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When the world stops spinning, we find ourselves in a place I can't recognize. The surroundings are foreign, and the air is heavy with an unfamiliar energy. I glance at Kaif and Bain, who seem much less disoriented than my mother and me.
“Where the heck are we?” I murmur, peering around, we are surrounded by forest, yet my entire bottom half is underwater, so I know we are merely navigating the fountain. Yet from my knees up, the world is as real as the one back home; the scenery, the noises, even the air is different here.
Kaif's eyes meet mine briefly, and I can see the resignation in them. “We recognize this place,” he says somberly.
My mother looks at him, her patience wearing thin. “Well, why are we here? I thought it would take us to Temperance's bloodline. From the paperwork, we've found her bloodline isn't heaps old,” she says.
Bane finally breaks his silence. “The Fountain won't make a mistake. If it brought us back to this time period, it must be linked to Temperance in some way.”
We all share a nervous look, understanding that this unexpected detour might hold the answers we seek, yet I'm not sure that I want them if her bloodline predates back to this time period. Bain takes the lead, pushing through the thick foliage that seems to grow wild, unlike anything I'd ever seen.
As we move through this mysterious place, the world shifts around us. It's as if we're watching scenes from the past, different moments overlapping and converging. The water serves as our guide, showing us fragmented glimpses of history.
I can see faces and events that I've never encountered before, stories of people and places I've never known. It's both fascinating and overwhelming, and I struggle to make sense of it all.
My mother's voice breaks through my thoughts. “Eziah, focus on what we came here for. We need to find the clues about Temperance's bloodline.”
I nod, refocusing my attention on the task, not realizing I was becoming lost in a past that isn't mine. The water leads us through the ages, showing us snippets of the past that might hold the key to Temperance's lineage or maybe nothing at all, it's difficult to tell.
And then, as we watch through the ever-changing veil of the past, the water stops and seems to drain slightly, and we are left in some sort of village. A woman comes into view. She's breathtakingly beautiful, with long hair and striking blue eyes. She wears the attire of a bygone era, something akin to the Viking age.
“And there she is,” Kaif murmurs, his voice filled with a mix of awe and reverence. “The woman who caused it all. Luna.”
She would only be a teenager, maybe a young adult, it's hard to tell when another woman steps forward, gently fixing her hair with a flower headpiece.
“A month before our wedding,” Kaif murmurs.
“That should have been me! But you sold me out!” Bain snarls, glaring at his brother.
“I did no such thing!” Kaif snarls.
“Yeah? Just like you didn't sell me out to Seline's people, and got my daughter killed! Had me killed!” Bain snarls.
“Oh for frig sake, Bain! I never sold you out, I tried to cover up for you! It's not my fault Celeste found you! I told you to return to the coven.”
“And watch you live happily ever after with my fiancé!”
“I wouldn't call it happily ever after, all I got was the after part, there was no happily in it. Count yourself lucky, I've spent centuries reincarnating into a bloodline of Hades,” Kaif snarls.
“Oh tragic. I spent centuries trapped here!” Bain snarls angrily.
“At least you had your mate!” Kaif retorts, causing Bain to scoff.
“Only because Celeste was a selfish bitch, and decided to hand her curse to my mate because she couldn’t live with the shit she did!” Bain snarls.
“Enough! Your vendetta is not why we are here. Now shut it! Or I will lock you in a realm together for the next century. Your very own naughty corner until you kiss and make up!” my mother warns, and they fall quiet.
So Luna is what came between them, I should have known. What else would cause two brothers to hate each other, to break a sibling bond? That would be a love shared, a woman.
The next minute, all hell breaks loose when wolves flood the village, and it takes me a moment to recognize the woman as Celeste, she spins to face the forest, hundreds possibly thousands of wolves emerge from the tree lines. Celeste turns and looks at her daughter.
“Run!” she screams when I see two men with an uncanny resemblance rush from tents along with others, and I recognize their power instantly. Witches.
This was her coven. “This is not long after Celeste turned us,” Kaif murmurs. I've heard about the story of how it started, and I guess now I am seeing it with my own two eyes.
“Kaif, get Luna out of here! Bain!” Celeste screams, and I realize the two burly men are Bain and Kaif. Bain's hands glow as he stalks forward as the coven takes the form of a circle, preparing to battle the wolves emerging from the forest. My eyes go to Kaif, who grabs Luna, ushering her into one of the tents and disappears with her while a bloodbath ensues and her coven shifts into magnificent beasts of power.
Yet, I turn to my mother, “What's this got to do with Temperance?” I ask her as a battle rings out and war ensues.
