Chapter 23
"Talk."
Though it was just one word, it held enough command to make my uncle flinch.
"You are a lot like your father. Very down to the point." He conceded.
When I didn't do anything other than glare at him, he cleared his throat and shifted in his chair.
"Alright, where do you want me to begin?" He asked tightly.
"Where life stories usually start, at the beginning." I mocked.
Sighing heavily, my uncle leaned back in his chair again. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"I was brought to life in one of the palace rooms by a man named-"
"Would you stop wasting my time." I cut his words off.
He opened his eyes, a crooked smile forming on his face as he assessed my irritated posture. His eyes then moved towards Selena who looked just as ready to commit murder as I am.
"Fine, I will get on to the real story since everyone here lacks in the sense-of-humour department."
I cut my eyes to Selena.
"Is everyone in my father's family this impossible to talk to?"
Selena shrugged, her eyebrows pulling together as she thought about it.
"I think so. I remember your fathers parents love talking about the good-old-days like old people usually do. I once tried making conversation with them about the weather and they started talking about predictions that the world would someday go up in flames. Though that prediction was supposed to become reality twenty years ago." Selena mused.
I tried to keep from laughing and returned my attention to my ridiculous uncle.
"Alright, since you're clearly going to make this situation impossible, how about you start with the reason why you never helped my father?" I suggested, still fighting a smile.
The world going up in flames? Of course the Dragon family would think of something like that.
They probably just hate the fact that they aren't able to actually breathe fire.
"I refused to be a part of your father's life the moment I got news of my mother falling pregnant with him." My uncle answered bluntly.
That's when I finally started focusing on the subject at hand.
"Why is that?"
"I was the first born son of the Dragon family but the moment my parents conceived Andrew, I became a distant memory." My uncle stated. "You have to understand, I was conceived while my parents were still to be united with other people. They had a moment of weakness at a young age and I was conceived, breaking their previous betrothals. I was the shunned child."
"So basically you rejected my father because of jealousy?" I asked, finding it slightly amusing.
He narrowed his eyes on me when a smile started playing at my lips.
"Yes, and I even had my very own pity-party about it." He grunted angrily. "Would you stop making assumptions and focus on what I am trying to tell you?"
I held up both my hands, the smile slipping onto my lips easily this time.
"Alright, I will stop talking now." I promised.
Sending me one last glare, he turned his eyes towards the window instead of watching me.
"I admit that it started out as pure jealousy but once he was born, I just figured it was the easiest way to get out of the family bindings."
"So you took my father's birth as a way of escaping from the family rules?" I asked, intrigued.
"Basically, yes, that is exactly what I did." He agreed. "I did not know that your father would grow up hating the family business as much as I did. If I had, I would have helped him escape their ruling just as I had. Unfortunately, he escaped them a lot more publically than I did, which made everyone turn against him. I was still considered a part of their bloodline while he was stripped of everything that made him a Dragon member. Even his name."
I nodded slowly, connecting his story to what Selena had already told me.
"But from what you are telling me, that means my father got rid of them entirely while some part of you is still a part of their business." I summed up.
His eyes shifted towards me again, one eyebrow raised.
"You have a very quick mind." He approved.
I shrugged off his compliment and focused on the fact that he wasn't fighting against my assumption.
"Do they still have some say over your life?" I asked carefully.
He sighed, dropping his eyes too his hands. He stared down at the ring I didn't really notice before and slowly pulled it from his finger, glaring at it.
"They still had some say over me until I heard that Duchess killed my little brother."
The way his chest rumbled with his words, I could tell that I had touched on a very sensitive topic.
What did they make him do?
"As soon as I got the news I fought against their orders and slowly started taking over the reins of my own life. I did it under the radar. I made it look like I was following their every order. I was asked to take care of a matter regarding a shifter community and made it look like I whipped out their group. In actuality, I faced their leader and cut him a deal. They got to start a life under the radar, disappearing off the face of the earth, while I got to give the impression that I followed orders."
He smirked darkly and placed he ring on the edge of the couch.
Silence filled the room.
No one wanted to question him anymore.
We all knew he was talking now and there was going to be no stopping him until he decided it was over. It was the way my father knew it would be.
"I did not know about your existence." He finally whispered.
His eyes met mine, softening as a slow smile formed on his lips.
"When I did hear about my baby brother having a daughter, I was ecstatic. I wanted to meet you right away but the problem with that plan was revealed when Duchess showed up in my family home." He explained, his smile dimming. "She said she lost you and that she needed assistance in finding you again. She told everyone about your refusal to become her apprentice and everyone realized the only way of fixing it is by killing you. Especially since she already marked you."
He chuckled, this time making it sound like he was excited.
He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his eyes glistening while it took me in.
"What she did not count on though, was the fact that you are stronger."
"What do you mean?"
My heart thumped against my ribs at the prospect of what he was trying to tell me.
"You are the embodiment of both Duchess Falcon and Andrew Dragon, the two strongest beings that has ever walked the earth. While Duchess might be recruiting everyone she can think of, you can face her head-on if everyone else is distracted enough to not interfere."
"Are you trying to tell me I might be able to get rid of Duchess?" I asked slowly, hopefully.
"Yes."
"No."
My uncle and I both turned our attention to Selena who had jumped to her feet. Her hands were fisted at her sides and she was glaring heatedly at my uncle. To his credit, my uncle was as confused by her denial as I am.
"Why not? She certainly has the power to defeat her." My uncle asked.
Selena sighed, pulling both her hands through her hair and glaring up at the ceiling. She looked beyond frustrated, everything about her was tense. From her shoulders to her facial expression.
"Malcolm, just because she has the power to break through Duchess's barriers around the families does not mean she will be able to break down Duchess." Selena groaned.
She glared at him again before focusing her eyes on me.
"Everyone here knows you have a lot of power to keep a grip on. Your father warned me that you might someday get pushed too far and lose control of it entirely. I have heard all the warnings and I have seen more than I should have regarding what you are." Selena explained.
"So I will lose control if I faced off my mother?" I asked, wincing at the title I just gave the witch.
"Yes and no." Selena whispered, sitting down on the carpet.
She crossed her legs and fiddled with her fingers nervously.
"Your mother has the ability to rip the powers from a person if they do lose control of their abilities. It is the way she built her reputation up before she started taunting people in their sleep. She gets a kick out of breaking people down, mentally, physically and emotionally. If you lost control while fighting her magically, she could rip you apart."
I tried processing her words, playing them over and over again in my mind.
"So she could drain me of my powers if I fought her?" I asked.
Selena stared at me, her eyes narrowing.
"It would have been that simple if you were just a witch. The thing about your family name is that while Duchess was born with stronger magic than normal, she built the rest of it up and when she conceived you, a chunk of it went into your bloodline. Your father's family are pure mythical and magical beings. While it could be easy to strip a shifter of its ability, taking it from you is a complicated process to explain."
She rubbed at her temples like she was getting a migraine.
"If someone were to strip you of your abilities, they would physically tear you apart. It would be the same as stripping a werewolf of its abilities. Werewolves don't even know what they are until the full moon appears. Stripping that part of them from their body, it could kill them."
I swallowed loudly, her words finally sinking in.
"So... if I lost control and she tried to drain me..." I trailed off.
"She would kill you." Selena finished.
Her words echoed in the silent room.
My thudding heart stopped beating for a second before it went off in a wild gallop. I could tell barely anyone was breathing anymore. No one knew how to handle the news and by the stricken look on my uncle's face, it was clear that he didn't know about that fact either.
"Will it be the same for William?" I asked, fear knotting in my throat.
"Yes." Selena answered promptly.
"Who is William? Is he a boyfriend of yours?" My uncle asked.
Selena sighed, rubbing at her forehead viciously.
"Seriously Malcolm, your presence is irritating enough without you asking stupid questions."
"How am I supposed to keep quiet if I do not know what you are talking about? Every confusion situation is allowed to have a stupid question from someone. Seeing as I am the odd one out of everyone here, I think I am required to ask the questions." My uncle stated.
His eyes then moved back to me.
"Is there a boyfriend I should be worrying about? Since I am your uncle I am within my rights to tell you that having a boyfriend and hugging another male is not a very good idea."
His eyes shifted towards Daniel and then focused back on me.
"He was just trying to comfort me." I groaned.
"So you do have a boyfriend then?" He asked playfully.
"No, William happens to be my older and less-intellectual half brother."
That silenced my uncle for a full five minutes before his playful smile turned into a mocking grin. His eyes twinkled with mischief before he directed his eyes to the ceiling.
"Oh dear little brother, if you were still alive and walking among us, I would have congratulated you. You managed to bring two children into the world without our halfwit parents even noticing, and they don't even share the same mother."
The way he was talking to the roof would have been amusing without the words being deciphered.
I didn't even notice the stupid smile spreading across my face until my uncle spoke again.
"So, is this brother of yours also here?"
His eyes scanned over every male in the room.
My smile slowly slipped away.
"Actually, my half brother is William Helming. He is not allowed to come here because of his hunter lifestyle and the company I am keeping at the moment."
Malcolm's mouth dropped open a few inches.
"Are you telling me that William Helming, who hunts the supernatural beings, is actually a supernatural being?" He asked slowly, sounding completely confused.
I smirked at the baffled look on his face and shared a satisfied look with Selena.
"I am not confirming nor denying that observation." I mocked.
My uncle gave a sarcastic laugh before throwing a couch pillow at my face.
"Apart from your brother being a hunter and the other guy comforting you, do you or don't you have a boyfriend out there that I should be warding off?" He asked seriously.
I frowned at his words and rolled my eyes.
"Geez, it already feels like I have my father back." I grumbled.
When he just lifted one eyebrow at me, I sighed in defeat.
"No, I do not have a boyfriend." I answered clearly.
He stared at me, considering my words before sighing and falling back into the couch.
"In that case, what is wrong with you? You are clearly pretty enough to attract attention and from that little stunt earlier, you don't look half bad even when you are being badass." He mused, rubbing his chin while his eyes scanned the people in the room.
I was still slightly stunned that everyone was being this quiet right now. No one had bothered giving me this kind of silence in days.
"It is actually a personal decision." I defended.
Which is a total lie....
"I think it would be better to leave the love stories for after my life is sorted out. Having a relationship and being on the run is not something I want to put anyone through."
That lie might just pass as the truth.
My uncle turned his attention back to me, his gaze holding my own for a few minutes. I was almost convinced that I was going to get away with that lie when he let loose a loud snort of laughter.
"Right, if that is the best lie you can come up with, I am not surprised you are single. Who would want to risk making out with you if you won't even be able to cover it up if someone asked?"
Selena laughed into her hand when my mouth popped open in shock.
"He has a good point." She chuckled.
That's it... I hate my uncle!