Secret Heart: Other Realm, Frost Family Series, Book 3

Lock 7

Aiden's mind was blank. He stared down at Prophecy, but he couldn't hear anything she said. His ears were ringing and all he could see was turquoise, the color filling up his whole world.

Outside of Aiden's melting brain, the rest of the family were beginning to shake off some of their disbelief.

"Holy shit!" Felix exclaimed. "You had a kid, Aiden?!"

"Oh my goodness. This is amazing, Aiden. I'm so happy right now. I'm an aunt?" Sera asked in wonder.

"She's a beautiful child. I'm glad I was fortunate enough to get to meet you. Your name is Prophecy, isn't it?" Nisha smiled warmly to the child.

"I-I'm glad I could meet everyone," Prophecy tried to smile.

Shoving out of Kazuo's arms, Willow stumbled a little, hurrying to take Prophecy in her arms. "P-Prophecy, this isn't the time to be joking."

Placing her hand on her mother's arm, Prophecy stared up at her mother with her true eye color. It had been a secret that only Willow, Kazuo, Auntie Bri, and Prophecy had known. In fact, Prophecy had not been allowed outside the dojo or around other people until Prophecy was nearly five. At that point, Kazuo got a hold of a old friend and found someone who could enchant a pair of colored contacts so that they would never have to be removed or replaced. It negated the problems that keeping contacts in for long periods of time normally caused. But those contacts had cost three times an 'arm and a leg'.

The girl's lips lifted slightly, but it wasn't exactly what one might call a smile. "I'm not joking, Mommy. I know the truth. Aiden is my Daddy. You can't tell right now, but he has pretty eyes, just like mine," she explained. "He wears eye-covers too. His were just a different color."

"Honey," Willow sighed. "I-I know you were really hoping you'd find your daddy here, but he's not..."

Kazuo let out a long breath. "Willow, you need to wake up and accept what's before your eyes. You can deny it all you want, but that won't change the truth."

Jack released his hold on his sons' shoulders, from when he had been separating them. "Did I accidentally flip the remote to the drama channel this morning?" he muttered under his breath.

"Everyone just needs to be quiet right now!" Aiden burst out, finally pulling free from the mess that was his mind. He moved past everyone else, ignoring both Willow and Prophecy, to sit at the head of the table. Once there, he inhaled and exhaled slowly once...twice...three times. Raising his head, he let his gaze settle on the mother and daughter. Motioning to the two chairs on the far side of the table, to his left, he cleared his throat. "Please, you might as well have lunch while you are here."

Willow stared at him with rage in her eyes, about to tell him off.
But Prophecy ran out of her arms, sitting down in the chair closest to Aiden. "Thank you, Daddy."

At her words, Aiden closed his eyes, face pale. "...You are welcome," he replied in a stiff voice.

"Mommy, come sit by me," Prophecy called out. "You and Daddy have to..." her lips pursed. "Um...it's a test, but there's magic," she tried to explain. "It looks weird and it hurts a little, but not for very long," she quickly reassured, smiling in encouragement. "Then everyone will have...proof!" she exclaimed the word she didn't use often. She nodded her head firmly, satisfied she had explained everything she needed to.

Very slowly, Willow moved to sit next to Prophecy. As she passed behind Aiden's chair, she felt a draft of cold air. Her arms wrapped around her chest and she shivered, biting her lip to keep her fear internal. As soon as she was past him, she couldn't feel the cold air anymore and her breath came out in a soft exhale of relief.