didn’t see a point in hiding the face of the woman you loved when getting married. Since the occasion was important, I would wear a white fluffy flower with rhinestones in my hair and would carry a white rose. However it wasn’t a human occasion, so we didn’t need a cake or massive amounts of food on short notice. It didn’t feel like my life was over, or like it was beginning. All I felt was scared and excited. Emotions racked my brain as I thought about marrying the one person—well, the one vampire—I couldn’t live without. My thoughts took a happy turn and I smiled. I thought about what it would mean for us when we won against the u da yv la dv. With a smile on my face and happy images bouncing through my head, I lay back down and closed my eyes.

At seven in the morning, my mom came in with a plate full of eggs, sausage, bacon, and cheesy potatoes. I had already been awake for an hour, waiting for the craziness to begin. My mom had decided she wanted to make it as human as possible without inviting a whole bunch of people or any family that wasn’t immediate. Alexandier didn’t even know what was going on, which was probably for the best. He would fuss and worry about whether this was really what I wanted. It was kind of sad that he wouldn’t be there, my big brother, to sit close to me while I spoke some of the most important words of my life. Sighing softly, I dug into the breakfast and ate most of it before pushing it away. Once my mom ran downstairs to put the plate away, I hopped into the shower and wiped the sleep out of my eyes. By the time I was out with my hair dried and my teeth brushed, Clamora and the nymphs had arrived.

Seeing Clamora standing on her own and out of the hospital made me smile. Her hair was still silver and her body was still worn down a bit. I was just happy that she was alive and able to be here. Everyone was designated to do something to get me ready. Fiora was going to do my makeup, Willow my hair, my mom my nails, and Clamora would prepare me for some of the words I would speak and the way the ceremony was going to happen. We took up shop in the bathroom, and they each went to work. My hair was pulled, twisted, brushed, teased, curled, straightened, and pinned, all while Fiora plucked, concealed, applied, rubbed off, and reapplied makeup. The only two who weren’t causing any pain or annoyance were my mom and Clamora. They sat there silently, giving advice when asked, and shot me pitying looks.

Once the nymphs were done, they rushed around to get themselves ready while Clamora walked me through the steps. “Believe it or not, these are a lot like mortal weddings, more than you would think. Most of the time if a father figure is present he will walk the female down to the altar. That is what your father will be doing. In a way, it is like giving the bride away, but that’s not exactly what it is. The job of the father is to say the okay and allow the ceremony to take place. Once that is done, Hera will begin the marriage. The vows are not the same for supernaturals as they are for humans. They will be far more in-depth and permanent. There is no backing down or divorcing if you argue or fight with each other. This marriage is forever. Complex forms of ‘I do’s’ will be said, and you will then have to kiss. Before it is completely finished, Sebastian will have to take a vow for the gods in front of all, as will you. As soon as the vow is completed, if the gods feel like it was all sincere, an intricate tattoo will form on both of you. Matching in size, shape, color, and area, it will represent your love and the vows you took. It will sting a bit, much like the one on your back did. But it will be finished before you can even think too much on it. Then it is over—it will be finished.” Clamora took a deep breath and smiled. She rose from the edge of my bed and walked out of my room.