“Give me your locket Ava,” she said. “Quickly.”
She reached out, her frail arm half the size of my average one. It shook, despite the fact that all she was doing was lifting her arm. I ignored it. I couldn’t focus on something I couldn’t do anything about.
I reached for the necklace that hung from my neck, the ancient gold warm against my skin. I hesitated. Should I give it to her? What was she going to do with it? Was this a façade as well?
I had no choice but to hand it to my mother. There was no reason not to. Even if it wasn’t real, there was nothing I could do about that now.
My mother brought it back to her person. She opened it up with trembling fingers and lay it on her chest as though she also wanted to wear it.
I looked away from the odd image. So many questions raced through my mind, but I pressed my lips together, refusing to allow any to come to life. Mother taught me never to question her, to trust her. Since finding out my entire life was a lie, I wanted nothing more than to ask these questions. I certainly deserved honest answers, especially after everything she had engrained in me.
It’s not fair.
“What can we do, Mother?” I asked, ignoring the phrase that began to repeat over and over in my mind like it was some kind of incantation. Except it wasn’t. No matter how many times I said the words, nothing would change. Life would be unfair. There was nothing I could do for it. “Tell me.”
She pinned me with her gaze, strong and steady, despite the shaking of the house around us.
“You must keep them safe, Ava.” Her voice was firm. I did not like that she felt compelled to tell me to do such a thing. I would do anything for my sisters. “No matter what, Bella and Courtney must be your only priority. Build a home of your own on the land nearby. Stay there as long as you can. Aunt Alison is the only one you can trust... in the village. If they find out... you will...”
My sisters burst into the room in a cloud of noise, a look of sheer horror on Bella’s face as she held up a beloved book.
“What’s happening to the house?” she demanded, as though she couldn’t—or wouldn’t—see our mother lying on a bed, helpless, my locket on her chest. I should have been more surprised that she was more concerned about her books than our mother, but I wasn’t. I almost envied her for her selfishness, for her brutal honesty. “My books are falling to bits.”
She held out the book as the papers crumbled away into dust in her hands. She let out a squeal, her eyes wide and full of tears. Tears for stories. Tears for fiction.
None for Mother.
There wasn’t time for extensive explanations. Not now, anyway.
“Mother is dying,” I snapped. I should have been gentler with her. Bella was sensitive. I didn’t think anyone ever raised their voice at her, or was too firm with her. She needed to get used to it, unfortunately. She would soon realize the world was cruel and heartless and did not care about her books—or anything. “Quickly. Come.”
I waved to them. My sisters rushed over to the other side of the bed and grabbed our Mother’s other hand. The rest of Bella’s book disappeared. She sobbed as she put her head to the bed, and Courtney’s eyes filled with tears but she didn’t make a sound.
Mother gasped as she looked at each of my sisters, her eyes soft and filled with love. A spark of jealousy crept up as I watched the three of them. Would it kill her to look at me that way, with such affection? With such love? Probably. It was not as though she was making any effort to do so now.
“I’m sorry for leaving you,” she said. “I never wanted to... you have both been my shining light for all these years. You’re all... I love you all...” Her gaze swung around to me, wildness and panic clear in her gaze. “You cannot search for him, Ava. You mustn’t.”
I nearly scoffed. My immediate instinct was to roll my eyes. Of course. I got commands; my sisters got love.
This was so unfair.
I took in a deep breath. I did not like when my mother got the best of me and I was suddenly reminded that I wanted no part of being bitter. My mother was dying.
And yet, it was difficult to ignore the emotions currently taking hold of my rationality.
I clenched my teeth against the command which had held me prisoner for too long. My mother’s magic had stopped me from searching out the other half of my family. And once she was gone, her hold on me would be gone too. I didn’t have to listen to her any longer. I could make my own decisions. I could figure out what was best for me without her telling me.
“Why?” I couldn’t help my outburst, but I wasn’t going to get another chance to ask her. “You never told us. Why can’t we search out our father?”
When I was ten years old, my mother revealed to us who our sire had been. Our father was the strongest, most powerful warlock, and he lived in the Magic realm. We had never been in the Magic realm. I never thought we would ever go there, especially since Mother wanted us to have nothing to do with him. It was a place she had forbidden us to go, so we had not. But that might change once she was gone.
“Because... if they find out...” She tried to speak, but she was fading.
The light in her eyes was disappearing.
I should have told her how much I loved her. I should have made any promise she wanted.
But I couldn’t.