C3 Family Secrets

Genève slowly opened her eyes. Her head pounded, and the slight movement was excruciating. She quickly shut her eyes again. Trying to regain her composure, she remained still and concentrated on breathing in and out.

She recognized she had no short-term memory. She didn't even know where she was. As she struggled to maintain focus and stay awake, Genève realized she was not alone.

She took a breath and tried again to open her eyes, focusing all her strength on seeing through the fog clouding her vision. When the other person came into view, she relaxed. It was her Aunt Adonis, so she must be at home.

As her surroundings became clearer, Genève became more and more panicked. She recognized Talon's living room, and the reality of the situation smacked her in the face. She opened her mouth to scream again, but Adonis walked over to grab her hand.

“Hush, my child. There was nothing to be done. You mustn’t fall apart.”

Genève looked into her aunt's eyes and cried, “Mustn’t fall apart? First, I suffered the loss of my father, and now I’ve suffered from losing the best part of myself. Every man I have ever loved is gone. I will never be whole again. Yet you stand there with nothing lost and ask me not to slip into pieces? How could this have even happened? I do not understand. They were all fine when I left them.”

Adonis took a step back, and Genève could not help but notice that she appeared nervous. A thought occurred to her.

“Aunt Adonis, not to appear ungrateful, but why are you here?”

“I have a terrible tale to tell you, and it is certain to break your heart. I have to know that you are strong enough to hear it,” Adonis said, looking Genève directly in her eyes.

Genève straightened her back and returned her aunt's stare. “I am as steady as I will ever be. I give you a fair warning, though. If you had anything to do with this family’s death, I will end your life.”

Her aunt shook her head and replied, “I did not, but I know who did. If you think about it, you will recognize who it was.”

Genève’s back stiffened, and she could feel the anger boiling in her veins. “Are you telling me that this was the work of my mother? Why would she do this? How did she do it?”

Adonis began pacing backward and forward, choosing her words carefully. “I am sure that you are aware of the fact that certain flowers are deadly to most siddhe. It's one of the few things that can kill us.”

“Yes, yes, we have been told that since infancy. What is your point?” Genève asked impatiently.

Adonis took a breath and gave Genève a meaningful look. “Your mother and I come from an ancient bloodline that has never been tainted with the blood of a lesser lineage. It is an extensive process to marry into our clan.

One must not only be born into the right family, but they must also complete a medical screening, at which time blood is taken and examined for compatibility. Our bloodline enjoys the benefit of being immune to poison. This is the one thing that is scrutinized when the blood is drawn.

“We are not allowed to have children with bloodlines that dilute this favor in our blood. Your mother has always been stubborn and refused to get the analysis performed when she started a relationship with your father."

" Before our parents could force her hand, she was already pregnant. It was too late to do anything about it, so the test was never discussed again. If it turned out your blood was tainted, they would have stigmatized you in the community, and that would have been unacceptable."

" So our parents arranged for it to appear like your father had the necessary testing done, but we never found out whether you carried the immunity.”

Genève looked at her aunt with a confused expression on her face. “This is fascinating information, but I do not get how it applies to what is going on here.”

Adonis watched as the look on Genève’s face changed from confusion to realization to horror. Genève thought about her mother’s sudden interest in helping her that afternoon.

She remembered the time it took Oleander to go into her chamber to pick up the ground amber, and she became sick to her stomach. Before she could move, Adonis came close and wrapped Genève in her arms.

“I saw the empty jar of ground oleander in her suite, and I realized right away what she had planned. I got here as quickly as I could, but it was too late.”

Genève's face was filled with horror, her voice tinged with sadness. “She poisoned them not knowing whether I would live or whether I would perish. She has never loved me. What will happen to Talon's soul? I know when we fall in Anwyn, we either become gods or demons, but what happens when we perish in the human realm?”

Adonis ran her fingers through Genève’s hair, trying to comfort her. “His spirit will go to the world of dreams, the place where humans wait for all the pieces of their lifeforce to reunite before they are reborn. Unfortunately, because he does not have a human soul, he will be stuck in purgatory for eternity.

Please do not let your guard down. Having mixed blood, you will need to stay on your toes. Just because you are resistant to oleander does not mean you are unaffected by every poison.”

Genève started crying inconsolably, and Adonis waited patiently for her to quiet. She wiped the tears from her own eyes and looked at her niece.

“You are correct about your mother. She is a ruthless woman without a shred of decency. I think you know what you must do. She needs to pay for this with her life. I will find you a place where you can begin again, far from here, once you have gotten your vengeance.”