© 2017 SilverStream22. All Rights Reserved. 

~

  Cause that truth hurts, and those lies heal

And you can't sleep thinking that he lies still

So you cry still, tears all in the pillow case

~ 

I turned around in shock. "Why would you have night terrors about the Lumescents?"

Tempest, for once, shut up. Right when I needed his constant babble to explain the situation. 

"Temp." I said in a warning tone. "Tell me."

"I can't." he snapped bitterly, "Even if I wanted to, I literally cannot. I've been bound not to say anything."

I hooked my thumb over my shoulder to the Reaper and Nymph. "Then how do they know?"

Tempest scowled. "I never had to tell them. Kendra knows because of the prophecy and Kristos knows because of Auguste."

I narrowed my eyes, getting a sense that there was more to the story than what he was revealing. "Earlier when I mentioned never meeting a Lycan made by the Lumescents, you said that my mom was the only one who 'knew'. What does she know? What do all of them know that I don't."

Tempest crossed his arms. "I can't tell you so I don't even know why you're asking."

"And we won't tell you," Kristos pitched in. 

"It's not our secret to tell." Kendra sighed. "I'm sure you understand. Besides, it's a dangerous thing that we can't just spread around."

I glared at her. "Right, because I'm the type to blurt out secrets to the general public?"

She returned my glare. "Stop. You know that it's not like that."

"Isn't it?" I cried out. "I'm about to embark on a life or death journey and neither of you will tell me why I almost died due to Tempest's night terrors."

Kristos and Tempest had brief eye contact before Tempest shouldered his way out of the room, taking Kristos with him to heal his bite. Kendra pulled me over to her and Kristos' room. 

She tossed me a longsleeve green shirt and black jeans. "Change. Meet me downstairs, and we'll all talk about what's really going on."

I frowned as I held up the clothes. "What do you mean?"

She paused at the door, "The prophecy isn't just about you, Lux. You may be the central focus, but there are always others involved. In this case, Tempest is one of those people involved."

After changing, I folded Tempest's shirt and kept it in my room since his was waterlogged, the bed itself sopping to the touch.

Taking the winding staircase two steps at a time, I could see Kristos dabbing at my bite with a cotton swab that reeked with alcohol. 

"I'm sorry," I muttered, noticing how deep the holes were where my fangs embedded into his skin.

He glanced at me under thick soot eyelashes but shook his head. "It's fine. I'd rather you have bitten me than to have woken and seen your dead body."

Kendra gestured for me to sit at high stools next to the island. Tempest was still getting patched up by Kristos on the other side when Kendra took a seat next to me and began. 

"Prophecy aside, let's focus on the facts. Many of which will shock you."

I tucked my hair behind my ears, "I'm ready. Hit me."

"Tempest isn't a Lycan." Kendra said slowly. "As a matter of fact, he's actually-"

"A Royal." Kristos interjected, a wry grin on his face. "It was interesting to see you jump to conclusions."

I immediately shook my head. "Not possible. He said so himself that the Lumescents made him into a Lycan."

Tempest shook his head. "You asked what family made me, but I said I came from the Lumescents. Not made."

I leaned back into the seat, crossing my arms and legs as I rolled my tongue across my teeth. "Oh? So when I mentioned Auguste and you replied with a snarky comment...does Auguste have to do with your night terrors?"

He looked like he wanted to voice his agreement, but then decided it was better not to. 

"We'll answer for him 9 times out of 10." Kendra murmured. "He can't break whatever...seal is around him."

My mind caught on that word. "Seal? Is it something like the curses your sister used on my parents?"

She inhaled shakily. "It's nothing like that. But it's strangely familiar. Almost like Alric's affinity..."

I prepped up at the name. "Alric? He was one of Stark's friends before he died in the war, right? His affinity was for death though. How does that have anything to do with why he can't speak about the Lumescents?"

She smiled fondly, as if the memory of Alric was all about the life in him rather than his untimely demise. "He had two affinities, like Stark. His other affinity was compulsion, the ability to make anyone do what he said. Thankfully, Lorena raised him right and he always made sure to sparsely use his compulsion affinity unless it was an emergency."

"Wasn't Alric made by the Lumescents? And Lorena and Iris?" I recalled Castor telling me about everyone's backstories a long time ago. 

"Yes." Kristos sighed, "Alric was actually one of the last werewolves to be turned into a Lycan before things went bad."

I grimaced. "Why do I have a bad feeling this all leads to Auguste?"

Kendra snapped her fingers. "Right? Your father never trusted Auguste from the moment they met. And to be honest, neither do Kristos and I."

"So who should we talk to? Lorena?"

Tempest shook his head. "Lorena was made before...the events happened. You need someone who's more recent."

"Who else is a modern Lumescent-made werewolf?" 

He shrugged as Kristos finished up wrapping his arm in gauze. "I can't tell you. Even if I-"

"Wanted to, yeah I know." I ended his sentence.

"What about the Moon Goddess?" Tempest suggested.

I snorted. "Forget it. From what Mom told me, she's still being punished for her crimes of breaking the Godly Accords."

Kristos lit up with his 'aha' moment. "Your mother! Katya can tell us. After all, she's the one who knows the most about Tempest than what we can gather."

"We can't return there." I stated, shaking my head vehemently. "We just escaped from the Sicilian Anosova residence, if we return, we put any remaining Royal families who are staying at my house at risk. Kendra, you said that Yuna already died. Gemma and Yuna are gone, so that means there's Gemma's brother Aksel and Yuna's sister Riko. Then there's myself, and Tempest."

I paused, blinking as I glanced up. "What's your real name?"

All of them looked shocked. 

Tempest smiled sadly, "Ask Katya. I can't tell you. But you are the first to notice."

Kendra scoffed, "I can't believe it. You didn't tell us that Tempest wasn't your actual name!"

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't exactly find a prime moment. We've only met in person yesterday, and a majority of that time was spent trying to fight our way out of the Sicilian Anosova residence to safety."

"Besides," I added. "Didn't you realize it was strange for his name to coincide with his power? It was obviously intentional, perhaps to mask his true identity."

Kendra looked miffed, but seemed to take it for an answer.

Kristos rubbed his hands together. "So what's the plan?"

Tempest cleared his throat. "Why don't we use Kendra's weird facetime thing to contact Katya. She can tell us more about myself and reveal everything and we can also get an update about the remaining families. Surely they'll know about Yuna by now."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "And they'll figure out by now that this Royal Killer is after the youngest generation. Which means after Aksel and Riko, I'm next, and unbeknownst to them, so is Tempest."

The Storm Prince rolled his shoulders back, several joints popping. "Alright then. Now let's move on from this topic. It bothers me when I can't talk about things properly."

Kristos snorted. "It probably bothers you more that we had more time talking that you did."

Tempest punched Kristos' shoulder. "Enough of that. Let's speak to the Luna of Lycans."