Half-Blooded | The Dark Child Prophecy Series [✔️]

EPILOGUE: Don't Forget Me

"Ouch," I heard myself groan. Around me, I could hear the sounds of others mumbling and making noises of pain. "I'm really getting tired of this," I moaned, opening my eyes to stare at the ceiling. My head, neck, and shoulders hurt. I stared at the dusty old chandelier above me, frowning. The ceiling had missing patches, exposing dusty rafters. I turned my head to find Jason coming to just off to my right.

"What the hell?" he groaned, making a retching noise like he might get sick.

"You throw up on me, and you're dead," I grumbled, pushing onto my side to get up. My eyes burned and my ears buzzed with whatever toxin we'd been dosed with. I struggled getting to my knees, and I blinked through my fuzzy vision. I sat there for a second longer before I began to take in the others around us.

There were four people in the room. I blinked hard, slowly getting my senses working. Three were women and another man. I stared at one of the girls as she felt around her, finding her way into a sit. Her fingers brushed across the ground within reach, her eyes not focused on anything. Her long dark hair was loosely braided over her shoulder and her skin was a warm olive color.

"Krystal?" I called, my voice high and warbling on the edge of breaking.

"Serenity?" she called back, her head turning to find the source of my voice. "Seren, where are you?"

I sighed in relief that it was my cousin and quickly crawled on my hands and knees, my balance thrown by whatever substance was in my system. When I was close enough, I reached out to touch her hand with mine, our fingers intertwining. She immediately pulled my body into hers as she hugged me, her whole torso shaking.

"Hey, c'mon, keep it together," I whispered.

"I'm sorry. They took me. I didn't know where I was. All I could hear were their voices," she answered me, releasing me.

"Seren, you okay?" Jason asked as he got up into a sit, holding his head with one hand. He was swaying slightly, the drug still running through his system.

"Yeah, we're fine."

"Great," I heard one of the other women grumble. I looked in her direction, finding the owner a caramel-skinned woman with gold eyes and dark chocolate hair. I immediately recognized her from photographs I had seen. She was the American Moon Worshipper leader's daughter. I immediately felt my body switch to the defensive. I had seen her efforts to break treaty after treaty with the American Shadow Stalkers for years, just as my mother had dealt with her father for decades before.

"Damn, what the hell?" the other man in the room groaned from his spot where he was slumped in the corner. He rolled his head around on his shoulders and popped his neck, his brown hair pulled into a bun.

"Good question," came the voice of the last woman in the room. I blinked heavily again so I could make out her face. She had dark, reddish-gold hair and freckles with bright green eyes. She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her face with a name. "Anyone hurt?"

"You mean other than feeling like I have the worst damn hangover in the world?" the man answered as he reached over to touch her. I watched their body language as she returned the gesture, checking him over for injuries with affectionate concern. They knew one another.

"You're such a smart-ass, Travis."

Suddenly I recognized her, remembering her as a little girl, gripping AJ's hand and her body hiding behind his as my oldest brother and grandfather fought. But that had been twenty years ago...

"Maggie?" I asked hesitantly. "Magelyn Scott?"

She whipped her head around to look at me, her eyes narrowed. "Yeah?" she asked, her voice cold. She paused, checking her attitude as a moment of recognition went over her face. "Wait, you're...Serenity. Adrian's little sister?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Hold on, you know each other?" the guy named Travis asked. He looked from me to Krystal. He spent a longer moment taking in Jason, reading over his body language to assess him.

Jason got to his feet to join Krystal and I, his legs unsteady. I held onto my cousin, my eyes constantly shifting to the Moon Worshipper, untrusting of her presence. Jason touched my shoulder in reassurance, sensing my trepidation.

"Looks like it," the Moon Worshipper answered. She got to her feet and stretched, like a cat that had been lying in the sun.

"Well, since you're here, it must be a safe assumption you have something to do with this," I shot at her. "Since when do Moon Worshippers hijack royals and random people off the street with magic? I thought you were still the take-no-prisoners kind."

She scoffed. "I don't have anything to do with this. If I did, do you think I would've been knocked out and thrown on a dirty floor with you?"

"I wouldn't trust you as far as I could throw you."

"Children, children," came a scolding female voice.

We all turned to look at its owner, finding a tall and thin woman with golden hair standing in the door. She looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen her before. Beside her, a broad-shouldered man with blonde hair and cold blue eyes watched each of us carefully. He met my gaze and smirked, revealing his fangs and teeth.

My grip on Krystal tightened as my whole body tensed with fear. Childhood memories of a dungeon and a great, white beast came flooding back. It was him.

"Connor..."

To be continued... Be sure to check out "Circle of Darkness" (publishing date TBD) to continue reading Serenity's story!

Want more? Check out "The Dark Child Prophecy" on my profile to discover the beginning of the Mezdor family and their rise to royalty.