“She wanted to protect the Veela nation from extinction.”
Jovanka swung one hand towards one of the shelves. Edith saw a book come out of the shelf and fly towards Jovanka’s hand. Edith approached, wanting to know what Jovanka wanted to show her.
Jovanka walked over to the chair and sat down to read the book she was holding. She had opened a page filled with handwriting and held it out to Edith.
Edith read it carefully. It took her half an hour to finally find what she was looking for. Edith raised her face and asked, “Am I the only one who can have descendants?”
“Yes. She felt remorse for slaughtering the Veela nation back then and continued to take care of me until you were born. Once she learned of your fate with one of the Alpha’s of the werewolf race, she promised me she would keep you alive with a rather extreme scenario.”
“Making me into a vampire by cursing Seth while I was pregnant with Juliette… yeah, it was an extreme way.”
“She saw you with Hybrid Kai and had that idea. However, she still has black magic, which makes her very vulnerable when she can’t control her emotions. Just like Julie will become vulnerable when she turns 17.”
“When the Alpha Wolf gene from his father becomes active.”
“You finally understand. Having three monster genes is both an achievement and a warning. Katarina has already given Juliette half of her power. So you can rest easy.”
“It looks like I have to be careful of her. Alright, mum; I’ll be back. Thank you for giving me this information.”
A few minutes later, Edith came to her senses. She looked at her surroundings, which were starting to look normal: Emma’s room, which was full of several potions on the shelf, and the owner of the room, who was now asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, Edith stepped quietly out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Edith walked towards Julie’s room to check on her daughter. Arriving at Julie’s door, she saw Seth walking towards her.
“How is she?”
“I was just about to check. Seth, I have something to talk to you about; it’s about Julie.”
“Let’s talk inside.”
They both went into Julie’s room. Seth immediately sat on the edge of the bed and stroked his daughter’s golden hair. Edith followed behind and touched Seth’s shoulder, calming him down so that he could be comforted.
“Who is that witch?”
“She’s my aunt; her name is Katarina. Listen, Seth, I just spoke to my mum. She confirmed that Katarina means no harm; she just wants to keep Julie alive. Katarina gave up half of her powers so that Julie could survive her 18th birthday.”
“Does that mean she sent the letter?”
“Yes, you’re right. She was also the one who cursed you and planned everything so that Julie would become a Tribrid.”
“By the Moon Goddess, what has gotten into her mind? Bloody witch!”
Seth continued to curse in disbelief that everything was Katarina’s scenario. If he traced the events back, everything that happened to them would have made sense.
Seth looked at Julie with pity. At such an early age, his daughter had to bear the brunt of her powers.
“Are you feeling better?”
Edith almost forgot about Seth’s condition. She was too focused on Julie to check on her husband, who still looked pale. She reached for Seth’s hand and grasped it tightly, channelling her healing energy into Seth in an effort to make him well again.
“Better than before. Thank you.”
“You’d better go back to your room and rest. I’ll make some warm soup for you.”
*
“Argh… it hurts!” Julie whimpered in pain as she tried to move her hand. Edith, who was sitting on the sofa hearing Julie’s moans, immediately got up and went over to her daughter. She examined Julie from head to toe, trying to find where the pain was.
“How annoying!”
“Calm down. Come here and stretch out your arms; I’ll ease the pain.”
Edith channelled her healing energy after grasping Julie’s hand. Edith’s energy felt like warm waves, so Julie became more relaxed. She relaxed her hand and let it stay in Edith’s grasp for some time.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, this is enough. Thank you, mum.”
Edith withdrew her hand. When she saw Julie about to straighten up, Edith helped her daughter to sit comfortably. Edith felt relieved after waiting for a week for Julie to wake up from her stupor.
She felt lucky that there was nothing to put Julie in danger. Edith was worried because Julie had been babbling all day. She remembered when Julie had a high fever three days ago and the sigil reappeared on the surface of her skin.
“Julie, I have something to tell you. I’m trying to make it as simple as possible for you to understand, and I want you to know that your dad and I will always be by your side, even in the difficult times of your life.”
“I just woke up, mum. Didn’t you give me some water first?”
“Sorry, mum’s been very tense lately. Just a moment.”
Edith moved quickly to get a glass and poured some water into it, then, in a split second, returned to the edge of Julie’s bed. She waited for Julie to gulp down the water from the glass, watching her closely to see her reaction after drinking the water. Edith became calmer as her daughter’s demeanour had not changed but remained cold and moody.
“Are we able to talk yet?”
“Yes, just tell me.”
“It’s about yesterday. I met your grandmother, and she said that what you experienced was a process of self-preservation. Your father became a wolf for the first time at the age of seventeen. Since you have the Alpha Seed, it will happen to you at the same age. The werewolf gene that you have will fight against the vampire gene that is in you. Your grandmother’s sister Katarina gave some of her power in the form of a sigil so that you could survive the process.”
“So the witch’s name is Katarina, and she’s your aunt. Did you know, mum? While I was unconscious, it was like I was walking on hot coals. It burned at first, but gradually the pain disappeared because my whole body was enveloped in a black aura.”
Edith sighed for the umpteenth time. She felt her hands, which were already wet with cold sweat. She was too nervous to tell her daughter about this.
“Katarina meant you no harm; she just wanted to keep her promise to your grandmother to look after her last descendant, you. The dark magic she has will automatically pass down to you as well when she gives away some of her power.”
“Will I become an evil witch, mummy?”
Edith felt concerned as soon as she heard Julie asking her that. As a parent, Edith must have felt worried about her daughter’s future. As much as possible, Edith did not show that concern to Julie. She kept smiling to calm her daughter down.
“Of course not, dear. Mummy’s daughter will be a witch who will always use her powers for good. Mum believes in you, Julie.”
“But I’m scared…”