The Dark Witch: The Nox Haven Series

Chapter 24: Knowing Everything

CADDIE's POV:

I stared at him in shock. How could this be? Somewhere inside of me I always knew that something was wrong about him, but it never crossed my mind that he wasn't who he claimed to be.

The wind howled blowing my hair out of place, I was freezing in the snow, but that hardly mattered.

"Why did you lie?" My bottom lip quivered. My mind began to break away from the fog and gradually pieced the parts together.

He stood there, bathed in moonlight, looking like a dark prince. His brown hair looked darker in the soft light. It was almost as dark as his midnight blue eyes. His jaw was clenched together from anger and frustration. Yes, he was attractive, but Dmitri couldn't compare to the real Aleksander.

"It's really not as complicated as you're thinking. My brother got taken by the dark ones. People occasionally go missing from small attacks, but heirs never go missing. They are protected and kept away from all dangers. When my brother came to Nox Haven, he forgot about all of the rules and focused on just being free," Dmitri explained, his features turning to stone as he unwillingly remembered.

"He began to act is if nothing bad could ever happen to him. Why would anything bad happen to him? So far his life was a dream. Girls chased after him and boys wanted to be him."

I could feel jealousy surge through him, and it was strong. For a second I almost believed that he still felt those petty emotions towards his brother. I waited patiently for the rest of the story.

"He became cocky and didn't believe that he needed someone to protect him. When he left the school campus, that's when they attacked him and we never saw him again. To avoid a panic, my dad devised a plan, and he used his powers to give me the pulling sensation that Aleksander had and told everyone that it was me who went missing instead." The words were bitter on Dmitri's tongue, the old memories resurfaced with violent emotions. I briefly wondered if I should be scared, I had never seen him so upset.

"Why wouldn't it matter if you were taken?"

I knew how rude it sounded as soon as it escaped my mouth, but I couldn't take it back. It was the truth. So far, that's what Dmitri had been hinting at.

"I'm not the heir. My disappearance wouldn't cause as much distress. You heard what the Head Minister said; you guys are the future. Without the heirs, our kind wouldn't have a future. My father didn't want our family to be the cause of such a panic, so he manipulated the situation. For the past few months Dmitri Volkov has been captured by the dark ones while Aleksander is safe at Nox Haven."

In some weird, twisted way it all made sense. My sympathy for him only grew. It wounded him badly knowing that his existence would never be as important as his twin brother's life. There was one thing I didn't understand.

"You guys weren't even looking for him though. If he was so important, why wasn't there a search party?" I asked, still trying to piece the final parts together.

Dmitri pushed his dark hair out of his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. Even though it was freezing, I could see sweat gather at his brow. Whatever the reason was, it was bad and he knew it.

"After thinking over the situation again my dad realized that there may be a chance to fix everything without anyone knowing. He didn't know why the dark ones took Aleksander, but he believed that they would kill him. If Aleksander died than I would assume his position and get his powers."

The truth was as insane as I originally believed. Did these people only value power? I wondered.

I found myself getting angry. Aleksander's father used him as a pawn for power and then he did the same thing with Dmitri. Yes, we were the future of our species, but we are all more than that. I felt outraged.