Chapter Three

            WHAT Is up with this guy? We sit in the tea room (yes, my parents have one) and I am nervously spinning my cup in my hands. Jonathan sits across from me, studying me. His quiet, intense aura is unnerving. He cocks his head to the side and smiles.

            “Okay, what is up with you?” I blurt then backpedal. “Not to be rude, sorry. I just…” I have no idea what to say. Another new one for me.

            He leans forward. “Why don’t we start with how special you are?”

            I glance at Teagan, seated next to me, and he shifts in his chair. “Just get to the point, please. Are you the bastard who has been following her?”

            Jonathan’s face darkens and he looks from Teagan back to me. “You’re being followed?”

            I nod. “I can’t get a good look at who it is though. Is my brother right? Are you the one?”

            He takes a deep breath. “No, but I have a good idea who it is. You wouldn’t understand yet, but they want something you have.”

            I spread my arms wide. “What don’t I have?” I mutter. “If they’ll leave me alone they can have it.”

            “I wouldn’t go that far. What they want you should never let them take. It’s part of you.”

            I am not sure what to make of this. He is the most attractive, strangest man I have ever met. That’s saying a lot when your father is the governor.

            “I am interested in seeing who this is…but first I have to see something.” Jonathan raises a finger to his cheek almost imperceptibly twitching it twice.

            My cup slips as my fingers flex, and I startle to see my porcelain cup falling slow motion to the wood floor. In the next instant, my hand is curled around the bottom of the cup protectively and I am kneeling. I look slowly at Teagan’s look of astonishment, then at Jonathan’s knowing smile, and drop the cup like it has burned me.

            “What the hell was that?” Teagan jumps to his feet. “Are you okay?”

            I feel lightheaded. “Um, I need to sit down.” Blackness envelopes my eyes and I try to find my chair. I hear scrambling and feel the fumbling of hands as the world melts away from me.

Another first. 

Chapter Two

                “ARE YOu okay?” Teagan’s careful brown eyes follow me as I plant my foot solidly on the heavy bag. It shakes away from me, and then comes back for more. I wipe the sweat off my forehead and nod.

                “I’m fine. Why?”

                “You have been quiet and moody for a week,” Teagan steadies the bag for me and I plant a jab, cross, hook, and uppercut in quick succession.

                “I’ve just been thinking,” I say between controlled breaths. “I have a lot to think about.”

                I don’t tell him about the weird shadow person who has been following me. I feel crazy enough as it is, there is no reason to verbalize it to my brother and best friend. He was adopted too, but I think he is secretly haunted by his own past. He has always looked out for me.

                Now, he regards me carefully. I stretch carefully and toss my training gloves onto the bench against the wall. “It’s really not a big deal,” I say sincerely, unwrapping first one hand and then the other.

Teagan snatches the wraps off the bench and carefully wraps them into a ball. “If it wasn’t a big deal, my sister wouldn’t be so off in her own little world that she would be down here for 3 hours banging up a bag without a break.”

I shrug. My hands feel permanently curled, and I know a hot soak is in order. He comes over and puts his hands on my shoulders, his gaze piercing mine. “Tell me.”

Before I stop myself, I blurt “Someone’s been following me.”

Teagan’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” I feel foolish now. “I can’t ever see them but I know they’re there. I can’t get a good look at them.”

“Maybe we should talk to Mom and Dad.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m sure it’s just my imagination in overtime. Forget about it.”

I take the basement stairs two at a time, and hear the rattling of bag chains as Teagan preps to do his own training. I draw a bath and soak for an eternity before dressing and seeing if he’s done yet.

There is a knock at the door. I hear our butler answering- good ol’ Charlie. Then, he seeks me out. “Miss Sabella? It’s for you.”

Tentatively, I come around the corner to see…blue eyes, scruffy jaw, thick arms, and quite frankly the most beautiful man I had ever seen. The air let out of my chest, and he smiled quietly. Like he knew some secret that I should already know.

“Ma’am, this is Jonathan Turner,” the butler introduced. Good ol’ Charlie. 

Chapter One

            IT IS A gorgeous day, with the sun in the sky and the reflection of 

the luxury cars in the driveway blinding anyone who looks out the large bay 
window in my parents’ living room. It’s my graduation party, and of course my 
parents spared no expense. From the chocolate truffles to the delicate pearl 
decorations, they have made sure everything looks beautiful, as befits the 
daughter of the governor.

            It hasn’t been easy growing up in the spotlight, but I can’t say my 
life has ever been bad. I never wanted to run away, certainly never hated my 
parents. Now, I am as grateful as ever for their love and generosity. After all, 
they didn’t have to adopt me or provide for me so lavishly that no one would 
ever know I was not their blood.

            I don’t even remember before they adopted me. They never hid it 
from me, and I always knew….maybe that’s why it has never bothered me. I 
was 5, they said, and even the shrink I saw always wondered how I 
remembered nothing. But if it was no matter to me, they felt they should 
leave it be…and so we went on about our picturesque lives.

            Now, as I celebrate my accomplishments in the field of history, I 
raise my glass to toast to the rather embellished speech my older brother has 
given. Teagan has always been a master storyteller, and today is no 
exception. Not only does he shine extra favor on my scholastic achievements, 
but he brings on a chuckle from everyone with silly stories from our childhood.

            I don’t mind. There are few things that bother me. We are having a 
good time, drinking wine and eating food that costs more than our staff 
makes in a month.

           “Would the Lady of Honor care to join me for a dance?” My father is 
at my elbow as everyone disperses to pair up on the brilliant wooden dance 
floor of our ballroom.

            I wrap my slender arm around the crook of his extended elbow and 
beam up at him. He is tall, solid, and graced with pepper-colored hair and 
goatee. As we dance, my lavender gown swirls with every movement, and I 
know we are the one everyone else is watching. It is only when I turn to go 
back to my seat that I see the figure in the doorway.

            I try to focus, but the figure is so dark I cannot make out who it is. It 
wavers in my vision, and my mother captures my attention with quick, wet 
kisses to my cheeks and a soft "You look beautiful, Sabella." She always was 
emotional. I look back to the doorway, but it is clear and bright.

  
          For the first time in my life, I am bothered by something. 

Prologue

          IT IS Time. I have watched, waited, and researched for 10 years. 
She has grown from a child into a young woman. An educated, beautiful 
woman with charm and sass mixed together in a volatile and wonderful 
concoction. She has grown up in a family of privilege, with the finest schools 
and anything her heart desired. Despite her family’s means, she is the most 
humble person I have ever met. Her personality draws everyone to her and 
she soaks it up, not in the way of someone who needs attention to feel 
validated, but in the way of someone who sees attention as a blessing.

          Who am I? I’m her only hope, at least according to the Oracle 
Readings. With Blackness coming, it is only a matter of time before her 
unique abilities will manifest. Abilities much like mine, although the Oracle 
Readings did not specify the details of them. I will have to find out myself.