Spring (Evermore Academy #2) - Audrey Grey Page 0,117

. I’m so sorry.”

Zinnia’s eyes fill with tears. “Paul was a man of few words. I’m not sure he ever told Grace that he loved her, but she knew. Not because of his words, but his actions.”

I’m crying again. Both of us a hot mess of tears and snot.

“How do you not hate the Fae?” I ask.

“Child, there’s enough hate in this world as is. I won’t add to it.” She brushes a strand of my hair from my face. “I don’t know this Faerie boy you love, but I do know you. You wouldn’t give your heart to someone unworthy.” She sighs. “Sometimes our minds won’t let us say what our heart feels.”

“You’re saying he might be capable of love?”

“I’m saying, love comes in many different forms. The last time Vi ever told anyone she loved them, her teenage boys and husband were rushing out the door. I don’t expect she’ll ever say those words again, and if you tried to make her she’d tell you to piss off and die, but that woman loves you. Did you know last year after you were expelled, she marched through the Shimmer and straight to that school and told those Fae pricks where they could stick it?”

I snort-laugh through my tears. “I had no idea.”

She mutters, “That woman will be the death of me someday. But while I’m still alive, she’s my sister and I love her—just don’t ever tell her that.”

“Deal.” I lean against her soft shoulder. “How did I luck out all those years ago when you saved me?”

Emotion trembles in her voice as she shakes her head, saying, “Summer, we saved each other. I was looking for one child, and God gave me another. Although how he could allow your parents to sell you to Fae traders is beyond me.”

My heart spikes in my chest. “What? My parents died, remember?”

Zinnia turns to me, her eyes brimming with agony. “Summer, somewhere along the line, you started believing that, and I let you. But they’re alive. They own a pawn shop somewhere in Fort Worth. I look them up every few years, praying God had the decency to strike them with lightning or have them both run over by a semi, but he does work in mysterious ways.”

I’m trembling. My memories of them were taken by my soulstone, but I was so sure they had died.

“Why did they sell me?” I whisper.

“The last time I contacted the woman, she said you were a changeling. That you were born with brown eyes and then died. When the doctors revived you, your eyes were a strange greenish hazel. She tried to love you, but you were different than the other children. She said animals reacted strangely around you.” Zinnia shakes her head. “The Lightmare had just happened and humans were scared. Every child that had a birthmark or acted different was deemed a changeling back then.”

My chest aches, but for some reason, knowing the truth is freeing somehow.

“When I found you in that cage and bought your slave price, you didn’t speak to me for months. And when you finally did, you told me your parents gave you away because they couldn’t love you.” She dabs at the corner of her eyes. “I told you I already loved you. Do you know what you said?” Her voice breaks. “You said I didn’t yet, but that you would be so perfect that someday I would, and then I could never leave you.”

Tears stream down my face. Those painful memories may be locked away by magic, but the hurt and trauma from being abandoned is still there, imprinted on my heart like wounds that have scarred over.

“My response rings just as true today as it did then.” Zinnia pulls a tissue from her bra and hands it to me. “Sweet girl, you’re my daughter and I love you.”

We finish off the bread and tea, and then she talks me into a hot shower. Afterwards, right before I fall asleep, I text Mack.

I love you. And whatever happens, that will never, ever change. See you tomorrow night.

42

The sound of shouts and cursing wake me. I stare groggily at the low ceiling. Are Jane and Vi fighting already?

A loud boom shakes the drywall.

Frick. That was a gunshot.

I jump from bed, still half asleep, and nearly slam into Zinnia.

Her face is red and flustered. “Your friends from the academy are here.”

“What?” I glance at my iPhone to catch the time, only to see I’ve missed a slew