Cassandra was there before me, her presence an ache in my stomach, like someone had punched all air from my lungs. My heart jammed within me. The last time I saw her, she was nothing more than a shadow, a very distant memory of some real person in my world, so far removed. Here she was before me-the ghost right at my face as though she had never left.
You…. " I choked, my voice low, barely audible. "What are you doing here?"
Cassandra didn't answer. She just took one very deliberate, very slow step closer and closer toward me, her gaze never once breaking from mine. The room suddenly was a lot colder; even the shadows seemed to grow long, twisted, as if alive and in response to her presence.
"You don't recognize me?" The words were soft, but the edge was there, a sharpness that crawled under my skin. "How disappointing."
I shook my head, trying to wrap my brain around it all. "No… this can't be real. You… you're supposed to be gone. You left."
Cassandra's mouth twisted into that knowing smile, her eyes not quite reaching. "Oh, Ava. I never left. Always watching. Always waiting. Now you've finally reached your true powers."
I took a step back, my mind racing. True power? What was she talking about? I had no idea what was going on, but something told me that Cassandra knew far more than she was letting on.
"Why are you here?" I repeated, my voice all over with trembling in fear and anger. "What do you want from me?"
My eyes flickered briefly to Orion and Damon; they both took a step forward with a narrowing gaze on what seemed to them ill intent. "I want what rightfully is mine, Ava, and you-". Her words abruptly died out, but it was nothing as her stare fastened to mine with that strange gleam of her own-a little motion which went low along my backbone.
I felt my breath catch in my throat. The key? What was she talking about? I didn't know what she meant, but I could feel the weight of her words, the promise of something darker, something dangerous.
Damon stepped forward, his body tense, ready to protect me. "What are you talking about, Cassandra?" His voice was low, dangerous. "What do you want with her?
My gaze darted to Damon, who did the brief dance in his acceptance and also…loathing. "Oh, Damon. The prodigal son. So quick, always defending people dear to you. But she is beyond that, about what's in store. "
I felt a shiver run down my spine as her words slowly sank deep in me. What was going to happen? What did she know and not me?
"You are wasting your time," Orion said, his voice calm, yet laced with an edge that cut like a leading edge of warning. "Go, now, Cassandra. This is no place for you."
Cassandra's lips curled upwards, but this was no smile of humour. It seemed driven by venom and much malice. "You really do believe you could try to stop me, Orion, that you somehow can stop that which has been set in motion?"
A shadow crossed over Orion's face, and in that instant, something danced in his eyes-something I had never seen. Fear. Fear of Cassandra. Fear of whatever she had in store.
"You don't understand," Cassandra repeated, her gaze snagging back once more to me. "You're a part of something so much bigger than anything you could have imagined, Ava. You always have been. The power in you—it's not just magic. It's a legacy. A legacy hidden away centuries ago. And now… it's time for you to claim it."
A queasy feeling stirred in the pit of my stomach-twisting into knots, threatening to heave up any remaining contents. What was she on about? This was getting crazy, spiraling out of all sense of reality, free fall from the brink of a ledge.
"What do you mean, a legacy?" my barely audible whisper urged. "What do you want from me?
Now, a wider smile had spread across Cassandra's lips, and for one second, a ring of satisfaction flashed into her eyes. "You will see soon enough. But first, you must know one thing: the bloodline you come from-it is not any ordinary bloodline. It is of the blood of the Fourth Pack."
The words fell on me like a stroke of thunder. The Fourth Pack? That which had been erased from history? Which wasn't supposed to be but a myth?
"No," I whispered, my head shaking. "That can't be. It doesn't exist."
Cassandra laughed, the sound low and cruel. "Oh, Ava. You have so much to learn. The Fourth Pack was never destroyed. It was hidden away, just biding its time until the perfect moment to return. And now that moment has come."
Her words made my knees buckle as if the weight was dropping upon me. The Fourth Pack, the ancient pack that got erased from the face of history. Now I was related to it? How could this be? Why hadn't anyone ever told me?
"You're lying," I said, shaking my voice low. "It's all just some sort of lie.
But Cassandra simply would not yield. "You'll see soon enough, Ava. The truth is right in front of you. You just have to open your eyes."
I wanted to protest, to deny it all, but something deep inside my gut told me that she was right-there was more to this, more to me-than I'd ever known.
Damon stepped forward, his fists clenched into his sides. "I won't let you manipulate her. Whatever you think you're doing, it ends now."
Cassandra's smile faltered for a moment before she laughed again, this time with a ring of finality. "You think you can stop me, Damon? You think you can stop what's already been set in motion?"
She turned to me, her eyes dark with something I couldn't place. "You'll have to choose, Ava. Choose which side you're on. Because soon, there won't be a choice."
And with that, she disappeared into the shadows, leaving us standing here, the weight of her words hanging in the air like a storm cloud.