Chapter five

“Vitalis, something is wrong with Arya,” Dean called out. She pulled herself away from Tristen.

“What do you mean something is wrong with Arya?” she asked, already running in the direction she had last seen Arya. Tristen and Dean followed behind her.

“We were just dancing, and she started clutching her head and screaming in pain. I didn’t know what to do, so I came to find you.”

“Where is she?” Vitalis asked. She was panicking—first Beatrix disappeared, and now this.

“I left her right here,” Dean replied, his voice shaky.

“Have you seen my sister?” Vitalis asked the two girls standing nearby.

“Yeah! I think she left,” one of them replied.

“I don’t think she’s feeling so well,” the other added, but Vitalis was already running toward the exit.

“Babe, calm down. I’m sure she’s fine,” Tristen called out, trying to catch up with her.

Vitalis ignored him. The car park was somewhat empty, and the rest of the school was locked.

“She’s not picking up her phone,” Dean said. Vitalis tried calling with her own phone, but it went straight to voicemail.

“Arya, where are you? Are you okay? I’m worried—please call me.”

“What if she went home? How possible is that?” Tristen suggested, and Vitalis nodded.

“I will drive you,” Tristen said, and Vitalis agreed.

“Dean, I need you to check everywhere in this school building. Call me if you see her—if you even see her shadow, you call me, okay?”

“Yes, got it.”

They arrived at the house, and Vitalis could already tell Arya wasn’t there, and neither was Beatrix. Vitalis was starting to hyperventilate when Beatrix’s car drove into the driveway. Vitalis ran and hugged her, feeling a little relief seeing her.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Beatrix asked, seeing her disheveled state. Vitalis explained what had happened—how Dean said Arya was in pain, and now they couldn’t find her anywhere.

“Have you tried ‘Find My Friend’?” Izzy’s voice spoke up from beside them.

“I couldn’t sleep. I saw you drive in,” she explained, and they nodded.

“Arya and I downloaded it last year—it can track her phone,” Izzy continued.

“Do it. Hurry,” Vitalis urged.

“It says she’s still at your school,” Izzy said, showing them the red pin that indicated Arya’s location.

“Tristen, we’ll take it from here. You can go now,” Beatrix said.

“Are you sure?” he asked, turning to Vitalis for confirmation, and she agreed.

Vitalis hugged him. “I’ll call you when we find her.”

He nodded, and with one last worried look in their direction, he left the family alone.

They all got into Beatrix’s car and drove toward the school. The pin stopped somewhere in the car park. They parked the car next to its exact location.

“It says she should be around here,” Izzy pointed out.

“There’s no one here,” Vitalis exclaimed.

Izzy kept walking around and looking at her phone. “Guys, I found something,” she called out.

“It’s her clothes—her phone is in it.”

They all looked scared now. Vitalis assessed the clothes. “They’re torn, and is this fur?”

“Let me see.” Beatrix took the clothes and the fur.

“Do you think—?” Vitalis started, but Beatrix cut her off. “No.”

They took the clothes and headed back to the house.

“I called the cops. They said they would send a team out to find her, but they think she might just be drunk somewhere,” Vitalis said, and they nodded.

They were back home, and Beatrix was rampaging through her room for something. She came out with a paper map of the town and state and a small vial of what looked like blood.

“What is that?” Vitalis exclaimed.

Beatrix sighed and said, “I’m going to do something, and I need you guys to remain very calm, and I need you to trust me, okay?”

They gave her wary looks but nodded in agreement.

“Arya is not like us. I’m afraid she might have experienced her first shift, and we have to find her before they find her first.”

“You’re not making any sense. What do you mean Arya is not like us? Shift to what?” Vitalis asked, and Izzy nodded, having the same questions.

Beatrix poured the vial’s contents on the map and held her hands over it. She closed her eyes and started reciting intangible words. Vitalis and Izzy watched in shock as the once-stationary blood started to move around the map. It looked like it was following a trail. All of a sudden, it stopped.

“What just happened?” they said at the same time.

“It’s a tracking spell. It’s meant to lead us to Arya’s exact location. It’s like your app, but instead of tracking her phone, it’s tracking her blood—with her blood,” Beatrix explained. They were both very confused, but they nodded anyway.

“So Arya’s in the woods?” Vitalis asked, pointing to where the blood stopped.

“No, there’s a barrier there—a strong one. That can only mean a faction’s territory,” Beatrix said.

“You’re not making any sense,” Vitalis exclaimed, running out of patience.

“You girls should sit down. It’s time you know the truth,” Beatrix said, and they did.

“No matter what, you cannot freak out,” she said sternly, and even though they were already freaking out, they nodded.

And Beatrix began, “Contrary to human beliefs, humans are not the only beings that exist. We are called the factions—witches, werewolves, fae, and vampires.”

“I’m sorry, what?!” Vitalis interrupted.

“Yes. We don’t have much time to discuss the history of it all, but what you need to know is that Arya is a hybrid—a werewolf and a witch—and if any of the factions find out about this, they might kill her.”

“Whoa!” Izzy exclaimed.

Vitalis sighed. “This is crazy. And it’s not funny—it’s beginning to sound like a prank.”

“This is not the time to doubt me, princess. We each have a part to play in the events that are about to unfold. I’ve done my best to protect you girls, but you can only hide from destiny for so long.”

Vitalis was about to tell Beatrix just how insane she sounded when a knock came from their door, startling them.

Vitalis rushed to open it. When she saw it was the cops, she said, “Thank you for coming, officers.”

“Those aren’t the cops,” Izzy muttered quietly.

“You’re right,” Beatrix confirmed. “Id pa balatàs.”

“Id sae,” they replied. To Vitalis and Izzy’s bewilderment, they transformed. They still looked human but with sharper and taller features. They had pointed ears like the elf creatures from movies. Izzy subconsciously retreated behind Beatrix, but Vitalis stood firm as if the intense pressure they gave off didn’t affect her.

As if things couldn’t get any weirder, they bent to their knees and bowed to her.

When they rose back up, one of them held out a box to Vitalis. “Inside this box are your memories. When you have them back, everything will make sense,” the other one explained.

As if being pulled by the box, Vitalis slowly reached for it and opened it. The second she did, a bright light engulfed her, and as it cleared, it was like a veil had been lifted from over her head. Everything was brighter, clearer, louder. She felt like someone had taken a remote control and cranked her senses all the way up. It took a second, but all her memories started coming back, slowly at first—faces, her parents, her family, her palace, her life, her powers.

“What is happening?” she heard Izzy cry.

She turned to her. “I’m finally awake. I’m whole again,” she said with a smile.

“What are you?” Izzy asked, but it was Beatrix who answered. “She’s a light fae.”

“It’s time,” Vitalis said after she had reoriented herself. “I must return back home now.”

“No, your home is here,” Izzy cried and hugged her.

“Iz, my dear sister, I know nothing makes any sense right now, and our lives are changing really fast, but this is our destiny, and we can’t hide from it any longer.”

“Vitalis is going home so she can grow and become stronger, while you and I have our own adventure. We are going to find your sister, but we will need help.”

It took a while, but soon they were ready

. As they went their separate ways, soon to meet again, destiny looked down at them and smiled.

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