Aydin’s words take a second to sink in, and when they do, I’m fucking livid.
“Whoa, pump the fucking breaks. You never said anything about finding any relatives! You said this would just tell me if I’m a caster or not!” I seethe at Silva.
“We need to not only confirm what you are, but we need to know where you come from,” Silva replies, showing zero remorse over not telling me the whole story.
“I already fucking told you where I come from.”
“No, you didn’t, because you don’t even know,” he shouts back at me.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“If Beth didn’t possess magic, then there’s no way she could be your biological mother. For a child to obtain magic,bothparents have to pass it down. We don’t know how you ended up with nons, or how you’ve even survived on your own for this long. It doesn’t make any sense. Weneedto know where you come from.”
I plop down on the sofa, and the cushion bounces back against me. All my rage drains away with Silva’s revelation. I’m not sure if I should feel relief or rage right now.
What the actual fuck?
Is that why Beth hated me? I’ve spent most of my life trying to solve that puzzle, is this the missing piece? But if I wasn’t hers, then why the hell did she keep me for as long as she did?
“Well isn’t that just fucking perfect,” I grumble to myself.
Theyneed to know where I come from, but I seriously doubt that road leads anywhere good. You don’t leave a child you care about with someone like Beth. Whoever I come from and wherever they are, they obviously left me on my own for a reason.
9
“Okay Vinna, I’m going to activate the spell. If it works, you’ll feel a small pull on your magic. It won’t hurt, and it will be over quickly," Keegan tells me.
I don’t respond. I get up and wander over to the bookshelves succumbing to the sudden need to move. They already have my blood and clearly plan to complete this spell regardless of how I feel about it. Pricks. Well the jokes on them. They can tell me if I’m a caster, but they’re leaving tomorrow, so even if they discover someone related to me, it doesn’t mean I’ll let them findmeagain.
Now that I know about them, I can try to track down some other casters and see if they can teach me more about my magic--that is, if that’s even what I am. There’s a flash of light inside the bowl Keegan’s working over, and a trickle of red smoke wafts up from it. I feel a quick jerk in my chest, but just like Keegan said, it’s over almost as soon as it starts.
I run my finger over the spine of a leather-bound book, and I hear a sharp intake of breath.
“Impossible!”
I turn around at Lachlan’s pained shout. He leaps over the back of the couch and slams me into a bookshelf. I’m so shocked that I don’t initially react. He has one hand around my throat and the other digging into my shoulder. He shakes me as he screams in my face, asking things that make no sense to me.
Hands appear on Lachlan, trying to pull him off of me, but his hold around my throat is solid. Rage overtakes my shock, and I call on the runes of two short swords. I move one to Lachlan’s throat and the other to his dick. The look on Lachlan’s face is pained and manic, but I see the trickle of fear that seeps into his face when he registers the blades biting into him.
Everyone goes quiet and steps away from us at my silent threat. Lachlan slowly drops his grip from around my throat. I push against him, and he backs up to keep the knives from cutting him deeper. A trail of blood leaks out around the blade I hold at his neck, but there’s not a single ounce of me that cares.
“I don’t know what the fuck your damage is, but if youeverput your hands on me again, I will fucking end you," I seethe at him, pressing him back even more.
“Vinna, you don’t understand--”
“I don’t care!” I shout at whoever’s trying to defend this asshole. “Keep this fucking mental case away from me!”
Hands wrap around Lachlan’s shoulders and pull him free from my blades. I let them take him away, but I hold firmly to my weapons, staring at everyone else in the room and daring them to test me.
Silva moves towards me, and I crouch defensively. He raises his hands in a placating gesture and stops.
“I won’t hurt you. I just want to know if you know where Eden is, or Vaughn and Lance?”
Silva’s voice breaks with emotion when he says the name Eden. I stare at him, completely confused.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about," I yell at him.
Silva closes his eyes, seemingly in pain from my declaration. I see Keegan cradling Lachlan’s head against his shoulder and speaking in hushed tones with him. It’s clear that Lachlan is in pain, but I can’t be bothered to care to know why.I need to get out of here.I start to back away, easing my way toward the doors that mark the closest exit.
