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Wisp’s sudden, quick movement caught my attention, and I realized my fire had slowly crept from me with my rising emotions and was now swirling around the room in a fury, threatening to ignite the furniture and papers around me. My emotions were overwhelmed again. The contracts in my hand crinkled as my hands balled into fists. They had lied to me. All of those moments where I felt I didn’t fit in here suddenly made sense. It was as if my body and heart knew that this was not where I belonged.

I knew my family had never cared much for me, but I still thought this was my home. How could it be, though?

“Did I ever have a home?” I sobbed quietly at Wisp.

She flashed a bright orange.

“I don’t understand why my own family would do this!” I cried into my own hands. I had never felt lonelier and more confused than I did at this very moment. It felt like I was caving in on myself because every foundation I had made to rebuild my life was now crumbling underneath me because of lies and deceit.

Suddenly, I felt something foreign creep into my awareness. It started like a small tug in my chest. I could hardly feel it. But the urgency and pull of it became too intense. I glanced up to see if it was Wisp, but she was gone. My eyes focused on the stone wall across from me. My magic had all swarmed in front of a small section of it, gathered in a single spot as if it were trying to get through to something.

Crossing the room, I ran my hands over the stone wall, not feeling anything. Just when I was going to give up, my finger brushed against what felt like a scratch in the stone. I leaned down to get a better look at it. The mark was carved deeply, as if it were intentional. As soon as I touched it, my head began to pound so violently that I fell to my knees, clutching it with both hands. Suddenly, I felt my magic swarm from me, covering the entirety of the room around me without me willing it to do so.

I tried to focus on what was happening, but my head was pounding too hard as the magic pumped from me too quickly, seeming to take all of my energy with it. Then, just as fast as it had left, my magic swarmed back inside of me. Catching my breath, I looked up and glanced around the room, realizing that it was now completely different than it had been moments before.

Instead of being surrounded by bare stone walls, I was now surrounded by cells.

Scanning around the room, I realized that some sort of enchantment had shielded them from me. And now it was broken.

Slowly, I began to turn in a circle. The cells were small, dirty, and all empty except for the one in the middle. I gasped and jumped back in surprise when I saw that a woman was standing there, staring at me with piercing brown eyes. Her gray hair was unkempt, and her skin was pale. She looked as if she had been in here for a long time.

“Thea,” she muttered in a soft voice. “Thank the moon.”

The phrase was odd. I stood and approached her cautiously. Even though my magic swarmed inside of me, it did not warn me of danger. Once I was close enough to see her aged face smiling at me, I stopped.

“Do I know you?”

The woman frowned.

“A long time ago, I was family to you.” Her eyes glided over my face as if she were seeing an old friend. “I’m sorry, but I can hardly believe my eyes.” Her tone was soft as she cocked her head to the side. “You look just like her.”

“Who?”

“Your mother,” she smiled. Her words formed a pit in my stomach as she continued. “Bayla told me to wait until you came to me, but I got worried that she was wrong, so I came here searching for you. I was discovered, though, and Gwyn and your father locked me in here. I thought I would die in this cell.”

“My mother is dead. You are mistaken.” Disappointment coursed through me.

“I’m not mistaken, but Bayla was right, per usual,” the woman chuckled softly as she spoke of my mother. “But it’s alright because you found me anyway.”

“Who are you, and how did my mother tell you this if she is dead?”

“I’m Rosaline,” she said, pausing to watch me for a reaction. Her name felt familiar, but nothing could tell me why. “I had a son once, Killian, and he was your mother’s fated mate.”

My mind was racing. This woman knew my mother and could help fill in the gaps I didn’t understand. My father had painted a terrible picture of her, and I had always felt like it wasn’t true.

“Bayla and Killian married, but he died before she could bear an heir for the coven. It was your mother’s duty as Queen of the Blood Witches to have an heir. That is where your father came into the picture. The letter will explain it to you.”

“The letter?”

The woman nodded.

“I came here to give it to you, but your father took it. Good thing it was only a copy. Bayla always said to expect the worst outcome and be prepared. Smart woman,” Rosaline said with a smirk.

“My mother was Queen of the Blood Witches.”

“Yes, so I guess that makes you the queen now, even though you are the last blood witch that we know of. I don’t think anyone escaped the slaughter of the coven.” A deep frown took over her friendly face.

“Your mother started having odd visions of you as an adult when you were still a child. She had never had the ability to see your future, so she thought she was cursed at first, but then Killian came to her in a dream and told her that she was being blessed by the gods to see your fate so that she may change it.”