Nevada

Michael is a warlock and knows the truth about Nova and I?! Why do I even get surprised by these things anymore?

I looked over at Nova to gauge his reaction to this newest revelation and saw that he wore a bored expression as he plucked a piece of bacon from the plate in front of us. It was obvious that he knew but then again, why wouldn't he know that? He was close to Michael, at least in some way, and Nova was also gifted with the ability to determine who and what someone was just by their energy. I had felt magick around him and the house but it hadn't occurred to me that he would be a warlock.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," Michael said reassuringly. "Besides I wouldn't let anything happen to Nova and, as his little sister, not to you either."

"Oh, uh, thanks? I think?" I responded unsure. 

Nova gave Michael a tight smile but he didn't hold Michael's gaze for longer than a few seconds. Michael's eyes flashed briefly with an unreadable emotion just as the sound of a phone vibrating on the counter drew all of our attention. Nova's phone was on the surface of the island in front of him, the screen lit up and a steady buzz emanated from it. He didn't move to touch it, merely scowling at it as it continued to vibrate.

"You can't avoid that forever, you know," Michael said once it had finally stopped. "You'll have to face the music sooner or later."

"Not today I don't," Nova muttered as he took another sip of his coffee. 

"Who was that?" I asked, feeling as if I already knew the answer.

"It doesn't matter," Nova replied as he stood from his stool and put his coffee cup in the sink. 

By his pained expression, I assumed it was most likely Hatter that had been trying to call him. Deciding not to press the matter for now, I looked over at Michael who was watching Nova return to his seat. With a shake of his head, Michael turned back around and began mixing pancake batter in a bowl, his shoulders slightly more slumped than before.

As Nova continued to send dirty looks at his phone, my mind began to wonder back to the house we had just left. Guilt and relief battled within me as the chaotic events of the day before played out in my mind. It was hard to wrap my mind around seeing my birth parents for the same time, especially since it had been nothing like I had imagined over the years.

Alana had been a surprise. She wasn't like I had expected her to be. I had always imagined her as a woman with an attitude, a quick temper, and a hard exterior. Instead she was soft and kind, sympathetic and understanding, and it was hard to look at her and be angry. How do you hold on to anger towards someone when that person when you can see the regret and pain in their eyes while they basically tell you it's okay to hate them?

I didn't hate her or Dominic, not really, but the pain of knowing that they not only let me go but also sent me away by choice was beyond words. How can anyone claim to love someone and then throw them away like they were nothing? I couldn't wrap my mind around it or the fact that Dominic had done it twice! He had sent away both of his children without a second thought and hadn't looked back. How were Nova and I supposed to just forget about that? Was it even possible to move on and go forward?

Then there was August; the vampire-fae hybrid that was best friends with the man who had helped create me but also the one I couldn't seem to forget about. His absence during those days had left me so drained, and I didn't understand how that was even possible but I knew it was because of him. The fevered dreams, the ache in my chest, the craving for his presence, to feel his energy caress mine even from across the house; it was as if I were an addict without my fix and it had nearly driven me crazy.

I could feel it happening again, being away from his house and away from him in this stranger's home. My body itched to go back and my mind was torn between the two. I didn't understand the need to be with him or near him, especially after such a short time. What I felt for August, it was unlike anything else I had ever experienced in my life, stronger and more intense than I thought was even possible.

"Gods! If you two don't stop your internal brooding, I might drown you myself so you don't have to continue doing so with your self pity!" Michael snapped in irritation causing both Nova and I to jerk our heads towards him.

Michael was standing on the other side of the island a platter of pancakes in one hand and a small stack of plates in the other. His jaw was clenched and his eyes had grown stormy as he glared at me and then at Nova.

"If you're going to stay here, and you want me to cloak your presence to hide you from… them," he continued more calmly except the last word was nearly spit into the silence between us, "then I suggest you two pull your heads out of your asses."

 "Shut the fuck up, Mike," Nova told him as he took a plate and loaded it with pancakes, unfazed by Michael's scolding. "You promised entertainment the next time I came to visit, remember? So, how about we skip the bore and talk about the good stuff you promised?"

Michael seemed slightly taken aback by Nova's words, his eyes widening a fraction before a slow grin spread across his face. An excited gleam filled his eyes but quickly faded along with his grin.

"Can't exactly do that with your sister here," Michael replied dejectedly, "but maybe we can still have some fun."

"I like the sound of that," Nova smirked, his eyes flirting with Michael as they trailed over his face. "What did you have in mind?"

"Should I, uh, leave you two alone?" I asked, trying to sound playful instead of uncomfortable even though I was. "I can take my breakfast to the room."

Michael's cheeks flushed as he tore his gaze away from Nova's and cleared his throat, "No, no, it's… there's… uh, you don't have to do that."

Nova focused back on his food, chuckling at Michael's stammering as he struggled to compose himself. Pressing my lips together to keep from smiling at the obvious effect Nova had on Michael, I nodded my head and looked at my plate.

In all honesty, I wasn't hungry and would have much rather crawled right back into bed but I knew Nova wouldn't let me. I picked at my single pancake, the murmured conversation between the two men not quite reaching my ears as my mind wandered all over the place. A dark cloud seemed to be hovering over me, my head filled with so many things and my thoughts in such a chaotic mess I couldn't seem to form a coherent thought. 

It was maddening to think that everything I had been through lately, that we had been through, was only going to get worse. I didn't ask for any of this, hadn't wanted it and still didn't want it. I had wanted to be a normal girl, going to college and getting a summer job at a bookstore, living with my best friend and maybe even meeting a nice guy. The universe had other plans for Nova and I, turning everything we knew into lies and pain, sucking the joy out of the life we thought we had.

A hand touched my shoulder tentatively, snapping me back to reality. I could feel my chest tightening with each breath, my energy vibrating through my body as my blood began to fizz in my veins and creating a low buzz in my ear. With the edges of my vision tinted green, I followed the hand on my shoulder,  as if I were in a daze, and met Nova's eyes that were filled with worry.

"Nev, you need to calm down, okay?" Nova said, his words slow and deliberate. "You're upset and your power is spiking, just relax, it's going to be alright. Breathe with me. In… out…"

I nodded weakly, knowing I hadn't consciously drawn on my power but I couldn't seem to follow his calming breaths. Tears filled my eyes and panic tightened my chest even farther as everything just felt like too much. It was all too much and I couldn't do it.

"Nev, hey, look at me," Nova soothed, cupping my cheeks in his hands. "It's okay, it's all going to be okay."

I tried to shake my head to argue but everything disappeared around me as something else filled my mind. I was no longer in Michael's kitchen, Nova nowhere to be seen or heard and I couldn't feel his hands on my face any longer. I was somewhere else entirely.

The world was bathed in darkness, the stars and moon hidden behind thick clouds as rain pelted across my skin. Smoke hung thick in the air as I looked around, fear wrapped around my mind in a tight embrace. The ground was littered with the bodies of the dead, faceless and with skin as pale as snow. I was standing in the middle of a battlefield, or what was left of one.

Laughter could be heard in the distance, voices floating on the wind and the words distorted. I squinted into the darkness in search of the source and was able to make out the shadowy forms moving leisurely through the charred area, weaving through the dead. Tentatively, I made my way towards them, unsure if they could see me or not but something in me propelled me forward just as I had before in my dreams. 

I knew this wasn't a dream, it couldn't be, but I had no idea how to get out of it and there was something here I needed to see. I knew it in my bones just as I knew my own name.

Approaching the figures, I saw that their bodies remained a hazy, smoke-like substance and their backs were to me, shielding me from their faces.

"We did it. We won, brother," a familiar voice said as I was only several yards away.

"Of course we did. These imbeciles didn't stand a chance," the other figure replied, this one male and also familiar. The man laughed darkly. "The world is our's for the taking and we will make it burn!"

As I watched, the two individuals turned towards me their bodies wavering and yet their faces remained solid. My mouth fell open in shock and I began to back away as their laughter filled the air around me, my feet slipping in the mud as rain came down harder and harder. They seemed unfazed as their cold eyes took in the countless dead around them, nothing of who these two were remained in their eyes. Only cold, dark hatred left behind.

"No!" I screamed. 

I felt myself fall and land abruptly on a cool surface, the impact jarring my body and shocks of pain zipped up my arm into my shoulder. I blinked my eyes and saw that I was back in Michael's kitchen, Nova hovering over me looking frantic. 

"Nevada! Are you okay?" He asked as he helped me into a sitting position. 

I no longer felt my energy threatening to boil over, but instead exhaustion swept over me leaving me disoriented. Adrenaline flowed through me but was quickly seeping out, my eyes growing heavy as I attempted to focus on his face.

"I… don't know… " I started but didn't know how to continue. Whatever had happened wasn't something I knew how to explain and I had no idea what it was.

"What happened?" Michael asked as he stood behind Nova's crouching figure. I only shook my head, unable to find the words.

Nova helped me to my feet, my legs shaky beneath my weight causing him to wrap an arm around me. He led me back to the guest room and I fell into the bed, my head feeling like lead. After making sure I was comfortable, Nova perched on the edge of the bed looking at me as if he had done something wrong. I took his hand in mine, tears gathering in the corners of my eyes as I looked at him and the vision of him flickered in my mind.

I didn't want that to be us. Was it somehow a flash of what would be or what could be? Was that our future?

"Nova… I saw… I don't know what it was but it was terrible," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. "I don't want to hurt people. I don't want to be a bad person."

"You aren't a bad person, Nev. You're one of the kindest people I have ever met," he replied softly, sounding sure of his words. "But I can't say you won't hurt anyone, no matter how much I wish I could. We are being hunted by countless people, for powers we never asked for or wanted. People are going to get hurt by us or because of us. There's no other way around it unless we give up."

"I don't want to do any of this. This isn't the life I was supposed to have, this isn't what I wanted," my voice broke as tears streamed down my face, my chest almost too tight to breath, "Nova, I can't look over my shoulder and hide forever. I don't want to be afraid anymore."

"I know," he said as he pulled me into his arms, my resolve breaking and sobs bubbling out of me. "It's okay to be afraid. If you were afraid of what the future holds, I would be worried."

Nova held me as I cried, his strength rolling over me as my body was wracked with sobs. It felt like I was just waiting to be swallowed by darkness, fate determining that I would be devoured by the dark abyss that lay in wait for me, for us both. I didn't know how to stop that vision from becoming reality, my gut twisted into knots at the idea. 

"I don't know what you saw or how it even happened, but you are a good person and I won't let you become someone you aren't." Nova assured me, his own voice wavering. "You're all I have and have been there for me more than anyone else; we will stick together no matter what happens. I promise you I'm not going to leave you, Nevada. I promise."

His words washed over me, comforting me until my tears began to subside and the tightness of my chest slowly faded away. I was still afraid, so many things were possible and nothing was set in stone. The possibilities were endless but one thing I knew for sure, it wasn't going to be easy. It was going to be dark and violent, our limits would be pushed to their maximum and we would have to stick together if we didn't want to crumble in its wake.

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A/N: let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed it!

See errors? Cool, point them out if you want.

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~SM~