The Claiming (Book 3)

Chapter 13

     "Are you two coming?" Crina was just sitting down when she looked over and saw that Cera and Brae hadn't moved.

     Brae's eyes never left Cera's, "No, I'm going to take Cera to get cleaned up. Aunt Trill, do you have anything she can use in the meantime?"

     "Of course, the chest in your old room has some of your sister's old clothing."

     "Follow me." Brae turned and walk around the fireplace.

     Cera looked down at her blood-soaked shirt and followed Brae. Hurrying her steps, she came up behind Brae as he turned the corner behind the fireplace. As they walked into the darkness the hallway lit up as if there were automatic lights watching their movements. Cera ran her fingers along the smooth wall until they came to the end that opened into a pentagon-shaped room the size of Trill's living space.

     "This was your room?"

     Brae watched Cera walk around the room, looking at everything he had accumulated while living there. He watched her stop and look down at the bed before turning away from her to open the chest. He dug through the clothes and groaned.

     "None of this is going to work. It's all dresses and frilly clothes with ruffles and lace."

     Cera turned to Brae, "What's wrong? Your whole attitude has changed. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you what Great Mother had told me before. I knew you would be mad but..."

     Brae cut her off and snapped at her again, "It has nothing to do with that. I'm not mad at you Cera."

     "Then what is it?"

     Brae ran his hands through his hair before resting his hands on his hips, "I heard you and Trill. I heard you both talking. You want to summon my mom as a distraction for Obram, but someone has to die."

     Cera's heart started beating twice as fast as normal and she became very scared that Brae had moved past being mad to thinking she was a monster, "I don't want that Brae. I don't want anyone to die. I didn't know. I didn't know that had to happen. When I'm sleeping, I see things. Dreams maybe, I don't know. They're like snapshots of what I can do or should do, maybe, I don't know if I'm explaining it right but that's what I had seen so I had asked your mother about it, but I didn't know that part. I swear I didn't know that."

     "Why didn't you tell me about them?"

     Cera's shoulders slumped, "I didn't know what they were. I didn't believe in anything when they were happening. I thought it was all in my mind, that I was going crazy and I thought that it would be a subject that would just hurt you. It's your mom, Brae. That day, when I blew up Trill's door, I asked her about conjuring an apparition. I don't even know why I asked her, it just kind of popped out, but of course she didn't want to tell me much of anything about it. She just kept answering my questions with questions of her own. She didn't tell me anything helpful. Your mom didn't tell me that part either. I don't want anyone to die Brae, I swear it. I would rather die than have anything happen to any of you."

     Brae could see the tension filling Cera's body as she spoke rapidly and then saw the tears well up in her eyes. Brae took the few steps that stood between them and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Cera was shaking so much that her teeth were chattering. "I think it's my turn to ask you what's wrong?"

     Cera grabbed onto Brae and breathed deeply, "I don't want you to think that I'm trying to keep anything from you and I don't want you thinking that I'm some kind of monster trying to decide who will need to die so that I can enact my diabolical plan to kill the king."