I landed in front of Elijah's mansion. Stepping forward and opening the gate with my silver key, I pushed open the heavy black gates and made my way to the entrance. I walked in through the front doors of the enormous mansion that had once scared me. Now it was a place of familiarity, somewhere I felt oddly comfortable.

The inside of the manor was dark. There were dim lights on in the foyer because people walked in and out of the mansion frequently. I ascended one of the two main marble staircases, averting my gaze from the grotesque paintings mounted on the darkly painted walls.

I had only been in Gerrard's room once. It was one night after a particularly grueling training session I had gotten from Gianna, my trainer in all things related to magic. It had been after a session where I was learning to control the elements, which is really advanced magic. I still hadn't mastered the skill and it was one that was absolutely necessary for me to know.

I stood in front of Gerrard's room and without knocking, I pushed open the door.

The room was dark. I whispered a spell to produce a dim light in front of me to illuminate my way. I realized that Gerrard wasn't the only one that was present in his room. Isobel was fast asleep in his arms. I felt a blush flare up onto my cheeks and I averted my gaze, feeling like I was invading his privacy.

Which I was.

I looked back up and brought the orb of light closer to his face. The brightness of the light as it got closer to his face made him stir in his sleep. He opened his eyes and looked at the orb of light. Confusion spread over his features and before I knew it, I was being suspended in midair, bound tightly by invisible ropes.

"Gerrard!" I hissed. He sat up and looked at me.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he hissed back at me, narrowing his eyes. Isobel was now awake too, stiffening because of the disturbance. I was slightly in awe at how adapted they were to potentially dangerous situations. They were both capable of being ready to attack at any second, whether in battle or having just woken up from sleeping. It was a trait that I was extremely jealous of.

"What are you doing here?!" Isobel said through gritted teeth.

"Will you let me down?" I asked angrily. Gerrard blinked and let me down, sliding out of bed. I was acutely aware of the fact that he was only wearing boxers. This only further deepend my blush.

"What are you doing here?" Gerrard repeated. Isobel brought the sheets closer to her neck and I dreaded to think why.

"I need to talk to you," I answered.

"It's nearly four in the morning, you idiot," Isobel seethed.

I hadn't realized it was that late. My mind was too preoccupied to think about something like time. I was full of emotions and I just knew that I needed to talk to Gerrard.

"I...oh..." I said, glancing at the clock mounted on the wall.

I felt Gerrard looking at me.

"Let me get dressed," he said after a few moments.

"Are you kidding me?!" Isobel asked.

"Look at her, Iz!" he exclaimed, gesturing towards me with his hands. Isobel glanced at me. And I don't know what it was that she saw, but I saw what looked almost like a worry crease form on her forehead.

"Ok. Fine," she said quietly.

"Just give me a minute," Gerrard said to me. I nodded and went outside to wait for him. He joined me a few moments later, closing the door behind him.

"Let's go somewhere else," he said. I agreed silently and followed him outside. He took my arm and we Transported on the spot. I felt the suctioning feeling encompass me, feeling as if I were trapped in a time warp. Then, the feeling was over and I found myself standing in a forest.

"Come on," Gerrard said, taking my hand and pulling me forward.

I followed him quietly, gazing at my surroundings. It looked like we were in the mountains somewhere. It was quiet and wherever we were, it was nighttime. The trees were tall and the forest floor was littered with dried, dead leaves and branches. I could see the night sky peeking out from above the canopy of the trees. The height of the trees made me dizzy, so I focused on looking forward instead.

We walked for a long time, not speaking. I didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually, we emerged from the forest to find a small lake. Gerrard pulled me forward to the lake towards a group of rocks. We climbed onto them and sat staring out at the still lake water.

I wondered at first why he brought me here. But as I gazed at the still, calm water before me, I felt the same serenity fall over me. I closed my eyes, extending my conscience to encompass every single water molecule. I could feel the cool rippling of the water wash through me, washing away my raging emotions momentarily until I reopened my eyes.

"Where are we?" I asked Gerrard after what seemed like a really long time.

"Northern Limestone Alps," he answered. "We're in Austria," he added. I nodded and looked out at the beautiful scene in front of me.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" he asked.

As soon as he asked, I felt the calmness of the water disappear. My mind became clouded again and my thoughts raged on and on. Without saying anything, I pulled the letter my mother had given me out of my pocket. I handed it to him. He took the pages, glancing curiously at me.

"What's this?" he asked before turning his gaze to the papers in his hands. He glanced down and realization crossed over his face. "This is your mother's handwriting," he said, his voice quiet. I didn't say anything. He took my silence as permission to read. I didn't want to look at his face while he read the message my mother left for me. When he was done, he folded the pages up and pulled his legs to his chest, crossing them and holding the letter in his hands.

"When everyone told me that there was so much I didn't understand, I thought they meant that it was magic I didn't understand. I thought there were still things about the war or about magic that I needed to know. I didn't know that the reason I wasn't told everything was because if I knew, then it would completely change my decisions. I was being used this entire time, strung along like a little kid that doesn't know any better," I said.

"Caley..." Gerrard began.

"And you didn't tell me anything, either," I said to him, my voice cracking slightly. I looked at him and he had the decency to look down. "I told you how much I trusted you. I tell you everything and I expected you to do the same. I trusted you, Gerrard. My mother told me I could trust you," I said. "But I'm not sure anymore," I added softly. I felt angry and betrayed. I felt like I was lied to. Again. It seemed like that was all anyone ever did to me, lie. Who could I trust if no one was willing to tell me the truth?

He looked up, a frown on his lips. His eyes were undiscernable, but they showed a storm of emotions.

"I wanted to tell you, I did. You think I liked lying to you? You're probably the closest person to me besides Isobel. But I couldn't," he said. "I couldn't tell you."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because I'm under the same oath that you're under. I had to take the Blood Oath, too. And Elijah told me I couldn't tell you about what actually killed your mother. I couldn't tell you, otherwise I'd be going against him and that would kill me," he replied.

I was silent. The quiet stretched on between us. I looked at my surroundings, trying to battle the emotions coursing through my mind. The trees' leaves rippled as the wind blew gently around us. The water lapped up against the stones we sat on, causing a disturbance in the quiet stillness.

It was a long time before he spoke again.

"Caley, you can still trust me," he said.

I pursed my lips.

I knew I could. If I couldn't trust him, then I couldn't trust anyone, and that wasn't something I could do at this point. I knew that my life was about to get difficult and I was going to need help. I couldn't do this on my own. I needed to be able to trust Gerrard.

"I've taken the oath," I said.

"I know," he replied.

"You let me take the oath," I said.

"I had to," he said.

"I'm going to die just like she did," I said.

"That's not necessarily true," he responded.

"But it's extremely probable," I said.

"N-" he started, but I cut him off abruptly as I felt the full weight of my inevitable destiny dawn on me.

"No, Gerrard! I can't follow Elijah's orders forever. Even when this is all over, I can't follow him all my life. At some point, I'm going to have to go against him. And then it'll activate the poison that's in my veins right now," I said. "I'm going to die the same way my mother did."

Gerrard furrowed his brows together, clearly not wanting to accept what I was saying.

"We'll find a way," he said.

"It's the most ancient kind of oath, Gerrard. There's no way we can find a way out of it," I said.

"Why are you giving up like this?" he asked, suddenly angry. "The Caley I first met was completely determined and dedicated. What's happened to you? Just because you've read this letter, doesn't mean you should give up on what you've been working towards," he said.

"I'm not giving up! I'm trying to accept the inevitable! What's the point of having hope when there isn't any?" I exclaimed.

"There's always hope," he said. I stared at him, my eyes flashing.

"Not for me," I said, turning my face away from his. "There never was any for me," I added.

"You're taking what your mother told you the wrong way," he said.

"She failed, Gerrard. She didn't break the curse on my family. And me? I've wasted all this time. I forgot what I was working towards all this time. I orginally joined Elijah because I wanted to finish what my mother started. But I got lost along the way and now it might be too late. I've fallen in love with Trey. If my disloyalty to Elijah doesn't kill me first, the elemental curse will," I said.

"That's not how the curse always works," he said. "Stop being so negative."

"Why did you let me take the oath?" I asked him.

"I told you. I had to," he said.

"It must have been so easy for you," I said bitterly.

Now it was his turn to be angry.

"You think it's easy not being able to tell you that Elijah's setting you up to destroy your life?! You think it's easy lying to you? To your face? Especially when you say things like how much you appreciate my help? Everyone assumes that I'm just like Elijah, because he raised me. I'm not, though. I'm not like him. I owe him my life because he saved me. But I'm not like him! I don't like deceiving you!" he shouted at me.

I was taken aback by his outburst, completely unaware of the extent to which he cared about me.

"I don't get why you care so much, anyway," I said.

"I don't either. But I know that for some reason, I feel extremely protective of you. Maybe it's the guilt of helping Elijah keep you in the dark. Maybe it's something else. But all I know is that I don't want to see you get hurt," Gerrard said. I could see it written on his face that there was something more. He did have a reason why he cared so much. He just wasn't telling me.

"I don't--" I began.

But then he cut me off.

"I didn't tell you everything," he said through gritted teeth. I pursed my lips together, forcing myself not to speak. "I didn't tell you everything about when Elijah found me," he said. "I had a little sister at one point. She wasn't related to me in any way. But I had met her in the foster home I was put into when I was younger. I wanted to take her with me when I ran from there, but I couldn't. The look of betrayal on her face when I left..." he said, trailing off. He clenched his hands together tightly so that the whites of his knuckles shone.

"I found out that she had tried to follow me after I left. Only she was kidnapped. No one claimed her and so the people who took her killed her," he told me, his eyes stormy and hard. "Every day I think, 'what would have happened if I had just brought her with me?' Would she still be alive?" he said.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"Because I see that little girl in you, Caley. And I'm not going to make the same mistake again," he said. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I looked away from him. What was this mess that we had all gotten into?

It was like the world we were living in was big disaster. Everyone was corrupt and no one could be trusted and there were only a few people that were left that were truly good. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. It needed to end. For those few good people's sakes.

"Gerrard, I can't do this on my own," I whispered to him. He reached out and turned my face towards him, forcing me to look into his eyes.

"You don't have to," he said. "I'm here for you. I've always been here for you."

And then I finally let loose all of the emotions raging inside of me. He pulled me close in an embrace as I sobbed into his shoulder. My entire body shook as I cried, feeling the pounding in my head worsen. I just wanted to be happy again, to go back to a time when things weren't so complicated.

But complications were always going to be there for me. It was like I was doubly cursed; cursed to never fall in love and cursed to never be happy.

After a long while, I calmed down. I shifted so that I sat between Gerrard's legs and he held me against his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my head and had his arms wound around me. We sat quietly together, watching the sun rise over the canopy of the trees. The sun rose into the previously dark night, shedding its hazy rays all around us.

"I have to find the countercurse," I said to Gerrard, staring at the brightening sky.

"We will find it," he replied, kissing the side of my head.

I felt reassurance fill me and I knew that I wasn't completely alone. I had Gerrard with me. I touched the delicate gold bracelet on my wrist.

I had my mother's faith with me.

________________________________________________________________________

A/N: I like Gerrard. A lot. Maybe more than Trey. But don't worry; there's nothing romantically involved going on between Caley and Gerrard. I tried to make it clear in this that he thinks of her as a little sister that he's trying to shield from danger. He's always been her protector, even when she didn't know about him.

Anyway. The end of this chapter sets up the theme for this book: finding the countercurse. We'll gain a lot of insight into ancient magic in this book.

Do you think they'll be able to do it? Do you think they'll find the counter? Or will Caley die like she thinks?

Leave me a comment below! And vote!

XOXO