Hyacinth - By Abigail Owen Page 0,7

you and your brother away from Gideon. But then I discovered he was about to target the Jenners and Pierces and that they would need your help to defeat him.” Selene broke off and took another sip of her water. Was it getting hot in here?

Ellie narrowed her violet eyes. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

Selene sighed and set down her glass. “Together, your families were my best hope of ending Gideon’s control over my clan. I have so much to apologize to you for, I don’t even know where to begin,” she admitted sadly. “I put you in danger after hiding you all those years. But it was my only option. Or at least, the only way I could see.”

Ellie sat in silence for a while, thinking. “Were you a part of what happened to my original family?” she finally asked.

Selene closed her eyes as her heart plummeted. This was the one question she’d dreaded the most.

“Yes,” she confessed. “I wasn’t as skilled with my powers back then. I could only stop one person’s powers at a time, not many people’s powers as I can now. Gideon would determine whom I should stop, and then force me to do it. He never fought himself. Just coordinated and controlled all of the rest of us. I never… we… none of us ever had a choice.”

She didn’t tell Ellie that she was the only one of the pack under Gideon’s control who’d actually been aware of his manipulations. Everyone else accepted Gideon’s thoughts and directives as being of their own volition. But not Selene. She knew she was being forced. And the pain of living with that awareness, of knowing the evil they were doing and her part in it, however unwillingly… that was something Selene wouldn’t make anyone else live with. Not if she could help it.

She looked directly into Ellie’s eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“She’s telling the truth,” Lila’s voice sounded from the back of the room.

Selene glanced over to see a tall girl with honey blonde hair standing by the kitchen.

“Sorry about eavesdropping,” Lila added.

“You’re not really sorry, are you?” Ellie asked, a small smile playing at her lips. She patted the space between her and Selene on the couch.

“Not really.” Lila grinned, unrepentant, and moved to join them. She turned to Ellie and took her hand, letting Ellie take over her power. “Watch. The truth in her words is obvious, but it’s also in her emotions.” She turned to Selene. “Say it again. The end of it.”

Selene repeated her story and her apology, willing to do or say anything if it helped. When she stopped, tears were silently slipping down all three of the girls’ cheeks.

Ellie hopped up, moved around the coffee table, and wrapped her arms around Selene in a tight embrace. “I forgive you,” she whispered.

“What is she doing here?!”

The bitter rage in Griffin’s voice startled them. Selene’s heart sank into her stomach even as it was trying to jump out of her throat.

Ellie left one comforting hand on Selene’s arm as she turned to her brother. “She’s not dangerous, Griffin.”

Composed, and with all her walls back up, Selene met his gaze. No one watching her— especially Griffin—would ever guess her true feelings at that moment.

“You don’t know that.” He glared at Selene and moved to stand directly in front of the three.

“I do,” Ellie replied stubbornly, her chin tilting up. “Look…” She reached for his hand, but Griffin jerked out of her grasp.

“Anything you’re seeing about her could easily be a lie,” he insisted. “Her family killed ours. And she was part of that.” Griffin shifted his intense glare from Selene to his sister. Selene could tell they were using their powers to speak to each other telepathically.

After a few minutes of tense silence, Ellie sighed and shook her head. She turned to Selene and opened her mouth to speak, but Selene stopped her by placing a gentle hand on her arm.

“I think I can see how things are, Ellie,” she said softly, taking care not to look at Griffin. With her free hand, she patted the hand Ellie still had on her arm. “I don’t want to cause any trouble in your family. I’ll go now.” Selene dropped her shield just for Ellie, saying into her mind, “Griffin can’t hear me. I’ll let you tell him about where I’m attending college. He needs some time to cool down first. And you don’t have to worry… If I see any of you on campus, I’ll walk