The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 81

REMY

"Do I have to do this?" I asked, stretching out on my bed.

Blade sat in the bed and casually put his hand on my leg. "I know it's not an easy conversation to have, but we have to replace Cain. He might be the only one who can help us, and it would be best if you at least talked to your mom about it first. With Draven watching us, we can't risk going alone."

I propped myself up and looked at him with a pouty lip. I knew he was right, but it didn't make it any easier to go talk to my mom. "Why did he have to be the one we have to go to for help? I feel like we can't catch a break, and we are fighting an uphill battle. I just want to be with you for the rest of my life. Why is that so hard?"

Blade pulled his lips into a tight line. He scooped me into my arms and sat me on his lap. His fingers played with my hair as he spoke. "Life has never felt easy for me, and this is no different. The difference is, now I'm fighting for something. I'm fighting for you." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "The things you want most in life are worth the fight."

I cupped his face and pulled him into a deep kiss. He always seemed to know what to say to make my heart beat like crazy. I let my hands fall to his chest, and as I melted into the kiss, I knew that I couldn't give up, no matter how difficult things became. When we finally parted, I felt breathless, and my body was buzzing with excitement. I had to stand up before I got carried away. "Okay, I'll go talk to her now. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can replace the answers."

Blade caught my hand before I could walk away. "I can go with you if you want. For moral support."

"I'll be okay. The conversation will probably go better if it's just my mom and me, you know?" I leaned down and gave him another kiss that lasted longer than I had expected. "Thank you."

I stepped away from him before I got swept up in another kiss. "I'll be back soon."

Blade leaned back, stretching onto the bed in a way that emphasized his arm muscles. "I'll be right here, waiting."

I swallowed hard and scurried out of the room. I found my mom in her office and knocked on the door. She looked up at me and pulled her fingers through her hair.

"Remy, I was going to come look for you in a moment." She set down what she was working on and moved out from behind her desk. She sat on the couch in her office and patted the seat next to her.

I crossed the room and sat down on the couch as far away from her as I could. She seemed to be in a better mood now, and I was sure my dad had something to do with that.

"Look, I've been thinking about it, and it was unfair of me to tell you we can't go to Cain without giving you a better explanation. You deserve to know the truth," she started. She took a deep breath, and I could tell this was hard for her to say. "When I think about seeing Cain again, I get irrationally angry. He tried to make up for it in the end-well he thought he had, but then he just disappeared. I thought I let it go a long time ago, but then something reminds me of how angry I still am every now and then." "Look, I know what he did to you. I heard he tried to take you from Dad, and I can only imagine how terrifying that was." I paused, thinking about how I would feel if someone tried to take Blade away from me.

"Did Scythe tell you the truth?" she asked, but she didn't sound angry.

"I'm not supposed to say," I laughed nervously, but we both knew the truth.

She pulled her lips tight and nodded. "I suppose that's fair. If you have any questions you'd like to ask, then I'll do my best to answer them."

"He said that Cain passed his magic to you, which means he wouldn't be strong anymore, right?" I began.

"Yes," she said slowly.

"So why are you so afraid of him hurting me? I know you don't think seeing him is worth the risk, but I disagree. As of right now, I will never be able to fully be with my mate. Surely you understand what that feels like, since Cain tried to take you from Dad. I don't care what kind of risk it is. I want to replace Cain and talk to him. I have to replace a way to break this prophecy," I said, determination filling my voice. I couldn't imagine what my life would be like without Blade, so I would go to the end of the world for him if I had to. "Because I don't want you to get hurt like I did," she admitted. She placed her hands in her lap and took a deep breath.

I found myself scooching over on the couch, so I was closer to her. I grabbed her hand and gave her a smile. "I know it's your job to protect me, but you can't protect me forever. I'm an adult now, and I can protect myself. And Blade is there to protect me. I need to see Cain to get some answers. I at least need to try, and I hope you can understand that, because I would much rather see him with you there, instead of leaving you here upset with me."

She squeezed my hand and forced a smile onto her face. "I will never stop wanting to protect you and your brother, but you're right. I won't always be able to protect you. I mean, just look at what happened to Caulder. I couldn't stop him from being taken from my own home."

"He's going to be okay," I said, even though the hole in my heart grew bigger each day he didn't return. "I saw it. He gets out of there somehow."

"I know he's strong, but I am still worried. I don't trust Winslow or the rest of the council. They only have their interests in mind," she said.

"Yeah, I know. I try to stay positive, but I hate that he's not here. I miss him, Mom." Tears pricked my eyes, which surprised me a little. I thought I was past the point of crying about Caulder, but talking about it brought up the emotions again.

My mom wiped the tears off of my cheeks and pulled me into a hug. "I know. And I know Caulder said not to come after him, but I'm going crazy just sitting here. I've been looking into information about the council to see if there is a way to get him back. I still don't know enough, but if the opportunity strikes, we will send a team to go after Caulder if he doesn't return soon. The Council of Magic may not realize it yet, but the moment they took my son, they declared war on the werewolves."

I pulled back and studied her face. I thought everyone had decided we couldn't afford the resources to get Caulder back right now, but it was clear she had never stopped thinking about it.

"War with vampires and sorcerers," I said, pondering out loud what this all meant. "It sounds like we are on the verge of another Great War."

My mom was quiet at first. She stood up and looked at the map hanging on her wall. "It seems like we might be heading that way. I don't want to go down that road, but it feels like our hands are being forced."

I looked down at my hands and made them glow with magic. I didn't know much about the Great War, other than what I had learned in my history class. I just knew that it was a brutal and never ending war. There were a lot of casualties, and if the peace treaty hadn't been made, vampires, werewolves, and sorcerers might have wiped each other out, leaving the world to the humans.

I could feel war coming. I had already seen it with the vampires and werewolves, but sure enough, if we attacked the council to get Caulder back, vampires wouldn't be the only ones we'd have to fight. Something deep inside of me told me that we couldn't let it get to that point. Too many innocent lives would be lost and put in danger because of a few power-hungry monsters in the world.

I didn't know what I could do, especially because there was still so much I had to learn in my training, but there was a swirling in my gut that told me there was something I could do to stop it. Then something clicked.

"What if this prophecy isn't a bad thing?" I asked.

My mom crinkled her eyebrows and looked at me like I was crazy. "What are you talking about?"

"What if we are interpreting the prophecy wrong?" I clarified. "What do we know about this prophecy other than the prophecy itself?"

"It's an old prophecy that was made centuries ago," my mom said. She thought about it for a moment longer. "Other than that, not much."

"Exactly. We just assumed it was a bad thing, because it says that the world as we know will be destroyed," I said. I jumped to my feet, and the buzzing inside of me started to grow brighter. "Destruction is a bad thing, last I checked, Remy." She still didn't understand what I was saying.

"But what if the thing that is being destroyed is the bad thing?" I asked. "We are on the verge of war with werewolves and vampires. We know the Council of Magic is corrupted, and vampire covens don't seem to be much better. We all live in separation, which has created this negative connotation among the others. That's not a great world if you ask me. A great world would be one where vampires, werewolves, and sorcerers could live among each other in peace. Caulder, Blade, and I are proof that we can coexist." "That sounds like a nice idea," my mom began, and I could hear the skepticism in her voice. "And I hope you're right about the prophecy. If it is a good thing, instead of a bad thing, then we won't have to fight it. But we have to be careful. Until we know more about it, we can't risk triggering something that could destroy the world."

"Of course," I agreed, but for the first time in a while, I felt hopeful.

My magic was buzzing at the idea of the prophecy meaning I was meant to save the world, not destroy it. Maybe I could make a beautiful world where there wasn't separation of the different magical species. Blade and I could be together forever, never having to worry about the next person trying to destroy us or use us.

"We'll start looking for Cain," my mom said. "You're right. If he knows anything about the prophecy, even if it's just an idea of where to look, then we have to give it a shot. You also made a good point about him not having magic anymore. As long as that's still the case, then he won't be strong enough to hurt a hair on your head, especially while I'm there."

"Especially since you have his magic," I added.

"I don't have his magic," she said simply.

"What do you mean? You just said he gave you his magic." It was my turn to be confused.

"He did, but it was when I was pregnant with you. I didn't get his magic. You and Caulder did. That's why Caulder's magic has always been stronger. You will be stronger too with a little practice."