Treasured Secrets (Coveted Saga #1) (The Coveted Saga) Read online

  She sighed out hard and took one of the pictures to study herself. "I know you miss it, but it will get better. I promise."

  I held back the teetering tears and slapped on my brave, unaffected face the best I could. I hated feeling offensive, and I'm sure Iris and George both thought I was an ungrateful brat.

  "It's just an adjustment," I muttered dismissively, though the strain in my throat sold me out.

  Her aged, soft hand grabbed mine, and she stroked my cheek with her other. Since I'd been there, this was the closest we'd sat. She actually felt like a grandmother at that moment.

  "Arisianna," she said softly, using my full name like only my mother did. "Change is hard for everyone, but it's necessary to grow and live. One day, you'll understand all this. For now... how about a story?"

  That piqued my interest. In Haluali, there was storytelling at least once a week. There were stories of magic, powers, unfathomable darkness and beguiling light. I was curious what sort of story Iris would tell. It had become obvious she was just as superstitious as my old tribe.

  "Sure. What sort of story?" I asked, leaning forward.

  Oddly enough, it was the first time I'd felt comfortable at Bradbury Manor. Some semblance of home came with the simple promise of a story.

  "One of magic, of course. One about us. Our family. Our legacy. Knowing where you come from helps you discover where you're going."

  I chuckled lightly. Magic. Iris was so eccentric that I believed she really did swallow the possibility of real magic. Nevertheless, I loved the stories that were wrapped around the impossibility.

  "So we have magic?" I asked, secretly teasing her.

  She smiled, and for a second, I swear I saw crescent moons in her eyes. I blinked furiously, trying to see if it was real. Apparently my tears had glazed over my eyes enough to play with my vision because the moons were gone.

  "Magic surrounds us all."

  And so it began. I heard of Isis Bradbury, the first conductor for magic. A woman with a pure light and a warm heart who fought against the dark forces of Dramus Craymon and his men. The dark forces were draining witches of their essences, stealing their strength before they gained their immortality.

  Isis found her soul mate, Merlin, who then became the first mortal to achieve immortality. The pair became two swords for the same cause - keep the innocent safe.

  Life or death has a way of putting things into perspective, and it's necessary to have in any good story, so Iris's story certainly poured on the consequences, making it sublimely enthralling.

  I hung on the edge of my seat as she spoke with the drama needed to push the story over the edge. My heart thudded with each description of the powerful magic beings she presented with such conviction. My breath was stolen when she spoke of the wars and deaths that came with them.

  Blazers who controlled fire. Electrics who shot out streaks of powerful energy. Healers who saved and took life in the same breath. Elementals who controlled the winds, the waters, the earth itself. Drainers who stole your memories and left you in a heap of lost confusion. Shape shifters called changers who betrayed the good force to be in league with the dark. It was amazing.

  Soul mates and destiny. Ah. It was a romance and a suspenseful tale in one. Allora, Dramus's soul mate, was killed to weaken him, but he ran instead of fighting to save her. Merlin loved Isis too much to desert her. They were stronger together because of their bond. It was enough to make me sigh in dreamy bliss.

  Dramus was the best villain I'd ever heard of, and Isis was the most sensational heroine I'd ever envisioned. One thing was for certain, Grandma Iris new how to tell a story.

  But the exciting story turned sad, stealing my breath with a painful resolve as it came to a close. Tears filled my grandmother's eyes as she stared off into space. It almost seemed like a memory instead of an old fable. Her voice cracked, her breath rattled, and her body tensed as she uttered the last few words.

  "Merlin fell, along with three of Isis's children. It seemed as though Dramus would win the war. But then Isis threw herself at Dramus, surprising everyone. She latched on, and then the darkness lit up with the explosion that ensued.

  "A powerful eruption threw them all back, and it decimated the remaining followers Dramus had with him. The scales had been tipped, the war was over, and the light had won, but the cost was grave. Only two of her children survived, and Isis and Merlin were no more."

  Ashes littered the air, and a blazing battlefield roared with dark figures swarming all around. Bright, blinding lights surrounded a indefinably beautiful woman whose name I did not know.

  She had exquisitely long blonde hair, and she was filled with the utmost grace and elegance, despite the war that was raging on around her. She was fighting against the dark atrocious shadow soldiers that were thundering toward her with a vicious, insatiable appetite for destruction and death.

  They were soulless and merciless as they obliterated all those blocking their path to her. The undeniable pungent smell of death surrounded them as they continued on with their terrifyingly ferocious attack. The monsters only seemed to grow as they made their way toward her.

  Rain pounded on them all like downward flying daggers as the battle grew more fierce between the monsters and the woman. She was throwing swirling blue fire and streaks electricity at them. She was bending the wind to do her will as it pushed against the dark forces like an impenetrable wall.

  It was almost like watching a dance as she leapt from place to place, launching her attacks. She was so amazingly agile as the power flowed through her with such indescribable intensity. She flew through them almost effortlessly, it seemed.

  Then the darkest shadow of them all stood before her suddenly. He was the epitome of evil itself, and he destroyed everything around her with one massively destructive blow.

  She screamed and cried out in agonizing pain when it seemed all had been lost. She threw herself at him and a colossal blinding white light suddenly erupted into the air with a deafening boom as the earth rattled beneath it.

  Very slowly, the smoke began to settle. The light gradually faded until it was gone. There was still a slight bit of smoke obstructing my view when the woman finally turned back around, but it was no longer her… it was me, and I spoke through an echoed tone.

  "Save them all."

  Chapter 3

  School and ... Boys

  You only get one chance to make a first impression.

  The alarm buzzed in my ear with such deafening and terrifying annoyance. I actually fell out of bed from the startling panic it had created. I felt foolish as I climbed to my feet and turned it off.

  I never had to use an alarm before. It was a horrible little invention. Who wants to be scared awake?

  My wild dream had left me restless for the rest of the night. No more bedtime stories from Iris on a school night.

  I got ready, wearing the ensemble that Aster and Ash had laid out for me. Then I went and applied my makeup, just as I had been instructed to do. I wondered idly if Iris was going to drive me or let me drive one of their vehicles.

  As I made it down the stairs, everyone was waiting for me.

  "Do you guys ever go home?" I asked to my siblings.

  They all chuckled as they came to stand behind Iris and George. "We had to see this," Jay said, a big smile on his face.

  "See what? Me on my first day of school? That's so... embarrassing."

  They all chuckled and shook their heads.

  "We have a surprise for you," Iris said, sounding giddy.

  "A surprise? Grandma, you've done enough. More than enough. I think you've spent more money on me than most people make in a year."

  "That's what happens when I have a lifetime to make up for."

  I huffed slightly, considering I hated feeling on display. I studied the crescent moon in the center of the eye that was etched into the fennel on the banner of the staircase. It seemed like a good focus point while they all gawked at me.

  "Come on,
girl," George said excitedly, startling me.

  "Oh," I murmured, not realizing the surprise they spoke of was elsewhere.

  I warily followed them outside, uncertain about what was going on, until I saw a BMW SUV with a bright red bow tied on top of it. A gasp followed my realization, and I whipped around while shaking my head.

  "I can't. It's too much."

  "You can and you will," George said with a wide grin. He looked like a child at Christmas right then.

  "This had to have cost a fortune. Don't give me a car. Give me a bus pass or something."

  They both chuckled, seeming wildly amused by my adamant refusal of such a lavish gift. George continued on as though this wasn't an absurd gift.

  "You've spent too long in the jungle, it seems. This is what grandparents are supposed to do - spoil their grandchildren. You should feel like a princess. Now, let's eat some breakfast before you head off."

  My jaw remained unhinged. The two of them were the craziest pair in the world to be giving me something this expensive. I barely had my driver's license. I'd only ever driven on old narrow dirt roads in the rust bucket jeep we had in Haluali.

  Jay clapped my back too forcefully, which threw me forth, and Chris - Aster's husband - caught me at the last second before I flew off the porch.

  "Easy, Jay!" Aster scolded.

  I coughed on a new breath, surprised by what the hell had just happened.

  "Shi... I mean, shoot. Sorry, Aria. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

  "It's fine," I mumbled, ignoring the burning handprint on my back. "Ease off the steroids though."

  Everyone chuckled uneasily, and a slight awkwardness settled in the air as we made our way back inside.

  "You okay?" Jay asked sincerely, regret in his eyes. "I didn't mean to do that so hard. I was just going to slap you on the back... a congratulatory thing."

  "I'm fine. Stop treating me like I'm so fragile."

  Of course, I felt pretty fragile right then. It wasn't exactly common to have someone knock the wind out of me.

  Normalcy resumed when Ash and Jay began bickering. That's one thing I didn't miss when they moved out. They left almost the exact same time to come back to the states, even though Jay was a year older. Ash was eager, not resistant like me.

  Iris finally brought the annoying argument to a halt by separating them as though they were children. I laughed while walking over to Jay. I studied the newlyweds, both sets. Aster and Chris were lost in a silent conversation as they stared into one another's eyes. Gear and Olivia were resting in each other's embrace while swaying lightly to an unheard melody. It seemed so natural.

  "So, when you getting married, hot shot?" I asked Jay, nudging him playfully and instantly regretting it when my elbow tried to crack against his steeled ribs.

  "Ha! You're funny. I'm in no hurry, there, jungle girl. I like my sweet little bachelor life." He put his head down, bashfully grinning. His dimples showed with so much definition when he smiled.

  Ash snorted. "Yeah, he thinks he's a real stud," she said sardonically while rolling her eyes and drinking a sip of coffee. Then with even more sarcasm, she continued, "Not trying to say that his ego may be a little overly inflated or anything."

  Jay scoffed, casually brushing off her insult. "Yeah, well, I do have Bradbury genes, and Weislen, too - makes it hard for the ladies to keep their hands to themselves. I guess the men don't care too much though, because they sure haven't been beating down your door."

  Jay started laughing so hard that his body was shaking from it. Then he ducked quickly as a biscuit when zooming over his head. It missed him and splattered against the wall.

  "Ashiara, clean that up right now," Iris admonished, chiming in to end the playfully heated argument between Ash and Jay.

  Then Iris turned her attention to Jay. "Jaymondian, you shouldn't be so cavalier about your love life. And you shouldn't tease your sister. She's waiting on the ideal guy for her. Soul mates are important, you know." Her eyebrows were raised to complement her scolding tone.

  "Yeah, well, I don't know if anyone could deal with her melodramatic attitude, so she may be waiting a while." Jay couldn't resist getting the last word in as he laughed at Ash who was still picking up pieces of the biscuit off the floor. It seemed like I was smelling smoke, but there was no fire.‌

  In a worried tone, I raised my concern to the rest of the group. "Does anyone else smell smoke?"

  Everyone seemed to glance toward Ash for some odd reason. She shook her head, lightly cursing under her breath, and then suddenly I couldn't smell it anymore. Ash finally acknowledged my suspended question since no one else seemed to want to.

  "The only thing I smell is a good for nothing, rotten brother." Then she stood up, still holding the particles of busted biscuit, and incredibly quickly shoved the crumbs in Jay's face, rubbing them all over him. It seemed like she moved as fast as lightning.

  Everything got graveyard quiet until I spoke. "Wow, Ash. You're a lot faster than I remember. Guess a lot more has changed than I realized."

  Everyone seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief. I wasn't sure what was up with that. I noticed something odd, too. Ash had a tattoo of the crescent moon inside the eye, just like all the markings around the house. It was in the center of her inner wrist. Jay's tank top revealed he too had the same tattoo. It was on his back shoulder blade.

  I chuckled lightly at the peculiar find - a mocker's fantasy gem. "What's up with that?"

  Jay tilted his head as he responded with a quizzical tone. "What's up with what?"

  I laughed again. "Did you two really get matching tattoos?"

  Ash touched her wrist in an awkward fashion. Then Jay grabbed his exposed shoulder as if he was uncertain about what to say. Everyone was somewhat reluctant to speak, it seemed. An unexplainable shift occurred, bringing a thick tension to taint the air.

  I noticed Aster was pulling her shirt together a little tighter, and Gear was tugging at the bottom of his shirt as well. It was all very baffling.

  Finally, a smile spread across Jay's face as he spoke with an overly teasing tone. "What can I say? Ash was always following me around. She had to do whatever I did." Ash glared at him as his teasing persisted. "Personally, I think it's kind of cute that she wants to be like her big brother. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery."

  The stove that Jay was leaned against sparked and a flame erupted onto his pants. I gasped and shrieked in one breath, but I seemed to be the only one to react, other than Jay who violently slapped his leg to put out the blaze.

  Ash even let out a comical remark. "Liar, liar, pants on… Well, you get the idea, big brother."

  Jay scowled at her as the last bit of the fire seemed to extinguish itself. He started to walk toward her as his face turned an angry crimson. A few pops rang out, bringing the his stalk to a halt. I shrieked when glass shattered all around. Light bulbs? Light bulbs were bursting simultaneously in every room around us.

  Yet again, it seemed like I was the only one who was concerned with the crazy occurrence. Iris merely rolled her eyes at the entire thing. George huffed in aggravation. No one at all even seemed the least bit surprised.

  Jay's shoulders dropped slightly as he spoke with a scolded child sort of tone. "I'll get the broom."

  Then Ash smirked as she replied with a more chipper and somewhat unjustifiably victorious tone. "I'll clean up the remnants of Jay's pants that are all over the floor now." I swear she seemed to enjoy the fact his pants caught on fire.

  Jay walked on by, cursing as his charred pants kept dropping little pieces behind him. How did his leg not get burned?

  I voiced my frustration for the complete indifference everyone was showing for the crazy things that had just occurred.

  "Would someone please tell me why Jay's pants caught on fire and then every bulb down here bursts, and yet I'm the only one who even batted an eye?"

  Everyone just stared around the room in the same awkward fashion as before. Everyone ke
pt looking at each other, waiting on someone else to answer. Gear was the one who broke the uncomfortable silence by answering my question with a deceitful sort of tone, followed with a distraction, his usual fashion.

  "Aria, these things happen all the time around here. You'll get used to it. The electricity in this house is old, and the stove has been needing to be replaced for a while. You should probably get going. School starts in less than thirty minutes."

  My mind went blank very abruptly when I saw the high school just a few hundred yards away. My stomach grew tense with knots. I had no idea what to do or where to go. I only had one thought come to my mind - Oh, this is going to suck.

  I pulled into the parking lot in my shiny, expensive BMW, and everyone gawked in the most conspicuous way. Not in a good way either.

  "No, not awkward at all," I grumbled to myself.

  George said he wanted me to feel like a princess. You need a lot of confidence to feel like a princess, and confidence was something I certainly lacked, especially at that moment.

  I parked beside a group of girls who snarled at me with distaste. One girl acted disgusted with just the sight of me.

  "Well, I guess I won't be their b.f.f.," I said sarcastically to myself while rolling my eyes.

  Then my passenger door flew open and an unfamiliar voice rang out as a girl jumped in.

  "It's going to be hard to be anybody's b.f.f. if you're sitting around talking to yourself."

  She was perky to say the least. Now I worried about who else might have heard me. Apparently my car wasn't very soundproof if she was able to hear that remark from outside.

  Her bright blue eyes were gleaming with pure excitement. She had blonde, super straight hair that stopped at her chin. She was dressed similar to the way I was, but she looked more comfortable and much cuter than I did.

  "So… My name is Taryn, and you're Arisianna, right?"

  She smiled at me, waiting eagerly for me to speak. I stuttered slightly, unsure of how she knew my name. "Ye...yeah." I shook my head, still confused, but then I continued. "Actually, I prefer Aria. How do you know my name?"