October and April (Bk 2 Of The Valhireya Series)-rewriting

Twenty one

Cade

I stayed with Claire for the rest of the day, teaching her a new song on the piano. I've always found her presence to be calming for me. Every time she is around, it seems like all patience flows in my veins. My love for her numbs all my other needs. In this case, it numbs my anger. After I put her to sleep, I went back to my bedroom and waited until the entire house was silent. The I closed my eyes and focused all my energy on her. For a couple of hours, her mind was silent, but just before sunrise, she finally began to dream. I slowly entered her mind, as a spectator, as to not wake her up.

I see her talking to Viktor, but I can't hear what they are saying. They seem to be yelling at each other. As the dream becomes clearer, their voices also do. Viktor forcefully grabs her and slams her against the mattress. She yells and tries pushing back at him but he doesn't even flinch.

"I told you there are only two ways out of this! I can either kill you or you can marry me and let me be king!" He mutters against her neck.

"Are you insane?" She yells as he pushes her dress out of her way and reaches for the zipper of his pants. Her tears pour down her face as she keeps trying to get free from his hold. Is this a nightmare or is this a memory?

"Vitkor, stop! I am your sister! How can you do this to me?" She yells as he pushes forward. Her scream pierces my ears and I wake up only to hear her cries. Ava runs out of her room and into Claire's, making sure she is not afraid and I go to Idalia. She is curled into a ball, with her head hidden between her knees as she softly sobs. I sit next to her and gently pull her in my arms. She continues crying on my shoulder while I gently stroke her hair.

"He raped you that day, didn't he?" I asl her and she freezes.

"What?" She asks me and pushes away from my embrace.

"Viktor... he raped you that day." I tell her, trying to keep my calm.

"How?" She asks and that is the only confirmation I need.

"I will kill him!" I tell her and her eyes fill with tears again.

"This is why you didn't want me to know. And it's why you haven't killed him yourself. He is your brother!" I tell her and she nods while bursting into tears again. I wrap my arms around her again and hold her until she falls asleep.

Idalia

When I wake up and see him sleeping next to me, a wave of fear and shame washes over me. But more than anything, confusion. How did he know? His dark eyes slowly open and he looks at me. He pulls me closer and kisses my forehead.

"I love you!" He whispers against my skin and I start sobbing again. He still loves me.

"Shhh... my love! I will always love you! But I will kill him!" He says as his embrace tightens around me.

"He is my twin..."

"He is a monster, Ida! How can you still care for him?" He asks me and I let out a sigh.

"No, Cade! I mean, he has the same powers as I have." I tell him and push him away to sit up. He also sits up and looks at me confused.

"I can't just change my appearance, Cade. You probably figured it out, from yesterday. I can change into any humanoid creature in the world. Vampire, fairy, mermaid... name it. If I ever touched one, I can become one." I tell him and see the shock on his face.

"You mean, you can grow wings?" He asks me and I laugh bitterly.

"I can grow wings, bite people, bewitch people, although the last part is difficult because I never learned spells and charms. But I could." I explain to him and he frowns.

"But that means..." he tries to speak but I cut him off.

"That means that me and my brother are the two most powerful people in the world, right now." I tell him and see him swallow an invisible lump in his throat.

There is a moment of silence between us. I am wondering what are his thoughts. Does this change anything between us?

"How could you let him do this to you? Why didn't you kill him?" He asks me and I shake my head in disappointment.

"Because he can become a shield or a vampire or anything else. Anything I can throw at him, he can block it." I answer him and he frowns again.

"So... you mean to tell me, you are immortal?" Finally, he is asking the right questions.

"I can chose to be. I can live as a vampire and I would be immortal, for example." I tell him and he stands up.

"So how do we know how to kill him? What shape he is in?" He asks me and I let out another sigh.

"We don't. We just have to force him become a vulnerable creature so we can kill him." I tell him and he smiles.

"We need to make a plan!" He tells me.

"No, Cade. We need to go back to Valhireya!"