Deadly Secrets

16.

America's POV:
The magic dispersed and there stood my son, still holding the gem over his head with his phone in the same hand while he held his duffel bag in the other. The room was silent for a moment before Arizona ran up to her big brother and gave him a hug.
"NATO!" She yelled, causing the room to come back to life.

POV CHANGE!

NATO's POV:
Barely two seconds after the electric blue magic cleared from my vision, one of my adoptive little sisters ran at me and immediately attached herself to my leg. I put down my bag so I could slip the gemstone necklace over my head and tuck the gem under my shirt while I put my phone in my pocket.
It didn't take long for me to become bombarded my my siblings. I looked to my mom for help escaping the swarm of states but she just giggled and turned to clean up the mess of what I can only guess is salt. The provinces stared at her in awe as the salt emitted a blue glow and flew back into the bag like a swarm of bugs while the salt that had been soiled by her blood flew into the kitchen trash under the sink as Penny held the cupboard door open, anticipating her mother's move. It's a simple spell, and one that I have seen many times, but I would be lying if I said it didn't impress me. Though, really, all the magic my mother and siblings cast is impressive to a non-magic-wielding person like myself.
Speaking of siblings...
"Ok! Ok, you guys, I'm happy to see you too, but could you not crush me? ... I happen to like, uh, breathing," I managed to croak out after noticing that this had went from a happy hug to a constricting swarm pretty quickly.
My siblings giggled and squeezed harder for a split second before releasing me.
"Supper'll be ready any minute now, there's just one more thing that needs to come out of the oven," Louisiana announced. 

Her proclamation prompted nearly everyone to rush out of the kitchen and either into the dining room or one of the bathrooms to wash their hands. The states and provinces scrambled out of the room in a rushed, chaotic mess, leaving only the states on dinner duty and the adults in the house, including Britain, who had peaked in sometime right after Mom had finished teleporting me here. Barely a split second after most of the kids had left the room, my adoptive uncles spoke up.

"Wow, Ame, that was cool! Where did ya learn to do that?" Australia gawked as he walked up to his sister, New Zealand not far behind and nodding vigorously in agreement with his twin.

Canada followed his younger brother's lead and approached as well, amusement apparent on his face and a friendly teasing tone audible in his voice, "Geeze, Ames, you still have quite the flare for the dramatic, huh?"

She brushed off her younger brothers' enthusiasm with a wave of her hand and a smile. Flare for the dramatic, huh? Damn, now I kinda wish that I could've seen the spell from their end. All I saw were tendrils of electric blue and silvery magic emerge from the gem I was holding and wrap around me as they grew in size and thickness. My vision was obstructed by roaring blue magic and silvery wisps as they swirled around me before they cleared and I found myself standing in the kitchen of my adoptive family's home in Iowa. What little I saw was breathtaking, but it sounds like it was a lot more impressive on their end, especially since Scotland had a look of almost fatherly pride directed toward his niece. I wonder if any of the provinces recorded a video of the spell... who am I kidding? Of course they did, it is only a matter of getting them to send it to me.

"Alright," Mom said as she received a fist bump from Aussie, "ya'll go ahead and wash up your hands for dinner, we'll join ya in a bit." The houseguests complied, some more readily than others, and Mom nodded, pleased, before turning to me. "Nate, how you been?" she asked as she enveloped me in a warm embrace. She is shorter than me, but not by much, just enough to comfortably rest her chin on my shoulder as we hugged.

"I'm doing good," I answered her, gratefully returning the embrace and giving my mother figure a slight squeeze. "You didn't mention that other countries were here," I said, trying not to let the concern slip into my voice, I was only partially successful. I don't mean to be a worrier, but it can be difficult not to when it comes to matters involving my adoptive family. I am extremely lucky to have them and I know it, the other organizations don't have families, not really, and, no offense to them, but they aren't exactly a family by themselves, more like good roommates or friends.