Diamond Legacies: Part 14

Thank you for being patient for this chapter. 

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Chicago, August 2226

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Nova Cullen

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Today was the day.

I rolled over as Lucan left early for his morning run. He didn’t have work until early this afternoon, but he was a morning person and had to get his energy out early if he was going to process the day correctly. I was definitely not a morning person. I hugged his pillow to my chest as I closed my eyes to try and fall back to sleep for another hour or so.

That was until I remembered the day.

It was results day.

I ended up laying there wide awake for the hour it took Lucan to do his run and return home. I heard him in the shower before he finally came into our room to dress.

“Good morning,” he said kissing my temple when he saw I was awake. I didn’t respond, I just watched him dress and he then came over to sit on the edge of our bed. “You have a few hours yet,” he said reaching to tuck the hair falling on my face behind my ear.

“I know,” I mumbled. “I’m staying here in my pyjamas until I know, that way, I can easily climb back into bed when I fail,” I said sadly. The last few months had been tough. Tougher than I ever thought possible.

“You haven’t failed,” he said with a sigh, he was tired of hearing me say this. Tired of me being stressed and letting myself down. He was ever the annoyingly optimistic voice in my ear.

Every single time I felt down, he was arrogantly dismissive of my feelings.

Which he was adamant would help me see myself as he saw me.

Those were his words anyway. I called that part of him the imprint part. Lucan wasn’t a passive consolidating boyfriend. The imprint told him I walked on water, so in his mind, I could do no wrong. It was a hard part of him to believe whilst knowing about the bias that ran through his very veins.

He was frustratingly too nice to me and sometimes I just felt like screaming because of it.

Other times, I loved him for it. He was my biggest cheerleader, my loudest supporter and my best friend.

It was very conflicting.

I never used to be like this. In fact, comparing myself to my sister, I was still very much the optimist. It was just the fact school had been hard this year and the weight of possibly failing and letting down my parents was crushing my natural optimism. I knew I needed this. I was setting myself up for disappointment the way my sister did, so that if the failure did come today, it wouldn’t be as soul crushing as it would be if I was convinced I would pass.

By the time midday rolled around Lucan had cleaned the house, eaten two meals and talked my ear off about the football game the night before.

The alarm buzzed for noon and Lucan had already handed me the tablet with my emails ready to be viewed.

I saw the respective email and clicked immediately.

I had done it.

I stared at the letter before me. I even zoomed in on the tablet to make sure I was reading it right.

Congratulations Ms Nova Hope Cullen on passing your final year of medical school. We wish you luck in your future career in medicine.

Lucan was reading over my shoulder and immediately lifted me up in delight. He was ecstatic

“Why aren't you happier Nova? You did it!” He exclaimed

“I'm just... I'm shocked,” I said with a nervous laugh

“I'm so proud of you. I knew you could do it.” He said resting me back on my feet. His forehead came to rest on mine, and I closed my eyes at the proximity. His presence calmed my racing mind. His arms were still wrapped around me keeping me close to him as we stood there with our heads touching in a quiet moment.

“I love you,” I whispered, “thank you for being by my side through this.”

“I always believed you could do it.”

“I know you did... I should go tell my parents.” I said and leant forward to give him a small kiss

“I should get to training,” he responded with a small nod. “I just wanted to be here when you found out.” I gave him a small smile as he pulled away.

“I'm going to my mom’s for dinner so don't wait up. I'll see you tonight.” He called as he made his way out of our home. I called bye to him and took a deep breath as I fell onto the bed behind me.

I had done it.

I had struggled through it, but I had completed it and I enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment that ran through me. It was one of the hardest courses in the world to complete and I'd done it. The relief that flooded through me almost overwhelmed me in emotion. I didn’t have to disappoint my parents or my grandfather. I could walk with my head held high and tell them I'd lived up to their legacy. The happiness I felt was a relief. I hadn't felt this stress free in years.

I stood and got dressed from my pyjamas into something more appropriate before leaving my house and making the small journey to my parents’ house a few streets over. I couldn't remove the smile on my face as I reached the door. I used the code to enter and immediately went into the family room to see if either of my parents were there.

“Mama? Papa?” I called into the house. There was nearly always at least one of them home, but there was no answer.

I pulled out my phone to check the joint calendar that let me see if either of my parents were at work or the Volturi, but it told me they had a free day, so I opted to tell Ophelia first instead.

Ophelia was my cousin, or well first cousin once removed actually, but we were raised very much side by side. After she moved to Chicago with her mother as a child, I was born a few months later, and she was the only child in the family as Eden and I aged. We spent a lot of our childhood at our grandmother Esther's house and Ophelia lived with her mother, my grandmother’s sister just next door. Ophelia became like a big sister and best friend all in one. She had power herself that needed to be controlled and taught, and Eden and I had our own to control too. Although our powers were nothing alike and our teachers were different people, we bonded very easily. Ophelia was taught by Amirah Cullen because of their similarities whereas Eden and I didn't have any one like that. We were taught by Esther predominantly and our father.

I found the training a lot easier than Eden did. She struggled with the idea of what she could do the most and repressed understanding auras more than I did. I found it much easier to learn the meanings behind a person's essence. I could almost pinpoint any emotion or trait, but Eden struggled a lot with it. She would always ask me to confirm the diagnosis before she did any kind of extraction with her ability.

I arrived at Ophelia’s house and knocked lightly but there was no answer. That was strange. I looked around the neighbourhood that housed most of my family and the Volturi, but the place was eerily quiet. What the hell was going on?

I made my way to the main Volturi mansion and entered the front door. The lobby was empty except for a girl I didn’t recognise on the front desk. I knew Pancrazio was drafting in new guard members with more and more going off on missions, but this was the first time I had entered the Volturi and seen someone new on the desk. It was normally someone that knew the Volturi well that greeted guests.

“Hello, welcome to the Volturi, how can I help you?” The girl asked. She looked human, which meant she was either a witch or a human in the know of the supernatural world.

“I am Nova Cullen, are my parents here?” I asked her eying her newly printed name badge that read ‘Lottie’.

“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that information.” She said nervously.

“I am Nova Cullen.” I said emphasising my name. “My parents are Micah Cullen and Ivana Balev. Are they here please?” I asked and already started to eye the door to the throne room. She noticed where I was looking.

“I’m sorry, I am new, I don’t know every single Cullen yet, but I can’t let you through. It doesn’t matter who you are. I don’t have the authority to let you in.” She said her voice was even more less convincing now. She was scared? Maybe? I focused on her aura. She seemed tentative and definitely wasn’t the kind of person that should be on the front desk of the Volturi confronting guests and visitors. She was too shy; she wasn’t intimidating enough. What was she even doing here?

“Alright Lottie, I’m sorry, but I have every right to be here. I am a Cullen; you have the authority to let a Cullen anywhere in this building. You understand who my father is correct?” I asked and she did a small nod. “My grandfather?” I asked and she nodded again. I watched her swallow before she answered me back.

“I do not answer to Carlisle Cullen, Ms Cullen. I answer to Re Pancrazio.” She said and her voice shook even more. I saw fear coat her aura and I realized this girl definitely wasn’t in the right place. She had called Pancrazio 'Re', which whilst most guard members used this title as a sign of respect for their leader in public, it was rarely used to a Cullen to refer to one of our own. Most guard members knew to call him by his name. It wasnt a requirement from Zio to make his guard members call him their king. Those further down the heirarchy used it instinctively because they didnt know him as well as others. If they had placed this kind of guard member on the door, that meant every other important guard member was doing something else.

“I don’t mean to be confrontational. I’m just frustrated. This is my second home, I ran around the halls of this building as a toddler, I’m not used to being denied entrance.” I apologised to her. It wasn’t her fault, and I was lashing out on someone that didn’t deserve it.

“Uncle Edward. Uncle Eddie.” I called out as I tilted my head back to stare at the ceiling in frustration. They couldn’t hear my thoughts. But they could hear hers. If my grandmother was here, she’d have been here the second I stepped through the door. I could let Esther in my head, but it was harder to let the other telepaths in. I could only manage it with Eddie if he was in the same room as me and that was only because of his power’s similarity to my grandmothers. I felt the familiar pang of my heart thinking of how I was being locked out of a place I considered a home all because my grandmother wasn’t around to hear my thoughts. I hoped calling their names was enough and either Edward or Eddie would have heard me. I waited patiently but the panic was starting to seep into my veins. I didn’t do well in these kinds of situations. I tended to freeze up and shut down. Eden was the calm one in a crisis. Something felt wrong here, and I wished she was here to tell me what to do. She wasn’t paying attention to my thoughts in our joint mind. She was barely ever around in our head anymore and when she was, she had very little patience for my thoughts. I knew she was happier in her new life, but I couldn’t help but miss my soulmate even if she didn’t miss me.

“Nova,” my uncles voice instantly took the panic away.  Eddie was standing in jet black robe at the entrance way to the throne room.

“Uncle Eddie!” I sighed in relief and made my way over. “What the hell is going on?” I asked him but he turned to the girl at the desk.

“Don’t worry Lottie, you did well.” He spoke directly to her before pulling the black robe in his hand around my shoulders and taking my hand.

“What’s going on?” I asked wondering why he was dressing me in guards’ uniform just to walk through the throne room. Guard members were lining the walls and immediately fell into silence at the sight of us. Even though court was clearly in session, no one else was here, no subjects, none of the leaders, just the guard, and not all the guard either. I noticed some very important members of the prime guard weren’t there. Eddie led me up the stage and through the door that led to the guard waiting area, but he took me around the back of the room and to the part of the Volturi where the meeting and waiting rooms were. I frowned at him for taking us the long way around when there was a door into the main meeting room from the throne room, he obviously didn’t want me to see inside that room. He continued leading me towards one of the smaller meeting rooms where the door opened to my pacing mother and my father sitting on the couch. Eddie closed the door behind him, and my mother sighed at the sight of me.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked them.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” my mother immediately said coming to rest her hands on my cheeks either side of my face. “Is there something you need my sweet girl?” She asked, her voice was soft as it always was but over the past few years, I had learnt about how my mother hid her emotions behind that voice. I had seen her grief hide within and how her love for me and her maternal instinct to protect her child from worry covered her own fears. It just didn’t work when your child could see every single emotion and personality trait you had like they were reading a book on your heart. I turned to look at my father who knew I could see what I could see. I figured I would play along for a moment, get my news out the way, and then ask what was going on afterwards.

“I passed.” I told them passively and my mother gasped.

“Oh well done,” she said hugging me in congratulations.

“I knew you would Nova. You can start at the hospital on Monday, if you want to,” my father said forcing a smile to me from the couch. I could see the strain it took him to keep his aura calm and steady.

“Yes, I’ll be happy to, thank you papa.” I said but then turned to glare at my mother. “I’m not a child anymore. Explain, now.” I said and her face dropped.

“Nova-Hope,” she sighed stringing my given names together as she did when she was in mama bear mode. It was something she had taken from her own mother’s maternal handbook.

Mama bear mode could be one of two things. Either she was about to throw the ‘I’m the parent and you’ll do as I say’ card at me, or she was about to be sweetly affectionate and tell me everything I wanted to know.

“It’s nothing to worry about, I promise,” she said softly but I waited. She took a gentle sigh and explained. “There has been a growing… movement… the past few years. There have been whispers of a following that is growing over the world. The guard members have often encountered these people and have reported their beliefs back to Zio. It wasn’t something the Volturi were concerned with really, it’s been slowly growing for decades, long before Esther went away. We never thought anything of it, but this morning a group of them turned up at the Volturi and all we’re doing is discussing the possible outcomes and influences they may possess in the coming years as their numbers have increased tenfold since Esther’s sacrifice.” My mother explained.

“So, they’re something to do with Nonna?” I asked curiously.

“They’re called the ‘Luna disciples’. That’s what they call themselves anyway.”

“It’s a bit cult-ish if you ask me,” my uncle Eddie remarked from behind me.

“They’re just supernatural creatures that worship the power of the moon. It’s nothing new. Humans have been doing that for centuries too. But the supernatural know the power of the moon created our species, and more importantly, Esther.” My father explained from the couch. I looked back to my mother.

“So, what do they have to do with Nonna?” I asked.

“They know she is the embodiment of the moon’s power. She is their saint as you will.” She explained. “And they’ve come to protect her in her sacrifice. Or so they claim,” she continued.

“Why now? Nonna has been asleep for six years,” I wondered.

“Our thoughts exactly Nova. They seem genuine, they love Esther, that is clear from your fathers and uncles’ evaluations on the few that arrived at the Volturi today, but they’re also fanatical. They call her the paragon.” She explained.

“There have always been people around the world that either fear or admire your grandmother, but these people are more than just admirers of Esther’s power. They’re called disciples for a reason. Its their religion. They worship the moon, and they believe Esther is their earthly connection to that power. If their God is the Moon, Esther is their Jesus,” Eddie explained.

“So, this is bad because they might not see sense in her decision? They might want to wake her up?” I asked. I was struggling to see why people that love my grandmother that much would be bad.

“They’ve been asking a lot about the living blood relatives of Esther. You and Eden are protected, you’re untraceable and you don’t exist to anyone that doesn’t know who bore you, but you are still a very human connection to Esther and to your mother. To have those people in the building, so close to you on a regular basis, it makes your mother and I uncomfortable.” My father explained.

“There’s also the concern of Amirah and Ignacio. These people assume the 100 day eclipse was an event tied to Esther’s sacrifice. Not many in the world truly understand the reason she did what she did. There are rumours she had to protect us all from a dark force, but not many have guessed the connection with the demon and the tribrid.” Eddie added. “If they find out that Amirah is also a child of the moon and Ignacio’s connection to the sun, I daren’t think what these people would believe, or do. Whilst we don't worry as much for their safety as we do yours, Amirah and Ignacio have a very important job to do. It can’t be disrupted by fanatics.”

I gave a small nod. Lucan had been training with the guild pack for years now. They were connected to Amirah and Ignacio through a mystical merge. Leah and Zac had been working with Amirah Cullen for years now to create a pack large enough to defeat what was coming. They were still alphas, but so was Amirah now too. She had control of the guild pack through her magical connection, she gifted them powers they had never dreamed of possessing. The pack were gradually growing in power every day so that one day they could face the evil and return my grandmother to the world of the living.

“It could just mean more minds and protection for us, but we won’t know that until we get to know them more. They need to earn our trust. For now, the Volturi just want to be careful.” My mother said reassuringly.

“I have to go next door,” Eddie said with a nod to my mother and father, and he left us in the room.

“You’re going to be very busy with your new job, so I don’t expect you’ll be around here much in the next few weeks anyway but just avoid the Volturi for a while, okay?” My mother asked, her hand resting on my cheek. I could see the fear and anxiety in her aura.

“What about you? You’re Nonna’s child. Won’t they be just as interested in you as they would me?” I asked in concern for my own mother.

“I can take care of myself.” She said with a wink. “They wouldn’t touch me. They know what I can do, and more importantly they know what my sisters can do. They know we’re not vulnerable.”

“I’m not vulnerable,” I frowned in defence, reading between the lines of my mother’s statement. The tone of the conversation suddenly dropped, and my mother was staring at me in a sombre defeat.

“You are my weakness Nova. If they exploited my weakness, they could get me to tear down the world. Because I would, if it was for you or for your sister. If it meant the fate of the planet or you, I would choose you. I’m not a martyr like my mother. I struggle so much with her absence because I can’t understand her sacrifice. I’m not noble or selfless like her. I am not strong like her. I can’t see the bigger picture like she can. She did what she did to protect us all, her family and the world included. I will not sacrifice myself or the safety of my children for the future of humanity. You, you are my heart. I would destroy the world for you, and I quite possibly could because I’m not strong enough to make the decisions that my mother did. That’s what I’m scared of Nova. I’m scared of myself.” She said and tears were filling her eyes fast.

My father had appeared at her side and taken her spare hand in his own. He was quiet and watching her with contemplation.

“Any mother would be the same mama. Nonna did the same for you. Its just hard to see that from behind your pain.” I said as I watched her face flicker with the pain I had seen so many times since the Dark Years started.

“That’s what I’m saying Nova. My mother had the strength to stop herself bringing the world down with her. I am not strong enough for that. There are very few mothers out there with the power to cause the destruction that I or Esther could cause.” My mother tried to explain. I weighed on this thought for a moment.

“With great power comes great responsibility,” I smiled at her.

“Did you just quote spiderman to me?” My mother said with a laugh, but it had served its purpose. It got my mother to smile.

“I’ll stay away from the Volturi mama. I’ll stay out of it, I promise,” I said moving forward to rest my forehead against hers affectionately. I saw the relief flood my mother’s aura instantly. I saw her worry lessen, although not completely disappear. I saw her settle. Something I had done so many times over the years to calm her grief. I was my mother’s connection to her strength and I knew now, after hearing my mother’s words how important that was for me to maintain for my mothers sake and the power she possessed. I felt my father’s hand rest on my wrist and I looked to see him nod with a smile. His aura clouded with pride and love for what I had just done.

He had uttered those words to me so many years ago now. He had told me on the first night after my grandmother went to sleep that my sister and I would be what tied our mother to her humanity. That we would keep her strong until Esther returned. I had tried to live by those words every day since and although I feared for what this meant for my mother at the Volturi I knew I couldn’t have her worry about me. I would focus on my work, I would start my new life as a doctor at the Cullen Chicago Hospital and I would live my human life, just as Eden was doing.

I didn’t believe in any gods, but maybe I had something in common with these ‘Luna disciples’. I believed in my grandmother, I believed in Esther. I just hoped for the sake of my mother, the Volturi, and the supernatural world, that the day she would return to us wasn’t too far away.