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“What does that mean?” Aiden asked, finding his voice. It wavered, but she didn’t know what that meant.
“Her father’s absence and her mother’s death. Had those two events not occurred, Sara and Elizabeth Walsh would have never adopted a baby girl from Ireland. Charlotte would have grown up in Ireland and never found her way to this part of the country, never crossing paths with Blaire, nor you.”
Aiden put his elbow on his thigh, rubbing at his forehead with his thumb and first two fingers.
“Sara Walsh knew to go to Ireland.”
Charlotte’s eyes turned into saucers. “What do you mean Mom knew to go there? I thought the adoption agency contacted them about me first.”
“They did. They provided your adoptive mothers with a list of various countries.” The Oracle smiled. “There is more to Sara Walsh than meets the eye, child.”
“Okay, at the risk of sounding like a broken record…” Charlotte threw her hands out at her sides. “What does that mean?”
The Oracle’s laugh sounded melodic and sweet. Not something Charlotte would expect from such an old woman. “The voices.”
“Voices?”
“Does she not speak of the voices?”
“Yeeeah,” she said, hesitation heavy in her tone.
For as long as Charlotte could remember, her mom had shared things the “spirits” would tell her. Many years ago, she opened up to friends about it, but they thought she had schizophrenia—or some other mental health disorder. She lost people whom she thought cared about her. To shield herself and her family, she stopped speaking of it outside of their home. Charlotte’s ma always said it was her mom’s intuition talking to her, but she never outright said the voices weren’t real or that her mom had mental illness.
“I am not the only one the Celestial Conclave whispers to.”
Charlotte lowered herself slowly into the chair to her right as the weight of this new revelation settled over her.
“Like you, she is another human with dormant magic lingering in her blood. It has guided her in all facets of her life, even if she is unable to harness it to its full potential. Had our worlds never split apart, she would have the same capabilities as I have. A seer and prophetess for the Celestial Conclave, but as a human.”
She leaned back, her hands lifting to cover her mouth.
Aiden interlaced his fingers, sitting forward in his chair, both elbows on his thighs. “Does that mean when Blaire becomes Vasirian, Sara will awaken, too?”
“That’s correct, but not much will change for her. The Celestial Conclave has always reached her through the barriers put in place during the Blood War. The only difference will be awareness. She will learn of this world and the reasons behind why her mind leads her in the right direction. Why the voices guide her as they do.”
“Will she find a Korrena if she’s magical like me?”
That her mom might discover a mate in the Vasirian world when the balance righted itself turned Charlotte’s stomach. What would her ma do? She didn’t want to imagine the heartbreak.
“No, child. Not every human with magical affinities will be destined to pair-bond with one of our kind, but there will be many who will. Sara is not one of those humans.”
She blew out a breath, the relief chasing away the acid churning in her stomach.
Aiden asked, “Do they know about our kind? Her mothers, I mean.”
The Oracle tilted her head as she studied Aiden, a genial smile crossing her face. “They know what they need and share what they must.”
He snorted, shaking his head.
It seemed as if her mothers knew a lot more than they ever let on, but this time Charlotte was thankful for the Oracle’s cryptic words. If word spread that her mothers even suspected the existence of the Vasirian, they faced consequences Charlotte could never stand by and allow without a fight.
45
UNEXPECTED DESIRES
Aiden stepped ahead of Charlotte and looked around their dorm room, entering the bathroom next to check for intruders—his new routine of the past few days. When Blackthorn Security gave them the “all clear” to return to their dorms after their meeting in the administration building days ago, he wondered how she would respond to entering the dorm again after James had violated the space. He’d charged in ahead of her to ensure they were alone and felt a flare of gratitude through their bond, showing she appreciated the protective move.
Her father was still missing, but Headmistress Velastra had assigned increased security on the grounds and the dorms, so no one got in or out without security seeing them. A guard stood posted at the entrance of each dormitory building. Still, he always double-checked. How something so small as her release of a held breath filtered through their unsealed bond, he didn’t know, but he’d take it.
