Springbrook Academy: Born Of Fire

Revelations

Ceilia reached down and grabbed a bag off the floor. She took out a large manilla envelope and what looked to be photos. She started passing some of them around the table. She kept a handful in front of her.

"The first thing to note is that it was extremely difficult to find where you were kept due to some heavy-duty cloaking around the property. It was done in a way that seamlessly kept anyone from seeing, sensing, or smelling where you were. You can see from the picture here the property." She held up a picture showing the 2 story farmhouse I had escaped from. You each have this picture and the next one. "There was no evidence of anyone being in the home for decades, but we knew from your account that you had been there. We also found your scent and footprints that started about 20 feet from the house going towards the neighbors. This immediately alerted others to something "more" going on. I was called in, and after extensive research and consulting with local covens, we were able to break the cloaking."

She held up the second photo.
"This is the photo of the room where you were kept. It was taken before the cloaking was discovered."

In it stood an old bed frame with rusty springs exposed. Nothing else, but inches of dust. It showed a room clearly not touched for years. Then she picked up a photo that was enlarged. She paused after looking at it and grimaced. "Emma, I apologize for this picture and some to follow. It's going to be very difficult to see, and you can step out if you feel this is too much."

My stomach twisted and felt like I'd been riding the teacups for hours. It was rolling around, threatening to unload my breakfast at any moment. I felt Tate kiss behind my ear and looked over at the guys. I didn't know if I could handle this.

"You are one of the strongest people I've ever met. You don't have to sit here and go through this. No one will think less of you," Tate whispered with Ryder and Nate nodding along. I looked around the table. You could see everyone's concern for me. Jen reached out and grabbed my hand in support. I couldn't believe how much their care meant to me. I wasn't alone. I had people who loved me. I took a deep breath and said, "it's okay. With all of your support, I will be okay. Thank you for your concern."

She nodded her head and turned the picture around. This one showed an ornate four poster king-sized bed that had long cuffs attached at the head and foot. The bed itself was so saturated in blood that you could see it pooled under the bed. It had soaked through the mattress and the box spring covering the entire length of the king-sized bed and nearly double the width. You could also see the outline of where my body had lain.

Jen gasped and started crying into her hands, and my guys all reached out to touch me. I sat there numbly. Looking at the room I had been held in. I looked at the picture blindly before I was able to objectively separate the horror and fear I had sustained in that room from the picture. I studied the picture. Wait a minute, something wasn't right. I sat forward, looking at the picture closely. I scanned from top to bottom slowly.

"Where is the picture? He had a big portrait of a girl that looked like me. It was directly across from the bed, and he tried to have me look at it while he hit me," I said.

Ceilia grabbed her notes and scanned through them quickly. "There is no mention of a portrait being found. This is interesting though, you said she looked like you?" I nodded my head. "Okay, I will make note to look into this and what it may mean. It could have been the reason why he chose you." She made some quick notes on the back of the picture and straightened back up.

"So now, onto the lab. There was a room directly next to the bedroom you were kept in. He would beat you into unconsciousness and then wheel up to the room next door. His goal was to see what would break you the fastest. You did not break as he expected and healed exceptionally fast, so once you had succumbed, he would wheel you into the lab and film his findings and other experiments. He took your tears, some skin, and hair samples. He tried to burn you, but fire wouldn't hurt you. He timed how long it took to heal and what would weaken you. Then he'd take notes on how your healing was affected. He figured out you were a phoenix shortly before you escaped. He had notes planning to kill you. He thought taking some of your ash would keep you from being reborn. He had notes about plans to use your tears, ash, blood, and hair to make himself a phoenix hybrid. We are looking into if this would be possible with a witch's help."

"What?!" All three of my guys shouted. I could see Ryder's eyes shift with the force of his anger. He was struggling not to turn. This made me realize that I had no idea what kind of supernaturals my mates were. It wouldn't negatively affect how I felt about them. I was shocked to find that I loved them. In the little time I've known them and I loved them. Was I nuts? What if they didn't feel the same?

Nate got up from the table and stormed out of the room. I put my hand on Tate and Ryder, making them turn towards me.

"I'm okay. I'm here with you all, and I'm okay. I need to go check on Nate, but I'll be back." Then I got up from Tate's lap and went to find Nate.

He was standing just outside the door with his head in his hands. I reached out and wrapped him in a hug. It was super awkward as I barely came up to his pecks, but I didn't care. He wrapped his arms around me, picking me up.  I laid my head on his shoulder as he held me.

"I don't deserve you," he whispered into my hair. "I could have lost you before ever finding you. I never took mates that seriously, and then you came along. I am ashamed of how I was before you. The thought of losing the person that I love is killing me. I almost shifted in there!" I stilled. Did I hear that right?

"You love me?" I asked, looking at him. I searched his eyes for any sign that he regretted saying he loved me.

He nodded slowly, "I know it feels really soon, but I can't help how I feel. You don't have to feel the same...."

I interrupted, saying, "I love you too. I love all three of you."

Someone cleared their throat, and I turned to find Tate and Ryder standing there smiling.

"You love us?" Ryder asked.

"Did we hear that right?" Tate asked.

Nate, let me slide down to stand on the floor. I pulled Nate to stand with them and then looked at them all and said, "Yes, I love all of you. I don't care if that sounds crazy or too soon. I love you guys. You make me feel loved and safe." I stood there waiting.

Ryder held my face as he kissed me and said, "I love you too. You aren't crazy and I've never been happier than when I met you."

Tate scooped me up, making me laugh. He twirled me around quickly and then set me back on my feet, kissing me. "I was so set on not falling for my mate, but I was a fool and fell without being aware of it. I love you, Emma. I have never felt so complete and right before."

With that, we walked back inside and finished listening to what they found. It was several hours later that we all split up. We had a tentative plan. I had called my parents and told them I was staying at Jen's house for the night. They just wanted me to be safe and to keep my phone charged. I told them I'd still be home in the morning to take Olive to school.

Jen and I stayed up to watch her favorite movie, "Pretty in Pink."