Amelia's POV

  I opened my mouth to say something, but the lump in my throat cut me off. Deep yet sharp breaths escaped my lips as I felt the tears creep from the corners of my eyes. I had no words. I wanted to know, I had to know, but something inside me... It wasn't letting me speak. Almost like I already had the answers I was looking for in everyone but myself. "Amelia," Christian's voice echoed trough my ears as I stared in his dark eyes, still speechless. I noticed him taking a step towards me while Calliope was fixing me with those blue eyes intently, but I just took a step backwards as I felt a tear slip down my face.

  There was a part of me, a small spark inside my heart that believed I was a normal girl. A human. That I was somehow cursed to be born as a huntress, but never have I ever believed that I was actually a supernatural. "A Clíona?" I gasped, my voice so quiet and shaky that I wasn't sure if they even heard me. But even though I took a few steps backwards, Christian never gave up trying to reach out for me.

  "Amelia, I want you to listen to me. I need you to listen." His voice was calmed and he was somehow trying to get to me, like he was talking to an insane person. But no matter how hard I tried I felt the tears slip down my face, and my blood unpleasantly boil in my veins. I felt his hand on my shoulder and I didn't move away. I froze. "We'll explain everything to you. I promise. You just have to listen, cause after today..." He stopped and looked over his shoulder at wide eyes Calliope who quietly gave him some kind of a sign as he continued. "After today, nothing will be the same."

  I stared at him, somehow locked by his dark eyes and I just nodded my head. "Alright?" He asked me to confirmed again, and without even realizing, I took in a deep breath, filling my chest with as much air as I could. Closing my eyes for a second, I slowly exhaled it, feeling his hand travel from my shoulder, down my arm, and grabbing mine. My heart skipped a beat, but it wasn't because of his touch, it was because I was agreeing on listening to something I didn't know if it was even the truth.

  Opening my eyes, I was almost surprised from his patience. I nodded my head again, earning a weak smile from Calliope behind us. "Come on. Not in here." He took my hand in his and started walking out of the kitchen as somehow the tensity in the air was gone. The unpleasant energy around us, it was banished. I once had said to think for yourself, be as difficult to herd as cats, but at this point, all I wanted was the truth. Once and for all.

  After we got in the living room, Christian let go of my hand as I sat on an armchair across from the couch where they both sat. Calliope looked at Christian a few times, almost like she wasn't sure if they should tell me or now, but I was ready to do whatever it takes to get the truth out of them. "What did you hear?" Was the first thing Christian asked as he rested his elbows on his knees and intertwined his fingers together. I felt like I was in the principal's office.

  I wiped my already cooled tears quickly before I started talking. "Just," I let out a slight sigh. "Just that I am," I was once again cut off by the pressure in my throat.

  "A Clíona," Calliope said and licked her lips, almost like she was nervous too.

  "What does that even mean?" I mumbled, fixing Christian again. Somehow, I knew that he had the answers. He always had the answers. Even when no one told him, he managed to find out my real identity. They both looked at each other, almost like they were still hesitating on telling me, but at that point, in that situation, it annoyed the shit out of me. I had to know. "Christian," I almost surprised myself how confident my voice sounded. How casually I addressed him by his name, but he was no longer sir, or his Highness. We were no longer in the castle. No longer in Venedocia.

  After he looked at me, he let out a sharp breath, but I was anxious. I could no longer wait. "You said you would tell me. You said I needed to listen." My voice was raspy and my tone was no longer quiet. I wasn't completely conscious, but I was ready.

  "You do." He tightened his grip around his fingers before he looked down and bit the inside of his cheek slightly. Looking up at me, I could tell that he still wasn't completely ready on telling me. His eyes held insecurity that I've never seen him wear. Almost another minute passed away, and I knew I was starting to lose patience as I felt my breaths fasten up. "Have you heard about the war between the supernatural and the mundanes?" His voice was deep, raspy and demanding. Nothing new.

  "The one in the 1860's," I said quietly, almost to myself as my brain was clearly registering his words. The war where the mundanes-humans, lost. The war that my father claimed it was still on. But it was long won. It was never a game. It's not a game where only one side plays, only one side wins.

  "Back then, Clíonas, they were a big number. But they were working with werewolves, joined their packs. There was at least one in each." I was listening to him talk about some supernatural entity, yet I had no clue what it was. Never in my life had I heard of it. "When the war began, I was in France. For the next 10 years I stayed there, because I didn't want to be part of it. My father... He didn't listen to me." Christian's eyes lit, like fire had met gasoline, they hid fury when he mentioned his father. He shook his head slightly before continuing. "I wanted vampires to win the battle alone. To keep the throne. But my father had a plan. He managed to get everyone on his side, werewolves, witches, clíonas, even demons."

  My lips parted as I listened to his words. My mind was slowly absorbing the information, trying to get used to the new terms. "As you know, the supernatural won the war." He smiled ironically. "Not everyone. My father did. But he wanted everything for himself. To keep his precious throne, to continue ruling Venedocia." He looked down, and then back at me, but the more he spoke, the more he seemed to escape eye contact with me. "The Vampires were the strongest, numerous, so he wanted the others out of his way. The number of the werewolves was reduced, the demons were completely extinct, and clíonas..."

  I felt my vision still blurry from the tears I was holding. I was listening to him carefully, my brain registering every single one of his words, but all I kept thinking was the king. A monster. He killed so much supernatural, but I had heard the human side of the story too. I knew perfectly well how many humans  too had suffered because of him, tortured and killed. And just for fun, to keep showing who's the winner, the dominant, he continued the slavery with humans. The program, system. The one I had experienced perfectly well.

  "The clíonas were the biggest problem for him. He needed them, but he was aware of their power. He knew that they were able to take him off the throne, to even kill him," He stopped and exhaled a breath, as I felt myself squeezing my hands together even more. I felt nervous. I was hearing how powerful these creatures were, and just a few minutes ago, I was told I was one. And it made me feel sick. "He was perfectly aware that he needed action. He needed a plan if he wanted to take them down. So he did." Christian continued and just then I realized that things were going to get even more complicated.

  "Clíonas predict danger. They would've know what was coming next. So he found a way to play with their minds," He smiled, but his eyes showed the exact opposite. "One of the most powerful ones, Zaria, fell in love with his son." I noticed him chuckling again, but never in my wildest dreams I could have thought of what he told me. "Dimitri. But what she didn't know was that he was under the king's command. It was never real, but Zaria didn't know that." I frowned, listening to him carefully, but the name Zaria swirled around my head, almost like I've heard it before. It didn't sound like the Dimitri I knew. That wasn't the Dimitri I knew.

  "So my father finally got the action he was hoping for. He managed to overpower them. But he was smart enough to know that he'll need them, so he only spared three of them. Morena, Hester, and Jessica. The 'Aurum Ternario'." He said the Latin phrase so clearly, almost like Latin was his first language.

  "The 'Golden Triad'." The words tumbled out on their own, and I wasn't even aware of it until I heard myself say it. And somehow, I knew about it. The 'Aurum Ternario'. But they both couldn't hide the shock that washed over their faces. My Latin was rusty, but I could translate it. However, the meaning... It was something I couldn't figure out.

  "Have you heard of it?" I heard the concern in his voice, that almost made me look twice if it was Christian who was really talking.

  "I, -I don't know." All they did was look at each other, and then back at me.

  "It was a triad that couldn't be broken. An unbelievable power that could only be banished if the triad was torn. And it was. But one of the clíonas, one of the most powerful ones held the biggest power. She kept it even after the triad was broken." His eyes locked mine, and once again I felt like they held me paralyzed. And even before he continued, I felt my heart thump a few loud beats against my chest. My eyes were burning from the tears that couldn't escape as I stared at him for answer. And what he was about to tell me didn't seem like it was going to be something good. "Your mother, Amelia. Jessica."

  If it was the first time I was hearing something unbelievable, something wicked that I could've never guessed, not even in my wildest dreams, I would've been shaken to the core. Now I just knew to tense up when the shock hit. My heart worshiped this crazy rhythm for so long now, that I got used to it. They both stared at me for some kind of a reaction, but I just felt the tears finally escaping my eyes, but not a single sob escaped me. I wasn't crying, I was somehow releasing the feelings I hid. Looking down, I saw one clear silent drop roll from my eyelash and lend on my lap.

  I wiped the tears quickly, having no strength to keep up with everything. I was exhausted from crying, and it simply had to stop. Just like I was taught. Just like my father taught me. I looked up at him, and sniffed, somehow feeling ashamed from crying. I wasn't weak. I was never weak. And this... It wasn't me. "My mother," I mumbled, almost questioning him again, but he just nodded his head. It wasn't the first secret that my family reveled. Technically, this one was never supposed to be reveled, and they did an amazing job keeping it from me trough those 19 years of my life.

  "You're aware what that means, right? There's no mistake that you're not a,-"

  "A Clíona? I'm not." I said simply, and even though the confidence was miserably failing on me right now, I kept my mask. At that point I wasn't aware if my mind was an engine or an exhaust. Was I the master of my thoughts or were my ideas the result of deep thinking that I was only loosely aware of? I looked at my hands and shook my head slightly. "I'm not a Clíona. I would've known."

  "Amelia, listen-"

  "No, I won't listen! Because it's not true." I said trough the sobs and tears I didn't realize were escaping again. I had already stood up from the chair, but I didn't move. I wasn't sure what was happening, but the world suddenly span, and my breaths were too fast to control it.

  Christian's eyes darkened, more and more, the fury raising and he could no longer hide it. Standing up, he growled. "Amelia! I've seen you. I've heard you with my own ears and the last fucking thing I need right now was for you to have a break down!"

  I heard him, but I did not fear him. He could yell as much as he wanted, I didn't care at that point. "Why now?!" I exclaimed, shutting him up, while Calliope chewed her lip and kept quiet on the couch.

  "With that attitude, you're not getting answers, Amelia." Christian warned clearly, but the anger in his voice was still there.

  And answers were the only thing I needed in that moment. I was ready to give everything to find the answers and when he said that, it was like someone slapped me and made me snap out of whatever my mind was going trough. The war, the race that was suddenly crashing over, was suddenly stopped. I ran my hand trough my hair, sniffing one more time before I sat down on the chair and kept quiet for the next few seconds. My breaths were shaky, deep, but I was in better control now. Christian sat down after me, almost like he was keeping and eye on me, but he didn't seem to have the intention to continue.

  "Why now?" I asked again, but this time, my voice was fading away. When he looked at me, I knew he heard me.

  "When's your birthday?" Calliope's voice got mixed in my head as I focused on her. She seemed the most calmed of all. She had her legs crossed, while she was firmly leaned against the headboard of the couch, keeping quiet this whole time. Until now.

"November 10th." I answered as quick as I could, having the feeling like I was getting close to the answer.

  She sighed and looked at Christian then back at me. "That's in 7 days," She mumbled mostly to herself. "You're turning 20 right?"

  I looked at Christian for some reason, desperate to know something. Anything. I locked eyes with Calliope again, and answered calmly. "Yes. Why?" 

  "Because that's the reason why your powers are awaken." I stared at her, having no idea what to say. What to think. It's like there was a pain, an ache in my heart that was already difficult to bear, but now, that pain started winning. "You're considered mature enough, so you're ready for the training. The beginning."

  I gasped, letting a small stand of hair fly upwards. "Training?" I felt a unpleasant turn in my stomach at the sound of it. I knew what it meant, but I didn't want to accept it.

  "It's not as simple as you might think." She said, and leaned her elbows on her knees, continuing to explain. "Amelia, are you even aware what kind of power your mother possessed?" I stared at her blankly, her monotone voice swirling trough my ears. "It's in your blood. And you can't stop it. All you can do is train it. Learn how to control it." It felt like everything underneath my feet was being pulled, making me feel unstable. How was I supposed to defuse a bomb without triggering the damage I sought to avoid? I kept burying it deep inside me, but it only caused to hurt more.

  "And if you don't, it will control you. It will consume you. And that doesn't stand just for clionas. It stands for every supernatural creature. Just like vampires need to learn control over blood, witches over spells, werewolves over the full moon..." With that she stood up, walking towards me, as I sat still and stared at her without a clue. Stopping, she reached her hand for me while looking at me intently with her ocean blue eyes. My mind was swirling with the possibilities, thoughts and ideas that she just threw in my head that I was completely frozen to my spot.

  Glancing over at Christian, he looked like he didn't know what was going on either, but when I looked at her again, I saw no bad in her eyes. And without hesitating much, I placed my palm on hers and stood up. I walked behind, letting her lead my way as I felt Christian's intense gaze on us from behind. But no matter how much I hoped, all she did was lead me towards the fire. Kneeling down, she brought me down with her, but her moves were so calmed and... trained, that I never even tried doubting what she was doing. I looked at her for answers, but she kept quiet.

  "Give me your hand." She ordered and after a few seconds, I brought my hand up and reached for hers. She took it, and comparing to mine, her hands were cold. It felt like mine were burning from the inside, but when I placed my palm in hers she looked at me. Alarmingly. Her eyes simply shot to meet mine and from the look on her face it was telling me that they weren't burning just on the inside. "Do you trust yourself, Amelia?"

  I didn't think much, just blabbed. "No." And I didn't lie. My whole life, I've been trained to kill vampires, and when I met Dimitri... That simply changed. And I hated it. I loved him, most unbearably, but I hated the fact that I never saw it happening. I hated that I couldn't control what I felt for him, and I was weak on him. He was my weakness. So after that, I didn't trust myself with anything.

  "You should." Was all she said as I felt her taking my hand gently by my wrist and bringing it closer to the fire. I stared in the fire, but didn't move. I let her do it for some reason.

  "What are you doing?" Christian asked, but his voice was muted, faded, as all I was focused on was the fire before me. Calliope didn't answer, just continued. Feeling the heat, it crept under my skin, leaving marks of electricity travel down my veins, but that's all I felt. The more closer it get, the less heat I felt. It was enchanting, hypnotizing how the flames flared, spat. The shower of sparks was like a burning fountain that kept leaping up and down. Soon, I realized Calliope's hand was gone, and it was just me. But I continued, and when I got an inch away from it, I cringed as panic suddenly hit me. But I didn't back away.

  My heart just sped up, but I didn't have the intention to move. And so I didn't. I touched it. And felt nothing. Nothing. Like a gust of air, the fire bloomed as I simply wiggled my fingers slowly, waiting for the pain to hit. But again, nothing. The heat drew me in harder, the sparks enchanted me, and I was simply not present in that moment. And suddenly, like wind just traveled trough my fingers, the flame moved and something inside me snapped. Like a switch, I was awaken. I instantly moved my hand backwards and wide eyed glanced at Calliope.

  "How did you do that?" My voice came out weak and quiet as I was now suddenly aware of what happened, but somehow my heart still wasn't ready to accept it.

  "I didn't do anything. You should start learning how to take credit for what you do." Calliope answered standing up and reaching her hand for me. I made my way up on my feet and looked at Christian for a split second, but he just stared at me the same way I stared at him. It seemed like he didn't have further answers.

  I felt my breaths catching up, quick and sharp as I walked behind Calliope. She sat down, but at this point I didn't have the nerves to seat still, so I just leaned on the arm of the chair, waiting for what was about to come next. "I felt nothing." The words tumbled out, as I felt my hands slightly shaking. I looked at my hand, and there were no burns. No pain. Nothing.

  "Considering that heat is the source of your powers, I don't think you ever will."

  "What does that supposed to mean?"

  Calliope smiled and leaned back. After a few seconds she took in a long sighed before she started explaining. "Clíonas, they need an energy source. Something that can charge their powers. And yours apparently is heat. Fire, sun... You wouldn't be able to survive without it."

  I glanced back at the fire, and then back at her. A picture flashed in front of me in a split second. The flower. I burned it. And this... This was the answer to it. "How did you know?" My voice was raspy and quiet, I wasn't even sure if she heard me, but when her large sky-blue eyes looked up at me, I knew she did.

  "Amelia, my spell would've never worked if Christian didn't put your body near fire. He didn't know that, and neither did I, but you had luck." I looked at Christian, but he just rubbed his hands together while resting his elbows on his knees, and fixed the floor with his eyes, almost like he wasn't even present.

  I stood up and ran my hand down my face while turning my back on them and focusing on the fire again. It was too much. And it made me feel sick. Truly sick in the stomach. "What now?" I asked, turning to face them again.

  Calliope looked at Christian, and he glanced at her for a second before standing up and walking towards the alcohol counter. He was concentrated on filling his glass with the yellowish alcohol, but I still waited for some kind of answer. Closing the bottle, he took a few steps towards me and leaned on the headboard of the couch.  His eyes shot to mine. Black, not soulless nor lifeless. Instead they were like two pristine stones of onyx. But they held that fierceness and pride that never seemed to fade out. And now, they were the kind of darkness that wasn't dark.

  Taking a sip from his drink, he said. "Your training starts."