Ketura let out a sigh of relief at a mission accomplished when she and Tempest, who was still in her copied state, dropped Margo and Zipfarah on the longest couch in their sitting room. “I will be heading back to the containing room. Or rather to my place in the other side of the forest. You can come over to communicate with me whatever information you have. I still don’t think it’s a right idea that any of them know of me yet.” Ketura nodded, understanding what Tempest was talking about. They couldn’t afford a hole in their plans now, holes they couldn’t predict how it would come about, and so they would altogether eliminate anything that might look like something to trigger a hole. “We can leave them here. I’ve already activated the safeguards. We can talk in the adjourning room. I think that they would be out for more than an hour.” Tempest gave a slight nod, and headed to the particular room in question. “So, we have achieved the first phase of the plan. What do we do next?

It took about ten minutes for Emma’s father to gather his thoughts and speak again. Emma couldn’t help the feeling that whatever he said would change her life forever, would shake her orbit more than her orbit already has. She kept her resolve to stay and listen as steel, no matter how hard whatever her father had to say would hit her.“The woman’s name is Tempest. She had been an ex-girlfriend. My first love actually.” The fact that her father could speak of another woman so lovingly in front of his wife was quite disturbing, but seeing the resigned look on her mother’s face, Emma knew that the latter had accepted her place in the man’s life. Tempest. The woman who still had the larger portion of her father’s heart. Tempest. The name sounded familiar for some reason. Where had she heard it from? Emma tried to remember, but nothing was coming up, or rather her mind chose not to stress itself. It was rather full, and then concentrated on whatever her father was saying. “She di

Emma looked at her watch for the second time since they started the journey to the area where Jason had made sure that her mother had been taken care of. They have been enroute for more than twenty minutes now. She let out a soft sigh and relaxed deeply in the car seat. Her parents were both occupying the front seats. She thought of Amelia then. When they had stood up from the conversation all done and dusted, she hadn’t felt the presence of her sister anymore. She hadn’t known when she had lost the touch, the contact, but all of a sudden, she hadn’t felt the presence. Emma had thought to check in on Amelia in the latter’s room, but had then thought better of it. it was best to leave without informing the latter. If not, the latter would want the whole story, and if she got it, would want to follow to the ends of the earth. Emma sighed again. At least she had one faithful person in her life. She picked up the phone, and looked. There was no reply from Annabel yet. Immediately she

Her mother was gone. Emma tried to calm herself down. When the nurse and her apprentice-as she would come to know in a few minutes-saw her, and then her parents, she had shot up to her feet, and had kept her head bowed. There was no happening, no bad scenario that Emma didn’t think had happened to her mother. “Sir, I’m sorry. But I don’t think I would have been able to stop it. This is my apprentice, Rose. On days when I am coasted at work, she comes here to take care of Sheila, and make sure that her treatment is going well. A few days ago was no different. I had been away from the state on a mission, and so she had been here to take care of Sheila. According to her, Sheila had woken at that time, one of the days. She had queried Rose on a lot of topics, of which Rose had tried to the best of her ability to answer; for I had given her the entire information you had passed me too, so that she wouldn’t lose sight of the goal. According to Rose, she had just stepped aside to tell me a

“Nathan Makonel, you haven’t said anything since this meeting started. But we would like to hear your input now, brother. Are you that torn with happiness?” Kane questioned the tall, finely sculpted man sitting right across him, on the long rectangular oakwood table, whose head was bowed low as if in deep thought.Nathan didn’t answer. Not yet.Kane looked at the other ancients gathered around the table and sighed. They would have to wait till Nathan was ready to talk. His friend has always been like that. Not easily moved or pressured. Hard as rock. Just like a first born prince was. Kane wondered now if he would take up the position seeing that the reason why the latter had dropped it was because of the darkness that had begun to invade his senses. Nathan hadn’t wanted to be a tool to prey on his people. And so he had handed the position to his younger brother who had found his lifemate, and had gone into hiding. It had taken them the whole of five hours to find him, despite the po