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I'm sure they were whistling at Ayla and Ash—not me. I knew I had to look about as pretty as death at that moment.
Then something caught my attention. A light reflected into my eyes from Ash's neck, and I leaned forward, trying to see better.
"What's that?" It was an amethyst colored crystal that seemed to be alive with beauty.
"It was a gift"—she paused, her eyes turning from excited to guilty, and her voice changed to a sadder, regretful tone—"from Desmond."
I didn't have to be empathic to read her emotions. Desmond had finally accepted that she was his soul mate. He gave her a stone, something he knew she would love. I was forced to fight back my guilty tears.
My sister shouldn't have to hide her happiness. It wasn't fair. I had been so selfish and wrapped up in my own self-pity that my sister couldn't even tell me about falling in love because she felt guilty. It was simple. I was a jerk.
"Ash, I'm so sorry. I know I've been a mess, but you can tell me. I am happy for you. I've been hoping he would get over his issues for a long time." I could hear my voice crackle in shame.
She smiled softly as she turned around. "Thank you, Aria. It was all thanks to you."
I tilted my head to the side. "What did I do?"
She smiled bigger, looking down bashfully and... did she just blush?
"The day you asked him to bring me the stone you found was the first time that he couldn't seem to pry himself away from me. We must have talked for hours, and then we kissed. It was... incredible." Her shy grin made me smile, too. "We can talk about it some more later."
We were pulling back into the driveway now, much to my surprise. It was a short trip to nowhere we had taken, which wasn't like Ash.
I noted the numerous cars all over the place, and groaned inwardly. I hated our house because it was magic central lately.
"SURPRISE!!" everyone yelled in unison as we walked through the door.
I looked around, wondering who we were supposed to be surprising.
"What's going on?" I whispered to Ash, feeling suddenly uncomfortable when I noticed most of the eyes were on me.
"Aria, it's your birthday." Her eyes narrowed to accompany the concern in her voice.
I hadn't even realized it was my birthday. Wow.
I smiled as everyone hugged me. When Allaysia made her way to me, I pushed aside the urge to ask about Tallis. It was time I let it go for the sake of everyone around me. Seeing Ash's guilt over being happy was the wakeup call I needed.
Allaysia hugged me tightly, bringing a smile to my face as I allowed myself relax against her.
"Happy birthday, Aria." She leaned back to hand me a present. "Gear said you couldn't open presents yet, but I wanted you to have this now. We can keep it our little secret." She winked at me, and I couldn't help but smile bigger.
It was a tiny box wrapped delicately in a light blue wrapping paper. It had a lacy white ribbon crisscrossed on top. It was almost too pretty to open. Almost.
I untied the strings, and pulled out a beautiful blue stone necklace. It was shaped like a perfect teardrop, and it was stunning—and probably too expensive.
"It's beautiful," I said in a reverent whisper, dropping the wrapping so I could put on my new jewelry.
She smiled warmly, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "My mother gave it to me when I was little. She said one day I would find someone else worthy to wear it. I gave Ayla another family piece that I held dearly to my heart, but this stone was meant for you.
"I originally held on to this in case I had another daughter or a granddaughter. Then I met you, and something inside me has been dying to give this to you. You came into my family, and you gave us hope. It's because of you that my family is no longer ostracized. We're understood, accepted, trusted, loved, and even respected. Most importantly, my mothe
r's name has been cleared and now people know of her amazing sacrifice. Now she is thought of the way Isis was. You don't know how much that means to me. Nothing like this has ever seemed possible, but now it's all happening. And I owe it all to you."
She hugged me again as I warred with a new onslaught of tears that begged to run free. Everyone had been so thoughtful, much more thoughtful than I had been lately.
We ate cake and celebrated the day I had forgotten. Surprisingly, it was just what I needed.
Iris asked to speak with me as the others danced and sang. I followed her to her room, curious as to what she needed to say that required privacy.
