“I’m a little chilly in here,” I said, unable to take anymore. “I think I’ll go wait outside with Dad.”
With flushed cheeks, I hurried past the man-wall surrounding Mom and let myself out.
Dad smiled at me from the car. Beside it, Adira waited. Seeing her almost made me want to go back inside. Almost.
“What do you think of the Man-beef Buffet?” Adira asked when I drew close.
“The what?”
“Your new feeding grounds. Nicolette’s putting a lot of effort into it to make it the perfect place for you.”
“She needs to put more effort into the name, or the only humans she’s going to get are the female variety.” I delivered the words with tone and an eye-roll, hoping it would be enough to mask my panic. I didn’t care about the name or Mom’s intent; I cared that Adira was speaking openly in front of my dad. Based on his worried expression, he was hearing every word.
Adira’s gaze shifted from my still flushed face to the building.
“Why aren’t you with your mother?”
“It’s cold in there, and I’d rather wait with my dad in the warm car. Why are you here? Did I set off the warding by getting too close to the wall?”
“Not at all.”
Her gaze swept over me again, taking in every detail.
“You’re cold, yet you’re flushed. Are you embarrassed, Eliana?”
The door opened behind me, saving me from having to answer.
“Adira,” Mom said. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”
“I wanted to check on the progress. Are the workers sufficient?”
“They are. You could have called to ask that. Unless there’s a reason you wanted to be physically present for this inspection.”
I didn’t miss the sultry tones in Mom’s words or Adira’s cold smile as she replied.
“I’d hoped to catch Eliana’s reaction to it.”
“Eliana,” Mom said softly. “Go sit with your father, please. He looks anxious.”
I hurried to the front passenger door and got in.
“Your mother sure doesn’t like that woman,” Dad said softly, watching the pair.
I looked at Mom, noted her black irises, and wondered what Dad was telling himself about that.
“You would think the head of the Department of Health would have better things to do with her time,” he muttered.
Mom didn’t lie to Dad. She might avoid talking about things in front of him because she didn’t want to deal with his reactions, but she didn’t lie. Not to him. She didn’t need to when he was so good at lying to himself.
“You know that’s not what she is, Dad. She’s the woman who brought you here. With magic.”
Dad paled and tore his gaze from the quietly speaking pair. A flicker of clarity showed in his eyes as he looked at me.
“They’re tracking you, Eliana, just like they’re tracking your mother. Trust no one.”
Chapter Five
“What do you mean, Dad?”
The back door on the driver’s side opened before he could answer, and Mom slid into the car.
“Horrid woman,” she seethed, slamming her door with force. “Jason, will you please drive us home?”
I twisted in my seat to look at Mom as Dad immediately shifted into reverse.
“Is Adira tracking you?” I asked.
Mom’s irises flickered to black for a moment.
“Unfortunately, yes. It was one of the terms in order to stay in Uttira on a more permanent basis.”
“What were the other terms?”
“I’m solely responsible for your father’s safety while he’s here, and I had to consent to a tracking spell on you as well.”
I frowned.
“Why am I being tracked? Adira always seems to know where I am and what I’m doing anyway.”
“Don’t let that woman fool you. She only knows thanks to the people she has watching and reporting to her. Without her little network, she would be in the dark about everything.”
“It still doesn’t make sense why she’d track me, though.”
“She said you disappeared on them once. And, with Ashlyn missing without a trace, I think the Council’s worried that someone’s found a way around their little control system.” She smiled at me. “If you ever find a way to leave this place without your mark, take it. We both know you’re perfectly capable of controlling yourself out in the real world, and I would give anything to see Adira’s reaction when she discovers you’re gone.”
I smiled slightly, wishing that such a thing was possible. That humor faded as what Mom said clicked into place. They’d only put a tracking spell on me because Ashlyn disappeared. That meant after. They’d hired a druid for me, but not for Ashlyn.
“Are you upset about the tracking?” Mom asked after a moment.
“Yes and no,” I said with a weary sigh. “I wish Adira would put that much effort into watching over the humans here. Whether she’s watching over me with her spies or a spell doesn’t change anything. She’ll use either as a means to force things in some way. I’m so tired of her games.”
“Then stop playing them, baby. Show her who you really are. You’re stronger than she’ll ever hope to be.”
“Stronger? If I’m so strong, why am I seeing flickers of a sick version of me in the mirror?”
“For the same reason you’re cold when you shouldn’t be. You’re not eating enough, Eliana. I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to feed more. I’m not saying this to make you feel guilty or to add more pressure. It’s a truth you need to acknowledge so you can decide how you want to address it.”
I looked out the window for a moment, angry and annoyed. Not with Mom but the validity of what she was saying. I didn’t want to address the fact I wasn’t eating enough. Addressing it meant doing things I wasn’t willing to do. I caught a glimpse of myself in the side mirror. My eyes had gone completely black again, not just the irises but the whites as well. Was that due to my eating habits too?
Twisting in my seat, I faced Mom. “Why do my eyes do this? Everyone at the Academy thinks it’s weird. Aren’t our eyes supposed to do this? Don’t yours?”
“It’s happened to me a few times. Nowhere near as often as yours fully change though. And that’s not a bad or a weird thing. You’re more powerful than anyone wants to acknowledge. Baby, you’ll bring the world to its knees when you’re ready.”
I glanced at Dad, who seemed to be contentedly driving. How was he spinning this conversation in his head? Were we making things worse for him by talking openly?
“Your father is fine, Eliana,” Mom said, guessing the direction of my thoughts. “He would rather hear the truth than be kept in the dark, even if he struggles with the reality of things. Isn’t that right, Jason?”
“Yes. Lying is a sin.”
I looked down at my hands, understanding his answer better than Mom ever could. He was in denial that the things we said were the truth. In his mind, we were the liars. In his mind, I was the sinner.
A storm of emotions stirred inside of me. Guilt. Fear. Impotent anger. I hated that Dad thought I was lying as much as I hated the idea of him fully understanding the truth of what I was. Of what Mom was and what she’d done to him.