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Tessa shrugged. “Nothing I can understand. He’s been rambling about you, saying something like ‘he remembers’. When I ask what it is that he remembers, he shuts down.”

Our father must have known something. I had been wondering this ever since Esther whispered about knowing my mother.

They had to have known. They had to have known that I was supposed to be special.

“We can’t trust anything he says,” I reminded her. “He’s lost.”

She looked at me with deep, glazed eyes. “I’ve never seen him like this before,” she said. “It’s like he’s fighting himself.”

Maybe he was fighting himself. Maybe he knew more than he had ever admitted. Maybe deep down, he had buried the truth in an ocean of liquor and never looked back.

Either way, it didn’t matter now.

I crawled under my covers and patted the spot next to me, inviting Tessa to do the same. “He’ll calm down soon,” I said. “Being away from home has to be hard for him, too.”

Tessa curled up next to me. “Do you remember her?” she asked after a few beats of silence.

I took a long breath, trying to recall any memories of my mother.

“No,” I answered honestly. “Although sometimes I see a tall, beautiful woman in my dreams. I like pretending that’s her.”

Tessa giggled. “I think it might be.”

I waited until her breathing slowed down, and I let my eyes shut.

Maybe I would see her again.

CHAPTER10

Malachi

“Ican’t justsummonit like you can,” Jade said. “I don’t know how it happened. It was instinct.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Instinct. Your body knows what to do. Your power knows what to do. Listen to those things.”

She huffed and closed her eyes again.

I had dragged her out of the castle into the safety of the forest. That way, she wouldn’t accidentally burn the castle down if things went wrong.

But at the rate we were moving, the only thing burning down was my patience.

“Try harder,” I demanded.

“You can’t just bark at me to use magic and think that will work, Mal,” she said. I had to admit, seeing her sass me again nearly put a smile on my face. It was a step up from her usual act of ignoring me.

“Fine,” I said. “What do you want me to do?”

“Just…justwait.”

“I can wait,” I said.

“Good. And be quiet.”

I nodded, taking the hint, and backed up a few paces to give her some space.

“The two times I used my power I felt…I felt desperate. I felt helpless.”

I continued to stay silent.