Page 50 of Vicious Little Vows
I took a step back as everyone else crowded around. Ringo leaned forward on my shoulder, dangling from a clump of my hair to get a better look. Once the ground stopped churning, the vortex lay at my feet, three times larger than it had been before. It now looked like pure green swirling light compressed into a bowling ball.
The light reflected off Lucas’ eyes as he stared at it. “Is that—”
“The vortex,” Mistral finished for him, his tone unreadable.
“But why would the Bogs give it back now?” Crispin asked.
I didn’t say anything, because what could I say? It was crazy to even consider, but had the Bogs known exactly what I’d been thinking? And had it offered me the vortex in return?
A flash of stars a few steps down the path distracted me, but I only saw it for a moment before Sebastian blocked my view. He pushed me behind him, and the other guys were surrounding me a moment later.
Only Lucas seemed unworried. He flicked his wings as the stars cleared, revealing my mother. It was still jarring seeing her face so different from what I remembered—in as much as I could remember any fragment of my childhood. She wore simple slacks and a white tank top, looking far too normal for a celestial powerful enough to sever the pathways. Her brown hair was the same as mine, but longer and more tame.
Both recognizing her, Sebastian and Mistral relaxed, while Crispin and Gabriel remained on guard.
I gripped Gabriel’s arm. “It’s alright.”
He tore his eyes away from my mother, his gaze still unsure. When those stars showed up, he must have thought my grandfather had found us.
“My little Evelyn, you surprise me.”
My mother’s words made me realize I was staring into Gabriel’s eyes a little too long. The other guys still stood close, ready to protect me.
“When I learned you were a conduit, I thought hiding it from you was the same as protecting you. Now I see that my sister was right. Perhaps you can handle yourself.” She barely regarded Lucas before turning her sharp eyes back to me. “I must speak to you alone. Time is short.”
I started to step around Sebastian, but he grabbed my arm. “It could be a glamour. You don’t know that it’s her.”
“The fairies can’t cross the boundary,” I said, but it didn’t seem to sway him. I supposed given all we’d experienced,anythingcould happen. He had even known my mom previously, but was still worried she might be a fake. “I can tell it’s her,” I said lowly.
It wasn’t as much as sensing magic, more just intuition. Just like before, even with the changes, when I looked hard enough, I knew it was her.
Slowly, Sebastian released me. “Don’t go far.”
I nodded, and was surprised when he extended a hand for Ringo to leave my shoulder.
I walked past each of the guys. Only Mistral seemed to trust the situation, but he’d also known my mom right before she ran. Maybe he remembered the feel of her magic. Or who knew, maybe the Bogs had told him it was really her.
I stepped around the glowing vortex. I’d let the guys figure that out while I spoke with my mom. All I knew was that after seeing the gray, I had no desire to touch it, powerful weapon or no.
My mom waited for me to reach her, then she turned and led me through the trees, away from the path. Blood pounded steadily in my head the further we got from the guys. I knew it was her… but then why had she waited to come until now?
I could hear running water by the time she stopped. There was a stream nearby, and often in the Bogs that meant dangerous merrows, but I supposed with a powerful, full blooded celestial, I was safe enough.
She turned toward me, and for the first time, I realized I was taller than her. I was relieved when she spoke first, because I had no clue what in the hells to say.
“I’m sorry I fled, again. It was necessary at the time.”
I gave up at straightening my hair. It would make little difference with the look of my ruined dress anyway. “I wish you could have at least given me answers first. I know you told Sebastian what you could—”
“I’m sorry,” she interrupted, “but time is still short. I led my grandfather away from the Bogs, but it will only be a matter of time before he finds me again. Now that he has my trail, I can’t stop moving until this is over.” She met my eyes solidly. “But it will buy you time to do what needs to be done.”
I looked up through the leaves and branches as if my great grandfather might plummet from the sky at any moment, then lowered my eyes to my mom’s. “Fine, but at least tell me this time why you took my memories.”
Her face softened. “Oh Eva, have you not yet reclaimed them?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Some, not many.” So Sebastian had been right. It was within my power to reclaim them all along, but like with everything else, I hadn’t been fast enough to figure it out.
“I realized you were a conduit.Yourealized you were a conduit.” Her lashes lowered as she shook her head. “Not that you realized what that was, but you knew the truth. You knew you could channel power from others. I wish I could have taken only that from you, but memories are tricky.”
