I blinked. Watching her to see the second she broke out laughing, slapping me on the back and telling me she was kidding.
“Vampires?” I deadpanned.
She nodded.
I looked at the couple, and neither one of them gave a sign that they, too, thought their daughter had lost her mind.
“Are there unicorns and dragons I should expect to run into as well? How about fairies and bogeymen?”
She shook her head. “No, Saige. It’s just the three.”
I was going home. Now. She was insane. So were her parents, and I wanted nothing to do with this.
“Well, this has been fun. I’m going to find a flight back home now.” I pulled on the handle of my suitcase, ready to desert the other one, but Masie stopped me.
“You can’t.”
I stared her down. “Watch me.”
I pushed past her but walked into a wall. An invisible wall. I stepped back and shook my head, then took another step and hit something solid. I slapped the air, making contact with it again.
“What the hell!”
“He can manipulate air, Saige. He’s blocking you,” she explained calmly.
I glared at the man. “Let me go!”
He shook his head. “I’m not going to do that. You can’t go back home, not until you learn everything you need to about your own powers.”
I was tempted to try causing another earthquake or another distraction, but that didn’t sound like the best idea. I didn’t want to hurt anyone accidentally, so I sucked in a deep breath and counted to five before releasing it.
“What do you want now? Why wait all this time then show up now?”
Finally, the woman spoke. “We’ve allowed too much time to pass. We’ve also allowed you to be raised with the norms, and that was obviously a mistake. We have much to rectify, and not enough time.” She sighed as if it was my fault they wasted my entire life. “You need to understand some important things before you enter the academy. We’re here to discuss those, then we will take you there.”
I turned to Masie, and she nodded. I left my suitcase where it was and returned to my armchair, dropping into it too overwhelmed to care about sitting up properly like I’m sure dear old grandmother would prefer.
She eyed me as she passed to the couch, and I could feel her disapproval wash over me. I almost snorted. As if I cared what this stranger thought of me.
The man, I still refused to think of either of them as anything else, sat on the edge of the cushion and rested his knees on his elbows. Masie took the armchair next to me and reached out to take my hand.
I wasn’t particularly pleased with her. Obviously, she knew the private jet ride was with my grandparents, but I accepted her peace offering and laced my fingers through hers.
“To make this as quick as possible, please hold your questions. If I don’t answer them with everything I tell you, then you may ask at the end.”
He waited for me to agree, and I did even though this was one of the weirdest conversations I’d ever had. Well, maybe conversation wasn’t the right word. I was expected to sit and listen. No talking.
“You will continue to use the surname Williams.”
What else would I use? That was my name.
“You will tell anyone that asks that your parents' names are Jason and Melissa. You will not under any circumstance tell anyone who your real parents are.”
I cringed at his word choice. Jason and Melissa were myrealparents. So was his daughter, though. Why couldn’t I tell anyone my truth? If I wanted to share that, I should be able to. How else was I going to cope with the bomb that had upended my entire life?
“Has she displayed any shifter traits?” he asked, looking at his daughter.
“No, not that we’re aware of,” Masie answered, and her mom made a small noise I couldn’t decipher, but I was pretty sure she was relieved.