Morana knows she's different from other people in more ways than one. Firstly, she's sixty-seven years old but stopped ageing in her twenties. Weird things have also happened around her right after she's wished for it. But most importantly, no matte...
I couldn't help but get anxious while Alejo was gone. He took so much longer than he should have needed, especially since he had teleported there.
I sat on the bed with Leramidon, tried to not think about worst possible scenarios, such as that Dereck would have hurt him somehow. I knew it was a silly anxiety to have. Dereck wouldn't stand a chance against Alejo and his magic. But it still came.
When I heard the popping sound of teleporting, my body immediately relaxed.
"Told you he was fine," I whispered to Leramidon, and stood up to put him back into the aquarium.
Another popping sound came, followed straight away by the sound of a slap. And then yelling.
"Are you completely out of your mind! Have you lost all pride as a witch?"
I dropped Leramidon into the aquarium a bit too quickly and then hurried to the door. When I opened it, my eyes instantly locked onto Alejo's.
His face was pale, which made the red mark of a recent slap stand out even more on his cheek. His lips also had a crack in them, but that looked like an injury which had happened a while ago. In front of him, with her back to me, stood a woman. She wore black, tight pants and a white shirt.
Either because of Alejo looking at me or because she had heard me opening the door, she turned.
She looked a lot like Alejo. A similarly sharp nose, the same thick and dark hair, darker skin, and her eyes had the same shade of brown. But there was an emotion in her eyes that Alejo's never had and that I knew never would be there. Cruelty.
It made me want to take a step back, close the door, and disappear. But she had slapped Alejo and that fact made me instead put on an attitude which had been ingrained in me during my teenage year. Confidence and defiance.
"Who are you?" I asked as I took a step towards her.
Her eyes narrowed slightly before they soften, but they still contained some of the cruelty.
"I could ask you the same thing," she said and then turned to Alejo. "Who is this that you've been hiding?"
Alejo still looked at me. There was desperation in his eyes which I could not understand. Then his head bent, his eyes fell on the floor. It made me think of a servant who was ready to receive punishment at any point.
"Morana, this is my sister Astria," he introduced her to the floor instead of to me. "Astria, this is a friend of mine. Morana."
"It's a pleasure meeting you," Astria smiled and held out her hand to me.
I hesitated for a moment before taking it. As our hands connected, I felt a weird sensation spread through my body. Almost like electricity shooting through it. It made me gasp and withdraw my hand immediately.
"You are one powerful witch! And there's something special about your magic," she exclaimed before she turned back to Alejo. Her voice became harsher as she spoke to him. "And you've been hiding her this whole time?"
He visibly bent his head down further and seemed to try to shrink back. It made my anger towards her burn stronger. He had never really talked about his family. The only thing I knew was that they were a part of the same coven as him. I had been curious to know more, especially considering how he talked about the coven. But my curiosity had effectively been satisfied.
"You must come over for dinner," Astria went. She addressed me, the harshness turned back to sweetness. "Mom would be so excited about meeting you."
"Thank you, but no thanks. I'm not sure I would fit in," I answered in fake politeness.
"Nonsense. Of course you would! Or has he been telling tales about us? Don't listen to them, they are all the result of jealousy." As she referred to Alejo, she didn't even turn to look at him, but just flicked her thumb in his direction over her shoulder.
"He has not. I can easily make that judgement myself." I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes.
She seemed to realize I wouldn't budge, so she turned to Alejo instead.
"Wouldn't you want Mom to meet your friend? She's just a friend, right?"
His head shot up from the bent position and to my surprise, there was fear and panic in his eyes. Why he would feel that, I could not understand.
"Yes, she's just a friend," he hurriedly said, and I was taken aback even more. What did it matter so much if I was just a friend or girlfriend? Was that really something that needed so much attention and that level of emotions? That amount of fearfulness?
"Ah, well, all the same, Mom will want to meet her. Wouldn't you want Mom to know your friend?" Astria said in a mild, threatening tone. It made me sure she would not give up until we had agreed and I didn't want to know what other means she could potentially use to convince us.
Alejo looked at me. Stress and worry and fear. He seemed to be drowning in those emotions. My jaw was tightly shut, my lips in a thin line, but I gave him a small nod to try to calm him a little, and it seemed to work. He turned back to Astria and nodded.
"Perfect!" she purred and turned to me again. "I'll send a message with day and time later. I'll see you then!"
And with a pop, she was gone.
Alejo hurried to my side and pulled me in for a hug. It felt desperate. As if he was clinging onto the only rock in the middle of an ocean during a storm. I recognized that desperation from myself. I knew I had clung to him in a similar way during Halloween. He had been my only safety. But I really couldn't understand why he would feel that way right then and there.
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