“You will look after her, won’t you?” I ask the Scottish woman, Rick’s great-aunt Lucinda, before she reassured me, one more time. I’m sure she is getting annoyed with me at this point, but I can’t help but panic. Sophie is the last of my family, and she is so young. She is my responsibility, and if I make the wrong choice, she suffers, which I can’t let happen. Lucinda sighs, tilting her head to the side as her eyes run over me from head to toe. I briefly glance over at Sophie who is picking up her rucksack after the four wolves that came with this woman finished packing her boxes into their truck. Sophie hasn’t taken all her things, only what she thinks she will need for now, and I know we can come back for the other things eventually.
“Lass, we will look after her like she is family. You need to be stronger than this and trust your pack. They need you brave,” she says, placing her hand on my arm in a comforting way and lowering her voice. “We know you are risking your life staying here for a month to help the boys. That debt will be repaid, and looking after your sister is a given, Adie. I didn’t miss the overprotective way Rick spoke of you, and he needs a strong mate.” My eyes widen at the suggestion of mating with Rick. That’s a big thing, and we are nowhere near that. I doubt he even likes me that much. Since our kiss last week, he has avoided me and made sure that he wasn’t the one staying over to protect us. I’ve been stuck three nights with grumpy Josh who wouldn’t talk to me as he stayed. I don’t know what happened between Josh and Rick, but they clearly made some agreement to avoid me. Mich and Nath are different though. Our nights are usually fun, and I enjoy learning about them and where they grew up.
“Sophie has been through a lot. This isn’t about me being brave, it is about me not wanting to mess her up,” I quietly reply.
“One thing I know how to deal with is kids that have had to grow up far more quickly than they should. I have this handled, lass,” she tells me, but I know I still look worried as she keeps talking. “Trust me, this is what is best for her.” I nod once, knowing she is right before she goes to the door, stopping next to Sophie.
“We will wait in the truck for you. Say goodbye, Sophie,” she tells her kindly, and Sophie gives her a shaky nod. Sophie looks over at me with tear-streaked cheeks and nervous eyes.
“Come here,” I say, opening my arms at the same time for Sophie, and she runs into them, squeezing her arms tight around my waist.
“I don’t want to go,” she admits in a whisper that is meant for only me to hear. “I feel like I’m never going to see you again.”
“You will, stop worrying. You are my sister, Sophie. You can do this,” I pull her out the hug and hold my hands on her shoulder, keeping my voice firm even though I feel like crying.
“Will you be safe though?” she asks me. “If I lose you…”
“Of course I will be. I have the guys to keep me safe. You’ve spent the week with them like I have, and you know they will keep me safe,” I remind her.
“They feel like family,” she tells me quietly. “I think I’m going to miss them.”
“Pack,” I whisper. “Family is pack. It’s something Nath said to me as he tried to explain what the others were to him.”
“Family is pack. I like that saying,” she says and chuckles low. “I best go. They said it’s a long drive and we have to change cars a few times to make sure we aren’t followed before the witches can take us to the castle.”
“Go. Be brave, sis, and I love you. Remember, one month,” I tell her, and she smiles at me as she pulls out of my arms.
“One month,” she repeats, holding her head high and walking out of the house as I watch her go. I walk to stand by the door, watching as Sophie gets into the truck. She waves a hand at me before the door shuts, and the truck speeds out of the driveway. I silently watch the truck disappear into the shadows of the trees, hoping I did the right thing and knowing it’s done now. It’s not like I had much choice anyway. I have to keep her safe. I close the door and rest my head against it, knowing it will only be an hour until the guys get back from their mission tonight, and I won’t be alone again. The distraction to get Sophie out was planned well to make sure no one was watching the guys or me. I run up to my room and grab one of the Fray books, before sitting on my bed and opening it to the page I got to last time. I might as well read to distract myself.
Prophecies are only made by gods or fates.
This has been known for many years, as it is their curse to prophesy their family’s future when usually the prophecy is never good or kind. The fates and gods have unlimited power, therefore they had to be given a downfall, and only if the prophecy is fulfilled can a fate help their family. One of the original fates married a queen of Frayan after returning from his time on Earth. The queen of the Autumn court and the fate were blessed with happiness, and on their wedding day, Queen Lilyanne was born to the Summer court.
The fate made the prophecy on that very night, which would in turn link his own child and Queen Lilyanne for a destructive war in the future. The words to the prophecy were told only to himself, the queen of the Autumn court and Queen Lilyanne when she was older, but there were many rumours of it foretelling a great war. Many years passed where nothing but peace graced Frayan, the rumours forgotten, and no child was born of the mating between the fate and the queen of the Autumn court.
The day the fate announced a pregnancy, Queen Lilyanne was eighteen years old, and she killed her parents before declaring war on the entire Frayan world. One by one, the courts fell over the nine months, and Queen Lilyanne attacked the Autumn court, killing the fate, the queen of the Autumn court and her newborn child. The Frayan courts are no more, and Queen Lilyanne rules over all of Frayan.
Some Fray whisper that the baby was hidden on another world, kept safe, but there is no proof in the five years since Frayan fell to Queen Lilyanne’s rule. If anyone is reading this book, I must have escaped and gotten this book somewhere safe. Someone must remember our history, even as Queen Lilyanne burns all knowledge and all books about it.
The Frayan courts and their royals must be remembered.
May one day they return for vengeance.
I pause and turn the page over, seeing a note stuck to the blank page. The note is written on my mum’s flower paper, and I gently pull it off, before opening it up.
The Fray man who gave me this book died of old age shortly after we met. I searched for many years for this, and there are answers in here. You need to understand. This is everything you are looking for, my Adelaide. -Mum.
I shake my head and flip through the rest of the book, where there is nothing but blank pages. So, there was a prophecy, an evil queen and rumours of a hidden child? I don’t get the answers my mum is trying to tell me. I close the book and put my hands over the cover, the old brown leather which I think has little drops of blood all over it. Someone died to get this book to Earth safely. Why would the queen of Frayan want everything burnt? All the history gone? I shake my head, not having a single clue.
“How the hell is this book answers to anything?” I say to myself, putting it on the bed in frustration and standing up off the bed. I walk to the window, crossing my arms and staring out at the full moon in the sky. If this was mum’s way of getting me answers, I am never going to know who I am.