Aether was uncharacteristically silent and on edge during the whole ride back to the Manor, and his tension filled the car.
Alyssa attempted to softly pry the reason for his demeanor and hit a brick wall.
As the engine turned off, Aether hurried out of the car and dashed into the house, going straight to his room.
"Mikael left his bag," Davina noted.
"Be a darling and take it in for him, okay, sweetheart?" Erica said to her.
As Davina went inside, Alyssa and Erica stayed in the car, with troubled expressions.
"Rayna, I think it's starting," Erica said slowly.
"It's happening too soon. Shouldn't it have begun later? Like after his first turning, or on the day?"
"Wait, when's his 17th birthday?" Erica asked.
"June 30th, 16 days from today," Alyssa replied.
The two went silent for a minute, then Alyssa finally said, "I... I think we should tell David."
...
Aether stood motionless, staring at his reflection in the mirror.
His eyes were the normal brown they had always been.
But he was sure he'd seen them turn blue back in the boys' locker room.
The memory was so vivid he knew he wasn't seeing things, rather it was real.
In his troubled state, everything became louder.
The light gale blowing outside sounded like rushing waters as it whipped through the trees, the faucet in front of him dripped lightly but each drop sounded like a small explosion, and the footsteps coming upstairs and to his room reverberated in his ears like thundering drums.
All of it put together was an unbearable torture for him, and all he could do in the end was let out a shout of pain as he fell to his knees.
Davina got to the door just as that happened, prompting her to abandon knocking and just barge in.
Aether's bathroom door was open, and so she immediately saw him, curled up on the floor, hands on his ears.
"Mikael!" Davina dropped Aether's bag and rushed towards him.
She helped him sit up, but not without a struggle, as he seemed intent on staying on the floor.
"Mikael, look at me," she said softly, gently pulling his hands from his face.
She noticed tears down his cheeks, but even more strangely, they seemed to be reflecting a faint cold blue light.
Aether finally revealed his face and looked at her, wincing as the sounds died down to normalcy.
"What's happening to me, sister?" he asked her, the floodgates promising to open again.
For Davina, simply seeing Aether's pained expression was bad enough, watching him cry was something she intended to avoid at all costs.
"Come on, let's get you up," she said, helping him stand.
Apart from the brief while that he looked at her, his eyes remained glued to the floor.
And as they walked out of the bathroom, he seemed to move away from the mirror as much as he could.
"I brought your bag. You left it in the car," Davina said after Aether had gone onto his bed and regained a semblance of composure, gesturing to the bag on the floor.
"Thank you, Artemis."
"You want to talk about what happened?" she probed.
Aether replied, "I don't even know what's going on. I think....I might be going mad."
Davina looked at him incredulously.
"Yeah, perhaps living without outside exposure has finally got to me," he continued.
"What makes you think that?" Davina enquired.
"I'm hearing things, seeing things. Sister, promise me you won't tell anyone, living or dead, what I'm about to tell you." Aether turned serious.
Davina nodded. "I promise."
Aether took a deep breath. "Back in the locker room at school, I saw my eyes light up blue in the mirror. That's why I rushed you into the car, and it's the reason for my behavior recently."
Davina didn't respond for a bit. Her eyes scanned his with a curious but concerned intensity.
After a while, she said, "I believe you."
"You do?" Aether was surprised.
"Truth be told, I do think this is all madness, but I saw your tears reflect blue light back in the bathroom, and your bathroom light is white. I can't disbelieve something I saw with my own eyes."
She held his hands in hers.
"I promise I won't say a word to anyone. But Mikael, what are you? Even worse, what if it happens to me too?"
Aether replied, "I doubt whatever it is will affect you, at least right now."
If the siblings had paid attention to their surroundings, there was a chance, however slight, that they would have heard the sound of footsteps silently leave the doorstep and go downstairs.
Erica sighed and muttered under her breath, "It's even worse than I thought."
...
A stable connection established itself quickly, and soon Adrian's face appeared on Alyssa's phone screen.
"Hello, sweetheart," he greeted her.
She forced a smile and said, "Hi, love. How's it going?"
Adrian smiled back and replied, "Greece is wonderful, and I'll be back home in a week's time, but I know you enough to decipher the worry hidden in your eyes. What's the matter, Rayna?"
Alyssa responded, "It's Aether, we have a problem. It's started way sooner than it should have."
That wiped the smile off her husband's face.
"How long has this been going on?"
"We don't know yet, Diana's gone to his room to glean information."
Adrian sighed. " If all goes well, I should be there till after his birthday. That'll allow me to be with him for his first turning so I can guide him and properly induct him into the other side of our family."
The passenger side door opened, and Erica got in.
"What did you get?" Alyssa immediately asked of her.
"It seems as though it's been happening in stages, and today was the worst. We should have paid more attention to this when Davina told us about that race," Erica answered with a sigh.
"What race?" Adrian asked sharply.
Erica explained to him.
"Who did he race?" Adrian asked, some thread of an even bigger tapestry seemingly close to connecting with something.
"A friend of his, I think his name was Aiden," Alyssa replied.
"That's Kai's boy," Adrian told them, surprising them both.
"What? But isn't that thing still active?" Erica asked.
"Nothing seems to be going as it should, Diana. The little wolf is waking up sooner than he should be, and Kai's son is displaying speed he should not have, especially considering the issue with his family."
Adrian went quiet, letting the information sink in before continuing, "I want you to watch them both. Aiden's older than Mikael and so is a much bigger risk come Full Moon. It's either somehow Aiden's proximity to the boy triggered an early awakening, or my son's just that special. Or an entirely different problem altogether."
"Let's just hope it's the second one, right?" Alyssa said with a small smile.
Adrian nodded and said, "Indeed. And oh, hello, little sister," before ending the call right after.
Erica flared up. "Is he serious?"
Alyssa calmed her down. "Relax, Diana, that reaction is exactly what he wanted. Be a sweetheart and don't give in."
.....
June 16th
Graystone Manor
"Mom, my friends and I wanted to meet up in town. May I go?" Aether asked Alyssa, who was instructing the chef on the lunch menu for the day.
"Where are you guys going?" she asked.
"Blue Wind Park." "Okay."
Aether gave her a little kiss on the cheek. "You're the best."
"Indeed I am," she whispered, smiling gently as he went out, calling the butler's name.
As William Alder started the car, Aether texted Aiden,
[I'm on my way. Where do we meet up?]
Aiden replied, [Let's meet at the park entrance. We'll be waiting for you there.]
Fifteen minutes later, the Bentley pulled up at Blue Wind Park, and Alder opened the door for the lordling.
True to their word, Aether's friends were waiting for him.
Aiden stared at Alder, who returned the gaze and bowed slightly with a look of recognition.
After the pleasantries, the four watched the Bentley drive off.
Once the car was out of sight, Aiden turned to Aether sharply.
"That was William Alder. I've seen him a few times when my dad hosted balls for the city's elite. Who is he to you?" he asked with a look of apprehension.
Austin and Aya seemed curious too.
It appeared they were all familiar with the man.
"He's my family's butler," Aether answered truthfully.
Aya spoke, and that was the very first time since the awkward greeting on Aether's first day at Westlake that she spoke to him directly of her own volition.
"What else haven't you told us?"
Aether sighed. 'Oh well, I couldn't hide it from them forever.'
He replied, "My father is Adrian Graystone, Lord of Blackwood. And as I am his only child, I guess that makes me the prince of the city."
The three stared at him in silence, and it became more than a little uncomfortable for Aether.
"You mean to say..." Aiden said, "... that we've been neighbors this whole time!?"
"What?" Aether was confused.
Aya explained for him.
"Graystone Hill has four Manors, not one. Your family sits at the top of the hill, and ours directly below on three sides. You didn't know because you never left the house, and none of us knew about you, not even our parents."
"So, Lord Graystone," Austin began, "care to tell us exactly what's going on with you?"
Aether smiled awkwardly and replied, "It's... complicated?"