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I turn around to follow him with my eyes, but I cannot wonder at our brief conversation and its meaning for too long. The doors in front of me open and I'm beckoned inside.
The room is dark, lit only by a multitude of candles on an altar at the front. There's a large, circular table in the center of the room. In the darkness I cannot make out everyone's faces, but every seat at the table is filled.
I can, however, make out one face.
Teddy is sitting at the head of the table, looking far more somber than I've ever seen him.
The man who opened one of the big oak doors instructs me to come further into the room. The doors close behind me and I feel the darkness of the space creep further into my soul.
As my eyes adjust, I can start to make out the faces of the men at the table. The one opposite Teddy stands.
I'm so interested in trying to figure out what is going on, that I don't even object to whoever takes me by the elbow and leads me to where Teddy is sitting. I'm told to stand behind him and follow any instructions he gives to me.
He doesn't turn around like I expect him to. He sits as still as can be at the table, staring at the man who is standing.
"Teodoro Maldonado," the standing man says in a booming voice. I look over at him. He's got jet black hair and strong, square features. He's stunning in a dark, handsome way. "You have called this meeting tonight. Stand and state your purpose."
The man sits and Teddy stands instead. Still, he does not turn around to look at me. I find myself wanting to see his face, almost as if I'm that teenage girl again, and I need his reassurance.
"I invoke the protection of the family," he says in a stern voice. I've never heard him speak this way before. I always remembered him as upbeat and carefree. This is a completely different side of him.
"You invoke it for whom?" the other man asks.
"For Raven Kirkland," he says.
My eyes go wide and my heart rate spikes. I want to say something, but I get the sense that me interrupting would not go over well right now.
"You understand that you may only invoke the protection of the family one time?"
"I do," Teddy replies.
I feel panicked. He can only invoke whatever this is one time? And he's doing this for me? I desperately want to know what's going on.
"Then proceed," the man on the other side of the table says.
I watch as Teddy takes out a small card from his pocket. On the card is a small likeness of Saint Theodore, who is the patron Saint of soldiers.
Teddy takes the card and hands it to the man to his right along with a needle. This man takes the needle and pricks his finger before pressing a bloody thumbprint onto the back of the card. This ritual is repeated around the circle until the card is returned to Teddy.
With absolutely no hesitation, I watch as Teddy takes a knife from his pocket and slashes his palm straight down the middle. I gasp out whereas he does not even flinch. He presses his blood-soaked hand to the front of the card, completely obscuring the picture that's there.
He then steps back from the table and leads me to sit where he was sitting. I'm in some state of shock from watching this entire ceremony and being the odd subject of it, that I don't even fight with him.
I drop heavily into the seat and allow the rest of the ceremony to play out.
The first man addresses me now. "Raven Kirkland, you are to come under the protection of the family. Swear to us that you will do it no harm."
Time stands still as I look around the table. The faces are shrouded in darkness, but I can feel each of their eyes on me. I start to panic, but then I feel a strong hand on my shoulder. I don’t even have to look up to know it’s Teddy’s.
I could never forget the feeling of his hands on me.
The comfort they gave me.
The reassurance.
The peace.
"I swear." The words leave my lips before I even realize what I've done.
