"I found something!" shouted Everson for the second time, we all jolted our heads toward him. "Oh, never mind."

I sighed and turned back to the book that was in my hands. We were currently in the Crestwood library after hours trying to find anything about 'The Vad'. The thing Aradia told Bash to find. We've been here searching for hours and we've had no such luck.

"How come Aradia told you inside your head? Why not out loud?" asked Nyan who stared at Bash as she shut her book and picked up another one. She was sitting on the floor across from me.

I assumed The library was pretty old and had not been redecorated since the eighteen hundreds. The worn designed carpet scratched against my legs and the atmosphere smelt like old paper and leather.

"Because she obviously didn't want Enyo to know, duh," said Mara from the windowsill.

"I found something!" shouted from Ever once again.

Octavious groaned from his sitting place on one of the wooden banisters. "Ever, I swear to God-"

"No, I mean it, look!" Ever threw the book to Octavious.

"This book is ancient," Octavious started, then opened the book to the page Ever had been and read it out loud, "The Vad; It is a weapon, that, if ever used, can destroy anything within its radius. It's a weapon with both light and dark quantities. It is an instrument of unparalleled destructive power that no single man should ever wield."

I roll my eyes at the use of man. Why not women? I mean we're we not good enough to hold such power? We're we- I shook the thought from my head. That is totally not the point Ryn.

"Oh! I call dibs!" shouted Everson from across the room.

"Shut up, Ever," everyone said at the same time. Ever flipped us all off and slid down one of the banisters to reach the rest of us.

"Can you not act like a child?" Nyan growled at him.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I tore my gaze away from them and dug it out, seeing a text message from Finn.

Mom wants you to text her back. Why aren't you answering? What's going on between the two of you?

I felt my chest squeeze at my little brother's words. Did he truly not know? Had mom lied to him too? Did Ace know? Mom had been texting and calling me non stop for the past week, i've felt guilty for ignoring her but what could i possibly say to her? I wasn't ready to speak to her. I breathed in slowly and shoved my phone back into my pocket. I couldn't think of that right now.

"Let me see that," said Mara who snatched the book from Octavious. "Both light and dark? Does that mean it has magic?"

"The weapon?" asked Nyan.

Bash shrugged and stood up. "It's not unheard of. But I don't like the 'it is an instrument of unparalleled destructive power that no single man should yield' tid bit."

"That's totally sexist," I chimed in and Nyan agreed with me, nodding her head.

"Stop being a feminist," said Ever. I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed. I knew his words were not serious. Most of the time they weren't.

     "Is that all it says about it?" asked Kaida who spoke for the first time. She was sitting in one of the corners pretending not to be interested in our hunt for information.

Mara squinted down at the book. "Wait," she leaned forward. "There's some type of poem but the font is so small." Mara growled out of frustration as she struggled to read the small print. She had a determined look on her face, her eyes squinted and her her lips pursed.

"Give it to me," Kaida grumbled. Kadia read the words with ease and maybe arrogance.

                 "Two halves of the same, when the wolves cry the cities will burn in flames, on the last day The Vad will break free, embracing the world among its pain, both light and dark but forever the same."

"Well that's ominous," I stated, with a weird feeling in my chest.

"And cheesy," Nyan added.

"Anyone have a clue what the hell any of that means?" asked Kaida.

Everyone shook their heads. I thought about it longer. There was something so alluring about the poem. It bothered me that I didn't know what it meant. I hated not having all the answers. I hated feeling helpless.

     Everson sank down on one of the sofas with a line between his brows. "So we don't know what it is, except that it's some sort of weapon. We don't know what it looks like. We don't know where the hell it is and we don't know why it exists but we do know that if it's ever used it could potentially kill all of us?"

"Pretty much."

"Shit."

"Maybe it's not real," Octavious offered. "Maybe Aradia is just screwing with us?"

"Very unlikely," said Bash. "she would have no reason to."

"Well, I'm tired, can we discuss this in the morning?" Everson asked. We all nodded and said our goodbyes.

"How are you doing?" Nyan asked out of nowhere on our way back to our dorm. "I mean how are you dealing with everything?"

I shrugged, shoving my hands into the pockets of my Crestwood blazer. "You know, you'd think it'd be the 'not entirely human' thing that would get to me but the only thing that actually bothers me is my mother's lies."

"I can totally understand that," she said. "Being lied to is never easy, especially by someone you trust with your whole heart."

"That's the thing too, she's never lied to me. Never. Or at least I thought, maybe that's why it hurts so bad."

Nyan smiled sadly and put a hand on my shoulder. "If you ever want to talk, I'm here."

I'm here. I didn't know I needed to hear those words so badly. She was here. She was my friend. I wasn't alone. "Thank you, Nyan."

***

Weeks passed and we found nothing more about the Vad, all we had was a poem that could be fake and the knowledge that if the Vad was ever used we would probably die. My phone vibrated in my pocket as I walked out of English class. I ignored it and kept walking. My feet echoed on the marble floor and I counted my footsteps.

Only fourty more to go until I reached the dining hall. Counting my footsteps was somewhat of a security for me. I memorized every step, every hall, and every door of this place just to have something to think about.

Nothing had changed. My life felt normal. Wake up. Eat. School. Repeat. Sometimes I could almost pretend I was not a supernatural being. I could pretend that my life wasn't a lie and I wasn't the daughter of some lost princess.

I scoffed in my head at the irony of that. I'd always hated the stories where some random girl finds out that she has powers or something and that she's special.

I was living in a bad tv drama.

"Hey!" Nyan came up from behind me and linked our arms together, she was in a good mood, like always. "I was thinking since you're not going to New York for thanksgiving we could throw you your own."

I chuckled at her words. "You don't celebrate thanksgiving."

"Duh, that's why I said for you. We can do whatever traditions you do with your family. It's better than nothing, right?"

"You would really do that?"

Her look said 'who do you think I am?' "Of course, Ryn."

"Okay but do any of you know how to cook a turkey?" I asked because I had no idea. Mom was the one who cooked and she never forced me to help her. Actually it was Ace who always helped her in the kitchen.

Nyan smiled down at me. "I am not cooking. I will definitely hire someone to do it though."

Right. I keep on forgetting they are richer than gods. We reach the mess hall, my eyes immediately going to the structure that is Crestwood. I would never get over the beauty of this school. The wooden walls and the iron chandeliers. The way the light reflected through the windows and hit the marble floor, making rainbows show of the ground. The smell. That atmosphere always smelt like lavender.

We got our food and made our way to our table. As me and Nyan passed by the other students they stared at us. I'd gotten accustomed to their gazes but it still made me uncomfortable. It was like every time they stared, they were checking, waiting to see if I was still with the Devara. I sat at the lunch table where the rest of the group already was. Mara sat next to Kaida, Ever sat next Bash and Nyan took her place next to Octavious and I plopped down beside her.

"So what are we talking about?" Nyan asked, wrapping her arm around Octavious's torso.

I felt an enormous amount of jealousy hit me like a truck. It was so strong and filled with want I felt like I couldn't breathe. There was a tightness in my chest as I stared at her arm around him.

But then the jealousy turned into pain, the pain of wanting something you could never have. But it wasn't mine. Why would I be jealous of Nyan and Octavious?

That's when I realized that I wasn't.

I was feeling someone else's emotions. Like I did with Raiden. I searched the table, my eyes landing first on Mara. She laughed at something Kaida was saying not even paying attention to Nyan and Octavious. Kaida wasn't either.

My eyes next found Ever's. He stared at Nyan's arm around Octavious's waist and although there was nothing in his expression his eyes were filled with a distant pain that seemed he was trying so hard to cover.

No way.

Octavious made eye contact with Ever. And I watched it happen. There was a type of longing in his gaze.

His eyes were so beautiful...the gray and blue swirls reminded me of the ocean back home. Octavious seemed to frown. He's your best friend. You can't think of him like that.

The thought was not mine.

It was Octavious's.

No. no. no.

I didn't want this. I didn't want to know this. Everson was in love with my best friend's boyfriend. And by Octavious's thoughts he seemed a little infatuated and more than in a friend way. And that longing in Eversons eyes ... that pure desire and want so strong it seemed to drown him.

Was something going on between the two of them? Holy shit. What the hell am I supposed to do?

"Hey, are you okay, Ryn?" Nyan asked me, concern etched on her face. I forgot I sometimes wore my emotions on my face like a second skin.

"I-"

Darren can't know about Eli and me.

What if my mom finds out about the drugs?
This outfit makes me look fat. Is everyone staring at me?

My eyes shot frantically around the cafeteria as other people's thoughts scrambled through my head. Who's thoughts am I reading? How do I make it stop?

I wish there was pizza on the menu today.
I hate the Devara.

Hannahs top is totally see-through, should I tell her?

It wouldn't stop. I put my hands over my ears hoping it would silence them but it was no use. Was I reading all of their thoughts? Was that even possible? Pain erupted through my skull. A shockwave went through my bones.

It was too much.

"Ryn, what's wrong?" I think the voice that asked was Bash. His voice was low and filled with some sort of emotion.

I don't like seeing her in pain.

"S-somethings happening." Make it stop. Please. I begged I'm not sure out loud or in my head.

"We need to get her out of here."

"People are staring."

Different people's thoughts shot throughout my head continuously. I couldn't stop them and it was making my brain overload. I closed my eyes, I couldn't focus on anything other than their thoughts. Slowly they got quieter but they were still there in the background. I opened my eyes to see I was no longer in the cafeteria anymore. I was in a dark classroom, each of The Devara around me, all of their faces filled with worry.

"What just happened?" Mara asked me.
It was gone, I realized. I couldn't hear anyone's thoughts, not even theirs. "I was ... I could hear ... their thoughts."

They all looked at each other. "All of theirs?" asked Bash.

I nodded.

"How is that even possible?" Kaida questioned, she was leaning against one of the empty desks, she glared down at my face but she couldn't fool me. I saw the worry in her gaze. She looked up at Octavious. "Does that ever happen to you?"

He shook his head. "I can only hear one at a time."

"That's not all," I started. "I could feel their emotions too. It was terrible."

Everyone looked to Nyan. I knew Nyan's power was she could make people feel whatever she wanted them to but I didn't know she could feel their emotions too.
"Wow," said Everson, his gray-blue eyes big out of shock. "She has two. Twos gifts."

***

Thanksgiving was three days away. The break had already started and there was nobody on campus beside me and The Devara's. I still couldn't believe I've been at Crestwood for over two months. I've known of the existence of the supernatural for most of the months.

My whole entire life has turned upside down during my time here. My phone buzzed in my pocket once again. I still hadn't talked to her, to mom. I just ... I wasn't ready to hear her explanation. I just didn't know if I could take the pain of knowing.

Ignorance is bliss, a voice whispered in my head.

But knowledge is power, another voice said.

"Why don't you just give her a chance?" Nyan said, brushing her long white-blonde curls off of her notebook. We were in our room, we were both sprawled across my bed. She's been helping me study for a history test, since the Devara's have been around throughout history she offered to help.

I haven't had any episodes since that day in the cafeteria and not for lack of trying, Bash had been hounding me, training with me for days but nothing's happened. I'm almost positive the whole thing didn't happen, that I couldn't read minds or feel others emotions. 

"I . . ." I groaned and dropped my history book over my face, breathing in the scent of dust and paper. "I don't know. I mean I want to hear what she has to say but also I'm just so mad at her. Maybe I want her to feel half the pain she's made me feel," my words came out muffled.

I felt the history book being lifted from my face and opened my eyes to find a pair of dark blue ones staring down at me.
"You know, if my mother was alive-"

"Please don't pull the dead mother card."

Nyan smiled and shook her head taking no offense to my rude remark. "All I'm saying is she's probably already in pain, she probably thinks you hate her."

I closed my eyes again and processed her words. I could never hate mom, never, no matter what. She's been there for me more than anyone. "I'll call her later tonight."

Nyan smiled in that cheery way that made everyone else smile around her. She had a way of doing that, being a light in the dark. There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Nyan called.

Octavious and Everson walked in then. Octavious sat in one of the armchairs while Ever laid across my bed, without care, and draped his legs across my lap. His blonde curls spread out across the pillow. He snatched the history book from me. I scowled down at him, only earning an arrogant smile in return. "U.S president history?" he read. "Well, that's easy, let's see, there was George Washington, not a good man, by the way,  Abraham Lincon died in 1865, John F. Kennady was assassinated in 1962, Ronald Reagan-"

"John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, actually," I corrected him with a smug smile. "But do keep going."

Everson frowned at my face. "You're mean when it comes to smart people stuff."

"That's basic knowledge, actually."

"See what I mean."

There was another knock and before I could say come in he did anyway, just as Bash always did. Bash looked good as always, shining emerald eyes and black hair darker than midnight, he wore his usual get-up of all black clothes and a brooding look on his face. "Have you trained today?" was the first thing he asked me.

I tried not to roll my eyes.

"You mean stare at Nyan's forehead for an hour with so much intensity that I feel like I'm going to pass out? Yes," was my usual sarcastic response. Bash sat down on the armchair across from Octavious's. He tilted his head giving me that, I'm serious, look. "I've tried, Bash, it just doesn't work."

"There's got to be something that triggers it," Octavious thought out loud.

"I don't know, the first time it happened maybe, when Raiden had a knife to my throat, but the second time I was just in the cafeteria-"

"Wait, this happened before? and how the hell do you know that Greers name?" Bash cut me off a frown on his face. He said the word Greer as if it created a sour taste in his mouth. I understood why, The Greer killed his family. Destroyed his life.

"I've met him before, twice actually, and yes it did happen before."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Nyan asked confusion in her brow.

I shrugged. "I barely knew I did it, it was only for a split second and then I think he blocked me out somehow."

"That's impossible," Octavious said, his knowledge for mind-reading coming in handy. "You have to be extremely powerful to block someone, especially a Devara, from using their gift on you."

I thought of Raiden's harsh words. Stay out of my head. "He also knew that I was reading his mind."

I looked to Bash expecting him to have the answer but he looked just as puzzled as everyone else did. "He must be more powerful than we thought."

Before I could respond There was a sudden knock on the door. "Come in," I called. The door opened slowly, I expected to see Mara or Kaida but that's not who walked through the threshold.

The first boy wore a beanie and had black shaggy hair and glasses that always fell down his nose. He wore skinny jeans and a baggy band T-shirt that I know he had no idea who the band was, he never did. The second boy had red curls and the same gray eyes like mine. He wore a sweet smile I knew all too well. My little brother was always a sweet one. "Hey, Ryn!"