Elicia's Ice-A Descendants Novel BOOK 1

I Had To Ask

"What do you mean, it's because of you?!" I demand. Arson grabs hold of my wrist to keep me from jumping up, so I relax and breathe as evenly as I can. "What do you mean, it was because of you?" I repeat. 

Mom keeps nibbling on her lip. "Well, I'm assuming you know how I met your father."

"Yeah. You were the early version of Ben wanting to bring Isle kids here."

"In a way. Yes." Mom sighs but doesn't continue. 

"Oh, no. Don't tell me..." I groan and run my hand down my face. "Please tell me Ares didn't like you."

Mom looks a little offended that she didn't get to break the news, but she nods. "Yes. He, well, made that quite clear. But I---"

"Rejected him?" I snort. "Nice."

"Oh, quiet! Yes, I said no. Your father was much nicer." She says, looking slightly angry. 

"Sorry." I laugh again. "Okay, go on."

"Well, a few years after your father and I left the Isle, I heard rumors that Ares had had two children and was planning on using them to get back at me. So I talked to Fairy Godmother and she checked, and sure enough---"

"Arson and Sera." I say. 

Mom nods. "But they rumors about using them to get back at me obviously weren't true."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one, Arson was... Sorry." She glances at him. "Disabled. Ares was furious."

Arson grins. "Making Dad mad make me happy!"

I smile too and reach over to pat his arm. "What about Sera?"

"Well, she was a strange little toddler. She started walking when she was a few months old and glared at everybody, demanding----"

"For toys. And food!" Arson breaks in. He scrunches his face up and pretends to glare at us. 

Mom gives a small smile. "Yes. That. But then when I went there to see if I could get Ares to come to Auradon, give a better life to his kids, he said no. He yelled at me for at least half an hour before I could get a word in."

"He yells lots." Arson says.

"Why didn't you just leave?" I ask. 

"Well, I felt bad for his kids. But what he said near the end is what shook me. He said the only reason he'd ever liked me was because he wanted my power in his children."

"Weird." I interrupt. She glares and I shrug. "Continue."

"So he swore he'd get my powers someday. When I asked why, he said---"

"Power in the wrong people makes it weak. Power in the right people is power." Arson says in a small voice. That might be the longest sentence I've ever heard him say. 

"Well, he swore he'd get them someday." Mom says. "And it looks like he just tried to."

I feel my eyes open wide. "Seriously? That was him trying to get my powers? That's why Uma and him were stalking me?"

Mom nods and I groan. "Great. Because I really needed another stressful thing in my life."

"Oh, hush. It's not like he actually took them. Did he?"

I hold both my hands up and test my ice powers in one and my death powers in the other. "No, I've still got both." I extinguish both of them by closing my hands. 

"Did he say he wanted your father's powers too?" Mom asked.

"Well, we didn't exactly strike up a conversation, Mom." I say. Arson laughs as she glares.