Chapter 22: White Jewels

I was sitting in the room alone and completely fed up. Here I sat in my jeans and bra, alone in this room after Logan had ran out on me as if he couldn't seem to move fast enough. I had imagined that when I finally said yes to a guy and willingly offered him up my virginity I wouldn't be hit with a bunch of bipolar expressions and then left in the cold, frustrated and seeing red.

Completely feed up with the current situation I sung my feet and jumped up off the bed, pacing over to the wardrobe I grabbed a hold of my brown woollen jumper and threw it on over my head - smoothing it down before I stormed out of the room in search of Logan. With my face in a deep pout and my hands balled in at my sides I all but ran down the hall until I turned into the living area. I stopped and peeked my head around the corner, making sure that Logan was in fact in there before I started my over-the-top, extremely annoyed entrance.

Logan was standing in front of the TV with his hands crossed firmly over his chest and a serious and somewhat furious expression across his features while Marco was nodding his head repeatedly while he sat on the couch with his arms spread over the back of the chair. Oh good, I could make my entrance now.

Narrowing my eyes at the pair I stormed into the room, slamming the door open until it made a loud echoing thud as it hit the wall adjacent to it, catching their attention and making them both jump as they looked over at me. I stormed into the room, my footsteps were like an elephants as I stomped towards them. Stopping in front of them I pointed an accusing finger at Logan. "What kind of thing!" I shouted, "Leaves a girl sitting there like some... some..." I searched for the right words. Shit. Maybe I used have thought about what I was going to say before I say it. Damn.

"Calmed down Britney." Marco stood up, interrupting me just as Logan began to catch onto my lack of word preparation - his face shifting from serious to slightly amused. Thank you Marco! Next time step into save me from myself earlier.

"No! He..."

"I know what he did Brit. Sit down." Marco was now the one who was serious. It was a change. I had never really seen Marco so serious before, normally he was amused by everything - laughing at being imprisoned and even at the prospect of war.

I opened and closed my mouth as I looked between the two brothers, both staring at me seriously. I suddenly felt like I was staring down two police officers after being caught shop lifting in the supermarket. Scrunching up my nose I nodded my head and sat down on the couch while Marco sat back down where he was sitting originally and Logan sat down opposite me on the soft cushioned footstool.

"Let me see the necklace." Marco asked me as his eyes landed on my collarbone - only barley showing from the collar of my jumper.

I nodded my head again but didn't dare say a word as I pulled my hair back and pulled out the necklace from under my jumper and pulled it out it view. The beautiful, elegant white diamond that hung from a gold chain twinkled in the light as the two of them stared at it.

"And you can see that?" Marco asked me with a bewildered look upon his face.

"Yes." I sighed a little annoyed at the question. Who couldn't see it, it's not like it was small, it was rather bulky as crystal necklaces come - the chain itself was rather thick.

"Send for Edward." Marco quickly said to Logan.

He nodded in return and raised himself up off the foot stool and paced over to the door while I turned my attention back to Marco. "Is my good eyesight a problem here or...?" I trailed off a little unsure of the situation.

"A little. That's an amparo diamond, its only purpose is to protect itself and by extension the person wearing it. It was created a long time ago but after the news of the crystal spread the holder of the necklace passed it on to a warlock to hide it, it was supposed to be hidden with the humans because you can't see it." He explained all the while, his eyes never left the crystal hanging from my neck. "Where the hell did you find it?"

"I didn't."

"What?" he frowned in confusion while he finally looked back up at me with unbelieving eyes.

"I didn't find it, it was given to me." I explained thinking of the hooded man.

"By who?"

"I don't know his name, he wore a hood." I confessed but I kept the information that Eliza knew him to myself, knowing she would get into trouble if they knew she took me with her through the portal.

"A hood? Really Britney, it's not like half the world is wearing a hood right now."

"I didn't exactly stop to ask him his name."

"Well next time, please do." He smiled sarcastically at me. And that's the Marco I know.

I rolled my eyes and huffed a sigh.

"So why can I see it?" I asked him as I grabbed a hold the pendent and turned it around in my hands.

"I don't know." He narrowed his eyes at the crystal in my hands. "You must not be as human as you appear to be little Brit."

"But I..." I started but was cut off the minute the doors opened with a small bang and Logan walked into the room with a hooded figure close on his heels. Logan held my gaze the entire time as he walked towards me and sat down next to me, his hand resting on my knee comfortingly.

The hooded figure sat down and dropped his hood back allowing me to recognise the man. His bright light blue eyes with dark almost black hair and his pale skin with the mark scaring his right check.

I smiled at him making him regarded me confusingly. "What's your name?" I inquired, taking Marcos advice about knowing names.

He looked at me strangely before looking towards Logan's hand on my knee for a brief second, his face staying still and expressionless the entire time. "My name is Edward." He finally spoke, his voice was as I remembered only earlier today.

I smiled and nodded before quickly turning to Marco. "Edward."

He flinched and frowned at the randomness. "What?"

"You said to ask for the name next time. I did. Edward."

Marco looked back at Edward and narrowed his eyes. "You have a lot of explaining to do but first..." He paused as he edged himself closer. "You had that necklace the entire time and you didn't think for a second to give it to me."

"It wasn't yours to protect." I responded simply.

"Protect? I was almost killed and you..."

"Marco!" Logan quickly interrupted his brother. He turned back to Edward and edged forward as his brother had done only seconds ago. "How can she see it?"

"You know the answer to that." Really? Well can someone please enlighten me?

"I want to hear you say it."

"Britney is a decent of a Volucris."

My mouth dropped down and scrapped the bottom of the couch like someone looking for loose change. "What? I think I would have known if one of parents had wings on their back."

"Not a direct decedent, a few hundred years ago, a distant grandmother of yours was a Volucirs. She was rather strong willed much like yourself although I do believe your curiosity is from a great aunt." He explained.

"You knew her?" I asked him unable to help it.

"I did. Very well."

"Wait, a few hundred years ago?" Marco interjected. "That was when you were human?"

"Indeed. She was the one who cursed me."

"Why would she do that?" I asked, curiosity was at its peak, if he deserved such a curse then I was slightly scared to even ask, but I had too know.

"Like I explained to you before, I am one of the few deserving of this mark I bare."

"What did you do?" Logan was more forceful with the question, both of the men beside me tensed up at the question.

Edward was silent.

"That mark is of a crescent moon. That family line has run out but they were known for their wisdom, they didn't just go around cursing people like the royals." Marco explained as urged an answer to his question.

"It is a rather long story." Edward tried to brush off the question once again but it only made me more curious.

"Answer or I teach Britney who enslave you once again." Marco threatened. "She is, as you explained, of the right blood line."

I looked towards Marco in shock. I didn't want to enslave him.

Edward sighed and looked down, clearly ashamed of his past as he nodded. "I was a young gentlemen and Claire had caught my attentions. I was only supposed to be in the city for a short while on business but I couldn't seem to leave her." He began. "I asked her to marry me and she accepted, after being pressured by her uncle. I saw the marks on her back and the crescent moon birth mark on the back of her neck, I knew what it meant, what it meant she was but I didn't say anything. I had spent my whole life hunting the Volucris and by chance I fell in love with one. I couldn't kill her but when her family was found out and they asked me if she was like them, I said no. The order went out to kill her family and I didn't protest, if they were dead, she would be safer - or at least that's what I thought. She walked in at the end when it was just me left, I was supposed to dispose of the bodies, her two young cousins - one was even human - and her uncle. Claire put everything together and in her rage and grief she cursed me."

"You monster." The barely audible words slipped from my lips before I had a chance to catch them.

"Yes. I know." Edward nodded at me. "I did a terrible thing and I will spend eternity atoning for my sins. Clarie had left town and travelled to Australia with the first settlers, she married a small time famer who took her in and our child. I found her again and she apologised for her actions as I begged for her forgiveness and she granted me that. I watched her from a far until she died and then I continued to watch as my child grew up and passed." His eyes sprung to life with so many emotions, hurt, sadness, and regret. "I checked each child that was born to see if they had the mark and after two generations the mark no longer appeared, well not until you Britney."

"I don't have a moon shaped birth mark." I clarified. I had a banana shaped birth mark under my left breast but that wasn't a moon... or maybe it did look like a crescent moon?

"Yes you do." Edward assured me.

"Okay, you've made your point." I snapped at him and quickly turned to Logan with wide eyes. "I'm not going to start growing wings now am I?"

He chuckled as he reached out and put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. "No, no wings."

"Good." I sighed with relief.

"Those bastards." Marco muttered as he leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "So if your not entirely human then the royal blood lines wouldn't actually be tainted when Peter made you his bride. They'd only get stronger."

"Why do you think I gave her the necklace?" Edward said, his attention totally on Marco as he put everything together.

Peter told me the Royal King must take a human wife to taint the bloodlines, but if I wasn't totally human then the bloodlines were never tainted, the royal family would just keep getting stronger and more pure.

"What would have happened?" I asked as my eyes flickered between Marco and Edward. Logan's arm tightened around me as he pulled me closer into him.

"They would have been strong enough to destroy the Underground in only one more generation. They would have squashed them like bugs." He explained. "Why the hell didn't you bring her here when you knew she had the mark?" He questioned Edward.

"She was safer in the crowd. Trust me."

I looked at each of the three intense manly stares as the silence began to stretch out, each one of them stayed captivated by their own thoughts.

Well, where do we go from here?

---------------

I finally updated! I'm sorry for the irregularity in updates but between my other books and university I haven't had a lot of time. I hope it wont be too long before the next :)

Please vote and comment (and a big thank you to those who do!)