Chapter 329

Tessa’s POV

I couldn’t sleep. My mind was too clouded with thoughts of my father and Penny. I spent most of the evening with Esme, Patty, and Claira, training my powers. I was surprisingly good at it too. I was a bit nervous to practice with my abilities after almost burning down the vampire village in the mountains with Anna, but it was easier to practice with witches who actually knew what they were doing, versus a vampire.

Esme said she was going to try and connect with those coven leaders and make sure they still have their crystals. If any of them is missing a crystal, we know we have a huge issue. How could Penny… or Eevee, even get those crystals if they truly were strong witches?

Still, I couldn’t shake the bad feeling bubbling in my chest.

Joseph’s phone rang just as I was finally drifting off to sleep. He groaned as he grabbed his phone off the nightstand, but he sat up when he glanced at the screen. I saw the worried look on his face when he saw who was calling.

“Headmaster?” He asked as soon as he put the phone on my cheek.

That caught my attention as well; had something happened to Ruby?

I waited with bated breath as Joseph spoke to the headmaster.

“Are you sure?” Joseph asked his brows pinching together. “And she’s requesting to see Ruby? How did she even know she was there?”

Joseph remained silent as he listened to what the headmaster said then I watched Joseph swallow hard.

“I’ll be right there,” he said, then he glanced at me. “Tessa will come too. I think Ruby will need her. Bring them both to that meeting room we were in last time.”

After another second, Joseph disconnected the call and quickly got out of bed.

“What’s going on?” I asked, following him out of the bed and grabbing a change of clothes from the closet. “Is Ruby okay?”

“I’m not sure,” he said honestly and then he looked at me. “It’s her mother. She’s at the academy.”

My heart fell into my stomach as I stared at Joseph. I couldn’t have heard him correctly. Ruby’s mother?

I didn’t know much about Ruby’s family. I knew that her parents were very uppity and rich. They lived a few hours away and they basically disowned Ruby for following her dreams. They always thought Ruby’s passion for fashion designing was ridiculous and made it known that they were never going to support her.

The only one in her family who actually supported her was her sister who passed away when Ruby was a teenager. Ruby does not have a good relationship with her parents, especially her mother, so she’s made it a point to never speak about them.

“How?” I finally got out.

There was no way in hell that her mother knew that Ruby was now a vampire. It made no sense at all.

“I’m not sure. But we are going to find out,” Joseph said with determination in his voice.

I nodded, biting my lower lip as I thought about what Ruby must be feeling right now.

After we got dressed, we were on the road.

….

An hour later, we arrived at the vampire academy. We were escorted by one of the elders onto the property and into the meeting room we had met Ruby in last time. When we entered, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t even know what Ruby’s mother looked like.

But I wasn’t expecting a gorgeous and tall blonde who didn’t look a day older than 40. She wore a business suit and stood in the corner of the room as if the table and chairs were poisonous. Her plump and perfectly full lips were turned downward in a frown. I imagined she must frown a lot and I suddenly felt nervous and self-conscious in her presence.

Ruby was seated and her head was held low; she was chewing on her bottom lip with worry and my heart went out to my bestie.

“Amelia Conrad?” Joseph asked, his brows pinched together.

Both Ruby and I looked at him expectantly.

“You know her?” I asked.

Joseph glanced at me before turning his attention back to Ruby’s mother.

“Well, yeah. She’s the head of the witch's council,” Joseph shocked me by saying.

From Ruby’s dumbfounded expression, I could tell she had no idea about this information either.

She snapped a look at her mother, her eyes narrowed.

“Mom, what?” She gasped.

Her mother, Amelia, wasn’t looking at Ruby's though. She was glaring at Joseph with her arms folded across her chest.

“Joseph Evergreen,” she greeted through her teeth. “Want to tell me why my daughter is now a goddamn vampire?”

“She would have died otherwise. Would you rather her dead?” Jospeh asked, his eyes challenging.

“I would rather her not be a bloodsucker,” Amelia said through her teeth.

Ruby quickly stood on her feet.

“So in other words you would have gathered I be dead,” Ruby said, shaking her head with disgust written all over her face as she glared at her traitorous mother. “Would that seriously be better?” I could hear the hurt in her voice and my heart cracked just a little more.

Amelia finally pulled her eyes away from Joseph and glared at her daughter.

“It would have been better than you being a monster,” she repeated. “You are a bloodsucker, Ruby. Do you have any idea how that makes me look? I can’t have a bloodsucker for a daughter.”

“How did you even find out about this?” I asked, my voice raising in annoyance.

“I’m the head of the witch’s council. There’s very little I don’t know,” she answered, her eyes never leaving Rubys.

“Care to explain how you are the leader of the witch’s council?” Ruby asked, standing to her feet quickly and folding her own arms across her chest, mimicking her mother’s stance.

I realized at that point; besides Ruby’s brown hair, she looked over much like her mother. They had the same facial features including the same eye color.

Her mother looked uncomfortable for a moment, which was the first sign of weakness I’ve seen from her since we got here.

“You weren’t supposed to find out about this,” she murmured. “You never showed any signs of magic, so I thought you had your father’s genes. Your sister on the other hand had my genes and she did have magic. It was the reason we sent you away to a boriding school and then later sent you to a college. Because we lived in a coven, and we needed to keep you far away from all things magic.”

Ruby’s mouth fell open.

“You were a witch this whole time?” She gasped. “Does dad know?”

She was quiet for a moment.

“He found out after your sister died,” she admitted, breaking her eye contact with Ruby and staring down at the ground, defeat written all over her face. “I tried to keep it from him as well. When she got into that car accident, I did what I could to help her. I used every bit of magic in me, but I wasn’t enough. She was too far gone and as much as I tried, I couldn’t bring someone back who is on the verge or past the point of death. It’s not in the Goddess’s will. There was nothing I could do. Your father was there when I tried, and he had many questions for me. I had ot tell him the truth.”

“You sent me away a year before she died,” she whispered. “I spent my high school years at a brooding school I hated so I wouldn’t find out about your magic?”

Amelia lifted her gaze to meet her daughters.

“It was in your best interest,” she said simply.

“I thought you pushed me away because you hated me…” Ruby whispered. “You hardly spoke to me… it was like you sent me away and then disappeared from my life…”

Amelia’s jaw clenched and I could tell she was struggling with her own emotions.

“I never hated you,” she finally said. “I didn’t approve of some of your choices. Fashion designing is not a plausible career, and I won’t change my mind about that. But I never hated you. I only wanted you to live a life away from the dangers and mess of magic. Your sister used magic to control her car and it got her killed. It’s dangerous when not used correctly and it’s even more dangerous with those who don’t have magic. You didn’t have any signs of magic, so we knew the likelihood of you ever obtaining powers once you came of age was very slim. The coven agreed that it was best if you went away.”

I saw hurt flash through Ruby’s eyes. I wanted to reach out and hug her, but Joseph took hold of my arm, holding me in place.

“But dad knows?” She asked.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded her head once.

“And he didn’t take it well,” she said slowly. “I refused to use magic on him to erase his memories of what he found out. That was my one rule…I will not use magic on my own family. But I should have…” she paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. “I should have sent him away too and kept him far away from all things magic. I should have kept him safe like I tried to keep you safe.”

“Is he still upset?” Ruby asked, her brows pinched together. “I thought things were okay between you two?”

Amelia chewed on her lip, almost sheepishly and a heavy feeling rested on my chest. Ruby could sense something was wrong too because she said, “Mom?” When it was clear Amelia didn’t want to continue.

“Your father is dead.”