Truth, Lies, and Silver Eyes (A Sequel to STRQ) [Book 2]

Chapter 21: Summer

"Where did Uncle Qrow go?" Deke asked me.

I shrugged as I looked over his work. "I'm not entirely sure. I'm guessing it has to do with his sister."

His eyes lit up. "He has a sister? He never told me! Is she nice? What's her name? Is she—"

I reached over and placed my hand on his. Instantly, he quieted down and gazed at the floor.

"Sorry," he said in a whisper.

I smiled at him. "It's okay. I know you have a lot of questions. I guess I could tell you a little bit about Qrow's sister if you're really that interested. We were all on the same team together, so I got to know her well."

"You were on a team with both of them? That's so cool!"

"I would call it more dangerous than cool. But I did enjoy my time with them both."

"Oh. Cool!"

I smiled as he returned doing his work. Qrow walked in a few moments later, startling us both.

"Hi, Uncle Qrow! Where'd you go?" I heard Deke ask him.

Qrow smiled a bit. "Just went to check on someone. No big deal."

"Oh. Was it your sister?"

Qrow's smile faded instantly.
"How do you know about her?" he asked.

Deacon looked nervous as he answered, "Oh. Um..."

"I may have mentioned to him earlier. But I only mentioned that you had a sister. I didn't tell him anything else," I said quickly.

"That's not true. You also said you were on a team with them," Deacon replied.

I turned to glare at him. "You didn't have to mention that part."

Qrow just sighed and shook his head. "Deke... I need to talk to Summer alone for a bit. Can you go and occupy yourself for a little while?"

Deke nodded. "Yeah. I'll be exploring outside."

He stood from his chair and walked over towards the front door.

"Don't explore somewhere too far off," I said,
"and don't stay out too late okay? I'll have dinner ready by seven tonight."

"Okay. I'll be back later!"

Once he was out the door, Qrow sat on one of the couches and put his head in his hands. I walked over and sat next to him.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. "Is this about your sister? I really hope she's okay."

"She's fine. She just shared with me some news that was... surprising to say the least."

"What did she tell you?"

"She told me that she's pregnant."

My jaw dropped. I didn't expect Raven to have a child. She didn't seem to be... the motherly type to me.

"Oh. That's great, isn't it? You're going to be an uncle!"

He sat there quietly for a moment.
"I guess. I'm just a bit overwhelmed by everything that's going on. We have Deacon to take care of, Salem's subordinates to deal with, and now my sister is having a child. I don't think I can deal with all of this..."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "But you are dealing with it. Despite all that has happened, you're still here. I think that says a lot about you. It tells me that you're a strong person and you don't give up easily. I admire that about you."

Qrow turned to look at me. "...Do you really feel that way?"

I nodded and smiled. "I do. And I wouldn't worry about Raven having a child. You're going to be an amazing uncle."

He smiled back and learned forward to kiss me. When our lips parted, I leaned my head against him and closed my eyes.
...

"Don't you see, Laurel? The power doesn't belong to you anymore."

My eyes flew open to see the person who was speaking. I wasn't inside the house with Qrow anymore. I was somewhere else. I saw Laurel a few feet away. She looked horrible. She had numerous cuts and bruises all over her body. Her mouth was slightly open as if she was going to say something. She said nothing as she coughed. A small amount of blood trickled down her chin and onto the ground. Aleya stood over her. Her foot pressed firmly on Laurel's back, preventing her from moving and running away.

"The power... didn't choose you," I heard Laurel choke out. "The maiden powers are to be respected. All you're doing... is abusing the power."

Aleya smirked. "I'm not abusing anything. It's my duty to do this. For my Queen."

Laurel looked confused. "Who—"

Before she could finish, Aleya quickly took her blade and sliced Laurel's throat. Blood splattered onto the ground while Laurel screamed. Her scream was cut short and I gasped and turned away. I couldn't watch anymore.

"Now that I finally have this power... I'll have to use it on someone.."

After a few moments, I got the courage to open my eyes again. I saw Aleya's face staring straight into mine.

"Hm... I think I'll go after you, first... Summer Rose."

Her eyes glowed with the same power Laurel's had. Her face was filled with hate as her blade pointed straight at my throat.

"Die!" she snarled.

I opened my mouth to scream.

"...Summer? Summer!"

I gasped and bolted up. Qrow was still sitting next to me, rubbing my back gently.

"Qrow? Did I fall asleep?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. But it was only for a few minutes. I woke you up as soon as you started to scream. Are you okay?"

I took a shaky breath. "I'm not sure. I think Laurel is in trouble. I saw Aleya kill her. I would go after her, but we have Deacon and I don't want to leave him. I bet you don't either."

Qrow shook his head. "I would prefer not to, but I can go after her in your place if you want."

"No! You saw what she did to you last time. She'll just do that again. It's probably just a stupid nightmare anyway. Don't worry about it," I said.

Qrow sighed. "Okay. If you don't want me to then I won't. I'd still like to come up with a plan just in case though."

"She did mention in my dream that she was coming after me. Let's stay where we are for now. If Aleya decides to show up, we'll just fight her off," I suggested.

"Yeah. Sure. That could work."

I smiled. "I'll go start on dinner. Could you go and find Deke for me? I don't want him exploring the ruins too late at night."

"Sure. I'll go look for him in a little while. It's still light outside," he said.

I smiled and made my way back to the kitchen, my mind racing with thoughts.