Page 102 of When Storms Ruin

Her strawberry blonde hair fell in soft curls around her shoulders, a soft smile on her lips as she tore the page from the grimoire.

Why was she removing the spell? What was she doing?

She carefully tucked the page into the breast pocket of her vest before closing the book. It snapped shut, the leather straps swirling around its binding to seal it closed.

My mother turned her back on the grimoire, leaving the room and closing the door behind her. Without the protection of the Kotova grimoire, the spell could be taken byanyone.Was this how it found its way into the hands of Phineas Wolfe? Had he stolen it from my mother? But why had she ripped it out of the book in the first place?

My vision snapped back to the present, Liss watching me carefully. My eyes snapped to Zion’s, my brow creasing in confusion.

“I don’t understand…the grimoire…it showed me a vision. My mother, she stole the spell out of the Kotova grimoire all those years ago. But…why? That’s all I saw, all it showed me. As usual…I have more questions than answers.”

“She was trying to help a friend,” Zion replied softly, his eyes on me.

“A Stormshade friend? Only a Kotova would be able to access it in the grimoire, and only a Stormshade would have need of the spell.”

Zion nodded.

“And Phineas stole it from her?”

Zion nodded again.

“But I don’t understand…how do you know all this, and why did the grimoire show methisvision? Alastir had said the grimoire, the key, explained that Stormshades weren’t endlessly powerful. That the spell would allow me to control my storm magic, and that the grimoire was sending me awarning by showing me this vision. But what does all that have to do with my mother?”

It felt as if there were a pair of hands around my neck, threatening to strangle the breath from my lungs. I was on the precipice of something, but I wasn’t sure what, and I didn’t know why Zion wouldn’t spit it out.

If they had found a bloodline for me to use for the spell…did that mean there was someone else alive in my mother's bloodline? But that still wouldn’t be adirectbloodline…I wasn’t sure if that would work.

I shook my head, meeting Zion’s gaze from across the desk.

“What are you getting on about?” I asked, frustration lacing my tone.

“Liss,” his voice was gentle as he turned to her. “It’s time.”

“Time for what?” I asked, my gaze meeting hers.

There was a sadness there, one I hadn’t seen in her before. Was she related to me? Related to my mother? What were they keeping from me?

“Anna…it’s time.”

“Anna?” The name left my chest as if it had been clawed out, scratching my throat on the way up.

I paled as Liss shook her head back and forth, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I didn’t want it to happen this way.”

“For what to happen this way?” I asked, my hand reaching across the space between us to rest on her knee. “I’m sure if you explain, we can clear all of this up—”But as the words left my mouth, Liss began to change before me.

Her nose became smaller, more rounded. Her eyes were bigger,bluer. Her skin was paler, more freckled. Her strawberry blonde hair a rosier shade.

“Wha—” My words cut off as she raised her chin to face me.

I had seen my mother in visions, the visions the grimoire had sent me.

I would have recognized her. How would I not have recognized her?

“It’s a glamour,” Zion explained, as if plucking the question directly from my thoughts. “She has been wearing a glamour since you met her.”

“No—” I shook my head back and forth viciously, pushing back in the chair. “Who are you?”

I rose to my feet and Nik followed, silent at my back. I could feel his hand reaching out for me, but he stopped just shy of touching me.

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