“Nothing, Harry just wanted to talk to me and see if I was okay.” Aria told me and I crossed my arms.
It was weird. It was the first time Aria and I ate lunch separately. We’d been eating lunch together since elementary school. It might’ve been a minor thing for her and everyone else but it meant a lot to me.
“We also talked about getting me trained.”
That caught my attention.
“Trained for what? Are you in danger or something?” Was this what everything was about? Was Aria being targeted because of her connection to the werewolves?
I didn’t trust them.
“I dunno, but he says I should learn self defense.” She shrugged and drove into the driveway.
I paused, “Did he tell you why you were so important to-” I leaned in to whisper even though we were the only ones in the car, “the werewolves?”
“Yeah, Harry told me I’m like a princess,” She smiled proudly and that weird feeling coursed through me. Aria loved fairytales and princesses, it’s something she always wanted to be. So shouldn’t I be happy?
I finally realized that Aria hadn’t shut off the engine. This would usually be the time when we went into the house.
“By the way, Harry wants me to come to the castle to talk more.”
“Should I go?” I asked worriedly, clutching the strap on my bag.
“No, you have homework to do, right? I should stop being a bad influence on you.” She looked at her painted nails, not meeting my eyes.
“Okay, you can tell me everything later.” I got out of the car and closed the door, waving as she backed out and was out of view.
“Where’s Aria?” Mom asked as soon as I entered.
“She’s. . . hanging out with friends.” I was a terrible liar but at least she believed me.
“I don’t know about her. She has a lot of friends but her grades are poor, especially this term.” She shook her head, lines wrinkling on her forehead.
“She already got into college.”
“But they can still revoke her admission. That was the only one that accepted her. Oh, I forgot to ask, have you decided on where you’re going?” She changed subjects and I hesitated.
Right, I got accepted into seven colleges but I still hadn’t decided which one I wanted to go to. They all seemed good.
“Not yet.”
“Well, you better decide, they all want answers in the spring.” Mom told me before walking into her office.
I walked upstairs and drowned myself in homework. Piles of Math, English and History homework later, I finished with Biology. I knew my other partners wouldn’t help me, I was alone. Even and Law might not care about our project, but I did, and I had to get it done. With or without them.
During the last stages of work, I heard the garage door.
Aria came home late, the latest she’d ever come home. She missed dinner and the sun set hours ago.
“What’d you have for dinner?” She asked when she opened the door. Her cheeks were pink from the bitter frost.
“Pasta.”
“Good thing I had dinner there, then,” She patted her stomach, “It was really good.”
I closed my book and put it on my nightstand.
“So, why do you need bodyguards?” I asked curiously, propping myself up on my elbows as she dressed into her pajamas.
“Who? Harry. . . and Even and Law?” She feigned ignorance in hopes that I’d let it go, but I didn’t understand what was happening.
I nodded and she sighed, evading my question and walking into the bathroom.
“I can’t tell you, Hazel, they told me not to.” She sounded far away.
“I’m your sister,” Even said he’d tell me but he never did. What was the big secret?
“I can’t, I promised.” There was a sharp edge to her voice and I was scared I’d get cut.
Since when do you keep promises, I thought but bit my tongue. I didn’t want to make anything worse.
Aria walked back in and turned off the lights, her back facing me. She was mad at me.
“Good night.” I whispered.
She yawned in response.
*****
Aria was in a better mood the next day. She must’ve forgiven and forgotten, even though she was one to keep a grudge. Usually when she was angry at me, she wouldn’t talk to me for days. The longest we’d ever gone without talking was two weeks when I wore one of her rings.
“Since this is an English class and I think you’re all uncultured teenagers, we’re going to read a little mythology.” The class groaned as Harry passed out new books. When I got mine, I flipped through it. The book was small and worn but all of the pages were intact.
“Aren’t you gonna collect book numbers?” Someone asked and Harry shook his head.
“It’s only for today.”
“Wait, what kind of mythology is this?”
“Can we read about the Greek Gods?” Someone whined.
“Page eighty-four,” Harry barked and I quickly turned the pages.
The heading read SELENE.
“Naomi, read.” Harry instructed and she took some time getting to the right page.
“‘Selene was the immortal Goddess of the Moon, depicted as a beautiful woman on a chariot drawn by a pair of winged steeds. There were several other dieties associated with the moon but only Selene was represented as a moon incarnate. She is also called Luna.’” She stopped suddenly.
“Keep reading.”
“Can’t someone else do it, I hate reading-”
“Read.” He demanded harshly and Naomi sighed dramatically.
“Fine, ‘The most popular myth of Selene is of the lovers of Lucian and Cadence. Selene was lonely so she carved a boy out of the stars and named him Lucian. She gave him two hearts so that he could live forever and casted him down to Earth. He found a home within the deep emerald forest, particularly with the wild wolves. Lucian traveled the great moors for centuries but without a companion, he soon became very lonely. He decided to return home to the stars but his wish remained unanswered. One evening, Lucian journeyed to an abandoned river and laid down to stare at the stars, hoping for Selene to appear from the onyx night sky. As he left to leave, a woman appeared from the river. Raven black hair and white marble skin, Lucian was bewitched by her moonlight glow. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as she, and soon, he fell in love with her as she fell in love with him. He named her Cadence, after the strong, steady beat of their eternal love.’ Popcorn Aria.” Naomi said, obviously not wanting to read, and Aria cleared her throat.
“‘They were so very much in love that when the Moon Goddess Selene asked for him to return to their home in the stars, Lucian refused. He told her his love was stronger than anything on the entire Earth, beyond even the Heavens. Selene watched them and saw that Lucian would only ever love his beloved Cadence. So Selene gave Lucian’s second heart to his love, and from then on, every human would be born from the same heart.’”
“Thank you,” Harry commented and the bell rang, the last one of the day, “See you tomorrow.”
“That was a nice myth,” I said and she shrugged, taking out her phone, probably wondering if Ken texted her back.
“I’ve heard better.” We walked to the car but as we approached the car, Aria slipped on some ice and her phone flew out of her hands.
“Oh no, my phone!” Aria shrieked and quickly picked it up from the ground.
She blew on it, trying to get the melted frost off. It looked alright until I saw the new imperfection in the middle of her screen.
There was a crack in the glass.