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“The king’s?” I still struggled to call him anything else.

“Yes. Your father’s. I’d have known you were his daughter even without being told.”

I found that hard to believe, but I chose not to argue.

“He won’t talk to me. He won’t talk to Levi either other than to say it isn’t what we think. What does that even mean?” Georgina sounded uncharacteristically vulnerable. She was the type to tell you what to do, not ask rhetorical questions.

“I’m sure finding out about me was hard on him.” The words sounded off and sour. He fathered me. He had no right to think that. I’d tried to call my mom finally, just to touch base, but I got her voicemail. Maybe that was a good thing because I still wasn’t sure what or how much to say.

“Robert has some flaws, but I still can’t imagine he’d do this.” She looked off at some distant spot. “He understood the consequences of his actions…”

“Yeah.” What was I supposed to say? If he hadn’t done something stupid, I wouldn’t exist. Could she really expect me to agree with her?

She quickly put that thought to rest. “That being said, I’m glad he did it.”

I watched her expectantly.

“Your existence is worth that, and since Allie chose Levi, the crown is safe for the time being.”

“You said you had something to show me. A book?” I needed answers. I understood her need to talk, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to think about the man who fathered me.

“Yes, but probably not the kind of book you’re expecting.”

“I wasn’t really expecting anything.”

She grabbed a canvas bag off the end table and pulled out a large book. “This is your family.”

I gaped in surprise when she handed over a weathered photo album.

“I’ll have to update your section, but I thought you’d want to learn more about your family.”

“Thank you for this.” I opened the front cover. “But I don’t see what kind of answers this is going to give me.”

“I said I’d have to update your section, not that I didn’t start on it.”

I flipped through the pages as slowly as I could manage. I wanted to see pictures and descriptions of my ancestors, but more than anything, I needed to know more about where I came from.

“Where did you get this?” I ran my finger over a photo of a baby. The tuft of dark hair and wide blue eyes were exactly the same in every other photo of me from that age.

“I found it the day I came up to see you.”

“What?” I looked up at her.

“I found it in Robert’s things when I was in his home office. They’ve been out of town, so there’s no telling how long it’s been there.”

“Oh. So he did know about me?”

She didn’t respond.

“What’s the point of telling me all this? How does this help?”

“Take the picture out and flip it over.”

I did as she said. My hands shook slightly as I flipped over the paper. Mine?

The one word jumped off the page at me. So he knew. Robert knew about me all this time. Or did he just find out? Maybe he was doing research too.

“What do you want from me?” The question was pointed, but it was also necessary.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I generally don’t make that sort of statement, but I’m at a loss.”

“I need to find my sister. After that, I don’t know what I should do.”

“You will always have a place here. You’re important to The Society, to our family.”

I nodded. “I might go out for a walk.”

“By yourself?”

“Would that be okay?”

“You know I’m going to have someone follow you, don’t you? Only for your protection.”

“Of course.” I stood up and set aside the album. I needed air, and if being followed kept me safe long enough to find Vera, I was all about it.

***

“Try harder. You need to be able to control your emotions.” Hailey pushed me to my limits as she tried to provoke me for the third time that night. We were down by the levee, in a spot that was surprisingly devoid of people.

“I can control them when you’re not in my face all the time.” I stepped back, exhausted from trying to keep myself calm. Between confronting Jared and spending far too much time with Georgina, my nerves were frayed before Hailey and I started.

“The point is to make you uncomfortable. You seem really good at staying in control. I mean, you completely kept it together in front of Jared.” She gave me a sympathetic look. “But, you had time to prepare for that. You won’t always know an emotional or frightening experience is coming.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I picked up my water bottle and took a swig. “Why can’t being a Pteron come with cool side effects instead of the transforming without warning thing?”

“Because flying and super strength isn’t cool?”

“Would it be so bad to also get perfect skin and bodies?”

She laughed. “I like this side of you.”

“What side?” I set aside my empty bottle.

“This funny one. You hide it around Allie.”

“No, I don’t.” I crossed my arms.

“Yes, you do. You’re not brave enough to show her who you really are.”

“What?” I stepped toward her. “How can you say that?” I felt my anger boiling.

“Just like you’re afraid to face your feelings for Toby because you feel so guilty and messed up over things with Jared.”

“That’s not true!” My back pricked. I had to rein the anger in. I took slow and deep breaths.

Hailey laughed again. “Nice.”

“Did you say all of that just to provoke me?”

“Of course. Why else would I have?” She pulled out her hair tie, letting her long red hair tumble down her back. “Have you had enough for tonight? We need to get ready.”

“Do you think Allie’s excited?” I scooped up my hotel key. It’s all Hailey let me bring with me.

“Yes, although she won’t admit it.”

“She’ll have fun tonight.”

“That she will.” Hailey grinned before leading the way back toward where her car was parked.

Chapter Fourteen

Casey

The general purpose of a bachelorette party is to celebrate the end of the single life of the bride-to-be. As friends, you’re supposed to help her have her last hurrah before married life begins. It’s kind of a different feeling when the bride and groom-to-be are already bound together by something impossible to break. Add in the fact that Allie was marrying my newly discovered brother, and was the ex-girlfriend of the guy I liked, and it was an interesting experience to say the least.