HERE's EVERLY's AESTHETIC

KONRAD
"You really are a specimen to behold." Konrad stalked into a cell, nobody by his side. He was angry and alone, but he had been in much worse positions.

A pretty little blonde girl with flawless skin and glacier eyes sat in the middle of the floor. She looked so much like her mother, like Marinda. The exact opposite of her little sister, Everly. Lotus chains tacked her to the ground on her knees. She didn't answer Konrad, just left her head hanging down. Konrad smiled.

"You're stronger than Constance, aren't you?" Konrad bent down to her level and when he was close enough, Fiona lurched up.

Her eyes had gone milky white, blood fell from her eyes in tears. A lotus flower grew from the side of her mouth, burning her skin. Black smoke fell off her lips.

Konrad recoiled, the sight of this girl gone Dividus was not something he wanted to see. But he knew why she was doing it. If she did it, she thought Konrad would leave her alone. But... still. Seeing her monstrous side come out, seeing her human self tucked away, was sad. She was too pretty to turn into this. But she thought wrong, Konrad wasn't going to just leave her alone.

Konrad narrowed his eyes at her. "Detorqueo." He said, and watched as the little flower fell off Fiona's skin. The black smoke evaporated, her face healed, and her eyes went back to the blue. But... she was screaming all the while that the shift happened.

He was doing a hard spell, he'd be a little tired after that. He just turned her back to the regular Hunter.

Konrad smiled at her. "There are those baby blues. Now, I have a question. Or two. Or three. And you're going to answer all of them." Konrad put his hand on Fiona's neck but didn't tighten it, his smile fell at it showed raw and pissed off anger. "Or this will not be a fun time here. I'm already pissed because I lost Leslie, I lost Becker, and I lost your cousin, and I gave back the kids already. It would take weeks to get them all back."

Fiona smiled a great smile at him. "And I am so proud of my family and Becker for doing those things."

Konrad yawned, his eyes tired and weighing him down. Yet he was still smiling. "Oh, so you don't know?"

Fiona shrugged. "I guess not."

Konrad moved his hand up to Fiona's chin, his thumb lightly rubbing her bottom lip. "Becker isn't my son."

Fiona began laughing, a laugh that made Konrad angry yet at peace. Her laugh was beautiful.

"Oh really!? And who's the sorry sap you killed when your wife cheated on you?" Fiona chuckled, unknowing of her uncle's acts.

Konrad let go of her chin and trailed his hand down. Fiona tried to do something but the chains were too strong, even for her.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" Fiona screeched, moving her legs out from under her. She kicked up the lotus flower that fell off her face and pushed it into Konrad's throat with her foot.

The lotus interfered with his magic and her chains broke, disintegrating into the air.

She jumped backwards and looked around the cell, for a way out. Konrad choked on air and then flung his hands out, chains sprouted from the concrete and Fiona was pulled back to the ground. Her little attack and narrow escape was the last moment of hope she was going to have.

A burn slowly healed in Konrad's neck, the skin still hissing and cracking. "Where is the Hunter's journal!?" He screamed at her. "I want that JOURNAL!" A stress vein in his forehead looked like it was going to pop.

Fiona didn't answer. She wouldn't. Not without a little push. The Hunter's never gave out the position of a Hunter's journal. It was a book complete of all Hunters and their family witches, safe houses scattered across the world, every Hunter and their home location. It had weapon strategies, plans, Who the original member of their bloodline was, which bloodline they were. 1-100.

But most importantly... Konrad knew it had who was allied with who. Who he could kill to throw off others, to anger others. Hunter's have to know this kind of stuff, the family journal was the most important thing a Hunter's family had. It started with their first ancestor and went on from there.

And the Dawns... well the Dawns were the first bloodline. Kasparov and Terrance's father was the first Hunter. Their journal has the most information.

"You'll have to kill me before you get that Journal." Fiona spat out.

Konrad rolled his shoulders back. "Things are falling into my plans much more than you think, Fiona." Konrad held his hand in a lotus flower position, Indian style. It was a rare spell that requires no words, and was hard to use. A glowing pink lotus flower bloomed into his hand. He floated it up, and brought it close to Fiona's face. "Tell me where it is."

Fiona shook her head bravely, but also stupidly. "Go to Hell."

Konrad looked up. "Why must I continue to tell people this!? I've already been there. And I came out a fucking King." The lotus flower floated to Fiona's chest, pressing itself into it.

Fiona cried out, tiny screams coming from her. But she was trained well, all the Dawns were. It's what Terrance and Kasparov trained them for, was this.

Konrad let the flower drop and brandished a Hunter's knife. "Now I can cut you up, heal you up, and do this for hours. Where's the notebook."

Fiona whimpered. "Bring it on."

Konrad threw the knife and it found its hold in Fiona's shoulder. She didn't even flinch. The only sign that it even affected her was a small tear that fell from the corner of her eye.

Konrad sucked in a deep breath. Hunter's could die, they should've been easy to torment. But Hunter's were a resistant, resilient, repulsively talented species. They seemed like the hardest to break.

"Ignisma!" Konrad brought his hands up and around Fiona, fire erupted in a circle. The flames crawled closer and closer until Fiona was shifting uncomfortably in her chains. Sweat rolled down her forehead. He brought his hands closer and closer until the shoes on her feet started to crisp, the chains grew red from heat, and the white fire licked her skin.

Now she screamed. "Deflammo!" Konrad cut it off and stalked to her. He set a hand on her thigh, too close south. "Integana." Blue light seeped under his hand, healing all of Fiona's wounds perfectly.

She glared at him. "Do it again and again. I will never talk."

Konrad smiled. "Pain doesn't affect you. But it affects her."

Konrad clapped his hands twice and two people walked down into Fiona's cell. Clay Gold and Everly Dawn.

Clay shoved Everly onto the ground, who was beat up and bloodied. She didn't even move.

"Eve?" Fiona muttered, looking down at her sister's body.

"Now you know I have no use for her." Konrad kicked Everly over and Everly groaned, coughing up blood. "I don't mind killing her."

"You sick BASTARD!" Fiona was trying so hard to burst from her chains but she couldn't.

Konrad laughed. He nodded to Clay Gold who left without a single word.

Konrad grabbed Everly's hair and pulled her up. Everly wrestled for control but Konrad was too strong and Everly was too weak.

"Where is the journal!?" Konrad walked to Fiona and twisted the knife before ripping it out and pinning it against Everly's throat.

Fiona looked from Everly to Konrad. "I don't know!"

Konrad shook his head. "Liar!" He sang and scratched Everly's arm, letting blood fall down it in a waterfall. "Tell me!"

"Don't tell him! Let me die!" Everly pleaded. "That journal is the last thing he needs!" Everly was a cloud, pouring out rain drops from her eyes.

"Tell me! I can get your other family members, I'll start with Everly and move to Dallas, I'll get little Zach and—"

"IT'S IN A SAFE!" Fiona cried. "It's in a safe." She said again, quieter and more collected.

Konrad shuddered. "I love a compliant woman. Where's the safe?"

Fiona closed her eyes. "In my parent's bedroom under my dad's nightstand. In the house in Columbia Falls."

Konrad ran a hand through his hair. "And what's that safe combination?"

Fiona shook her head. "I told you the place! Let my sister go!"

Konrad shrugged nonchalantly, raising his brows for a second. "Guess I don't really need a combination." He slid the knife across her throat, making Everly slump to the floor.

Konrad licked the blood off the knife as Fiona's chains grew longer so she could crawl to Everly's body.

She flipped her over to see Everly's lifeless eyes, open with fear still on them. Fiona looked up to Konrad and did nothing but watch as Konrad laughed. He waved his hand and Everly's body disintegrated.

"I just love magic, don't you? I can fool people so easily." His heart lit up and he could've danced, he had a notebook to get to but... he needs to rest first. "Since you were such a good little lady, I guess I can... leave Everly and your siblings to have an okay Christmas before I ruin everything. In fact, I'll let this whole day be full of mercy, for everyone? I'm like Jesus himself, full of compassion."

Konrad walked from the cell. He knew that that image of her sister dying would forever be imprinted on Fiona's mind, fake or not. And now... he knew where that journal was. He could start exactly what he needed to.

Alphas were dying, Luna's were going Rouge. Hunter's weren't doing their job. And once he ties Arlis and his human mate to it, along with Everly and her vampire boyfriend, everyone will be at each other's throat.

Oh how easy it was to take over a dying world in need of power.

EVERLY
Colin's house was a mess. Still. The downstairs was a wreck, upstairs was messy with drops of blood stained into the floor from... well whatever was bleeding. Whether it be lunchtime or a fight.

"We should clean this." I noted.

"Oh, yeah, because your house is so clean." Colin laughed.

"Hey! I... no you're right." I chuckled, stepping in a pile of glass, blood on the tips. Now I knew what that was from.

Colin wiped his face and looked at me. "I love you, Everly."

I tilted my head and kissed his cheek. "I love you too, what's up?" I bit my lip, anxious.

He shook his head, looking at me like I was a Galaxy. Like I was his whole universe. "Nothing. You're just beautiful."

I blushed red and took a step back from the moment, looking up through my lashes. "Well you know you are too." I smirked.

He rolled his eyes and walked into his dad's office. "I say camera be damned, I'm going through this place."

I agreed, flipping the room off when I walked in. Might as well, what was Clay gunna do?

We opened the desk drawers only to find them empty, full of nothing but air. We ripped open file cabinet after cabinet, finding dust and scraps of trash, nothing written on them.

I tried to turn on the old, box, computer to learn that it didn't even have anything in it. I figured that out when I picked it up to throw it and found it much lighter than I thought it was going to be.

"What the hell?" Colin asked, every single thing that could be opened was opened and searched. We checked under couches, under tables. We knocked on walls and tapped on floors for hollow spots (Colin's idea). "Is there even a camera?"

We looked around for that too. And found a fake one set up in a moose head that had a dead battery in it. We charged it up and there was nothing even saved on it except an old recording of this empty room, dated two years ago.

"Dad must have known about us from Konrad." Colin admitted. "He knew Konrad had been rising for at least 3 months!? And he didn't change Sophia!?" Colin yelled, kicking the filing cabinet, his foot crashing through it like a stone sinking in water. "Was everything he did a lie!?"

I walked to him and set my hand on his shoulder, making him look at me. "We're not done yet."

He turned to look at me with angry eyes. "Really? Where do we go?"

I shuffled and looked to the empty computer. "Do you think your dad is the one that had Sophia break Konrad's chains in the first place?"

Colin slid against the wall and sat down with his knees pulled to his chest. His black v-neck and proper khakis were wrinkled. "He had to of been. Konrad couldn't break them himself, and Becker didn't do it. Sophia didn't know he existed. And nobody else but my mom and dad knew about her powers. I didn't even know."

I sat next to him and rubbed his back softly. "It's not your fault."

"I didn't say it was!? God Everly, you really suck at helping." Colin scoffed.

I kissed his temple. "I know. But for you I'm trying."

He pursed his lips. "We have nowhere to go. Nothing to do."

"It's Christmas. Let's do something, together. Come on, we did our research for the day. We've done a lot in the past couples months, let's take some us time." I stood up and held my hand out, trying to help him up.

"Is that really want we need? Because if you haven't noticed, things are going to Hell." He tossed his hands up and let them fall back down. "We haven't even done that much. It's all been someone else."

He was right. We were spruce trees in a world full of fire. But... I shook my head down at him. "Not entirely! We went and found Gracie, Arlis's kid. And my sister!"

"No offense, but my sister found them. And they're both gone." He argued.

"Yeah but we led the adults there. Brought my fath— Dallas there." I responded.

"And ARLIS killed Leslie. And Konrad killed your father." Colin scratched his head. "We only know more than Arlis because Arlis and Becker and Constance... they don't learn... they just act! We are barely adults in this world, Everly. We have done nothing. So let's spend this day doing something. For Jesus Christ, Everly, we've caused more trouble than we're worth! We are distractions and we need to do something. Wasn't it you who was saying that I was a distraction and we weren't doing anything!? No Everly, you're the distraction."

I stumbled back into the desk and looked at him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." He rubbed his forehead.

"No. You did. That's okay. I'm not mad, because you're right. I'm a huge fucking hypocrite. What do you want to do?" I sat back and opened my arms up. "I'm all for it." I was, I really was. And as much as I hated to do it, I could admit when I was wrong.

Colin didn't seem to have any idea. "Talk to Arlis? Didn't he want to help you? Why didn't you come up with a plan when you were there?"

I didn't actually know. "I think I just... wanted to go home. Plus he started arguing with his brother and he seemed really caught up in his mate. It just wasn't good timing. I don't think today is either. Werewolves are family people, today is special to them even though they're not.. Christian."

Colin responded by yawning and standing up. "What about those exes you wanted your brother to call?"

I palmed my phone from my back pocket. "We've already talked to Oliver, but we can talk to him again."

***

"What in bloody hell— NO! I'm not helping with that. I'm in hiding, Everly." Oliver was back on the phone, the funny british accent sounding even better through the phone. "Are you insane? I've pledged allegiance to him but it's not like I'm actually doing anything, because once again... I'm in hiding."

I sat on the floor cross cross applesauce while Colin sat on the couch next to me, leaning down. We ended up calling Oliver first to get it over with.

"Do you not want Konrad taken down?" I was trying to maybe guilt trip him, but that's the thing about Hunters. You really can't guilt trip them. They never felt guilty about things.

Oliver laughed on the end. "Well yeah I do. But Arlis and Becker will do it and if not then so be it." He continued to laugh like I had told the funniest joke he had ever heard.

"What about for my brother?" I tempted.

Oliver stopped laughing immediately. "Tell your brother," He was angry. "TO SUCK. MY. A—"

I hung up the call, my eyes widening in horror. I looked to Colin who was trying not to laugh. "Ex number one? Is a no, I'm guessing." A little chuckle escaped.

I slapped his shoulder. "Oh stop. Oliver is just an asshole." I copied the number from the Hunter's Notebook into my phone and pressed call. I really needed to save these numbers.

"Hey! Safina!" I greeted when she answered. "It's Everly."

"Everly? Why are you calling me?" She asked, but not rudely. Safina was never one to be rude. She was sweet and kind.

"I want to know if you'd help me." I asked. "I want to get my sister back from Konrad."

Safina hummed on the other side. "My mom actually just called me, wanting to know if I'd go with her... to work with Konrad."

She wasn't close with her mom. Safina was half African American and half Indian, her mother was the latter. However, her father had died and her mother left Safina to fend for herself.

She sought out our family at one point for help and she came and stayed with us for a while. Of course, she moved back to Africa after her and Dallas had a falling out when he cheated on her with a human girl. Part two to the famous fight he and Fiona had, in which they almost killed each other. Dallas always seems to forget that he cheated at all.

"Oh... are you going to take her up on that offer?" I asked.

She didn't reply for a while. "Depends. What do you have in mind?"

Nothing? "Just... gunna go work with Alpha Arlis Barron of Sovereign to maybe start with getting my sister back." A solid foundation. "Becker just quit working with Konrad."

"I didn't know that, about Becker. I'm sorry about your dad, I meant to call I did. He was like a father to me." Her voice was so soft and elegant, it was like a symphony.

"Thanks..." The conversation went cold, dead, drawn out for longer than need be.

"I'll tell you what. I'll stay with Konrad, you get a witch to keep my messages hidden, and I'll be a spy for you." She answered. "I really need to be with my mom."

I understood. "Alright. I'll do that. Uh... secret code word? For if I call you at a bad time and I need to tell you that we found our witch."

Safina began giggling. "I'll just start yelling at you? Yeah?"

"Sounds good." I hung up and tossed my phone onto the couch. Ex #2, is a success.

Colin eyes the notebook. "What's that?" He asked.

I closed the book. "Just an old book. Has numbers in it. My dad is super paranoid about this stuff." I couldn't tell him what it was. I had disgraced my family far too much.

Colin nodded. "Oh. So are we going to call Arlis? Or are we still doing that tomorrow." He asked.

I pursed my lips, thinking it over. "Would you be mad if we did it tomorrow? I get we're in the middle of desperate times, but a man in war praised his chocolate in the midst of it all."

He looked at me oddly. "You are something else Everly Dawn. Let's celebrate Christmas, with this." He pulled something out from behind his back and handed it to me.

Oh God. I didn't get him anything. I didn't get him anything!

"Colin. You shouldn't have." I sank and got up to hug him, wrapping my arms around him.

He shook his head. "I really shouldn't have, but it was my dad's credit card so..." He kissed my forehead. "Open it."