Page 55 of The Immortal’s Mark

“No!” I cry out.

Her eyes narrow. “Why not?”

I meet her gaze and feel the words scrape my throat on the way out. “Because that’s my mom.”

Silence hovers.

Then—

“What?” Eshe’s voice strains. “The one Alexander has been searching for?”

“Yes.”

A low growl vibrates from Gregory’s chest. “She’s been hiding with the clan this whole time?”

I glance at him, thrown by the anger edged into his voice. “I–I guess so.”

“Don’t move.” He vanishes before the words finish leaving his mouth.

Eshe and I stare at the space he occupied.

“Where’s he going?”

Eshe exhales. “Probably to get Alexander.”

I scowl. “Why would he⁠—”

A gust of air precedes the mentioned vampires’ arrival.

I shove hair from my face and meet Alex’s piercing blue stare. He takes one look at my weakened state and blurs across the room, kneeling in front of me.

“Why are you out of bed?” he demands.

“Nice to see you, too,” I mumble back.

His frown remains, but the tightness at the corners of his eyes eases.

“You underwent a major mental transition as well as a physical one,” he says. “You need time to recover.”

“I’m fine.” I lie. “I just wanted to watch the meeting.”

“Then why,” Alex says, turning his head a fraction toward Gregory, “did he tell me you nearly fainted?”

My eyes flick toward the vampire by the door.

Tattle-tale.

“I’m fine,” I repeat, more defiant this time. “I wanted to see the witches who helped me.”

Alex leans back. “Recognize anyone?”

I grit my teeth.

“Oh, you mean the mother who abandoned me? Yeah. Now that you mention it, I’m pretty sure I saw her stand up as one of the seven most powerful witches in that clan.” The words race out hot and breathless. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know,” he says. “Last I spoke with Jennifer, she had left Nightsbane.”

“Yeah? And when was that exactly?”