Calvin sighed. âI donât know, only the alpha and Luna know. It was the only stone we ever kept. Itâs apparently the most powerful and itâs a threat to all of us being in the hands of the royal family. They didnât know the stone existed until they had their castleâs mage use a truth spell on my father. My father is the alphaâs Beta. He went with the Alpha and Luna to speak with the king and queen. Truth spells donât work on the alpha and Luna because their will too strong to succumb to it. My father isnât as strongâ¦â That sounded terrible.
We sat in silence for a while before I broke it. âIâm really sorry about what happened between us.â
Calvin shrugged. âI would have chosen a Prince over a future Beta too,â he joked.
âI didnât tell you all of my dream⦠me and Lexus are mates. In the dream she explained why she chose us to be. I needed a mate to ensure that Iâd come back and not stay in the human world.â
âWhat? I guess thatâs possible, Diana has the power.â He turned around. âWait, someoneâs up. Sadia?â
My heart skipped a beat.
Sadia walked from around the corner into sight. âI was coming to let someone inâ¦â This was the first time I saw her since I had been here. âAre you and Lexus really mates? Or is that just another lie?â
I didnât know what else to say. âWe areâ¦â
She stared at me for a while. âI gotta go let them inâ¦â She turned around.
âWait who?â Calvin asked.
âCade.â
âYou canât let him in Sadia.â He turned to me. âYou have your necklace donât you?â I nodded and pulled it out of my pocket. I wanted to see my brother, but it wasnât the best idea.
âAre you serious? Cadeâs been worried sick about Aqua.â I wasnât sure if Cade would care at all after how terrible of a disappointment as a sister he said I was. âEveryone in the castle already knows sheâs here.â
I frowned. âHow?â
âThey have an oracle who they had a vision. I just found out now. Cade isnât going to drag you back.â
She walked out of the longue and down the hall to the entrance.
I put my necklace back in my pocket and took a deep breath. I stood up when Cade walked into the longue and the first thing he did was hug me. âIâm sorry about what I said.â
âItâs okay⦠Iâm sorry I wasnât there for you.â It felt like we hadnât seen each other in so long but it was only a few weeks. âIâm better now, I promise I wonât push you away.â I wanted to be a good sister.
Cade pulled away. âThe king and queen want you come back but Iâm not going to force you.â
âNo way.â Calvin said. âThatâs not what our goddess wants.â
âIf you come back you can be with Lexus. They know your mates now. Theyâre fine with you being together just not in the publicâs eye. Theyâre giving you two options. That or using the sixth stone we can transfer your holder abilities from you to someone else. They wonât bother you anymore and you can be with Lexus. Either way you can be with Lexus, if you donât take either offer they wonât stop trying.â
I didnât love either of those options. I loved my abilities, and the moon goddess chose me to have them for a reason. âAqua, we already have a plan, you donât have to go along with this,â Calvin reminded me.
âBut what if it doesnât work?â I asked. âWhereâs Lexus now Cade?â
âHeâs back at the castle. Theyâre not going to work you as hard. Me and Dad are going to make sure of it.â
I turned to Calvin. âLetâs hold off our plan, I just want to see my family and Lexus. Iâm not going to take their deal; I just need to talk to them.â
Calvin looked upset. âFine Aqua, go with him.â
I left with Cade. âWould I be transferring my abilities to you?â
âYeah⦠but only if you want to. I donât get it, you told Calvin you wouldnât take their deal.â
I shrugged. âI wonât, I canât but I still was curious.â
âWhat do you mean you canât?â
âI was chosen by the moon goddess, and it wouldnât sit right with me if I just reversed her decision. I know sheâs fine with me making my own decisions, but I believe in her goal and Iâm the first holder in a while whoâs willing to help her achieve it.â
Cade laughed. âYou werenât chosen, the holder inherits the power at random.â
I shook my head. âDiana chooses, at least I know she did this time because she told me in a holder dream.â
Cade stopped. âShe specifically chose you. What butâ¦â I didnât expect him to be jealous.
I stopped and turned to him. âItâs not like that, Iâm not special or anything. She chose me since I wasnât going to be raised in the castle.â
We continued walking. âWhy wouldnât she want the holder to be raised in the castle. Theyâre supposed to be.â
âNo that's bullshit. The royal family has been manipulating our family for generations. I know that now so I canât work for the royal family anymore and I canât give my abilities to anyone else to work for them,â I explained.
âThatâs a big accusation Aqua.â Cade sighed. âMaybe other kings and queens knew about it but the current ones couldnât have known. They were probably taught the same as us.â He could have been right. They might have not known they were passing down a lie. âWeâll explain what Diana said to you and maybe theyâll leave you alone.â Iâm glad he believed me about the dream.
We didnât talk for a little while before I asked, âAre you⦠with Sadia? Does she hate me?â
âWeâre together, yes but she doesnât hate you. Sheâs still hurt by what you did. She misses you but she doesnât know how to forgive you or trust you.â
âI get it. I miss her too, but I donât know how to apologize in a way that sheâd appreciate. She knows me and Lexus are mates now but that doesnât really justify what we did.â I didnât know what it was going to be like to see Lexus again.
âYouâll both figure it out.â Cade opened the door for me, and I walked into the castle it was late so no one was really around except guards. We walked up the staircase and my heart dropped when I sensed Lexus. It felt so intense.