Chapter 4:

"How am I... How are you..." I stuttered, searching my blank mind for the right words, words that wouldn't come to me.

"How am I here talking to you right now?" She clarified, amusement in her words despite the seriousness of the situation. I just nodded, too stupefied to speak. "Well, as you know I didn't inherit the power of magic from my mother. I took after my father, instead. But just because I don't have magic of my own doesn't mean I don't have connections here in the Spirit World to make this meeting happen with us. My mother is the reason you're here, but she wanted this to be just you and me. We do have a lot to talk about, after all."

"I can't believe I'm meeting you." I breathed out. "I seem to meet with a lot of dead people lately."

She laughed, a light, breathy laugh. It seemed to fit her perfectly. She was so regal, ethereal almost. She had a glow to her that wasn't natural to the human world, but was beautiful none the less. She had a mess of raven hair, tumbling over her shoulders and down her back, a slight wave to the smooth locks. Her russet eyes were glistening with tears, but they didn't fall, although she had a dried up trail of tears staining her ruddy cheeks.

I knew what she looked like – I had obviously seen pictures – but seeing her in person was different. It was obvious to me that Finnian had gotten his looks from his father, minus his tanned skin and dark hair. His father was Irish, so he was a pale, strawberry blonde haired man. Minus the drastic difference in certain aspects, Finnian had received his father's bone structure, nose, lips, smile, eyes, and build. And from what I'd heard, a lot of his personality traits as well. But I could see his mother in him. I could see the slight resemblance. He had received the best traits from both of them to make the most beautiful man I had ever seen.

"This must be unusual for you." She smiled at me softly, her tone understanding and compassionate.

"I would say yes, but nothing seems unusual to me anymore." I answered dryly, laughing slightly despite myself.

"You have had a rough time of things lately. I'm so sorry I couldn't help you more. But I hope you realize how happy I am that my Finnian was able to find you. You bring out a side of him that died a long time ago. You saved him."

I snorted in frustration. "If that were true, he would be with me right now. I'm the reason he's in the position he's in."

"Now stop that. You aren't to blame. Olga is to blame. She's a cancer to the living world that needs to be snuffed out." She sneered, the calm, serene look disappearing, a fierce, pissed off Queen in her place.

"Agreed. But if I hadn't been angry at him, if I hadn't blamed him-"

"Kendall," She moved forward, grabbing my hands in her cold, soft palms. "Finnian doesn't hold that against you. He loves you. He wouldn't want you to torture yourself because of this. You need to focus your energy on Olga, not your own self-blame."

"How do you know he still loves me? He won't even talk to me." My voice sounded small, broken. I had held it together in front of everyone else, but I couldn't in front of her. She was his mom. She made me miss my mom even more.

"That's not because he doesn't love you. He's protecting you." She replied softly.

"What do you mean?"

"Olga wants the Simeonov Gemstone. Sage told you that, yes?"

I just nodded, although she confirmed to me that Sage was who she said she was.

"In order to track the stone, she needs to channel both you and Finnian. She has Finnian, but she doesn't have you. If his mind connects to yours, she can connect to you as well. If she gets the stone, all she has to do is use her connection to you two to unlock the power. She'll be immortal. Truly immortal."

"Sage already told us this. We have to keep the stone away from her and get Finn back. I don't understand how this is supposed to help us."

"What Sage didn't tell you is that you've had the stone the whole time." A ghost of a smile hovered over her lips as she told me that.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I whispered in horror. The stone was the key to finding Finnian. If we had access to it this whole time and hadn't used it to get him... I would never forgive myself. I just kept letting him down.

"I mean, you have the stone. You've always had the stone. My mother made sure of that."

"I don't have a stone. I don't understand."

"You will, sweet girl. Tell my babies that I love them and I'll be in contact again soon. I'm proud of you, Kendall. There is no one else that I would rather have as my successor."

"What-" Before I could finish my thoughts, I felt a cool touch against my temples and I was suddenly in another world.

It was what Sage did to me all over again. My head was beginning to throb with all the traveling my mind was doing while my body stayed in one place. I rubbed my forehead, trying to ward off the ache as I took in my surroundings. It was familiar, although I had never been here before. Not physically, that is. It was the room Irina had been in in the vision Sage had shown me. It was obviously her work space. She stood in front of the blazing fireplace, rubbing something in the palm of her hand that I couldn't make out. The room was dark except for the roaring fire. Not even the moon shed any light as rain and wind beat against the thin glass windows.

Irina was wearing a long, silk black robe. It was tied under her bust and trailed down her legs, past her feet. It drug a few inches behind her heels. Her raven hair was pulled back into an elegant braid, a few strands falling out and framing her face. She looked just as beautiful as last time, although this time she didn't look like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. She looked inquisitive, but she didn't look like she was ready to die. It was like her reasons to live hadn't stopped living themselves yet.

My suspicions were confirmed when a gentle knock emitted from outside the door before it slowly opened and Raina emerged from the hallway.  Irina pocketed the object that had been in her hand and moved away from the fireplace over to Raina, whom she pulled into a tight hug before kissing each of her cheeks.

"Lyubimets.  Lipsvashe mi, sweet girl." She spoke to Raina while cupping her cheeks, her accent thick, especially when she spoke in Bulgarian.

"I missed you too, Mama." Raina told her. Her accent wasn't nearly as thick, but you could hear a slight twang to it. "I'm sorry it's been so long."

"Gluposti. Nonsense. You are not only a Queen, but a mother to two beautiful babies. No apologies necessary."

"Thank you for being so understanding. How is Tatko and Novena?" Raina questioned as they moved over to the sofa in front of the fire place. They both sat down and turned to face each other, Irina took Raina's hands in her own.

"They are well. Tatko is away on a hunting trip with Chicho Anton. Novena is away, studying with Iliya. Much to learn still, that one."

"I'm glad all is well. How are you?"

"I am well, although that is not why I called you here."

"What is going on, Mama?"

"I had a vision that I needed to inform you of. Unfortunately, this was something that needed to be discussed in person, which is why I had you travel all this way."

"What happened?"

"It was about young Finnian, darling."

Raina's face turned worried, her eyes widening in fear. "My Finnian?"

"Da. It would seem our Finnian has quite the exciting fate in store for him. His mate as well."

"What?"

"They are the two halves of Ivaylo's soul. They are the heart of the wolf."

"My baby is the one in which our ancestors spoke of?"

"Indeed, he is. He will be very powerful. They have much to go through, but with the right tools, they can succeed."

"What are the right tools?"

Irina smiled tenderly and reached into her pocket, pulling out what she had been fiddling with before Raina arrived. I gasped when I saw it, although they couldn't hear me. It was the pendant my mom had given me for my high school graduation. It was a rectangular shaped emerald as long as my thumb with gold embellishments and a rust gold colored chain. She had given all of us a family heirloom for our graduation and she had told me she saved that one for me because it matched my eyes. How did Irina have it now?

"The Simeonov Gemstone?"

"Indeed, my dear. This is the key to Finnian and Kendall's power. It's the key to their survival."

"Kendall?"

"Kendall Keating. Finnian's mate. She has not yet been born. She won't be born for some time. But when she is, she has quite the destiny awaiting her."

"What do we need to do to aide them?"

"Get this stone to the one person who will guarantee Kendall will get it. The one person who cares about her more than anyone else will besides Finnian. Her mother, Abigail Keating."

Before I could see anything else, I was transported once again. This time, I couldn't stop the tears from building in my eyes as I saw where I was. I was home. I was in my living room, although it looked a little different. The carpet was an ugly shag carpet and the walls were a horrid fake wood paneling. But it was the same house, just poorly decorated. Mom was sitting on the couch, a baby Brody in a baby rocker on the floor next to her feet, sleeping soundly. Raina was sitting across from her.

"Thank you so much for allowing me into your home, Abigail."

"Of course, my Queen. I must admit it is quite the surprise though."

The tears spilled over at the sound of my Mom's voice. I never thought I would hear it again. I never thought I would see her again. I cupped my hand over my mouth, trying to contain my sobs so I could hear what they were saying.

"I imagine that it is. But unfortunately, this could not wait. I normally would call in advance before showing up at someone's house."

"Well, what can I do for you, your Highness?"

"Call me Raina, please."

Mom nodded, but didn't say anything else. She just waited for Raina to answer her question.

"I need you to give this to your youngest child when she reaches adulthood." She stated seriously as she pulled the pendent from her clutch in her lap. "I know this seems like a strange request, but this will save her life."

"Her? I'm going to have a daughter? How do you know this? Why us?"

"You will have several children. But your youngest will be a girl, yes. She will be very important to the werewolf species. Unfortunately, I cannot give you more information than that. I know this may seem difficult to believe, but my mother is a very powerful witch. She had a vision that this stone from my family line will be the key to your daughter's survival."

"But you can't give me specifics." She stated, rather than asked.

"Yes. Please, try and understand that this is what is best for her."

Mom looked thoughtful for a few minutes, like she was pondering it over. Finally, after several minutes, she looked back at Raina and responded. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect my children." She held out her hand and Raina sat the stone in my Mom's palm. "Can I tell her of this visit when I give this to her?"

"No. She needs to discover her own destiny when the time is right. We just need to give her the tools for when she does discover that destiny."

Mom nodded in acceptance. "I always knew my children would be destined for greatness."

"You have no idea, Abigail."

It ended just as abruptly as it started and I gasped as I shot up from my bed. I was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and my heart pounded erratically in my chest. I put my hand to my chest as I tried to slow my breathing. Once my breathing and my heart slowed, I jumped out of bed, flinging the damp sheets off my body. 

I threw open the closet door, not even noticing that I flung it so hard into the wall that the handle dented and stone wall cracked. I flipped the light switch and started pulling the drawers open so hard that they fell out and everything cluttered to the floor. I ran my shaking fingers through my hair, tugging harshly as my eyes searched for what I was looking for.  I remembered that I wore it to my parent's funeral.  I'd brought it down to the room I stayed in on the first floor.  My eyes traveled to the still full suitcase in the corner of the closet that I hadn't touched since I brought it back upstairs.  I threw open the top.

Finally, I saw it. I saw the green gem peeking out from under a black dress. I fell to my knees in front of it and threw the dress to the side. It had been the dress I wore to my parent's funeral. That was the last time I wore the pendant. 

I gingerly picked up the stone and inspected the jewel that I had seen a million times before. But I didn't even recognize it now. It was something different now. It wasn't just an expensive necklace from my mom anymore. No, now it was the key to finding the other half of my soul and saving us both. Now it was my salvation. Now it was everything.

I couldn't stop the memory of what my mom told me when she'd given it to me from entering my thoughts.

"Kendall, I don't know where your life will go or where it will take you after this, since I know you have such a big destiny awaiting you, but just know if you ever need me, I'm always with you. I hope this necklace will remind you that you have people who love you and who you can lean on. And that will always be your saving grace no matter what situation you may find yourself in. This stone will be your saving grace."

If only she'd known how right she was.  

I'm coming for you, Finnian.