had no other choice. It was the safest decision for everyone involved.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this, Mom?”
“There wasn’t a way for us to tell you who you were and keep you safe at the same time. We struggled with it every day, but you were happy in your life. There was no reason for us to turn everything upside down until it was completely unavoidable.”
Zoë practically crashes into her mother to hug her. I am so happy that her mother gave her the news that she wanted to hear, but at the same time a cloud of trepidation hangs in the air about Eliza. I wonder if she has a better hold of her magic now that she is older, or if she is still unpredictable enough that she can harm us.
“Mrs. Carver, is Eliza in control of her magic now?”
They break their hug. Mrs. Carver looks somewhat concerned as she answers. “Eliza spent thirteen years with the elders learning self-control. She is still very powerful, and still very dangerous should she forget her discipline. If she is provoked, there is no telling what damage she can do. She is much more powerful than I am. Even though I am her mother, if it came to a battle, I could not defeat her.”
“I don’t understand. How did Eliza become so powerful?”
“She was born with a gift. We initially thought her magic was sent to us by a higher power to break the curse of the immortal soul placed upon your family, Emma. Because we had been connected with your family for so long and calling on our ancestors to send us a light for nearly the entire time, we believed she was the answer we were seeking. But because we could not control her gift, we were forced to abandon that path and look for other options.”
“Why were Eliza’s name and address inside the grimoire?” Zoë asks.
“Your father and I have been in constant contact with the elders in New Orleans. When Eliza left them to live on her own, we knew it was safe for us to make physical contact with her again. Up until that point, we had only been communicating telepathically. We have both spent time with her and discussed you and Emma with her and explained what was going to transpire. We have begged for her help but she has been unwilling to provide it. She holds somewhat of a grudge against us for sending her to live with the elders.”
“If she holds a grudge against you, why did she help us connect with you?”
“She may not agree with many of the decisions that I have made, but that doesn’t change the fact that she is responsible for your existence. I would assume that she feels she has a duty to you. Your father and I struggled to conceive children. We had multiple elders providing potions, spells, and talismans to us, but decade after decade passed with no success. We were over sixty years into our struggle when we were introduced to a Strega in Massachusetts who placed a fertility spell upon us. Less than a month later I was pregnant with Eliza. We had hoped that the Strega’s spell would be permanent, but it was not. Because of Eliza’s special gifts, she was able to recognize our sadness from a very young age. She knew we wanted a sibling for her. She also knew that she wasn’t the right choice for the journey we had planned for her. So she created you.”
I gently place my palm against Zoë’s back for comfort. “So what about me? Do I have powers? I’ve never even tried to cast a spell.”
“Yes, you have powers. We forced you to grow up in a world without magic. We didn’t know how powerful your magic would be because of the way Eliza brought you to us. We were afraid that you would be just as powerful as she was. We erased all traces of magic from our home. We kept you isolated from our other family members. We didn’t want magic to influence you at all.”
“So how do you know I have powers then?”
“When you were three, things started to… change. It was part of the reason we sent Eliza to live with the elders. As much as we tried to keep magic out of your life, Eliza tried to bring it in. She would sneak into your room during the night when we were asleep and teach