Tales & Time (Lost Time Academy #1)(3)

“That makes a lot of sense,” I say drily, and he laughs loudly, finally putting the paper down.

“So, what is the damn cat and moon tattoo on my wrist? Is someone going to explain the tattoo with another crazy story?” I ask, holding out my wrist, and my parents look at each other with a small smile.

“Yes, we will,” my mum states, sounding proud and glancing at my wrist. “Your grandmother is going to be so happy, she thought that you might get the powers one day,” mum says with a massive smile.

“No, we will never hear the end of how your mother was right—again—you mean,” Dad groans.

“What powers? Can someone just explain what the hell is going on?” I snap, placing my hands on my hips, and mum puts an arm around my shoulders in comfort. Even with how freaked out I am, my parents just instantly calm me somehow.

“Let’s go and sit down. It’s a long story and one I have waited so long to tell you, Madi,” she says gently. I have a feeling whatever this story is might change everything.





Chapter 2





“Fairy tales are real,” my dad states first before my mum can speak as he sits on the sofa opposite me. My mum hands me a glass of water as I gape at dad’s words, before she goes to sit next to him. I almost nervously laugh until I spot my dad’s serious expression.

“You must be joking,” I suggest, and he shakes his head with a huff. But my dad jokes about a lot of things, so clearly this must be one of them. Fairy tales aren’t real. There is no wolf in the woods that eats girls with red cloaks on their way to grandma’s house. There is no prince looking for a cleaner who lost her slipper at midnight at his ball.

“Not at all, sweetheart. I’m going to tell you our family history, and then you can ask me questions,” he tells me, and I nod, not knowing what to say anyway. I don’t want to believe him, but then I keep thinking about the glowing book and the words I heard, not that they made much sense. I’ve also never known my dad to lie to me. Mum was the one who told me the stories about the tooth fairy and Santa, and Dad was the one who told me they weren’t real when I asked. My dad doesn’t lie to me, and that makes this whole situation so much more serious. I glance down at my wrist which still slightly stings from the damn cat tattoo, and I know I can’t just pretend this isn’t happening. That this isn’t real.

“There once were three goddesses, all sisters and very powerful. The oldest sister made the humans and gave life to earth and every living thing in it. The second sister became jealous of the first and her love for the humans, so she created humans with powers, dark powers, and they started killing the humans in jealousy of their simple lives with no curses. The first goddess died trying to protect her humans, but it was no use. Over time, the dark humans had children who hunted the remaining humans for sport, forcing them into hiding. The third sister, who was the quiet one, never chose a side between her sisters. However, when she heard the oldest sister died, she knew something had to be done to stop the whole of earth being destroyed. So she created the originals, the fairy tales, as humans came to know them. They said she blessed three hundred of the hiding human families with powers, and they fought back against the dark ones and kept the peace on earth after. The dark ones are marked with a circle with an eye in the middle, and a wolf sitting on the eye. The originals have the moon and cat tattoo which you now have,” he tells me this tale of goddesses, fairy tales and things I never believed in as I rub a finger over my own tattoo. I’m a descendant of this goddess. That is what my dad is telling me.

“What happened to the two sisters after?” I ask. I’m pretty sure two powerful goddesses don’t just disappear.

“No one knows that, but we believe they must have died at some point,” he tells me before continuing. “Maybe they decided to give the creatures they created some peace.”

“The originals had children, some received powers and others did not. The ones who did not also had children, and some of their children received powers. This went on for many years, with original generations being lost in the fight against the dark ones who kept breeding as well,” my dad says, and my mum gives me a sad look as a shiver travels across my skin.

“Dark ones are still alive?” I quietly ask.

“Yes. We never told you any dark fairy tales growing up, but surely you must know some from school or movies,” my mum suggests gently, and I nod, thinking of any fairy tales I can and somewhat trying to push them from my mind.

“Which one of you are descendants? I’m assuming you, mum, if grandmother knows about all this,” I say.

“Both our families are descendants, darling. My mother has powers, and her mother before, but not me,” mum tells me, and I pick up the slight sadness in her tone and the way dad wraps an arm around her shoulders.

“You think I have your family powers?” I ask in a whisper, and mum goes to answer when dad pats her leg and leans forward on his seat, stopping her from whatever she was going to say.

“What did the book say to you?” my dad asks me, and I think back to the creepy words the book said. I don’t remember it all, it was all too much at the time, and I have a feeling I might regret that at some point.

“Something about sleep, and two hundred years, and a curse,” I say, and my dad grins. “I don’t really know what else. It was said too quickly.”