“Why did you go back and hide those genealogy papers?” I finally asked, my broken heart held together only with anger and the need for the truth. “You knew that Ashe and Michelle were emerging. You knew I was. And you know Sara-Kate is.”
His shoulders fell, as did his face. He took a step towards me, but I took a step back.
“Don’t,” I refuted. “Not until you explain yourself.”
“It’s complicated,” he sighed, exasperated as he ran his fingers through his onyx hair, the strands falling from his usual bun.
“Then uncomplicate it,” I insisted. “We didn’t know for sure,” he began. “Just kept notes on bloodlines and potential emergences.”
“And by ‘we’ you mean . . .”
“My father and I, yes.” Alaric nodded, seemingly embarrassed to admit the truth. “He has a vision of rebuilding a global council of Bloodwrights once more. To combat the Stonebound so that our kind can live in peace and not fear annihilation simply for existing.”
“But if you had a feeling that Ashe and Michelle were emerging, why didn’t you do anything to help them?”
“I tried.” He took another step toward me. “But unless they can survive the first phase of emergence on their own, they are unlikely to connect with a Bloodwright mentor in time.”
“And what about Sara-Kate?” I continued, taking a step towards him until we were only inches apart. “I asked you and you told me I was being paranoid. She is emerging, isn’t she?”
“Not unless a family member dies,” he rebutted, his breath warm on my face. “And as long as her family stays alive, she will be fine.”
“Then why not bring this to the Council? Why hide this from everyone? Why the secrecy?”
“Not many on the Council would understand the need to be proactive,” he reasoned. “Elias, Nico, and your own uncle see what we are as a curse, not a power that we should embrace. They wouldn’t see it the way we do.”
“So, all you’re doing is watching?” I clarified. “Waiting to see who may or may not emerge?”
“I swear to you, Mari, that’s all we are doing,” he confessed. “Just keeping tabs on current bloodlines and keeping an eye out for those that survive the first phase of awakening.”
We sat in the silence that followed for a moment, neither one of us daring to move. I finally asked a question that had been bothering me for so long.
“What about my father’s ring—did you hide that too? Or was that your father?”
His eyes flashed with panic. “You know about that?”
“Of course I know about it.” I bit back. “I went looking for it hoping I could use it as some sort of protection for Sara-Kate, like you did for me.”
He nodded, his shoulders relaxing just slightly. “That ring is important, Mari. My father thinks it could be a key, but I don’t know for what.”
I insisted. “I want it back. It’smine.”
Alaric rubbed his hand over his face, frustration mirroring in his eyes. “It’s not that simple, Mari. My father is powerful, and I am bound to him as his son and apprentice.”
“And I’m your Twinflame.” I retorted. “That should surpass everything.”
He nodded, taking my hand in his, the bond between us flaring warmly. Though we were fighting, there was still an innate need to be close, to touch, our powers skimming at the edge of our fingers.
Another thought came to me, cold like a snake slithering through the grass.
“If you knew I was emerging . . . if you knew I was your Twinflame this whole time—why didn’t you tell me?”
He faltered, his eyes dark and full of unspoken emotion.
“I tried to stay away from you,” he whispered. “I tried to keep my distance and hoped to God you were just a regular, grieving girl. But I couldn’t leave you to suffer. I couldn’t watch the emergence destroy you. I tried to convince my father to tell your uncle. To make it clear to him he needed to intervene. But my father was convinced you and I could be . . .”
He hesitated, his eyes falling to the floor.
“He thought we’d be Twinflames?”
