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I pause again, then take a long breath before blowing it out slowly. Shaking my head, I look at each of them with earnest eyes and a hopeful smile before finishing my plea.
“You must see now, the prophecy has come to be, and none of you even realized it until this very moment.”
52
EVERYTHING CHANGES
The stunned silence drags on interminably after my last statement, and I can practically see the wheels turning in every witch’s head as they digest it. Some of the tension in my chest eases as I realize this plan is working.
Bringing them all here, locking them in, and forcing them to listen was the right move. I’ve put them on the path to acceptance, and all they have to do is take the first step.
“And we’re just supposed to take your word for it that the vampires have no plans in the works to destroy us all?” Helena calls out, breaking the thick silence in some last-ditch effort to renew the dissension.
Like she can’t give up the nonexistent fight.
Like accepting my words would be the end of something too important to her.
“Yes. You are,” I say simply. “Because I’m telling the truth. Because the vampires have proven it with their peaceful existence.”
“It’s been less than a year since they revealed themselves,” she counters. “They––no, you could be biding your time until our guard is down, making us all easy targets.”
I cock my head. “For someone who’s spent their precious time and energy putting so much stock into a centuries-old prophecy, you are very reluctant to believe it’s come to fruition. You believe I’m the subject of the prophecy. You know I’m dead, technically speaking. Yet my death, which happened weeks ago, has not set off some Armageddon between the two races. It has, in fact, brought us closer together, linking us in a way no witch in the history of time would ever suspect. I’m not a catalyst for war, Helena. I’m the key to peace.”
I let my gaze roam around the table, meeting every council member’s eyes. They each stare at me thoughtfully, obviously digesting and analyzing my words.
And slowly, they all start to nod.
Helena sees it, too, and I can feel the panic waft off her before she leaps to her feet. Lifting her hands, she starts to murmur, reciting a spell I’ve never heard before. The gasps that ring out around the room tell me it’s bad.
Really bad.
Before I can react, coming up with some counter-spell to protect myself, Helena’s words cut off abruptly with a shriek. She stiffens, her wide eyes rolling back and forth while the other witches stare at her in confusion.
The air around her shimmers, and suddenly, my mother appears behind her, her hand clenched around the back of Helena’s neck as soft, indecipherable words flow past her lips. Everyone gasps again as my own fear drains out of me, and I smile.
“Everyone, I’d like you to meet my mother, Evie Grundelier,” I announce, and the room fills with surprised sounds for a third time.
Mom releases her hold on Helena without a word, and the prickly witch slumps back down into her chair. Mom meets my gaze with a slight nod, telling me without words she has my back and always will, then the air shimmers again, revealing Dad, who’s standing right beside her.
“And my father, Jonah Sparklight.”
“Jonah,” Archibald, the witch Steph put into his place earlier, whispers loud enough for the rest of us to hear.
“Hello, father,” Dad says solemnly, and it’s my turn to gasp in surprise.
My eyes search the man’s face as he, in turn, stares at my dad with disbelief and a touch of awe. I can see the resemblance, there in the eyes. And I didn’t notice before, but the man has my chin.
Or I have his, as it were.
“You died,” Archibald breathes, and everyone else in the room holds their breath, waiting for Dad to respond.
“I fell in love,” Dad says, reaching out to take Mom’s hand. “I couldn’t very well introduce you to Evie and live with her in the Harkherald coven. She’d be recognized as a Grundelier, and I had to protect her from all of this, so I faked my death to be with her. I’m sorry. I saw no other way.”
So, my dad has faked his own death more than once?
I start to shake my head, then freeze as Archibald lunges up from his seat. I lift my hands, ready to protect my father from his own dad, but Archibald simply stalks toward him silently before pulling Dad into his arms for a tight, tearful hug.
I look over at Steph, who looks back at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. Neither of us even considered a family reunion might occur once my father revealed himself today. I’m ashamed to admit, I never even thought to ask which coven he hails from and whether I might have living relatives on his side of the family tree.
