Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Chapter 82

I watch as Katherine's tongue slides across her front teeth with her mouth closed, considering how to answer. She never takes her eyes off of me, trying to gauge my temperament. The women sitting behind her whisper quietly to each other, looking nervous.

"It was a mistake," she finally clears her throat and says very matter-of-factly, "We have a lamp called the harbinger lamp. Mother lights it when there is an imbalance among the Manae that needs to be rectified. She lit the lamp purple, which means we needed to summon you to help with a problem with the Dark. I left this responsibility to Amari and Tessa. Tessa took things in her own hands and, based on past experience, took a forceful route instead of a peaceful one."

I watch as Amari looks at her hands, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Cora, how were you involved?" I look at her confused, "You were in that room with Tessa."

"I was summoned as well. To help with you, Kas," Cora looks at me as if she is asking for forgiveness.

I can't tell if she worded her phrase correctly or if her English is not refined enough to convey her message. 'Help with me'?

"When Cora and I arrived at our estate, we found out you were being held in the Waiting Room. We came right away, but you can't just get out of the Waiting Room. We needed to convince you to leave," Katherine looks slightly guilty as she explains.

"The Waiting Room? Is that the place I saw Tessa and Cora? The place I drank from that old goblet?" I try to recall the few details that I can still remember.

'You remember the Waiting Room? That's impossible," Katherine's expression becomes horrified.

I'm feeling more annoyed now, "I remember there was a cot. Tessa standing in the doorway and Cora gave me a cup to drink out of because a voice on an intercom said that was the only way I could go home. Then I almost drowned in a portal that appeared at the bottom of the pool at our pack house."

Katherine glares at Amari. I see Amari's eyes glaze over as the two have a mind link conversation. A look of fear and regret crosses her naturally gentle face.

While they are distracted, I quickly mind link Marco, "Do you know what the Waiting Room is?"

"No. The Alpha didn't mention nothing like that."

"Alright, then I need you to pay attention," I order him.

Tm sorry. What is the Waiting Room?" I ask as calmly as I can manage, interrupting their silent conversation.

As the question comes off my lips, Tessa walks up the path behind me and puts her hand on the back of my chair.

She answers my question with no emotion in her voice, "It's a magical holding room. Once someone is inside for over a minute, they can't get out unless they drink from the goblet. The person trapped inside is called a 'waiter'."

She stops and looks at Katherine. Katherine nods for her to continue, "If the waiter tries to use magic inside the room or anyone tries to get in the room using magic, the waiter receives an electric shock. Strong enough to make them pass out and forget about everything that has happened in the room before the shock."

I look at her questioningly, "Go on."

"The waiter wakes up not knowing how they got to the Waiting Room or how long they've been there. Same thing happens if they try to escape through the door. Touch the door. Zap," she raises her eyebrows at the word, 'You can't get in. You can't get out. Not without drinking from the goblet."

I feel Lex starting to bristle and pace in my mind. She stops and snarls," THAT'S what that place was?!"

"Lex, I need you to stay calm until we have more answers," I scold her.

She doesn't answer, she just huffs and keeps pacing.

"So it's a magical torture chamber? Who would make such a place? And why would you put me there?" My voice cracks when I speak. I'm trying my best to control my emotions, but I look down and see my violet aura glowing from my hands. I squeeze my eyes closed and push the anger down with a deep breath, trying to remind myself that I'm in the human world. Losing control would be bad.

I open my eyes and glare at Tessa. She presses her lips together and gives me a resigned look, dropping her shoulders and sitting down.

"The Goddess Mesperyian built it. For you and the rest of the Dark," she admits, her face flushes with embarrassment as she looks at her feet, "And I put you in there because you have already killed me in three different lifetimes. I'm not making that mistake again if I can help it."

I stand up and put my hands to my mouth, 'The Goddess of Torture built a chamber specifically for the Mavri Magea? The actual daughter of Hades and Persephone?"

I stop short when I realize what I just said. Persephone? I turn and look at Cora, "A-are you her? Don't lie to me."

"I am not the Goddess Persephone you think I am. I am only named after her because I had to be," Cora says bluntly.

Had to be? What is that supposed to mean? I stop and lift my head up to the glass ceiling. The more questions they answer, the more answers I need. I feel like I am getting nowhere. Actually, I feel like I am losing ground. The more I know about who I am and the more I know about my sisters, the less I want to be associated with them.

I see little birds flying freely outside the glass dome without a care in the world. Lucky little bastards. Take me with you. I close my eyes, waiting for the little wish to come true, even though I know it won't.

I look back at the women sitting uncomfortably in their seats. I cross my arms in front of me and start pacing. Where to start? What information is the most important for me to know? What is least likely to make Lex want to take control and literally chew my sisters out of existence? Will Bronx snap all of their necks if he finds out any of this information? I

"Alright. I'm going to ask you questions and I want straightforward answers. I am sick of these answers that don't really answer anything. If I sense you are holding back information, I am getting my mate involved. Do I make myself clear?" Katherine's eyes grow wide and she nods her head. The other three follow her lead. Behind them, the rest of the women also nod slightly. I don't think they are even doing it. It's like they are just obedient puppets. "Okay, Katherine, why was I summoned? What is happening that this lamp turned purple?"

"One of the Dark has-

"Mavri Magea," I say with a little growl. I can understand why Leticia is annoyed by the term 'The Dark' now. Words have power and now that I know it, the name of my faction is important to me, "Don't be disrespectful."

"My apologies. One of the Mavri Magea has begun killing Guardians. Her name is Leticia. We don't know where she is or why she's doing it. It's your responsibility, as the leader of her group, to stop her," Katherine explains calmly. I nod to her respectfully and move on.

I eye Tessa carefully. I know she just lost her mate but for someone who is supposed to be a warrior, she sure can't seem to handle stress very well," Tessa, I need you to compose yourself because I have a ton of questions for you. First one being, how long was I in the Waiting Room? And the second is, how many times did I touch the door? How many times did I get shocked and lose my memory?"

Tessa's lip trembles, 'You were there for four days. I thought on day two Lex was going to convince you to listen to what we had to say, but you were stubborn. You tried to get out at least fifty times."

The dark storm cloud that has been following me around grows in my mind. Thunder and lightning form inside of it, darkening my thoughts. So she has no problem with torture. A torture designed for specifically for me and the Mavri Magea. Part of me wants to set Lex loose on her. She says I've killed her three times. It sounds like a fourth wouldn't be such a bad thing. The more rational side of me wants more answers, so I push the storm cloud away. "After I drank from the cup, why did you come searching for me? Why did you disguise yourself to get closer to me?"

"I wanted to see if I could fix my mistake. Convince you to come back to Greece with me to help stop Leticia. A-and I thought if she had gone too far down the path of dark magic, that you would need protection too. You said I looked like Bronx's sister, so I disguised myself," her tone is soft but steady.

"Why was your mate in the basement of the Silver Moon packhouse and why did he lure a six-year-old girl down there by herself?" I don't stop the snarling growl in my tone.

Katherine holds her hand up, "I sent Alexandras and several of the Sentinel to find Tessa. Once Bronx released that statement to the media, I knew she would be in danger if he found her before Alexandras did."

"And he was at Silver Moon to find out if you were dangerous or working with Leticia. He needed to determine how much of a threat you are to US," Tessa says, looking back at our sisters. The four women with green eyes and black hair all nod, confirming her statement.

"What would you have done if you found out I was a threat to you or if I was working with Leticia?" I cock my head to the side. Lex's temper is hanging on by a thread.

Tessa's eyes dart around the room. She looks a little confused, like she can't believe what she is about to admit to, "I-I don't know. I probably would have left you in the Waiting Room. Keep you alive as long as possible, so it would take longer for you to be reincarnated. Another sixty or seventy years maybe?"