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And his mom—he glanced at Hazel again—wasn’t actually his mom. The hurt in his chest spread, a crawling sensation of loss and betrayal that tainted every memory of his childhood with doubt and alienation. Was everything a lie? Had she ever truly loved him? Or had she acted out of obligation, to keep protecting the daughter she’d lost—her real child?
His pulse sped up. His breath came faster and faster, until he was light-headed.
“Baz…” Hazel reached for him.
He shot to his feet, so fast the chair screeched in protest, and turned to the French doors to look out at the dark backyard.
Lily, always so perceptive, so attuned to his feelings, so good at understanding what he needed, muttered something soothing and reassuring to Hazel to keep her from approaching him.
He watched their reflections in the glass of the doors, how Hazel nodded, took Lily’s hand.
It hurt all the more.
Chapter 4
“Okay then,” Lily went on, her voice at normal level, “but I do have a sister. A twin. And she’s somewhere in Faerie?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know she’s…alive?”
“I can feel her.” Hazel tapped her chest with her fist. “It’s the same link I have to you, the one all witches in a family have to each other. I’ve felt her all this time…”
Lily sat back in her chair, her shoulders drooping, her gaze turning inward. “I can’t feel her.”
Hazel touched her face, pushed one of Lily’s black locks behind her ear. “It’s because you're not a witch any longer.”
Lily’s flinch was barely noticeable, a tiny reminder that she was still in the process of getting used to her new demon nature. “But, I can't remember ever feeling any link to her before. I mean, with Baz I figured I don’t feel a link because he’s not a witch.” She cringed and shot him an apologetic look before focusing on her mom again. “That’s what you always said, right? But shouldn't I have felt some link to my real sister when I was still a witch?”
Hazel considered it for a moment. “Maybe you did feel something, but you weren’t aware of it at the time. After all, you didn’t know you had another family member out there. So maybe there was something, but you didn’t recognize it. You weren’t expecting to feel anything.”
Lily frowned. “I guess…”
While Lily was still pondering the implications, Basil decided to rejoin the conversation. He turned to the table again and asked, “Why now? Why can you suddenly speak of it after all this time? Why has my glamour been lifted now?"
Hazel tilted her head to the side and frowned. “That’s a good question. Come to think of it, the fae would only lift the glamour and the spell on me if she wanted to come back and claim you. That’s the only thing that makes sense. I would have expected her to show up here and then rescind her magic. It doesn’t seem logical for her to remove the glamour and the spell before coming here. Unless…” Hazel's eyes suddenly went wide, her face ashen. “Oh no…”
“What?” Lily asked.
“What if…?” Hazel raised her trembling hand to her mouth. “What if the reason the spell and the glamour have been lifted is because the fae who cast them both is dead?”
Lily and Basil exchanged a glance.
“Okay…” Basil said slowly. “That would be unfortunate, I guess, because it means she can’t tell me more about my fae family and all that, right?”
“It’s not just that.” Hazel balled her hand to a fist. “What about Rose?”
“The who, now?” Lily asked.
“Your twin sister.” She shook her head as if to clear it. “Right, I haven’t told you yet. I named her Rose, right before the fae took her.”
Pieces visibly clicked together in Lily’s head. She sat up straighter. “Oh. Of course—if the fae who took her into Faerie and who was responsible for her over there died, then…”
“…Rose could be in danger,” finished Basil.
Hazel nodded, rubbed her forehead. “At the very least, it means her fate is uncertain. Before, I could count on the promise of the fae who took her that she would be taken care of. She’d make sure to protect Rose and keep her alive. But now…Rose may have lost the only fae who guaranteed her safety in Faerie.”
Lily’s face hardened. “We need to get her out.”
