“And saved your life,” Theseus cut in.
“And saved my life, though he didn’t tell me I was running toward danger. Anyway,” I rolled my eyes. “I took him home, and then the very next day I was attacked by witches. I found out I had a gift, which lets me reverse time. Which came in handy because he almost had us in war with more witches.” I looked at Theseus, waiting for him to deny it, but he just drank.
“Sounds like him.” Arsiein nodded.
“I don’t blame him. They were witches, most likely doing something wrong anyway.” Ulrik lifted his horn to his brother.
“Let her finish,” Rhea snapped at them and turned to me. “Go on. You avoided war with these witches you encountered?”
“Yes, they were Omeron witches. We were helped by the Swan family. We went to the capital, and everything felt fine with me again until Theseus found maps that showed he’d visited me as a mortal...a witch. But I don’t remember that. I thought he was mistaken until we kissed, and I saw myself but as a witch. Like memories, I don’t know what triggers them, but they just appear. On top of that, my gift keeps changing. I was healing mortals, casting spells, everything witches do. The magic...I can feel it like mortals feel the sun on their face. I just knew I could do things, and if wasn’t sure, I’d hear this voice that would tell me what to do. I didn’t think much about until it...she...I told me that all that was important was magic and Theseus.”
“Wh
at do you mean, she or I?” Theseus questioned gently, his eyes looking over me.
“In the room,” I whispered, but I didn’t know why. “I was trying to sort out my thoughts and feelings, and she kept talking. I wanted to know who or what was in my head, and so I cast another spell. It was me, mortal, witch me...and I had on a straitjacket like an insane person, Theseus. She kept saying, “Free us.” I tried to pull it off but burned my hand, and then she disappeared. I saw us again afterward. Part of me feels like I’m slowly losing my mind, and the only thing I know is I feel better around you.”
He reached up, put his hand on my face, and leaned in, kissing my forehead. “Whatever is happening, we will figure it out. You are not insane.”
“We do not know that for sure,” Rhea muttered but looked at her mate. “Or do we?”
“When a mortal becomes an immortal, they become one of two creatures, a Noble or a Lesser blood vampire, depending on how much magic, if any, is in their blood.” Sigbjørn ignored her question, looking directly at me. “At rebirth, all that magic is either gone or condensed into one ability. Yet that is not the case for you; you are different.”
“Isn’t her gift just magic, then?” Melora asked, her eyes shifting to me.
“Magic is not a gift.” Sigbjørn declared. “Our kind has given the word gift to the abilities that remain in us Noble bloods, but it is not so. A gift is something that can be given or taken away. No one gave you the abilities you have. It’s the remnants of the magic, of your witch blood that is left in your blood after surviving your rebirth. Noble bloods who have no abilities used all their magic to survive the rebirth and remain well. Lesser bloods who have no magic, are born similar to a human child who is sickly all its life.”
“So,” Theseus replied, his eyes on his father. “She had so much magic within her that there was more than enough left over, and so it remained?”
“Thus, she is not a vampire with gifts of a witch. She is a vampire and witch still.”
Chapter 25
“Just how powerful were you, sister?” Ulrik grinned, looking at me as if I were an alien. “Dumb question. You were an Omeron witch, so pretty powerful, but even still. That is amazing.”
“Maybe in theory, but I don’t remember being in a coven. Hell, I don’t remember ever using magic before meeting Theseus,” I explained.
“So, something is wrong with your memory as well? Oh dear, why do you think you do not remember?” Atarah pouted, looking between both of us. “Did you two drink a potion or something?”
“Ate a poison apple, perhaps?” Ulrik chuckled at his own joke.
“If only it were so simple,” Sigbjørn replied. Leaning back into his chair, he looked at his mate. “I am withholding something, Draka, but I do not know all the answers here, either. Patience is a virtue as much as stubbornness is a vice. Hinrik, I do believe you have yet to speak.”
Rhea’s jaw tensed, but she didn’t say anything, allowing Sigbjørn to give his attention to Hinrik who had kept his gaze trained on us this whole time.
“Druella, have we ever met before?” Hinrik questioned.
“No, not that I can remember.”
“What of any us here?” he pressed.
I shook my head again.
“Are you sure?”
“As sure as I can be, considering.”
“What is this about?” Theseus questioned.