Bloodfire: Other Realm, Frost Family Series Book 2

Burn 10

It only took the five of them two hours to get everything together for their selves and all the kids. Felix was incredibly excited, jumping up and down, all over the bedroom Nisha shared with the children. Aiden seemed a little excited as well, but he was much calmer than his younger brother, helping Jack pack the boys' things. Half an hour before, Jack had made a detour to his room to get his own things while Nisha collected the kids.

Sera was much more reserved about the whole trip. She and Nisha were standing at the end of the second bed. Sera passed over the items that needed to be folded tightly and packed into the suitcase to her mother. But after a few minutes, she stepped close to Nisha. Voice soft, she swallowed and forced herself to speak. "M-Mom...is this really okay? Will we be...s-safe?"

Nisha felt like she had been punched in the gut. Turning, she crouched down to Sera's height. Taking the girl's shoulders in her hands, she smiled into her daughter's eyes. "Sweetie, we'll be just fine. I know that...Well, I know that Jack can seem really scary sometimes. Honestly, I do. But he means well. Your dad just has a lot of...You know how he has control over cold things, how he made the blizzard we came here in?" Slowly, Sera nodded. "Well, part of the price he has to pay for having those abilities is that his emotions are really wild and hard to control. Jack does his best, but sometimes they get the best of him. And when they do, its really easy for him to seem scary. Even so, we have to try to remember that he's doing his best, okay, honey?"

Sera gulped again. "J-Jack isn't...He's not my dad, Mom."

Nisha brushed a stray strand of hair behind Sera's left ear. "Oh, baby. Jack is your dad. Remember? We both have to work on accepting that. You take after me more, as far as looks go. But you have magic, just like Jack, just like Aiden, and just like Felix. All of you have powers." Nisha smiled again. "I'm the only one without any. Mom's the odd man out here," she grinned. Leaning forward, she kissed Sera's forehead. "Let's get back to packing, honey. You'll see. It's why we're going on this trip, so we can get to know each other. It's been a really long time since we were all together."

Sera's voice was even quieter, so much that Nisha almost didn't catch it. "Jack isn't really Felix's dad."

Spine stiffening, Nisha fought down the anger she felt at that. She forced Sera to look directly into her eyes. "Sweetie...Jack is Felix's father and that's the end of this discussion. Do I make myself clear?"

Reluctantly, Sera nodded. "I'm sorry, Mom," she whispered. Her mother rarely got truly angry at Sera or Felix, so she was quick to both agree and apologize.

Sighing, Nisha pulled the girl close into a hug. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten angry like that." Sera held her mom for a few more seconds, then she stepped back. "Okay, so we have all of your clothes packed." Nisha straightened as they went back to their tasks.

Across the room, Felix was bouncing up and down on the bed on his knees. Jack and Aiden were standing at the side of the first bed, sorting through clothes. Their efforts kept being impeded by the hyper toddler though. Sighing, Jack reached out and lifted the boy into his arms, shifting him onto his right hip. "Felix, please calm down."

Instantly, Felix grew stiff in his arms. Jack glanced down, into the boy's face. His dark blue eyes were wide, his shaggy blonde hair half in his face. Unconsciously, Jack lifted up his left hand and gently brushed some of that shaggy hair out of his face, allowing a better look into his eyes. The entire time, Felix stayed quiet, still in his arms. Unsure what was causing the sudden silence; Jack turned back to packing.

Aiden took over folding the clothes, following Jack's instructions, while Jack handed him the articles of clothing. Aiden kept glancing over at his younger brother, as uncertain as his father as to what had caused the sudden change. But neither of them needed to wait very long.