THRIVE: Book One

Chapter 77- Worries

The next day, I feel anxious and nervous, making it hard to sit still. I pace around my room for over an hour before deciding to head downstairs and try to get my mind off of everything. If Cameron really is who I think he is, I could know by tonight. It's so exciting and terrifying to even think about it. I wander down to the throne room where I find Victoria and Brian talking. Victoria is sitting comfortably across her seat, but it sounds like a pretty heated discussion.

"Is everything okay?" I ask nervously as I come in. They both turn and stare at me, but neither of them says a word at first.

"I'm not sure." Brian sighs "We were just discussing what might happen tonight." he explains nervously.

"Okay... what's wrong though?" I ask, concerned.

"We know there is a pretty decent chance that he's Dante," Victoria says, locking her eyes on me. I glance between the two of them nervously as I take a step back.

"Yea? Chloe and I discussed that too, but why do you sound so serious?" I ask.

"What if he's not?" Brian asks nervously. I stare at him puzzled for a moment.

"Then he would have to be Col, right?" I ask as I look at him skeptically, then at Victoria "Right?" I try to get some clarity.

"You know there's one more person he could be, don't you?" Victoria asks, her voice is rough and serious. Gael.

"I understand that, but we did everything we could to ensure that he couldn't come back." I say, trying to deny the possibility "Scara, I have faith in you." I say confidently. Victoria sighs as she glances over at the broken throne a few seats down.

"Veronika, you know how powerful he was. I was nowhere near his level when I tried to seal him into his body." she explains. Brian glances at the broken seat and sighs.

"Scara, there was nothing we could have done about that, he was already long gone at that point." Brian explains "Please stop feeling guilty about what happened. It wasn't your fault." He tries to go to her, but she quickly stands up and rushes across the room, crossing her arms nervously.

"Don't you understand how scared he makes me?" she starts to cry "He has taken so much from me across my lifetimes, I don't want to risk it happening again." She starts breathing heavily.

"Scara, please, listen to me." I cautiously go to her "Remember, Iker knew who he was without needing to be awakened. I can't know for sure, but I really don't think Cameron is lying about wanting to know who he was. He wouldn't agree to the ceremony if he knew it would risk us finding out who he was if that was the case, right?" I explain as I reach out and put my hands on her shoulders.

"Oh my god," she begins, "I completely forgot about that," she explains, seeming to relax a little.

"You're right, there's literally no way." Brian says, sounding relieved for a moment "But, what about Justin?" he asks nervously.

"His personality isn't really similar. I mean, he's been spending a lot of time with Chris, but it really seems like it's because they have a lot in common. Plus, he isn't trying to get at me at all, which is a really good sign." I explain hopefully.

"I suppose you're right about that." Victoria sighs "He could be Col, he's bullheaded enough." she forces a laugh. Suddenly Lily and Alice come in, seemingly surprised when they see us.

"Oh, sorry, are we interrupting something?" Lily asks as she sees Victoria, who was still calming down.

"No, it's okay." I say kindly "What are you two up to?" I ask. They look nervous for a moment.

"We just... " Alice began nervously "We wanted to ask a few questions about what Chloe is going to do to Cameron," she asks as they came forward.

"Oh, that's honestly a good question. I understand why you're worried, but everything should go fine." I explain.

"Chloe can channel the inner mind and tap into the soul." Victoria begins "In doing so, she can help a person to this place that we call the gate. There, you can speak directly to your past." she explains. Lily looks nervous as she raises her hand.

"Does it hurt?" she asks worriedly.

"No, it doesn't." Brian states calmly "You usually end up dizzy and with a headache after it's done, but after a good night's sleep you're all better." he explains reassuringly.

"Oh god, that's a relief." Alice says as she takes a deep breath "When Chris asked if any of us were blood squeamish, I thought it might mean something bad." she explains.

"The blood thing actually has to do with the rest of us." Victoria explains calmly "We combine small amounts of ours together and it works as sort of a guiding agent."

"Oh gosh," Lily says nervously.

"Badass." Alice smiles excitedly "I really hope this is all true; because if it is, that is so cool."

"Tonight should prove it." Brian smiles nervously "You're welcome to go after Cameron, you know." he suggests. Alice glances around and starts to laugh nervously.

"Um, I don't know about that." she sighs as she tugs on the gauge in her earlobe "My life is complicated enough as it is, I don't need a few hundred years' worths of drama muddling that up."

"Don't knock it till you try it." Victoria laughs "For all you know, it might be just what you need. I know it was for me." she explains optimistically.

"Really?" Lily asks.

"Oh, hell yea." Victoria smiles, "I was a mess when we got here, but learning the truth and gaining the wisdom from my past made me so much stronger." she explains happily.

"Holy shit." Alice says excitedly, "That's incredible."

"She's right, and she's one of the smartest people here, so she knows what she's talking about." Brian laughs.

"Geeze, I think you're giving me too much credit here." Victoria laughs, embarrassed.

"Hell no we aren't, you have always been great at all that sage wisdom." I laugh as her face turns red. "You were always good at helping us all through the hard shit, you should be proud." I smile. Victoria nervously smiles back at me.

"Fine, I'll agree with that, but you were always the leader." Victoria laughs.

"Maybe." I laugh back.