3. Oria

Aloud snap woke me from my dream. My heart was pounding as I groggily looked around the room. Loki was asleep at my feet, but we were the only ones in the room. My door was slightly ajar, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Slowly sitting up, something felt off as I took in the semi-dark room barely lit from the open window. That"s when I heard the sound of talking, it was faint, like multiple people talking. Mother's voice was the loudest, sparking my curiosity as I got out of bed quietly stepping towards the door.

The voices grew louder as I stood near my door, but I still couldn't hear what they were saying. Opening the door as quietly as I could, I poked my head out to see if it made a difference.

"I've kept my end of the deal!" Mother whispered. "We must stay the course. This is not the time to change our plans."

The other voice said something quickly, but it wasn"t clear what they said. Mother never let anyone up into the tower unless they were picking up a shipment. It was way too late for them to be here, and I hadn't finished packing it up. There were still a few days till they were supposed to get here, so who was she talking to?

Mother always left the tower, making me wonder where she went off to. I made the mistake of asking her once and she got so mad that I would never make that mistake again. My theory was she had a lover, who she met up with. Living in solitude could make a woman go crazy. Now I wondered if she was doing something else.

Did she bring her lover here? Was I about to hear something that would scar me for the rest of my existence? She wouldn't bring him here, would she?

My stomach churned at the thought of catching Mother in a compromising position, making me rethink if this was a good idea. The person raised their voice and I realized it sounded like they were far away. Was she calling someone?

Tay's phone was the only one I had ever seen, but did Mother have one too? She loathed technology, saying it was ruining both supernaturals and humans. She hated the iPod Tay had given me, but I told her it gave me something to listen to. She made it a big ordeal until she finally relented. I don't know why it had upset me; her actions were starting to feel like she was purposely trying to make me miserable.

My anger fueled my need for answers, giving me the confidence to leave my room, slowly creeping down the stairs to hear a bit better. She sounded like she was in the main area.

"You don't think I have things to do here?" Mother's irritation was making her voice louder.

"Well, I need help. Things are not going as we planned. She's getting closer to breaking the spell," the voice said, and I could now distinguish that it was a man. "She cannot undo what we worked so hard to put in place. Our plans cannot be derailed by a stupid magic-less whore."

The man sounded furious, but the underlying fear was there.

"What do you expect me to do?" Mother snapped. "There is a reason I said we had to play this right."

A soft meow shifted my attention to Loki in between my legs. He pushed up against them as if he was trying to push me up the stairs.

I glared at him, trying to tell him to get away with my expression. He didn't even look up at me, meowing softly again. It was like he was trying to get me caught.

The little fucker.

"If I do this, then we are going to renegotiate my terms here," Mother growled.

Meow.

He brushed up against my legs, again stretching himself on my thighs, like a dog who wanted to be picked up.

I hate you Loki.

Picking up the furball, I stepped forward, but Loki dug his claws into me.

"Don't push it, Caston," Mother yelled. "I should speak to your mother about this."

Magic sizzled in the air, making me hesitate. Mother's temper was nasty and I had unfortunately been on the end of it a time or twenty. Loki's claws dug into me, making me rethink staying and the possibility of being caught.

I slowly walked up the stairs hoping to hear more, but they talked about their days and I knew the juicy conversation was most likely over. Walking into my room, slowly closing the door, I tossed Loki on the bed.

"You little shit, that hurt," I growled, checking my shoulder. "I was just curious."

Some days it felt like my squishy-faced cat had more intelligence than I gave him credit for. He was also as old as I was and thank god, because for as old as I was getting, I don't think I could have survived the loss of so many animals.

Meow.

Loki laid at the foot of the bed, but gave me that look that said get back in bed. I rolled my eyes, getting back into bed, thinking there was no way I was getting any more sleep. That was until Loki curled against my chest and purred.

The following morning was brutal.Mother was moody, snapping at me for everything that wasn't done to her standards. The more I tried to create distance between us, the more she smothered me. It was grating on my nerves, that she was trying to ruin my day because of whatever she was mad about from last night.

"Before you work, we need to do my healing now," she snapped, walking to the back of the shop and getting up on a table we used just for her.

I had just infused water, feeling exhausted, not looking forward to feeling even more worn out, but I didn't dare complain. Dragging a stool from my work bench, I brought it over to Mother. The sooner I did this the sooner I could get back to work and she could leave me alone.

"Flos nitor et rutilans tua virtus luceat," I whispered, my magic was slow to start, but soon it enveloped me in warmth and light.

I pushed the magic into her body, reversing time, healing what I could and I also healed the small headache she had. It was a slow process, but once I pulled away, mother was a little younger and vibrant, looking like my sister instead of my mother.

"What took so long this time?" She jumped off the table, looking at her hands, rolling her shoulders and moving her neck side to side.

"Just tired from my earlier infusion," I said, walking back to my work table.

I felt her stare at my back, but I knew better than to engage with her. The day was almost over and hopefully tomorrow would be a better day.

"I think I've got it from here," I said, trying to politely tell her to go away as I started packing up the rest of the order.

"I don't need another one of your mistakes to cost us money we so desperately need," she sneered, walking around the room.

She had only been here a handful of times and she was encroaching on my space.

"I don't understand…"

"Look, I have made one mistake in a hundred and fifty years, but I have told you that I specifically double check everything," I snapped, my anger no longer contained.

"Excuse me?" Her eyes flashed with magic as if she couldn't contain it.

"I think I'm allowed to make mistakes," I said, immediately thinking now wasn"t the time to back off. "I"ve done this alone the entire time."

She walked up to me, each step felt like I had signed my death wish.

"What if that one mistake cost us our lives?"

Mother was taller than me with long raven black hair. She didn't look old enough to be my mother, but I knew she had been using my power to reverse time. She looked more like my older sister than anything else.

"For one shipment?" I countered. "Maybe we need to speak to one of them. We are the supplier, we have control over distribution and they would have nothing without us. I could deliver it personally, tell them this is the last freebie they get."

"You?" She laughed.

"Yes, we could kill two birds with one stone. It has been about fifty years since I last went out and with my birthday coming up, I think it"s a perfect opportunity to let me explore a little and talk to whoever we supply too."

I tried to sound confident, but I knew my voice lacked true conviction.

"The men we deal with are dangerous," she said with a cruel smile. "Do you know what they would do if they found out who you were?"

"That's if they…"

She cackled like what I was about to say was absurd.

"You think people haven't searched for you up and down the entire world? Did you forget what happened seventy-five years ago?" Her nostrils flared.

I couldn't forget it. They broke into the compound we had, one of them tried to… one of them tried to force himself on me. If it wasn"t for Mother, he would have taken my virginity and taken me too. She killed six men that night, forcing us to move here to the tower that was hidden. The shiver of fear wracked my body.

Her lip curled into a smile like she knew exactly what I was thinking.

"What would have happened if they had taken you? Do you think you would be alive or maybe they would have chained you to a wall, used you for their sick pleasure and forced you to make all the vials they wanted and needed," she sneered. "They would have done anything to take you away from me and if you think this life is bad, imagine it with no sunlight, no warmth and starvation."

I swallowed, trying to keep my reactions to a minimum, remembering the weight of that man"s body on top of mine. I could still feel his hot breath near my face and I knew she was right. I didn't know what people would do if they found out the vials actually came from a woman.

My earlier confidence was zapped from me while all I could think about was the awful things that could happen.

"So, when I say no, it"s because Mother knows best," she said, closing the distance between us, cupping my cheek in a motherly way. "The world is a dangerous place and all they want is to use you. Mother will keep you safe."

She hugged me. It was a little stiff and awkward, but I welcomed the closeness. She wasn't very affectionate with me, never had been, but I didn't realize how much I had craved a hug, needed it.

"Look, I've been trying to put off this trip, but I have to get some supplies so that I can reinforce the barrier," she said, pulling away. "How about I bring back some new music for you and maybe some more drawing paper with paints or those charcoals you liked from a few years ago?"

"Can you take me to that art shop?" I asked, knowing it might be a lost cause.

"If I can get what I need and see if I can afford an amulet, maybe," she said, like it hurt her to say it.

Mother was so dramatic. I had been out a few times, and no one even batted an eye at me, but I didn"t know what would happen next time. I wasn't a gambling woman; my life was more important than being out for an hour or two even if I didn"t know how much more of this solitude I could take.

"Thank you," I said, trying to go back for a hug but she stepped back immediately, like she was afraid she was going to get burned.

Swallowing down the hurt, I nodded before going back to my work.

"I need to leave in the next couple of days after they pick up this shipment," she said walking away. "I'll re-enforce the barrier so that we can both breathe easier knowing you are safe."

"That sounds great," I said, looking over my shoulder to see her leave.

I waited until I could hear her upstairs to let my emotions go. My existence was a double-edged sword the longer I lived. I was grateful for the years given to me, but this wasn"t living. Hiding in fear wasn't a full life, but a part of me also thought this was no life for Mother. She sacrificed so much for me and no matter how much I needed to see the world, I felt like I owed her my obedience to be thankful. There was also a small part of me that wanted her approval like any good daughter.

The first tear fell down my face until I couldn"t contain them anymore. I cried silently, hoping she didn't hear me and come in asking questions. The last thing I needed was her coming in here suspicious of my thoughts and feelings.

Meow.

Loki jumped onto the table, pushing his face against my own like he was trying to wipe the tears from my face. It only made me cry harder. I wrapped my arms around him and he purred. My stupid cat always comforted me like he knew my sadness was a heavy burden. Sometimes I wished he was a person, to ease this loneliness and make the weight of my power less suffocating.