Chapter 330

Tessa’s POV

I saw the moment Ruby’s heart shatter because she fell into her seat, tears clear as day in her eyes. I knew she wasn’t close to her father, but she didn’t want him dead. This time, I did go to my friend to comfort her. I pulled away from Joseph and he let me.

I sat beside Ruby and wrapped my arms around her. She didn’t even flinch or stiffen because of my close proximity. She allowed me to pull her close to me and tears finally fell from her eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to her.

“How exactly did he die?” It was Joseph who asked the question that Ruby couldn’t get out.

Amelia’s body stiffened as she glared at Joseph.

“It was a rogue vampire,” she said through her teeth. “It happened a couple of years ago.”

“What?” Ruby asked, her eyes napping to her mother. “He’s been dead for a couple of years, and you didn’t think to inform me?”

“I didn’t know how to explain his sudden death,” she admitted. “Not without telling you the truth.”

“And you thought I couldn’t handle knowing the truth?” She asked, more tears flooding out of her eyes. “Do you respect me that little?”

“Of course not, Ruby,” Amelia said, sighing and shaking her head. “Everything I did was to keep you safe, but it ended up being pointless because you are now one of the monsters who killed your father.”

“Don’t pin me with them,” Ruby hissed, anger consuming her. “I am not a rogue vampire and I’m not a monster.”

“Ruby is actually one of our top students. With how she’s performing at the school, she will be graduating early,” the headmaster agreed, giving Ruby a small smile.

It warmed my heart knowing Ruby was doing well here.

“They are all the same,” Amelia said through her teeth. “We will never have an alliance with vampires. Witches and vampires will never get along.”

“I’m marrying a vampire,” I blurted.

Her dark blue eyes grew even darker as she glared at me.

I glanced over my shoulder and looked up at Joseph, giving him a small smile which he returned instantly. Then I glanced back at Amelia while rubbing small circles around Ruby’s back, trying to give her a sense of comfort and reassurance.

“Your daughter is extremely gifted; she’s also incredibly brave, smart, and the kind person I know. She’s not a monster. She was dying and her life was saved. She’s doing everything she can to rejoin society and return to her normal life.”

“She will never have a normal life,” Amelia growled.

“And that’s a bad thing?” Ruby asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “You don’t have a normal life. You kept me in the dark my entire life and you didn’t even bother to tell me that my father was dead. How could you keep something like that from me, Mom?”

Amelia swallowed the lump in her throat.

“I was only protecting you,” she said again. “I’m sorry if you can’t understand that. But as a mother, I do what I can to protect my children.”

My hand immediately went to my belly.

“I understand what you mean,” I found myself saying, bringing everyone’s attention to me. “I’m going to be a mother too and I will do what I can to protect my baby. But I won’t ever lie to my child or keep them in the dark. I won’t ever make them feel inadequate or unloved. Quite the opposite actually. They will always be included in my decisions, and I will always keep them in mind when it comes to my actions. What you did to Ruby her entire life was wrong. You could have had a better relationship with her. She’s the best person I know and it’s a shame you never got to know the real her. But she’s going to be a kickass vampire and an even better prophet.”

Amelia’s brows shot up to her hairline as she looked at Ruby.

“A prophet?”

Ruby sniffled and wiped the remainder of her tears off her face.

“If you had spoken to me and told me any of this, I would have told you about my new gift,” Ruby said, narrowing her eyes at her mother. “The Moon Goddess chose me to be the prophet of the Saving Grace.”

Amelia’s mouth practically dropped open at Ruby’s confession. It was clear she had heard of the three Prophets.

“You have a power?” She whispered.

Ruby nodded.

“I can see chaos and change the outcome,” she explained. “It didn’t start happening until I became a vampire a few months ago.”

“I see,” she said almost thoughtfully. “And what kind of visions have you had so far?”

Ruby tensed and then looked at me as if she was asking permission to tell her mother about the visions she’d been having. I wasn’t really sure either, so I looked at Joseph, silently asking his permission.

His eyes turned to question as he glared at Amelia; it was obvious he didn’t trust her, which was enough for us to keep our mouths shut and let Joseph do the talking.

“Are you only here to confront Ruby, or is there another reason you came all this way?” Joseph asked, ignoring her question.

She turned her eyes to Joseph, and they narrowed.

“I came here for Ruby,” she said simply. “But I was also invited to a banquet this weekend.”

My heart fell into my stomach.

“Megan Huxley’s banquet?” I asked.

She looked at me surprised.

“Well, yes,” she answered. “I’m one of her biggest sponsors. How do you know about this banquet? I thought it was an invitation only. Commoners shouldn’t even know about it.”

I had to stifle an eye roll at her rude statement; acting like I was beneath her.

“I work for Fable Magazine. I require to go,” I told her.

She looked unimpressed.

“I see,” she murmured. “Well, then I suppose I will be seeing you there.”

“Good to know you wouldn’t come all this way just for me,” Ruby murmured, trying to hide the hurt being her voice but doing so unsuccessfully.

Amelia glanced at Ruby.

“I wasn’t going to attend this banquet,” she said, her voice hardening. “But when I found out that you were now a bloodsucker, and it was in the same area as the banquet, I came here. Honestly Ruby, do you think that little of me?”

“I could ask you the same question. You didn’t even let me go to my own sister’s funeral,” Ruby’s voice cracked.

This was information I didn’t know, and my heart cracked a little more.

Amelia looked almost regretful.

“I needed to keep you away,” she said softly. “It was for your own good.”

“Yeah, well look where that got me. Now I’m thrown in this world anyway,” Ruby muttered, shaking her head at her mother. “I wish you trusted me more.”

“I know I came on a bit strong when I first got here,” Amelia said, and for once I could see her guard weakening and her walls coming down. She took a step toward Ruby and actually took a seat in front of her. “But you need to believe that I love you and no I don’t wish you dead. I can see you are in control of yourself. I’m honestly impressed with that. You must be special for the Moon Goddess to gift you like this.”

“She is special,” I said quickly, feeling the need to defend my best friend. “She’s incredible.”

Amelia glanced at me.

“I can sense your magic. It’s quite powerful,” she surprised me by saying. “Your grandmother was Constance, and your mother was Alison.”

“H…how did you know that?” I stammered, my own guard, cracking as I stared at this woman.

“Your aura was similar to theirs,” she stated. “I also recognize you as a baby. You haven’t changed much except you no longer have baby fat.”

My mouth nearly dropped open.

“You met me as a baby?”

She nodded.

“I used to be part of your grandmother’s coven. But left long ago. However, I stayed in touch with her over the years until she died,” she stated and then glanced at Joseph. “She died in a vampire attack if I remember correctly. As did Alison. It seems that’s a common way for witches to die.”

“It wasn’t like that,” I blurted. She had no idea that they died to protect me, and it wasn’t just vampires who were after me. Other witches wanted me too; my mother’s coven was just protecting me.

I didn’t say that out loud though; I wasn’t sure what she knew and if my mother’s spell worked, then Amelia wouldn’t know anything. She wasn’t a part of my mother’s circle or anything. Only her circle was exempt from her spell and anyone who was inside my father’s house at the time of the spell.

“Then enlighten me,” she said simply.

I clamped my mouth shut, not wanting to say anything more.

“That’s what I thought,” she said, taking my silence as confirmation.

It annoyed me how hellbent she was to make Vampires appear monstrous.

“Mom…” Ruby asked staring at her mother. “Where did you get your necklace?”

It was a random question that caught me by surprise, but when I saw it, I gasped. Her necklace had a slight glow to it, but that wasn’t what shocked me.

It was a purple crystal.

Could this be one of the elemental crystals? And if so, why did Ruby look concerned?

Had she seen it before?