Unraveling Selena by Marisa Maichel (black female authors TXT) 📕

Free” from the movie Sing. The Beautifuls chimed in after the first verse. Sarah and Ariella were perfect, of course. The rest of them had improved, but could still use some improvement. Angela sang way off-key, as did Sara Blynn.

Sarah sang the main chorus every time, the rest of the verses filled with all of their voices. The song finished with a flourish, and the Beautifuls bowed at the same time, holding hands. The audience clapped hard for them as well.

Next was Sarah by herself. It was “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton.

Her voice was clear, high-pitched, sweet, perfectly in key. Her tones were perfect, her melody, the harmony, absolutely perfect.

Something caught my eye. Apollo was here. I hadn’t seen much of him over the past few weeks. Avoiding Alexander deliberately. Now that Kieran was back, however, he stayed close. I looked up into the crowd. Mother was still filming.

Other Mordecai and Other Alexander were also here, hiding in the back, away from the crowd. They watched Sarah fascinatedly. As if she were important to them. She was significant, but more significant to us, in her universe.

I noticed a flash of red…Marius! What the fuck was he doing here? I was going to kill the guards.

He had an odd look on his face, one of shock, then regret, then hatred, then happiness and love. I’d deal with him later. I shot Father a quick text letting him know Marius was here. He responded quickly, telling me to let it go for now and he’d deal with it later.

Sarah finished the song, and the audience clapped for her.

Last was Scarlett. She sang an odd rendition about love, and psychotics, and danger, and witchcraft, vampires, and hatred. She got little more than polite applause for that one.

I packed up my guitar and met my family out in the front.

“Good song, son,” said a random man.

Father was waiting for me. He looked furious.

“I can’t believe Marius is here!” Mother said, practically pulling her hair out. She was getting some looks, not just because of her incredible beauty, but because she was yelling and could be heard over the din. And she was getting a lot of looks, even from other women, due to the fact that she wore a tight black minidress and sharp stilettos.

Her normally wild hair was pulled back in a clip, and her lips were painted dark red. Her legs shimmered with lotion, smooth and creamy. My own mother would be considered a MILF to the other guys. I would kill them if they so much as made a comment about it.

Gross.

Sarah herself had a bevy of admirers, so it took her a while to reach us.

“You were wonderful tonight, darling,” Mother purred.

“I saw Marius,” Sarah said. She looked at me.

“I suppose I wasn’t specific enough with the guys,” I said.

“It isn’t your fault, Reese,” Father said. “Dimitri is the lead guard. He, at least, should have known better.”

“We’re getting a lot of looks,” Louis said, looking around.

“Because we’re tall and powerful,” Uncle Soren told him. “Not to mention the beauty of our women. And talent.” I hissed at him. “Hush, Reese.”

I noticed Elliot approaching Sarah with a rose.

“You were great, Sarah,” he said, handing her the rose.

“Thanks, Elliott,” Sarah said. She yawned.

“Time for bed, I think,” Mother said.

“Hello, gorgeous,” said a man with a lecherous smile.

“I’m with my husband,” Mother replied instantly.

“Shucks. All the gorgeous ones are taken.”

Alexander glared after him. “The trials of love. Possessing the most gorgeous woman on the planet.”

“Be quiet, Alexander.”

Alexander shut up, without even a glare.

Sarah had to fight off more admirers, finally able to break away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When we got home, I pulled the guards aside.

“I meant for you to kill Marius!”

“I told you he wouldn’t be happy,” said Toby to Dimitri. Dimitri looked guilty.

“What’s going on, Dimitri?” Father asked. “You have been lax in your service lately. What is going on? Is it a woman?”

“The Council,” Dimitri finally admitted. “They asked me to keep an eye on you.”

“The Council?” Father was aghast.

“That doesn’t explain why you let Marius go!” I shouted. Uncle Soren put a hand on my shoulder.

“We’ll take care of him later, Reese. I know he hurt Sarah’s dog, but he’ll have to wait. Alexander and Marina will take care of him. It’s their responsibility, anyway.”

“Are you saying that we don’t have a duty to protect Sarah?”

“That’s not what I said. Calm yourself, nephew. Father, we have to disband the Council. They are power-hungry and controlling.”

Grandfather pushed on the counter. “We have to let the vampire world decide. Would they rather have us, who have always been fair, or a Council?”

“A vampire democracy?” Father said. “Father, you’re not serious.”

“I am, boys. I’m getting old. I cannot…I will not be around much longer. Soren, you will have to step up as king.”

“Father…”

We were all stunned.

“I thought you said Louis was taking him back to Denmark,” I told Father.

“I did say that. Father, what’s going on?”

“I’m tired of living. I want to die.”

“Father…”

“Reese, room,” Father said. “We have to talk to your grandfather.”

I shot him a dirty look and stomped up to my room, making a cacophony of noise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nothing was settled the next day. Dimitri had been let go, fired. Spencer stepped up as head guard. A meeting was called to decide the fate of the Council. I hadn’t even known about the Council weeks ago, and yet here we were. Forgive me if I complain about trust issues.

The worst part was, I couldn’t trust my guard, not even Toby, and he was also a friend.

I went to a bookstore and bought about twenty books, then purchased a cup of coffee. Forcing myself to drink dirt was my own form of self-punishment. For not making sure that Marius was dead. I sat in a chair and read a fantasy novel for about two hours.

The coffee turned sour in my gut, churning and sloshing. Since vampires can’t pee, I’d have to hold it in until I found a private place to throw it up. I turned to the next novel, but something caught my attention. A black cat.

The cat was a shorthair, probably Burmese. It stared at me, the blue collar around its neck twinkling with sparkles, and I realized it was female. Her yellow eyes pierced mine, one species to another. She yawned and stretched, her claws out. She continued to stare at me, her pink tongue lolling out. She jumped up and settled onto the arm of the chair in which I was sitting. I offered my hand for her to smell.

She did smell it, then frowned, as if she smelled something she didn’t like.

“Sasha, quit bothering the customers,” said a pretty blond witch. I could tell she was a witch by the scent of her blood. Witches, wizards, and warlocks have an earthy smell, very clean. “Sorry about that,” she said, picking up the cat.

“Oh, she’s fine,” I said. “I haven’t seen you around before.”

“Oh, I’m new here. I just moved here from Salem.”

“The witch town.”

She laughed a hearty laugh. “Exactly. Too much magic in the air. Too many psychics and witches competing for the same clients.”

“I hope you’re not like that.”

“Oh, no, I’m not. I’m Mary Twain.” She held out a ringed hand.

“Reese,” I said, taking it. She pulled back at my touch, shocked by the cold. She took a closer look at me. “Yes, I’m a vampire.”

She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ll leave.”

“No, no! Do you have a girlfriend named Sarah Cresley?”

“Yes,” I said carefully. “How do you know her?”

“Not personally, but she is…well, your destinies are special. She’s the one. The princess. The one who will bring all the immortals together.”

“My Sarah? My girl? My future wife?”

Mary nodded excitedly. “It was the talk of Salem fifty years ago. My great-grandmother, Tara, made a prediction. ‘She will bring the immortals together. The one with the power to vanquish the evil from her life forever. She will bring the immortals together. The vampires and the werewolves and the Fae and the Chosen.’”

“The Chosen?”

“Witches, wizards, and warlocks, Reese!”

I had personally never cared for The Chosen One trope, for many reasons. Nor did I believe in it in real life. I packed up my books and got up to leave.

“Where are you going?” Mary asked.

“I don’t believe a word you’re saying. I think you’re a creep. Leave me and my girlfriend alone.”

“But Reese, it’s the truth! She’s special!”

“She is, but I don’t- “

What didn’t I believe? That she could change the world? I knew she could. She changed the attitude of an entire school. She was a princess, or she soon would be. Her name alone meant princess. I didn’t want her to have a bigger burden than she already had.

Was I being selfish?

I looked back at the blond witch. “Tell me everything.”

“I already did. She’s the one.”

“Can I have your phone number?”

“Oh, absolutely!”

We exchanged numbers and I texted her to make sure it was right.

When I got back to Mother’s house, I found Sarah doing sit-ups and stretches in her room on a yoga mat. I admired her smooth, stretch-marked stomach. She had gained weight, which was good.

“Hello, boyfriend,” she cooed.

“Hello, girlfriend. What’s up?”

“Coffee’s doing better. We can pick her up tomorrow.”

“That’s good. I know how much you love her.”

The little brown Chihuahua didn’t particularly like me, but she tolerated me. And I knew how much the girls loved the little yappy tyrant with a Napoleon complex. I sat on Sarah’s bed, staring at her diary cover.

“How’s the book coming along?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I should plan it out, or just go in.”

“Wing it. Planned books are boring.”

“That’s not true, and you know it.”

“Yes, I know. But do you know what you want it to be?”

“I have a rough idea. A girl who falls in love with a vampire.” She looked at me as she planked.

“I like that idea. And then she becomes a vampire herself and marries him.”

“Maybe. That’s a huge maybe. She’ll miss the sun for sure. She has to decide who she likes more, her humanity or his immortality.”

“She’ll live forever, which is a huge bonus, because he’ll live forever no matter what.”

“Her family will die out and she’ll be alone.”

“No she won’t. She has his family, which she’s gotten close to.”

“She has to decide if she’s being selfish enough to live for him or die for her family.”

“She has to realize that love isn’t selfish, and she won’t be considered such if she were to choose his path, a path that he didn’t choose.”

She thought about that, her lips pursed.

“I got you a book,” I said, holding up the newest poetry book by Jamie Williams, her favorite author. She squealed and jumped up, flipping through it.

“He’s so gorgeous,” she sighed.

“Um, I’m right here.”

“You’re more gorgeous, Reesie.” She pinched my cheek. But she stared at his photograph.

He had a clear, prominent jawline and cheekbones, his eyes bright ocean blue and his hair was long and blond. He wore a black turtleneck and a black blazer. Barf. I wanted to kill him.

I struggled to keep my jealousy under control, but I snarled at his photograph until she slammed the book shut and kissed me passionately, throwing her arms around me.

“You’ll always be my guy,” she purred. “Besides, sex with you is amazing. You have the biggest one I’ve ever seen. And felt.”

“That’s a big freaking compliment,” I said, my ego growing.

“Dance with me?” she asked. She pressed a button on the stereo remote, and “Beauty and the Beast” began playing. I grabbed her around the waist, taking her hand in mine. We moved around her large room, my heavy boots making more noise than her small feet. She gazed at me, her green orbs piercing my heart. Cupid’s arrow hit me again.

She turned off the stereo, making the music stop after the song was done. She settled herself on the bed, patting the spot beside her. I kicked off my boots and cuddled with her, wrapping