Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
One is the birth certificate. The other is part of the closed-adoption paperwork, including the documents surrendering parental rights. The handwriting doesn’t match.
“I’m guessing her parents signed it for her,” I say.
“That’s so sad,” Mabel murmurs, shaking her head.
“I’m still not following something,” Antonio says. “Marcus adopted Claire, but she still ended up in a group home?”
“He surrendered his parental rights when she was thirteen,” Devon says. He places another stack of papers on the table. “I went through court documents, school records, therapist notes, doctors’ notes—everything I could find.” He looks at me.
“Marcus claimed she had serious behavioral problems and that she was becoming unsafe around his other children.” I immediately frown.
“But?”
“But none of the records support that.”
Devon starts sorting through the pages.
“She got decent grades. No juvenile record. Her school attendance was actually pretty good. She was evaluated by multiple therapists and psychiatrists, and there’s no documented mental illness or significant behavioral disturbance.”
He finds one page and hands it to me. “This is from a school social worker.” I scan the photocopied notes. The social worker specifically comments on how well-adjusted Claire seemed considering everything she’d been through.
“Been through?” Xavier asks.
“I’m going to use the word supposedly again,” Devon says. “Health issues.”
He pulls out another page. “She was constantly being taken to appointments. Bloodwork. Specialist visits. Testing.”
“Oh.”
The realization hits me immediately. “The Order hid her in plain sight.” Everyone looks at me. “They put her in regular schools, let her live what looked like a normal life, and kept testing her. Waiting for her powers to emerge.”
“Yeah,” Leo says. “There’s a ton of misinformation scattered through her medical history, but as far as Claire knows, she has some kind of autoimmune condition.”
“But there’s nothing medically wrong with her,” Devon adds. “It was an excuse to keep bringing her in for testing.”
“Okay.” I sit back, trying to put everything together. “The Order finds out sixteen-year-old Eudora Bellamy, descendant of a prominent magical bloodline, is being forced to give up her baby.” I glance around the room as I think aloud.
“They arrange for Marcus Henry to adopt Claire because they assume Eudora’s daughter will be powerful too.” My stomach twists.
“But they don’t realize Claire is only half witch.” And apparently, they don’t know half-blood witches develop differently.
Later. Slower.
“I know from personal experience they had no reliable way to teach someone to access powers that hadn’t manifested yet,” I say. “They needed me to show something first.”
A flash of memory hits me. Vivian’s classroom. White walls. Testing. Needles. My memories from that time are still muddy. Probably because I was drugged. Maybe partly because my brain decided forgetting was the easiest way to survive it.
“I mean, it makes sense,” Zeke reluctantly admits. “They take this kid expecting something powerful. Nothing happens. Eventually, they decide she’s a dud and give her back.”
The word makes my stomach turn.
“But why bother giving her back at all?” Mabel asks.
“Paper trail,” Antonio says.
I nod slowly. “Exactly. Killing her or making her disappear could’ve attracted attention. This way, Marcus surrenders custody, Claire enters the system, and nobody questions where she went.”
“And Marcus Henry’s hands stay clean,” Xavier adds.
Mabel looks between us. “So the Order thought she was a failed experiment.”
“Looks that way.”
“Then who’s after her now?” Zeke asks.
Silence falls over the room. Xavier is the one who finally answers.
“Someone familiar enough with witchcraft to understand that a half-blood’s powers might emerge later.”
My skin prickles. “Another witch?” I ask.
“Or a demon.”
The words send a chill down my spine.
“Speaking of demons,” Mabel says slowly, “is anybody else surprised nothing else has happened?”
Everyone turns toward her. She looks around.
“What? You killed that chaos demon pretty quickly, and it’s been quiet ever since.”
We all stare at her in disbelief. Does she have any idea how badly she could have just jinxed us? Though, annoyingly, she has a point. Vaelric has been free for several days. And all he’s done is unleash one chaos demon? One we managed to kill almost immediately?
That doesn’t feel like him. It feels too easy. Almost like the chaos demon was never the real attack.
Just something loud enough to keep us busy while Vaelric did something else.
“He’s poking holes in everything,” Xavier says. The coalition. The humans. The wolves. Us. And yet one chaos demon really wasn’t much of a challenge. I think part of me has known that all along. I just didn’t want to admit it. There was something about the way Vaelric looked at me though.
Vivian’s eyes. Something calm. Knowing. Like none of this had surprised him. Like this was only the beginning.
And I would definitely be seeing him again.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Anotification dings on the computer, and Leo scoots it closer. “Oh, good. The rest of the therapy notes finished downloading.”
“What’s the most recent one?” Xavier asks.
“Give me a second.” We all watch anxiously as Leo scrolls. “Okay, the most recent note…” He skims the text, then narrows his eyes. “Sorry. It’s a scanned copy of handwritten notes, and it’s not exactly easy to read.” He takes another few seconds to decipher it, then makes a face.