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“You're not like your sister,” she tells me and I nod slowly, trying to find the best way to explain it.
“My mother is a Gemini Goddess….”
“So, the same as you and Marabella?” she asks, and I shake my head. “Yes and no, my sister and I were supposed to be Geminis but my mother died when she was pregnant with us, her heart stopped and instead of our power remaining it split down the middle. My mother believes the shadows brought Marabella back, and attached to her, while light brought me back attaching to me. For the Moon Goddess to bring my mother back, a sacrifice had to be made, and the same with us. We sacrificed a piece of our magic while Selene, she sacrificed her life for my mother's,” I explain.
“I thought you said your mother was the Moon Goddess?”
I sigh heavily, my family history and the curses that plague us are more confusing now that I am older than when I first learned of them. I have so many more questions now.
“She is but before her, Selena was, and before Selene, it was a Demi Goddess named Celeste. She created Lycans, and in turn, was cursed to the Moon Goddess realm until she could restore balance. The only way for her to leave was to find her replacement, that replacement was Selene, who in turn sacrificed her life for my mothers who replaced Selene,” I try my best explain.
“But why would she sacrifice her life for your mother's?”
“Because she felt guilty for cursing her and her bloodline,” I say and shrug. Temperance seems to think for a second, her brow furrowing, causing a deep crease above her nose.
“So does that mean I am cursed?” Temperance asks.
“That is what we're trying to figure out, but the fact you can enter the shadow realm, and also see the souls trapped here, I'm more leaning toward you being cursed by the Octavian bloodline, somehow.” It's the only thing that could make sense, her bloodline has to stem from the Octavians in some way, how else could she enter a purgatory created to trap them?
“This place is the shadow realm,” Temperance whispers, her eyes gazing around the room.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Shadow could feel it when we got here, it's the same feeling, but not, it's warmer here than it is there, but the sickly dead feeling is the same. The power that emanates from it.”
I think her words over, I will have to ask Dominic tomorrow, but it would make sense, a place like that needs power and this place is a never-ending battery source. This land is sacred to the Octavian coven, so maybe it's also their prison, forever trapped in different planes, but always home where it started and ended.
“Try to get some sleep,” I whisper to her, tucking the blanket higher, she closes her eyes and I watch her, my mind trying to make sense of the puzzle pieces I've been given. No doubt my mother could shed some light on this, but I don't feel up to asking her, not yet.
Temperance lies quietly next to me, her face pale, but for the most part, she is calm. Her eyes are closed, her breathing is steady. The night's chill seeps through the old stone walls, making the atmosphere heavy with an eerie thickness, like breathing in heavy fog. I resist the urge to reach out, to touch her, to reassure myself that she's real.
Instead, I give her space, knowing human touch, especially a man’s touch, is not something she is overly comfortable with. Yet, she doesn't seem to mind mine, but after how freaked out she was, I don't want to push boundaries.
Just as I am finally closing my eyes, the silence is shattered when my phone rings, its shrill tone cutting through the quiet room. I glance at the screen, my brows furrow when I see Casen's name. Why would he call at this hour? I quickly answer, keeping my voice low, hoping my ringtone didn't wake her.
“Did you know?” Casen's voice erupts through the speaker. His words are jarring and abrupt, making me wonder if I misheard it being his voice.
“Excuse me?” I respond, thrown off balance by his sudden demand.
“About Casey?” The name is foreign and meaningless to me at this moment.
“Who's Casey?” I ask, now even more confused than before.
“My daughter!”
His revelation stuns me. The words sink in slowly, like stones tossed in a lake.
“You have a daughter?” I ask, stunned. My voice is barely more than a whisper as my mind tries to conjure up when he has a chance to knock someone up.
“At least someone wasn't lying to me. And yes, she is four,” Casen answers, exhaling loudly, the sound like a gust of wind in the room's silence.
“I'm going to assume this child that sprouted from your loins belongs to Rose?” I ask, trying to wrap my head around what he is telling me.
“Of course it’s Rose,” Casen answers. “She had a baby, and no one told me!”
“So, how did things go with Rose?” I ask, struggling to regain my composure.
“Terrible! I kidnapped our daughter, fought with my brother, and half the damn pack when I got here!” His words tumble out in a heated rush, his anger palpable even over the phone. I fall quiet, trying to process what he's telling me. Casen's life, like Temperance's, has turned into a storm of chaos and surprise.
