Innocence

But Lucille still doesn't stop talking. Her words bounce off the cracked walls of the house, and in no time all three are overwhelmed with information they never dreamed of.

"Selene Caswell," Nova speaks up quietly.

"Her father, whom her mother had cheated on, could not afford such shame in front of the whole city and council, so he gave Selene the name of his own family and had her real father hanged for his sins." Lucille stretches and continues. "Not much else is known about her family, that is, if you're someone like me who didn't have any ties to the cursed family, unlike Rosemary, who was loyal to them."

"That doesn't add up to me. You said all the dream walkers were killed by Selene. Then how can Nova have the same birth name as one of the families?" Aiden interrupts her.

"Simple. Just a distant relative, siblings of parents, or their descendants who were not currently present in Warborne when the massacre occurred. But after all that, Rosemary searched every corner of the world just to find the last descendants and it was your mother who became part of her plan."

Nova just looks at the girl with shock in her eyes as she tells her everything in a calm tone. It doesn't seem like she's lying. But even so, Nova is on guard, and so are the two boys beside her.

"What happened to her? With Edith?" Nova asks curiously.

"I and the coven of New Rowley witches found Edith first. After a few months of keeping her a secret from Rosemary, she gave birth and it was clear to all of us that Rosemary was too close to finding us and your mother wanted us to hide you and give you a chance at a better life. I haven't heard from her in 17 years so I don't think Rosemary had any pity for her."

Nova couldn't put into words how she was feeling right now. Does she feel sad because she found out her real mother is dead? Maybe she feels anger at Rosemary for taking her mother away from her and giving her no chance to have a normal life. Betrayal? Jealousy of other normal people who don't have to go through what she's going through?

All her emotions are mixing together and for a brief moment, she wishes she could push a button that would make her emotions stop. At least for a little bit.

She feels guilty for a moment. Right now, her focus is only and most definitely on herself. She doesn't notice Kalen and Aiden sitting next to her, carefully trying to figure out how everything fits together.

Her thoughts also wander to the fact that she still doesn't know how to get Rosalie and Faye back. She hated, that she forgot about those two and devotes all her attention to them, the only way to banish thoughts of her personal problems is to focus on how to save her friends.

However, Faye is not having a good time either. The stab wound in her stomach still brings a sharp, throbbing pain that spreads throughout her body, and her head is too heavy for her to look around at the moment.

Even before the door to the cold and depressing room opens, Faye hears the click of high heels heading after her.

With a creak, the heavy door opens and the elegant girl enters, sitting on the wooden stool right next to Faye, who is still strapped tightly to the old chair.

"Hello dear." says the girl in a calm voice.

"Go…to hell…Rosemary." Faye blurts out in a hoarse voice.

Rosemary has the same innocent smile on her face and looks at Faye who is breathing softly.

Rosemary notices dark red veins appear on Faye's pale neck, which pulsed with her every breath. She knows very well that this is a sign that the vampire before her is starving and that gives Rosemary a feeling of excitement.

"When was the last time you fed my dear?"

But Faye doesn't say anything, concentrating on her own thoughts and trying to mask all the pain she's feeling at the moment. The last thing she wants to hear is the intrusive voice of the witch practically laughing in her face.

Rosemary turns contentedly and looks at the silver tray that sits on the smaller table next to her. She looks at all the items she has prepared and takes in her hand a small, rather beautifully decorated knife with a dark blue handle.

She gently places the sharp blade against her index finger and looks at Faye, who is trying to ignore the witch.

"Tell me, how much do you care about the life of the little witch who came with you?"

Faye finally raises her head and glares in Rosemary's direction. "What do you want from me, if you want to kill me, go for it. You have me exactly where you wanted, nothing is stopping you."

"Oh come on Faith, calm down. I'm not planning to kill you, we're friends and friends help each other, is that right?" Rosemary smiles.

"I'd rather be dead than be called your friend. You damned witch!" Faye yells and coughs.

"I want you to work for me again Faith. Like the good old days when you were one of the best assassins I've ever seen." Rosemary says looking excitedly at Faye who forces a smile. She answers with pain in her voice. "Ha, you're going to have to find someone else to do your dirty work for you. You've already got the local hunters, witches, and vampires. Why would you need another one."

Rosemary looks down at the floor and a disappointed smile appears on her face. Her expression shows anger, but also amusement.

It was clear that she was enjoying the situation and she is even happier that it was someone like Faye, with whom she has much to say.

"The year was 1860. A girl from a very noble family had heard from her personal source that witches had appeared in Warborne, helping the town overcome all manner of ills and troubles. Of course, no one believed it at first, only superstitious people and fools. But this girl came to me, she was so naive and I still remember the sparkle in her eyes when she found out all the stories were true."

"What the hell are you trying to do witch?!" Faye raises her voice at Rosemary, who plays with a knife in her hand.

"On the outside, she was so open and positive. But on the inside, she was terrified of everything around her and that's why she begged me day and night on her knees to take away the fear that was ruining her life so much."

Faye frowns. She can't help it, her thoughts are much more intense now that she's been bloodless for some time.

The throbbing pain in her stomach mixes with the annoying words from Rosemary, who sits calmly in front of her, twirling a sharp knife around her index finger.

Vampires have repressed their emotions from the beginning in order for their human side to not come between them and their desire for fresh blood. Most of them enjoy hunting and being more than a lowly human, and someone like Kalen clings to their human side way too much.

When a vampire doesn't get blood, their old emotions and pain begin to show, which hurts much more than if they were human.

Faye sees several images of her life before she was turned into a monster before her eyes. The times when she played outside every day with Kalen and his little sister Mabel, who admired Faye so much. How she hated it when her mother made her wear all those clothes and jewelry just to please the other families around. How Mabel jumped all around her as she tried on the big fluffy dress.

And at that moment, she stops frowning and momentarily forgets about her tightening throat, which was yearning for at least one drop of blood.

Rosemary notices and it's clear this is the moment she's been waiting for.

"What is it Faith, did you remember something?"

But she doesn't get any answers. Faye is surrounded by emotions and old memories that cannot be stopped.

Rosemary gets up from her wooden stool and walks around the old chair that Faye is strapped into. She notices her tangled and sweaty strands of hair sticking to her neck. She places both hands on her shoulders and slowly brings her face closer to Faye's ear.

"Do you remember the night you turned? The noble lady of house Steele crawled at my feet and begged me to take away her fear. The fear of what would happen, the fear of what might happen. You were so young and so selfish."

Rosemary has a satisfied look on her face and you can see she is enjoying every second. Faye just stares silently at the stone floor where her own blood is slowly drying.

Rosemary puts a few strands behind Faye's ear with her long fingers and resumes her conversation. " My mistress taught me very well how to turn someone into a monster like you. Free them from pain and guilt. However, you were the most impulsive vampire I had ever met. So hungry for power, blood, and immortality. You have so much blood on your hands Faith."

Rosemary walks around her again and looks at her face. She gently grabs her chin and tilts her head up to look into her empty eyes.

"What is it like to kill a small innocent child Faith? What was it like to kill someone who admired you so much? What was it like to taste the blood of such a noble young lady as Mabel Emrick?"