Blue Violet - By Abigail Owen Page 0,7

that she needed family. That she needed more than just him.

Finally Griffin nodded. “Okay.” He forked some food into his mouth, slurping up a loose noodle.

“Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay. I get it. I understand.” Griffin ran a hand through his golden hair, a sure sign of his agitation. “So, these people you’re following, have you thought about how they’ll react to us?”

“Yeah, you are a bit hard to take,” Ellie teased. Then more seriously, “Yes, I’ve thought about it. We are a bit… overwhelming, I guess. But we don’t know how many Svatura there are in their group. Maybe some of them have multiple gifts, too. I’m hoping there’s enough that our possessing more than one power isn’t terrifying at least.”

“More than one power is a bit of an understatement."

Ellie wrinkled her nose as she got up to head back into the kitchen, knowing that he was right. She and Griffin were extraordinary, even compared to other Svatura. Abilities were genetic, passed from parent to child, but with a subtle variation. Of course, having any powers was so rare, most only had one. But Ellie and Griffin, fourth generation Svatura, and coming from a longstanding and large clan, had more. Ellie remembered her mother once telling her that when she’d been pregnant, she’d worried about one child with four distinct powers. She’d felt like it would be too much for anyone to handle. Instead she had given birth to twins, and the babies had somehow split their parents’ abilities between them.

But even more than that, Ellie and Griffin were unusual in a way that no other Svatura had ever encountered.

Chapter 5

Ellie and Griffin were made even more exceptional by their ability to use each other’s powers. Ellie suspected it had something to do with their being twins.

Griffin eyed his sister as she made her way around the kitchen cleaning up from dinner.

“Stop worrying,” Ellie suddenly spoke up, interrupting his thoughts.

“I can’t help it if I’m concerned about you. It’s obvious that you’ve put a lot of hope in these people. What happens if it doesn’t work out? Are you prepared for that?”

“I’m prepared for anything at this point. Anything is better than nothing.” She dried her hands on the dish towel, walked over to where he leaned against the kitchen island, and gave him a hug. “It’s time,” she whispered in his ear. “We knew we’d have to come out of hiding eventually.”

After a slight hesitation, Griffin hugged her back. “Like I said… okay.”

They moved into the living room and sat down. She quickly filled him in on what had happened during the few weeks they’d been apart. After Ellie had finally discovered where the Jenners lived, she and Griffin had had a huge fight about tracking them closer. Ellie, thrilled she’d found the people she had dreamed about and fed up with waiting for her brother, had taken off for Estes Park without him.

“I’m guessing it was Claude who called you?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’s how I found you.”

Claude was their lawyer who’d handled the purchase of the house for her. Ellie and Griffin had benefited from the fact that their family had amassed a large fortune, including investments in land, mines, and other continuously producing sources. It also helped that a member of their clan had possessed the ability to turn anything she touched to gold. Humans, in various roles, had managed the money, communicating long distance with the Aubreys through various media… online being the method these days.

Periodically Ellie or Griffin would pretend to die and will their fortune to themselves. Their great-grandfathers had set up this system long before, although Griffin, good with technology, had advanced things through the years, as well as adding to their investments.

“Well, you can’t say this is a show piece house at least.” She flashed him an impish grin.

“Huh,” Griffin looked around. “Definitely not drawing any attention here. That’s for sure.” They tried not to flaunt their wealth, fearing it would bring too much attention both from humans and from Vyusher. Hence the rather unassuming house she’d purchased here. “So,” he prompted, “let’s get on with you telling me about your day.”

Ellie took a deep breath and told him about meeting Adelaide, Lila, and Nate. About Adelaide’s mystifying actions in the lunch room. About them befriending her. And finally, about her encounter with Alex and with Adelaide’s power.

“She felt the shock, I know it.” Ellie dropped her head into her hands.

“Did she seem to think anything of it?”

“I don’t think so, but I can