Conflicted. Overwhelmed.
Bianca felt like she was suffocating from all the information she'd been given. She didn't have the ability to respond to her aunt after she was done with her explanations on what exactly she was and the reasons for the accidents.
"You being with people who aren't your fated mate makes this happen," her aunt had explained. "That's why I'd never been a big fan of you dating. But I wanted you to have a normal life. Your mother told me to try and make you have a normal life. All this is my fault."
No. It wasn't just her fault, it was Bianca's fault too. She'd never been curious about why everyone in the family seemed to be a bit otherly. She'd never asked, never bothered to know more. If she'd known, none of this would've happened. She wouldn't have died, and Oliver wouldn't have been in this condition.
She heard a knock on the door and wondered if it was her aunt. If she was back. She'd told her she'd be back later in the night, so she was a bit unsure. The information she had was too much that she had to digest and she didn't need anymore.
Bianca didn't say anything because the door wasn't exactly locked anyway. She could lock the door, but she wasn't dumb enough to make everyone go into panic mood by such an action.
Even when the door was pushed open, she didn't raise her head, her hand playing with her fingers as she was still thinking. About her origin. Her family. Her mother.
She stopped playing with her fingers to look up into those familiar beautiful green eyes, her eyes going over Astrid's facial features.
"Hey."
"Hey," she replied.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good. You look kind of pale," Astrid noted as a hand reached out to touch her forehead.
Bianca immediately felt her face burning up and her heart hurting. But not in a painful way.
Astrid gave her a worried look as she took a step back. "You face is hot and red, too. Let me go get you something cold."
Bianca watched her leave with a smile on her face, her heart beating harder than it'd ever done for anyone. She wanted to ignore the feeling, but she felt like maybe this wasn't just her admiring a woman's looks and maybe it was something… else.
She shook her head at her thoughts as she closed her eyes.
"I definitely don't like her like that," she denied loudly. "I'm straight."
"Ah, I see you've found your mate."
She whipped her head around in surprise.
"Celestine." Her eyes widened as she recognized the voice, looking around the bright room to find the owner. "Where are you?"
Her vision was suddenly covered by an intense darkness. A dark mist that covered every light in her room.
"Hello, Bianca."
There he was, looking the same and in the same outfit, but this time his eyes weren't as lifeless. They were still lifeless, sure, but they seemed to have some twinkle to them. It was like he was in a good mood. And Bianca didn't know why.
"What did you mean by that?" she demanded.
Celestine tilted his head sideways to look at her, pretending to think before he answered, "Astrid is your mate. Or am I wrong about this?" He seemed to be looking around for something, then his eyes focused on her eyes, down to her chest. He hummed. "Your heart is almost whole, so I'm definitely correct."
"Is this some sort of werewolf thing?" she asked when he finished. She knew what a mate was but she'd never really thought too deeply into it. "Astrid isn't my 'mate,' she's my boyfriend's sister and-"
Celestine let out a deep laugh. Despite the laugh, there was no brightness apparent on his face or anywhere in his eyes. It all seemed so hollow.
"Your mate would never almost die because of you because technically you're one. You being alive means they're alive and well… Astrid is alive and well. And she seems to really like you." He laughed again. "What? You don't like women? You think your mate being a woman is weird and wrong?" He tapped his chin as he answered himself, "Sure, maybe in heaven. But hell is a bit different. A bit more liberal."
Bianca felt her heart flutter as she thought of Astrid, wondering if that's why she acted differently towards her. There was a sort of instant interest in her that she felt, something she'd never felt with anyone before. Was Celestine right?
"While you're thinking about whether or not you believe me," Celestine related. "I'm here to talk to you about your…family. And my mission." He clapped his hands. "The reason I'm clapping is because you've found one of the persons I wanted you to- Celia Hollow. Your dear auntie."
Bianca blinked, feeling protective all of a sudden. "What do you want with her?"
Celestine looked at her in amusement. "You may be an all powerful being, miss. But you're no match for me, if you're thinking of fighting. You don't even know how to throw a blast yet." He reached out, a claw tracing her face. "Apart from her, I need Clay Hollow and of course, the runaway Lake Storm."
She knew who they all were, and that knowledge puzzled and scared her. She knew all these people and he knew that, so why did he give her such a mission if he knew it would be so easy?
"What do you need all these people for?"
He gave a playful smile, answering, "Why to help my dear kingdom, and to help you too. You are a big part of everything I want to do. Especially now that you have awakened."
Bianca was about to ask another question when he continued, "Basically, I need all these people's help to save your dear mother… and to kill your father."
"And God."