Aaron turned back to face her but seemed to purposely avoid looking directly into her eyes. Maybe he had noticed how anxious she became whenever she looked him in the eye, and this was one of his tactics to keep her calm. Staring at a spot on the wall a few feet away from her, he said, “Well, Holland has your card.” He laid it out for her in black and white. “She holds you personally responsible for Carter’s death—her mate of over a thousand years—and she wants to destroy you and your family.”

He paused for a moment, giving the weight of his statement a chance to sink in, but not so long as to cause her to panic. He continued. “Now, we know her present location. We know who she has contacted, where she is going, etc. We know that she is no longer in Iowa, and while she poses no current threat to your family herself at this moment, she has left associates, if you will, in the vicinity.” He glanced at her long enough to see her eyebrows shoot up and assured her, “We have your family under constant surveillance, and they are perfectly fine. In fact, they are just sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner.”

She nodded, but then she fully realized what he had said. Cadence had completely forgotten it was Thanksgiving! Her hands flew to her mouth, and she was about to insist that he let her go home when he reached out and took her gently by the arm. “It’s all right,” he said calmly. “They know exactly where you are; they know why you are here, and they understand the urgency.”

She slowly released the breath she had been holding and nodded her head. Still, she had never missed a Thanksgiving dinner in her entire life, and the thought that her family had to celebrate without her, and without Grandma Janette, made her a bit weepy again.

Seeing the tears well up in her eyes must have made him anxious. He likely did not want a repeat of the situation the night before. “Please, don’t cry,” he said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small package of tissues. “But if you do, these are much more absorbent than leather. Today, I’ve come prepared.”

Despite the tears that were starting to spill down her cheeks, she couldn’t help but chuckle. She took the package and removed one of the tissues, dabbing at her eyes, trying to hold back any more tears. She was also aware that he had not yet removed his hand from her arm, but for now, she did her best to ignore it. “Thank you,” she said. “That’s very thoughtful.”

He nodded, shrugging off the compliment. “That’s not a word I hear very often,” he muttered, finally withdrawing his hand and placing it back in his pocket. “Anyway,” he said, waiting for her to acknowledge if she was ready to return to the conversation. She nodded and he continued. “I just want you to be fully cognizant of the situation and aware of what Holland is capable of. Can we stop her without you? I hope so, but,” he paused, making sure he had her full attention, “it will be a hell of a lot easier with you on our side.”

Cadence sighed now, turning away from him, a bit frustrated. “See, now, that’s what I don’t get,” she said turning to face the door and shoving the tissues in her pocket for now. “What is it that is so freaking special about me?”

Aaron seemed a bit surprised to hear her say that. He must have thought the footage from the night before would be enough for her to realize exactly what her capabilities were. “You seriously don’t know? Didn’t you see the footage from last night?”

She turned back to face him. He was looking at her inquisitively, his arms folded across his well-chiseled chest at which she was pretending not to stare. Returning her thoughts to his question, she replied, “Yes, I saw it, but no, I don’t know. I really don’t have a clue why I’m so special,” she admitted, waving her arms for emphasis.

He scratched his head, as if he were trying to figure out a way to explain it in a way she could understand and believe. “Cadence, you’re the granddaughter of two Leaders. That’s a pretty potent genepool. Let me explain, briefly, and with no visual aids how mating works within the Clandestine Ternion.”

She grinned at his attempt at humor and gave him her full attention. “Are you going to tell me where babies come from?” she asked. He blushed, and for a moment, Cadence forgot he was the invincible leader and saw him as he must have been as a human, just as vulnerable as any of the rest.

After a moment, Aaron continued. “Not exactly. Quite simply, this is how it works. Vampires don’t procreate. They don’t need to. They want more Vampires, they make more simply by infecting a victim with their venom. That isn’t to say they don’t… do other things.”

He looked uncomfortable, but she stifled a giggle this time and focused on the most important part of his statement. “Three bites on the neck Bram Stoker style or any flesh wound Twilight style?” she asked.

“It’s actually one of the few things that saga got right,” Aaron admitted. “It doesn’t have to be in the neck. In fact, any transfer of venom will cause them to change into a Vampire, assuming they don’t die first. And since their venom can also be found in their DNA, even skin cells transferred from a Vampire to a human can cause the infection if they are transferred beneath the skin.”

“So, if a Vampire scratches a human, they could be infected with the venom?”

“Yes, that has been known to happen,” he confirmed.

She nodded and he continued.

“Guardians, Hunters and humans can all create offspring… children,” he corrected, attempting to sound less scientific. She smiled and nodded, amused that he also had an awkward side. “If a Hunter or a Guardian has a baby with a human, that human will carry the gene from their parent’s Passel. Upon Transformation he or she will be what we refer to as either a Level One Hunter or a Level One Guardian.” She nodded, so he continued. “Now, if a Hunter or a Guardian has a child with another Hunter or Guardian—someone of the same Passel, well then that creates a Level Two Hunter or a Level Two Guardian. Slightly more powerful, generally speaking, though not always, than your typical Level One. Okay?”

“Got it,” she said continuing to nod her head.

“All right, but when we cross Passels, something truly powerful happens. Children always get their dominant gene from their mother’s side. So, if your mother is a Hunter, you will be a Hunter. If she’s a Guardian, you’ll be a Guardian. But, the children always retain many of the skills contained in the genepool of the secondary Passel as well. So, the result is an extremely talented individual, such as yourself, who is able to come to full power quickly and have quite an impact on the mission of the Passel.”

Now Cadence became slightly confused. “But, my dad carries the Hunter gene and my mom is a human. So, wouldn’t that make me less powerful?”

He was shaking his head. “Your dad is a Dormant Hunter. And so is your mother.”

Though he had said it calmly, this information caught Cadence off guard, and she backed into the wall again. “What?”

Again, Aaron stepped away from her, giving her some space to breathe. “It’s okay,” he said reassuringly. “I know this is a lot of information. Your mother’s line has been dormant for centuries. In fact, she didn’t even know she had the potential to become a Hunter until after she met your father and was introduced to the Clandestine Ternion through him.”

“So, Papa Jim and Grandma Shirley had never been Hunters or Guardians or Trolls or Fairies or Wickens?” she asked, her head circling around on her shoulders as a sign of her inner confusion.

He couldn’t help but laugh, “No,” he assured her. “They have always been essentially human.”

“Well, I certainly know what it feels like to be essentially human,” she said sarcastically, running her hands through her hair and looking up at the ceiling. He said nothing, giving her time to ingest everything he had told her, but when she glanced his way, she could see he was trying to hold back a grin. “You know what I mean?” she asked.

“Even though I haven’t been essentially human for quite some time, I know exactly what you mean.”

“Okay,” she said, rapidly shaking her head again, attempting to clear her mind. “So, you’re saying if I fully Transform, I’ll be some sort of She-Ra Princess of Power, some sort of bionic woman or something? Wow, listen to those ‘80s references coming through,” she muttered under her breath.

“I believe so, yes,” he said nodding along with her.

She was pacing now, hoping to contain any more random thoughts from coming out of her mouth. “And, I’ll be able to use these superpowers to defeat the powers of evil, such as that bitch Holland?”

“With the right support and training, I think you’ll be able to defeat just about anything the Vampire Passel throws in your direction.”

“And who exactly will be training me?”

“I will,” he stated assuredly.

That made her feel both relieved and nervous. At least she’d learn from the best, even if he had the possibility of being a huge distraction. She continued to pace the small area from the door to the wall, about three steps in each direction, before she pivoted around and went the other way. Her hands were alternating between pulling on handfuls of hair and fanning her face. Again, he seemed to think it would be best to let her absorb this information on her own, so he said nothing.

Finally, after a few moments she turned and faced him. She knew he was right, that this was her destiny, that despite the fact that she was frightened and questioned her own abilities, that, clearly, he had no hesitation whatsoever. And if he believed in her, she truly felt she could do anything. After all, he had no doubt trained and supported thousands of Hunters over the years, and if he said she could do it, well, then, surely, she could.

Aaron stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to speak. Though no words came out of her mouth, she slowly began to nod her head. “Yes?” he asked, clarifying. “You’ll do it? You’ll Transform?”

At first Cadence still couldn’t form the words, but finally, she was able to overcome the lump of anxiety in her throat. “Yes, I’ll do it. I’ll Transform.”

Aaron let out a sigh of relief. Before she knew what was happening, he pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tightly. “That’s wonderful, Cadence. Thank you so much for having faith in me and my team.”

She was taken aback when he embraced her, but once the initial surprise subsided, she loosely hugged him back, noticing he was holding her like a coach might hug a star quarterback after winning the big game and nothing more. “Sure,” she muttered. Then, with more resolve, she added, “I think it’s the right thing to do.”

He released her and took a few steps back. “I agree,” he concurred. “Believe me, you won’t regret this decision.”

She snickered, “No, but you might!”