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“As you know, Betty wasn’t my biological daughter, but instead of my friend having one daughter, she had two.” She twists her hands on her lap. “Mary was born first, and they loved her desperately. Her gifts were obvious at a young age. Magic came easily for her, and she could do a little of everything. When Betty was born a year later, we expected her to be the same. Unfortunately, her spells never came, or at least nothing prominent. The girls were best friends, and at that time, there was no jealousy, but they were young. Their parents died, and the girls were devastated. It was a rough transition, even though they had spent time with me before. As the years went on, Betty began to realize she wasn’t as gifted, and her bitterness grew. I tried to treat them the same and help each of them flourish in their own way. It didn’t work.

“The more powerful Mary became, the more hatred developed in Betty’s heart. She started to resent Mary and me. Their relationship suffered greatly, whereas I was very special to Mary. She turned nineteen, wanted to see the world, and decided to move out. I knew she could take care of herself. She had a talent for sending messages through magic so that she could contact me at any time. Betty remained at home, and her attitude changed without Mary close. We developed a better relationship. Mary was gone for two years, and then she sent me a message: she met her soul bond. Griffon, who went by Daniel then, seemed the perfect man to her. She fell in love. She told me he was genuine and kind, and that he responded to her love in kind. Betty was happier after she met Travis, but things only got worse when we found out Mary was pregnant. I was stuck in the middle and couldn't mend any of the family's relationships.

“Mary didn’t reach out as much, and when she did, our communication was short. I wanted to see her, but she wouldn’t tell me where they lived. I counted down the months for the pregnancy. I worried, so eventually, I did a location spell. It was blocked. I was stuck. All I could do was wait and hope she was alright. Every week, I'd do a spell, searching, but nothing showed me where they were.” She looks at Savy. “I wished to meet my granddaughter and see my daughter healthy and happy.” She exhales harshly. “Time passed, and I wished for a reunion someday, but it felt hopeless.”

“Years without a word, and no clue where they were, suddenly she came to me, holding my two granddaughters. She told me that Daniel was evil and explained everything he was doing. His magic was dark, and he tried to keep her locked away, separated from you. She escaped and begged me to take you. She made me swear to protect you and move away. She promised to send me messages through her magic and find me when it was safe. She had been planning for years, and never told Daniel about us. I agreed. I asked her to come with us, but she insisted she needed to lead him away. I should have done many things differently. My biggest regret was letting her leave. I was thinking about both of you, and I couldn’t let her down.

“I spelled you with protection, and cut off any traces of Mary being there. I packed and left, only telling Betty what was going on, and she agreed to come with us. Mary’s last message to me was an apology, and reminded me of my promise to always protect you. She didn’t want you to know about her, so you wouldn’t try to find your dad, telling me it was the only way to keep you away from him. I knew she was going to do something drastic. She made the choice to go into the water and cut off her connection to him.”

“Why did Griffon…Daniel, give up?” Savy asks.

“She made it look as if you died with her. You were both just babies, and your magic hadn’t appeared, so there were no magical ties to him. He didn’t know how to bond with you, and had barely spent any time with you.”

“Why did Betty and Travis claim to be our parents?” Aria rasps.

“I was afraid. I did everything to protect you magically, yet there was always a possibility he would find us. I made a deal with them. They agreed to take care of you and conceal the truth as long as I supported them. Betty’s temperament had changed, and I thought I could trust her.” She cringes. “It wasn’t the best plan, but I needed time to make sure Daniel wouldn’t find any of us.”

“The dream,” Savy mumbles, and I look at her. “I dreamed of Travis and Betty when I was a girl. Their conversation confused me until now.”

“I shouldn’t have trusted them, but I knew their greed would motivate them to keep the lie going.” She shakes her head. “I should have taken both of you away sooner. I knew they weren’t good to you. Once enough time passed, and there were no signs of Daniel knowing you were alive, I came to get you.”

“Even though Mary asked you to keep it from us, if you explained, we wouldn’t have wanted to look for him,” Savy adds.

“Yes, why hide it?” Aria asks.

“To keep you from looking at me as you're doing now,” she whispers, rubbing her arms. “I know it was wrong, but my only thought was to protect you.”

Savy leans against my side. “Did you know our father was Griffon?”

“I—” She presses her lips together. “I had my suspicions.”

“It’s too much,” she murmurs, rubbing her cheek against my arm. “Later, I want to know more about Mary, but right now, I need time to process.”

Sliding my arms underneath her, I lift her. “Don’t move,” I say, looking at them.

I walk through the house holding her close, and into the bedroom, placing her gently on the mattress.

“Archer,” she breathes.

“You need time. You’re exhausted. Dream walking takes power.” I lean over, my fists on either side of her. “They can wait. You're what’s important.”

“I can’t make you deal with them.”

“You aren’t making me do anything. I’m asking you to regenerate. Don’t worry about anything else.” I kiss her forehead. “Even if you don’t sleep, I want you to rest.”

“Okay,” she whispers.

“I’ll be back.”

She nods, and I stand straight. Returning to the living room, I glance at each of them.

“Is she alright?” Mateo asks.

“No.” I look at Lace. “Will you take Mateo to the store? I want her car here.”

“Of course,” she says, standing.

“Mateo, will you drive it back here?”