Semua Bab BLOOD BOUND: Bab 61 - Bab 70

Sera and Lucien visited Silverwood after the incident. They came because Aurora requested them to, not because they were concerned, though they were. During their phone conversation, she said, "I need to talk to you." "I'm not on the phone. In person."They arrived expecting to discuss the power surge, perhaps to comfort their daughter and reassure her she wasn't a disappointment. Instead, Aurora had questions."How did you handle it? The pressure of representing something bigger than yourselves?"They observed pupils rehearsing combat techniques in the distance while they sat in one of Silverwood's exclusive gardens. "At first, badly," Sera acknowledged. "I felt accountable for the safety of every hybrid child, the optimism of every witch, and everyone who saw potential in us.The weight felt oppressive. "How did you get over that feeling?" I didn't fully. However, I discovered how to share it. Your dad assisted with the load. I was a person, not a movement, Rowan reminded me. Margo

Vienna hosted the European Supernatural Summit in a centuries-old structure that has seen innumerable supernatural discussions. To acclimate and prepare, the Silverwood group arrived three days early.Europe has a distinct vibe. more conventional, older, and burdened by centuries of strict hierarchy. The domains and hierarchies that were established by werewolves, witches, and vampires predate those of contemporary nations. It would be more difficult to make changes here than in America.Mei said as she strolled through the streets of Vienna, "This place has so much history." "So many layers of old decisions."The issue is that," Carlos stated. He had become a member of their group, acting as a cultural interpreter and local guide. "There is a tradition behind every tradition.Challenging centuries of precedent is what it means to suggest change. It's draining.The meeting itself was enormous, with more than 500 supernatural delegates from 37 European nations. Witches, werewolves, fae,

During the summer between Silverwood and college, it was like living in two distinct universes. Aurora had dropped out of school, but she had no idea what to do.She stayed at home with her parents and tried to find her identity outside of the confines of school while volunteering at the integration center and helping with Fourth Species council projects.Lucien saw that you were agitated one evening. They were in their home's training room, which he had built when Aurora was a young child and had subsequently been modified to fit her growing strength.I don't know what I ought to be doing. Everyone has expectations, but I'm not sure what I have for myself. Give it a try. Experiment. Aurora, you're eighteen. You're free to have uncertainty."I'm not just eighteen, though.I'm Aurora Ashcroft-Thorne, first true hybrid, Silverwood graduate, symbol of integration success. I can't just... drift.""Why not?There are two dimensions to symbols. You're not. Like everyone else, you are permitt

The Fourth Species Council conducted its yearly celebration fifty years after Sera and Lucien's link was forged. Thousands of integrated families, hybrid offspring, cross-species couples, and allies from all supernatural communities attended the event, which had expanded from modest get-togethers to enormous festivals.Aurora now went with her own family. Marcus, the werewolf-witch hybrid she had connected with, was the same Marcus she had faced in her first Silverwood competition.They had two children: little Nora, age seven, who was still figuring out what her unique hybrid nature would become, and Elias, age twelve, who somehow merged vampire, witch, and werewolf talents in previously unheard-of combinations. Elias grumbled, typical of a preteen, "It's crowded.""It's community," Aurora corrected. "All these people exist because your grandparents chose love over war. Remember that."Sera and Lucien were elderly now in supernatural terms—Sera was seventy-four, Lucien over three hun

Aurora travelled to the worst impacted areas of Eastern Europe for three weeks. Reports understated the extent of the destruction.She went to a burnt safe house in Romania. Thirty-two persons, including six hybrid families, had been housed in the structure. Twenty-three made it out alive.The fire claimed the lives of nine adults and children. The Purity Front ensured maximum casualties by blocking exits. A mother who survived told Aurora, "They arrived at midnight. She held pictures of her two children, one of whom survived and the other did not, and her hands trembled."We smelt smoke and heard glass smashing. The doors were locked from the outside, despite my husband's best efforts to get everyone out. He shoved kids through and smashed glass. My daughter succeeded. My son. She was unable to finish.As the woman sobbed, feeling completely unworthy, Aurora held her. When she was unable to stop this, what good were her authority, education, and reputation?A adolescent hybrid in Hun