Chapter 4- Everly

I look over myself in my full-length mirror before I leave my room to go meet my parents. They are walking me into the ballroom for my party. I’m not sure why there needs to be a grand entrance, something to do with coven traditions. I didn't pay attention when grandma started talking about it. I know I shouldn’t have tuned her out, but I really wasn’t in the mood for a lesson on coven traditions on balls. I didn’t have it in me to care that day. I know that’s horrible to say, but there are just some days I’m not in the mood to hear about the coven. 

I love my coven. I do. They are a fantastic community, but my whole life revolves around the coven. I’m part of the bloodline created to help run the coven and maintain the coven’s realm while maintaining its magic as well. I’ve spent so much time learning about the coven, its history, traditions, ceremonies, and its secrets. I’m happy to serve my coven. I’m proud to be my father’s daughter, the granddaughter of Death, but damn sometimes, I just don’t want to deal with or hear about coven shit. 

It’s why I came up with the idea to tour the human realm on my own when I turned eighteen. I knew I needed time on my own. Time to prove myself. Time to explore myself and the world. I’ve accepted the fact that my life’s duty will always be to the coven and to Death. I’m not fighting my true destiny in any way. I know my fate, and I accept it. I even embrace it. However, I still need a Moment in time to come to grips with it all and grasp the severity of my responsibilities. I’m thankful my parents agreed with me. 

Part of me thinks they wanted to suggest the idea or something similar to me, but they weren’t sure how to do it. Maybe they wanted me to come to the conclusion myself. Knowing them, they wouldn't have wanted to influence my decisions heavily. My parents somehow managed to strike the perfect balance of being overly involved and not involved enough. How they were able to manage such an ideal balance is impressive. I’m not entirely sure they planned it to be such a good balance. I swear they are just winging it half the time. 

My parents also had Grandpa Blaine and Grandma Zara to guide them. My grandparents are so well sought after for their relationship and parenting advice. Not just from my parents and aunt and uncle, but others in the coven as well. I wonder if I’ll turn to them myself for such advice one day, but the thought of relationships and kids is far from my mind. 

I know I have a fated mate out there somewhere. Kai and I will be completely different from Dad in the sense that our fated mate will not be our familiar. Our lycan counterparts act as our familiars, so we don’t need a shifter as our familiar like Dad, Uncle Cade, and grandpa. Kai and I will have fated mates picked by Death and Fate for us. I have no idea when we will find them or how we will know. I haven’t really bothered to ask Dad about it because I’m not sure I’m ready for a fated mate just yet. I want to go into the world and explore first before settling down. Now, if I meet my fated mate on my journey, then so be it. Besides, who am I to argue with Fate?

I glance at myself, happy with my look. I have on an A-line spaghetti strap black dress with silver sequence. It has a v-neckline with a natural waistline and brush train. I’ve paired it with strappy black heels. My hair is up in a big relaxed bun with lots of volume and texture, finished with whimsical loose pieces that frame my face. My makeup is done light and makes my dark grey eyes sparkle. 

I didn’t pick out jewelry as my Mom insisted she had the perfect jewelry for me. I’m waiting for her to come and give it to me. As if on cue, there is a knock at my door, and I tell my Mom to enter. She walks in wearing an off the shoulder black princess lace gown. Mom's hair is  in soft beach waves around her. She smiles at me and walks up next to me in the full-length mirror. Sometimes it’s scary how much I look like her but in a good way. We have the same hair and body type, but I have Dad’s grey eyes, which is probably the only thing that would physically indicate I’m his daughter.  Kai is almost the same way with Dad, but Kai has Mom's hair instead of Dad's. They both have the same steel grey eyes and body shape. Kai’s hair color is the only physical thing that gives away him being Mom's son. 

“You look beautiful, my Little Nightmare,” Mom compliments, using my nickname that she uses when I’m driving her crazy or when she wishes I was still her little girl. Only Mom and Dad call me Little Nightmare, everyone else calls me Ever. Kai and I call each other bro and sis, or punk when we are messing around. 

“Thank you, Mom. You look pretty yourself. Are you glowing?” I inquire, noticing a slight glow to her cheeks that normally isn’t there. The last time I remember her glowing like that was when she was pregnant with Kai. 

“Am I? I’m just happy to celebrate your birthday, even if you leave tomorrow. Speaking of leaving, do you think you can hold off and leave after breakfast? Dad and I want one last family breakfast as the four of us before you go off into the world.” 

“Okay, I’d like that. I will miss you guys. You know that, right?”

“I know, Little Nightmare, but you need to spread your wings and learn to fly on your own. Now, birthday present time. I promised you jewelry to wear for tonight.” Mom states, pulling out a black box from her dress pockets. Of course, her dress has pockets. Mom never wears an outfit without pockets. 

I take the black box and open it. There is a necklace that is unique and gorgeous. It’s a crescent moon with diamonds. It’s almost like Mom's choker, except in the middle of the moon is a side profile of a gunmetal skull. On the top and bottom of the skull are rubies in the shape of roses. The chain is gunmetal matching the skull. 

“Mom, this is beautiful!” 

“I knew you would like it. A moon for your lycan heritage, a skull for your coven heritage, and roses because they are your favorite, like me. A little token of home to take with you on your adventure and a token to remind you exactly where you come from.” 

“Thank you, Mom,” I reply with a smile as she puts the necklace on. 

There’s another knock at my door, and this time it’s Dad and Kai. Both of them are dressed in all black tuxes and look handsome. They smile at us. Dad walks over to me and hugs me. 

“You look stunning, Ever,” Dad compliments. 

“Damn, sis, at least you polish up well,” Kai jokes. 

“I could say the same thing about you, punk,” I retort, and we both smile at one another. Our parents are used to our banter. 

“I see Mom gave you your gift. Well, let me give you my gift.” Dad says with a grin as he waves his hand, and shadows swarm around his hand. When the shadows disappear, there is a war scythe in his hands. It’s almost identical to his. Except where his has black details, mine has dark purple. The top part of the blade has jimpings as the blade curves toward where it meets the staff; it has dark purple bone-like fragments sticking from it. On the bottom of the staff, there is a badass-looking skull with purple jeweled eyes. “It’s time you had your own war scythe for reaping souls.” 

“Thank you, Dad!” I say with extreme excitement. 

“You’re welcome. Before you leave tomorrow, we will have a trip to the ceremony room to mark you as an official member of the coven.”

“You mean I get my back tattoo tomorrow?”

“Yes, it’s time you are marked as an official member.” 

“Yeah, Dad’s gift is cool and all, but I got you something that is just for us,” Kai states as he repeats Dad's move with the shadows. When his shadows disappear, there is a black book with old-looking pages. “It’s a blood-bound journal that only we can use. I figured it would be cool for us to keep in touch while you are in the human realm.” 

“Thank you, Kai,” I reply with a smile, taking the book in my free hand. 

I quickly pack my war scythe and Kai’s journal in my bags for tomorrow. I’m thrilled I get marked as an official member of the coven tomorrow before I leave. Dad giving me a war scythe means he trusts me, which makes me feel a little guilty that my parents don’t know about my rogue mission. 

After I pack my stuff, we head to the ballroom. The ballroom is a large oval-shaped room with dark grey marble floors, large chandeliers with many skulls holding candles illuminate the ballroom, stained glass windows with crows lining the ballroom, and the walls and ceiling are painted a dark grey with hints of dark purple swirling in the paint. The gothic-inspired ballroom is beautiful, and I forget how much I love it. 

Food and drinks are passed around on floating trays which are held by shadows. It’s as if the entire coven is here to celebrate my birthday. My family is introduced, and once we are, Dad leads me to the dance floor for the first dance. Kai dances with Mom. Grandma and Grandpa dance together, as do Uncle Cade and Aunt Blair. Rupert, my cousin and son of Uncle Cade and Aunt Blair, is off to the side, downing a glass of champagne.

We all know something is up with Uncle Cade and Aunt Blair, but no one knows what's truly going on. They refuse to talk about it. Rupert has confided in Kai and me that his parents argue a lot. Rupert and Kai are close because they are the same age. Rupert and I get along, but I wouldn’t say we are close like he and Kai. Still, our immediate family is close to one another, even if Uncle Cade and Aunt Blair have been slowly distancing themselves. 

The night carries on. I danced with Grandpa a few times as he’s old-fashioned and insisted he have some slow dances with the birthday girl. Grandma being the wild woman she is, was all about dancing to the fun songs with my Mom and me and Kai. Aunt Blair and Rupert joined us for a few fun dances. 

I stuff my face with various finger foods but mostly stick with the shrimp cocktail, clams casino, and some steak kabobs. I like seafood, but Stella likes steak, so I eat a little bit of each of our favorites. Of course, I’m drinking lots of champagne which I might regret tomorrow morning, but fuck it, I am the birthday girl after all. 

The party goes well past midnight, but we are winding down by two in the morning. I head to my room, wipe away my makeup, and shower quickly to get rid of the sweat from dancing and partying with my family and coven. 

As much as I didn’t want the damn party, I’m glad my parents threw it anyway. It was a lot of fun. The total proper send-off for a girl about to head into another realm determined to discover exactly what she is made of.