4 Chapter 3

Arlene sits at the head of the dining table with Greg to her right and me to her left. Nikolai sits directly across from Arlene, glaring at her. Nobody is touching their food and I can't stop thinking about what Nikolai said to me.

I start drumming my fingers on the table to distract myself from the awkward silence. My aunt notices this, slaps my hand harshly and hisses "Stop it, Eliana."

"Sorry." I grumble and look down at my lap.

Arlene takes a sip of her wine and takes a deep, shaky breath.

"It seems like I'm going to be the one to break this silence then," Nikolai says, "Eliana, why don't you tell your aunt about your nightmares?"

I want to tell him that I don't think that's a good idea because Arlene never really cared for my nightmares and actually gets mad at me when I try to bring them up but before I get the chance to do so, Arlene answers for me. "I don't think nightmares are an appropriate topic for dinner, sweetie." She says after a few seconds of silence. She smiles but her voice makes it clear that what she said was a warning. She doesn't want to hear it.

"I know you don't think my dreams mean anything but please listen-" I start but she cuts me off.

"They're just dreams. Now eat, I don't want to hear of this again."

I hate that she doesn't take this seriously. I understand that she is annoyed because I talk about my dreams so much but I am convinced there is a meaning behind them, there has to be.

I shake my head, "If you just listened to me for five minutes you would understand why they are not 'just dreams' to me."

Arlene slams her fist on the table. "I said I don't want to hear it Eliana!"

"Quit silencing me Arlene!" I yell and everyone looks at me shocked. I never raise my voice. Especially not when I'm talking to aunt Arlene. I'm usually very calm and obedient but that changed a few weeks ago. I don't know why but I started becoming angry. I constantly feel like something is missing. Like something isn't right. Arlene was able to control that for a while. She was always very good at calming me down and distracting me. But I can't listen to her anymore. Whenever she tells me to do something it makes me angry and I don't understand why.

"Ignoring the signs will only make things worse Arlene. You are losing control over her. She has to learn the truth, tonight. I'm giving you a last chance to be the one to tell her, you owe her that much." Nikolai says.

Arlene glares at him and balls her hands into fists. "No," she growls.

"Tell me what?" I ask but of course my aunt doesn't answer.

"Come on now," Nik laughs, "Don't be a coward."

"Eliana, go to your room." Arlene barks but I don't move.

Nikolai sighs dramatically. It's like this whole situation is amusing to him. "Arlene, please. How long did you think you could keep her here for?"

"I won't let anyone take her back. The only thing that world brings is death and darkness. You know this as well as I do!" She yells at him while pointing at me.

Nik stares back at her for a moment and then turns his head to look at me. "The shadow figure," he says, "What did it say to you? What did it look like?"

"It looked like a horror version of me, it was terrifying," I whisper. "It wanted me to deliver a message to Arlene."

Nikolai smirks, "What message?"

I turn to look at Arlene, "It said you crossed a line and everything that happens now, happens because of what you did. It said if you don't set it free and undo your mistakes it is going to kill me." My aunt has now lost all the color in her face and the angry look from just a few seconds ago is replaced by one of fear.

None of this makes any sense to me. I don't understand what's going on. Non of this feels real but I know that it is.

For the first time tonight, Greg decides to join in on the conversation. "Arlene, it is happening. For over a decade she has been kept away from her home, from her family, herself and from Silas. The war is over, you have to let her go."

Silas. The second Greg says that name it feels like my brain is on fire. That name sounds so familiar. I try hard to remember where I could have heard it before but every time I am about to remember, the memory just slips away. It's almost like the memory of Silas is locked away. And my family? What about my family? I have lived with my aunt for as long as I can remember but why? Why is it just me and her? I can't believe this is the first time I've thought of these things. It is like somebody deleted parts of my memories. How is this possible?

"I talked to Camryn, she says the king is going mad." Nikolai informs Greg and Arlene.

Greg immediately looks terrified but Arlene laughs sarcastically. "The king is going mad? I couldn't care less about any of the Havlock's! They killed my soulmate!"

Greg shakes his head, "James died in the war against the shadow creatures."

Arlene is crying now. "He died fighting in a war that the Havlocks started! If it wasn't for them he would still be here, with me! I lost everything! I lost my other half, my beast and now they want my niece. My sweet, innocent Eliana. I'm not letting her leave with you, they're going to break her!"

"Please don't act as if you're keeping her here because of your altruistic nature. You are selfish. She is all you have left and you know you can't come home." Nik says with an angry look on his face. He is starting to lose his cool.

With every second that I am forced to watch the bickering between Nikolai and my aunt, I get angrier and my headache gets worse. Until finally, I explode.

"Enough!" I yell, jumping up from my seat and turning to Arlene. "You are going to tell me what the meaning of all this is and you're going to do it right now!"

At first Arlene is taken aback because I raised my voice at her but shock quickly turns into anger. She feels betrayed by me, I can see it in her eyes. I immediately regret to have raised my voice.

She stands up so we are eye to eye. "How dare you raise you voice at me like that!" She growls. "I took you in, I raised you and you repay me with disrespect?"

"Listen-" I sigh but Arlene interrupts me again.

"No," she says, "You are going to listen. You want to know the truth? I'll give you the truth. But let me tell you, you won't like any of it. You should also keep in mind that no matter what happens you are not leaving this world. So go on and ask your questions. I will answer all of them but that will not change anything."

You are not leaving this world. I decide to ignore her odd choice of words and take the opportunity to finally get answers.

"Tell me about my family. Why am I living with you?"