Gabriel’s POV
I was sitting on a couch in the living room. I was the first one to be awake. Patricia will introduce Petra to us today, and we will call Victor later.
I was nervous about that. I saw how afraid Aria was, and it made my blood boil. I wanted her to feel safe, but I know that she won’t be safe until we take care of Victor. That was why I was hoping this call would go smoothly. I was hoping he will come to us, and we will end this thing quickly and once and for all.
I heard someone walking downstairs, and when I looked up, I saw my sister.
“Good morning,” she said with a smile on her face.
“Morning, love,” I said as I motioned for her to come sit next to me.
She sat down, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to me.
“What happened with Cassie yesterday?” I asked her. “You seemed sad when you came to me.”
“I think you can guess it,” she sighed. “I was sad because I know it is hard for her. I wish I could help her somehow. But I can’t tell her what to do.”
I know it had something to do with Blake and Zack. Zack was completely in love with Cassie, and I guess she was in love with him as well. But she was with Blake. So, we’ve got ourselves another love triangle. Great. Just what we need.
I rolled my eyes internally.
“You are right,” I nodded. “But you can support whatever decision she makes.”
“I will,” she said as she looked up at me. “I told her yesterday that no matter what she decides, I’ll be there for her.”
I smiled down at her. “You are an amazing friend.”
She blushed and rolled her eyes playfully, “I could be better.”
I chuckled and kissed her forehead, “That is going to be one tough challenge. Impossible, really.”
She smiled and leaned her head on my shoulder.
“What made you come to me yesterday?” I asked, playing with her hair. “Not that I am complaining. I would do everything for you to come to me like that every day. Oh, and to see Nick’s pissed off face.”
She laughed and looked up at me, “He really was pissed, wasn’t he?”
“Yep,” I laughed. “I liked it.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Jake came outside and comforted Cassie. And I started thinking about how Jake was always an awesome big brother. He was always there for Cassie, and I always wished I had a brother like him. Then I thought about you and how great you have been. And at that moment, I wanted you. I wanted to be with you.”
My heart swelled and I swear I have never been happier in my life. She wanted me. She needed me. Me.
I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how much it means to me to hear you say that,” I said quietly. “I wish I had always been there for you.”
She raised her head and looked up at me. “I wish I had always been there for you too.”
I caressed her cheek with my thumb. “I can’t believe I didn’t know you exist.”
She chuckled, “I was thinking the same thing.”
“Really?” I smiled.
“Yes,” she nodded. “When I first met you, I felt complete. I felt like I found a missing piece of me. And when I was with Victor, I lost that piece again because I was separated from you. I can’t believe how I never noticed it before.”
I nodded sadly. “I wish I did. Maybe I could have found you sooner. Maybe I could have protected you from everything that happened. I feel like it was my fault.”
She gasped and grabbed my face. “Are you crazy! None of that was your fault. You didn’t know, Gabriel. Please promise me you will stop blaming yourself. You are the best brother in the world, and I love you so much.”
I looked at her and saw only love and adoration in her eyes. It made my insides melt.
I pulled her in for another hug. “I love you too. I will never let anything, or anyone hurt you again.”
She tightened her grip on me and nuzzled her head into my chest. I chuckled and placed my head on top of hers.
We stayed like that for a while. I was playing with her hair, and she was rubbing my back soothingly. Both of us needed this.
We were interrupted by a scream coming from upstairs.
“ARIA!”
She flinched, and we looked in the direction of the stairs that led up to the second floor. A few moments later, a terrified Nick came running downstairs. He was pulling a hoodie over his head, and he was looking around frantically. When his eyes landed on us, he visibly relaxed for a second, but then his eyebrows furrowed in anger.
“Why did you leave?” he asked, walking toward us and pulling Aria away from me. “I was afraid you were gone again.”
“Sorry,” she said, rubbing Nick’s arms soothingly. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“You should have,” he said sternly. “You can’t do this to me. I almost had a heart attack.”
“Same here, man,” We heard a voice behind us. “Your screaming could wake up the dead.”
Mike was standing behind us, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
I laughed, and Nick rolled his eyes at Mike. He nuzzled his head into Aria’s neck and took a deep breath, calming himself.
“Did you have breakfast?” Mike asked.
“No,” I said. “We were talking.”
“We should make something,” Aria said, running her hand through Nick’s hair. “We have a guest.”
“Yes, we do,” a new voice interrupted us. “And I didn’t plan on waking her up with screams.”
All of us turned around to see Patricia standing behind us with Petra. They were smiling at us, but the dark magic coming off of Petra made my insides churn. I know she was on our side, but her magic unsettled me.
Aria’s POV
The woman standing behind us was pretty. I think she was around Patricia’s age, maybe a little bit younger. She was tall and skinny. She was wearing a black, floor-length dress. She had vibrant blue eyes, and her hair was fiery red. I could see wrinkles around her eyes and mouth.
She was smiling at us, but I could feel her dark magic, and it was making me feel uncomfortable. I squirmed in my seat, and both Nick and Gabriel grabbed my hand. I guess they felt it too.
“Good morning,” Petra said with a small smile.
Mike, Gabriel, and Nick remained silent. They were looking at Petra, and I could see they were trying to read her. They didn’t trust her or her magic. I understand that, but she came here to help.
I smiled brightly at her and stood up. The guys tried to pull me down, but I ripped my hands out of their grip. Nick growled, but I ignored him. I walked over to Petra and Patricia and extended my arm.
“Hi, my name is Aria,” I said with a smile. “Thank you for helping us.”
Petra smiled back at me and took my hand in hers. Her touch sent shivers down my spine. I could feel the dark magic on her skin, and I wanted to run. But I stayed. I kept a smile on my face and turned around to look at the guys.
Nick and Gabriel were glaring at me. They were not happy that I was close to Petra. Well, too bad. They would have to trust her if we wanted her help.
“Petra, this is Mike,” I said, pointing to him. “And these are Gabriel and Nick.”
Petra smiled at them, and they gave her a stiff nod.
I sighed internally. I need to talk to them alone.
I looked at Patricia, who immediately understood what I wanted her to do.
“Alright,” Patricia said. “Petra, should we go to the kitchen and make coffee?”
Petra nodded, and they left the living room.
As soon as they were out of sight, I turned to the guys. “What was that?”
“I don’t trust her,” Nick said, frowning.
“You shouldn’t have gone that close to her,” Gabriel said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “She came here to help. You will have to start trusting her.”
“Her magic creeps me out,” Mike mumbled.
“I know, me too,” I said with a small nod. “But we don’t have a choice. She is here and we have to trust her. We won’t be able to defeat Victor if we don’t trust each other.”
The guys sighed and stayed quiet.
“She could have hurt me if she wanted to,” I said after a few moments of silence. “She could have hurt either one of us by now. But she didn’t.”
Nick growled, and Gabriel looked up at me. I could see he was reluctant to accept her. I understood him. The dark magic that surrounds Petra was strong, and our first instinct was to fight it. I know that the rational part of Gabriel’s mind was telling him that we need to trust her to defeat Victor, but the warlock part in him was reacting on instinct. And that instinct was to destroy darkness.
After a few moments, Gabriel gave me a small nod. I released a breath I’d been holding and gave him a small smile.
“I want you away from her,” Gabriel said. “You are right, we need to trust her, and I will try to do that. But I need you safe. I need you to stay away from her.”
I was about to agree, when we were interrupted by the rest of our friends coming into the living room.
“What’s going on?” Jake asked as he planted a kiss on my head, earning himself a growl from Nick.
Jake rolled his eyes and sat down next to Gabriel.
“We met Petra,” Mike said.
“Where is she?” Annie asked.
“Kitchen,” I said. “Making coffee with Patricia.”
“Why are you two frowning?” Cassie asked, looking at Nick and Gabriel.
“We don’t trust her,” Nick answered.
“Oh, because of the dark magic, right?” Zack said as he plopped himself down on the couch. “You get used to it. She is not that bad.”
“They promised they would try to trust her, right?” I said, glaring at Nick and Gabriel.
“Yeah,” Gabriel said, rolling his eyes.
“We should go meet her,” Cassie said.
The rest of our friends agreed and walked out of the living room. Mike followed them.
I looked at Gabriel and Nick, who had a frown on their faces. I sighed and turned around.
“Come on,” I said.
I heard them getting up and walking behind me. Nick grabbed my waist and pulled me to him.
“Stay close to me,” he whispered to me, sending pleasant shivers down my body.
I shuddered, and Nick chuckled. “Later, love.”
We walked into the kitchen behind Gabriel. My friends were chatting among themselves and glancing at Petra from time to time. Patricia and Petra were sitting at the dining room table, sipping their coffee and talking to Zack and Jake. I could tell that the rest of our friends were uncomfortable around Petra as well, but they were very polite and accepting. The only ones with frowns on their faces were Nick and Gabriel.
I rolled my eyes internally and sat down, listening to the conversation between Petra and the guys.
Nick and Gabriel sat down next to me. Gabriel placed his arm around my shoulders and Nick took my hand in his. Petra glanced at us and smirked. They were so obvious. I sent her an apologetic look. She gave me a small smile and cleared her throat.
“Okay, when are we making the call?” she asked, looking around the room.
The chatter stopped immediately. My breath got caught in my throat. Petra was here. There was no reason for them to delay calling Victor anymore. Nick and Gabriel’s grip on me tightened. It was time to make the call.
