Edrys patted Ren's shoulder, and he backed away. "Julia, what is happening to you is not Oren's fault or his doing. The one to blame is Mormo. Now you need to calm down because your mother has some things that need to be explained to you about what is happening to you. I am sorry, honey, but this won't be easy to hear especially in the state you're in right now." Edrys handed her a cup of hot tea, "Drink this it will help."

Julia gulped the tea down. The hot liquid slid down her throat and left a horrible saccharine aftertaste. All she wanted to do was run upstairs and scrub the taste off her tongue with her toothbrush.

"That was nasty, but thanks," she said as the soothing effects took hold and handed the cup back to Edrys.

Everyone sat down on the sofas and chairs rearranged into a circle around Julia and her mother. Rosalie frantically fidgeted with her fingers, she curled the handkerchief around them until her fingers turned white and then uncoiled it and started all over again. Julia watched her mother go through this process for what could have been hours and it felt as if her sanity was unravelling with each twist of the handkerchief.

When Julia was about to scream at her mother to stop, Edrys placed a hand over Rosalie's hands. "Rosa, it's time," and gave her a reassuring nod when Rosalie looked up.

Rosalie's deep hazel eyes, which were red and brimming with tears, met Julia's striking silver eyes. Her mother gave her a weak smile and dabbed away the tears. This did nothing to reassure or calm Julia's frazzled nerves.

Her mother reached out shaky hands, grabbed both of Julia's and squeezed them. "Sweetie there are things I've been keeping from you. I did it because I wanted you to have a happy and fun childhood filled with love. I didn't want you to have to be burdened by the weight of reality. Both your father and I agreed on this. We thought it was the best course to follow at the time."

Julia's mouth dropped open; her heart hammered against her ribcage felt as if it was trying to break free. When her brain rebooted she said, "My father." It was neither a question nor a statement; they were the only two words she could form. As realisation began to dawn on her; she looked at her mom with huge hurt filled eyes. "You told me he ran away. That he never knew me," she squeaked out.

Rosalie leaned forward and tried to comfort Julia, by once again grabbing both her hands. Julia yanked them free as if her mother's touch had burnt her. "That was a lie made up to protect you." Rosalie paused and took a deep ragged breath. "You get those eyes from your father. There is a lot you don't know about your past and if you can just listen I will explain."

Julia felt sick and the world around her started to spin. She had to brace herself against her seat; it felt as if everything was crashing down on top of her. In a hoarse voice she said, "Are you telling me my father is a dark faerie?"

Rosalie nodded. "Yes. Your father was a dark faerie."

Julia homed in on what her mother said. "Was? Are you saying he's dead?"

Tears filled Rosalie's eyes, and she scrubbed them away with her handkerchief. "Yes, your father died when you were three years old."

"How?" Julia said in a whisper.

"He was killed protecting us from Thorsen." Rosalie tried once again to grab her daughter's hands and Julia practically jumped out of her seat to get away from her mother's touch.

"Why?" Julia ground out.

Rosalie sat back with a look of resignation on her face. "It's a long and complicated story, Jules. If you can just be patient and listen, I will try to explain what I can tell you."

Julia raised her eyebrows accusingly at her mom. Then Ren stepped in and said, "Julia, please just give your mom a chance."

Julia snapped her head around and glared at him. "You knew all of this and you didn't tell me." Anger burst forth from her and she could hardly stand to look at him.

"I wouldn't let him, Julia," Rosalie said, "if you're going to be angry at anyone be angry at me. Now are you going to listen to what I have to say or not?"

Crossing her arms and sitting all the way back in her chair Julia said, "Fine."

Rosalie laughed. "You are so much like your father sometimes."

Julia's eyes shot up to her mother's, glaring at her she asked through gritted teeth. "Who was my father then?"

Rosalie's face softened. "Your father's name was Ásgeirr not Arthur." She let out a little giggle as she recalled the past. "My parents were both members of the senate and we lived in Alandria near the Citadel where the senate convene. Julia, you are a descendant from two powerful witches' lines on my side. You know about the Malphas which is my mother's side. My father side are the Dumah and are direct descendants of Mephistopheles. After Thorsen's first uprising and my father's betrayal I took my mother's name."

Julia sat up in her chair looking at her mom with huge eyes. "Wait. What do you mean your father's betrayal? Did he have something to do with the uprising?"

Her mother took a deep breath and forced all the air out in one go. "Jules, nuvi I told you this is a very long and complicated story. I'm sorry but I can't go into every detail. However, yes he had a major hand in the events that led up to the uprising and after it."

Julia gasped, "Is he still alive? Will he come after us as well?"

Rosalie gave Julia a reassuring smile. "No, my father is long dead." She closed her eyes for a moment. "Okay where to start... I guess I should start by telling you that both sides of my family lines have had the curse of being able to see the future." She raised a hand to stop Julia from saying anything. "And yes it is a curse. A lot of us with this so-called gift end up going insane because of it. I have it, and I knew from a very young age that I would meet your dad and fall in love. I also spent many years fighting this fate, but that's a story for another time."

Julia eyebrows shot up in surprise and she asked in a high-pitched voice. "Is that how you always know what I'm doing or going to do?"

Rosalie let out a laugh. "No sweetie, I haven't used that power since I lost your father. Besides, it doesn't work like that. I know what you get up to because I am your mother. And you don't try very hard to hide what you do."

Rosalie sighed then got back to the past. "Ásgeirr was Commander-General of the Guard and he was always in Alandria. He knew me from the age of four and was running around the halls of the Citadel and on the streets of Alandria in pigtails causing lots of trouble. Luckily for me, I too had an excellent guardian angel that always got me out of getting punished." She looked at Ren and gave him a wink.

Julia knew Ren had been a family friend for generations but she never knew he was her mom's childhood friend. "Why didn't you tell me, Ren?"

Ren gave Julia a sad look and rubbed her leg. "I wanted too. But tell me would you've wanted to hang with someone who was your mom's best friend?"

Julia nodded; she knew he was right. She would never have trusted him as much as she did if she had known. "Fair point. I'll let you off the hook this time."

"When I was eighteen," Rosalie continued, "they forced me to join the Guard. My father was adamant on this. Even though I had no desire to join and my mother was dead against it, I was fast tracked into the Guard. A lot of things were happening at that point in time and there were huge factions within the Guard and the senate and the supernatural world. There was a real push to go public to the humans and work for peaceful coexistence."

"And which side were you on?" Julia asked.

"I was against it. I still am. Humans have never been and are probably never likely to be ready to know about us. They have too much fear and hate in their hearts for things they do not understand." She laughed softly, "that was something Ásgeirr always used to say, and it's the sad truth."

A buried conviction exploded inside of Julia. The words flew out of her mouth before she even knew what she was saying. "If that is true and we can never coexist with humans then explain why there are so many human supernatural cross bloods. Is it such a farfetched dream that we can never even try to live with them? You say humans are not ready but we haven't even given them the chance and nothing will ever change if we don't take the first steps."

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