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46. BELONGING

S itting on the couch in her mothers' living room with Aiden and Riley felt strange after recent events. Charlotte didn't know how to act. After all, she met her father and took part in a fight resulting in the deaths of several men and women.

Even if they weren't good people, many of them still had families. While she sat next to the man she loved as he talked with her mothers and his sister without a care in the world, Charlotte wondered if others were grieving the loss of their family.

"What has you looking so gloomy, sweetheart?"

"What?"

Her mom sat forward and placed her can of Diet Coke on the coffee table, her silver bangles catching the sunlight filtering through the large bay window in their living room. "You look like something's troubling you."

Aiden's hand tightened around Charlotte's.

"My father," she started, and both of her mothers stiffened .

Riley stopped playing with Molly, lowering the stick with a toy mouse dangling from it, looking in Charlotte's direction.

"What about him?" her ma asked, her chin turned up as she tilted her head back, eyes shuttering.

"I wanted to know if you know anything about him. Like, who he is. Where he lives. What does he do for a living?"

Her mothers shared a look before her mom got up and came to sit on Charlotte's other side, opposite Aiden. "Your father is American," she said, taking Charlotte's hand. "We never told you anything about him because you never asked."

"I know. I was afraid to know because I thought if I asked about him or my birth mom, you'd think I didn't want to be with you anymore and send me away."

"Yeah, that will never happen," her ma said.

Riley's phone clattered to the floor when Molly jumped into her lap, knocking the phone from her hand, demanding her attention. "Okay, then. I guess Seth can wait."

Aiden chuckled. "He can talk to you when we get back."

Her mom placed her other hand over Charlotte's, sandwiching her hand. "Liz is right. You're our daughter, and you were always meant to be our daughter."

Knowing the things she did, Charlotte wondered if there was a deeper meaning to those words than a mother's love.

"As I said, your father is American. His name is James Robertson, and he has lived in Florida from the time he left after your mother passed away." Her mom tightened her grip. "He…" She sighed. "Your father is not a good man."

Her ma and Riley snorted at the same time.

"Understatement of the century," her ma said. When her mom leveled her ma a withering look, she held up her hands. "What? I know we shouldn't badmouth her biological parent, but what decent person abandons their baby? I'm sorry, Sara, but I don't care how old she gets, I'm going to always hate that man."

Her mom huffed. "I'm sorry if it upset you to hear that. Liz gets heated about your father, and I don't blame her."

"I'm fine. I don't have good feelings about him either."

Riley stroked her hand over Molly's back as the cat loafed in her lap, purring like a motorboat.

"Is there anything else?"

Her mothers shared a look again, and she suspected they knew a lot more about him than they let on, but was it something that revealed more than they were supposed to know? If so, Charlotte wouldn't force them. Instead of risking it, she changed direction.

"Actually, no. It's not worth dwelling on."

Aiden ran his thumb over the top of her hand in soothing circles.

Taking the out offered to them, her ma asked, "So are you ready for classes? It starts this week, right?"

"Next."

She'd told them about her plans to take Business Administration, and they were both ecstatic about the opportunity to find her own path. After training with them in their business, she could open her own doing something she loved instead of sticking with fashion or animal care. Once she found out what she wanted.

"Does this mean you're going to stop taking your medication?"

She looked at her mom. "Maybe eventually. I need to talk to my doctor. Even if things are better for me, that doesn't mean I won't have depression. I mean, if it's clinical. I need to talk to them and find out what they think."

Starting and stopping her medication whenever her moods wavered from one extreme to the other didn't sound like the best idea. One of the biggest reasons she became depressed was a loss of stability. She didn't want to trigger the dark feelings anytime something shifted in her life—especially now that she was part of a world full of unpredictability. At least the medication gave her a fighting chance. Love did great things, but it wasn't a magical cure-all if something was wrong on a chemical level and not environmental. Time and meeting with her doctor regularly instead of once a year would provide the answers she needed.

"That's smart of you," her ma said. "Whatever you need, no matter what the doc says, we'll support you."

Aiden squeezed her hand.

She wondered if when her magic surfaced after Blaire became a Vasirian she wouldn't need medicine anymore. She didn't think transitioning would cure her of her depression—it wasn't like cancer or a virus, but she did wonder if the combination of becoming Vasirian and having living magic in her blood would alter the chemical state of her brain. The possibility was yet another reason she looked forward to transitioning.

She hated that she couldn't do it now, but the Oracle said without her own magic, she wouldn't survive. She didn't have Blaire's magic—or any for that matter. The magic that sparked her bond with Aiden lived inside him and was only enough for that purpose. She couldn't wait to have her own magic.

"Life at Blackthorn is going to keep you busy," her mom said, shifting the subject, keeping her eyes on Aiden. "I expect to see you, but if we have to wait a while before that can happen, we both understand. Given the path you've chosen, there may be a time when coming home won't be an option for a while. Just know we'll be here when you're balanced and ready to come home."

Riley's forehead lined as she stared at Charlotte's mom. The way she'd worded that must have sounded strange to Riley, too.

Charlotte had told her what the Oracle said about her mothers. They'd talked with the others in their small circle, but they all knew to keep the information close to the chest or they risked her mothers' minds.

She looked at Aiden, and his grip tightened. "I'll always come back," she whispered.

"Good!" Her mom gave her hand one last squeeze before standing. "Who wants tilapia for dinner?"

"Why don't we go out?" her ma said. "That way, you don't have to cook for everyone."

"We can go home," Riley said, sitting up, causing Molly to jump off her lap with an irritated tail swish.

"Nope," her ma said. "You're not going anywhere. We haven't seen you kids in a while, and you're about to be monopolizing my girl's time for a long while to come."

Riley pursed her lips and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Charlotte laughed. It amused her to see her boisterous friend turn sheepish in the face of her ma's assertive ways.

"Fine." Her mom tugged the hem of her peasant blouse. "If we're going out, I still want seafood. Let me get my purse."

"That woman could eat your body weight in clam strips if you let her," her ma said to Aiden.

He chuckled and put an arm around Charlotte. She settled into his embrace, content to enjoy the moment.

While she couldn't openly discuss what it meant to be at Blackthorn Academy, she felt settled in the knowledge that her mothers likely understood things weren't as they seemed to the outside world. It eased the burden on her mind to know she didn't have to lie to them, because they wouldn't put her in the position to do so or they would risk not only themselves, but her.

Birdsong rang out around where they sat at the center of the hedge maze.

It was the first time Charlotte had entered the sprawling labyrinth of greenery filled with statues of winged creatures in black marble, ivy leaves clinging to their bodies. She avoided it because a part of her questioned if she entered, would she end up stepping into a weird world like that old movie her mom was obsessed with from the eighties about a goblin king who kidnapped a teenage girl's baby brother because of his obsession with her.

Considering all the other peculiar things she discovered about this new world, and that yet another world existed that she knew nothing about, that Blaire only knew from her dreams, she didn't want to take any chances.

Turned out, the hedge maze was nothing more than a simple maze made of hedges. Nothing more, nothing less. Imagine that.

A bubbling fountain sat at the heart of the hedge maze, much smaller than the one in the courtyard, surrounded by marble benches and small tables.

She stretched out on the blanket Riley brought out for them all to sit on next to Aiden. Her belly felt as full as her heart.

Few could see them here; their only view was of the upper floors of the dorms and the school buildings. The entire area provided a sense of peace and privacy, the noise beyond deadened by the layers of hedges between them and the rest of the campus.

Riley sat perched in Seth's lap between his crossed legs, babbling to Layla about a new pair of boots she saw when she looked online last night. Blaire sat with her back to the fountain base, shoveling forkfuls of pasta salad into her mouth while Lukas spoke to her about something his parents asked about his study program.

Charlotte wouldn't mind having other students around, but it was nice to get away from the stares and background chatter surrounding her bonding with Aiden.

Piper and Lindsay volleyed questions at her after they heard the news, wanting to know what it felt like to have a sealed Korrena bond, how the emotional tug-of-war felt, and other questions that even bordered on too much. They spoke to her like she belonged in their world—like she was one of them. Alex still cut her dirty looks when they passed each other in the cafeteria or courtyard, but they never engaged in conversation, so she took it as a win.

She gazed at the fluffy white clouds overhead.

Whenever they went to the cafeteria in the days following the seal of their bond, at least one brave student approached with questions for her, Aiden, or even Blaire and Lukas. Aiden said with another human on campus, curiosity won out, and students took the chance to ask questions. Lukas said they never got approached before.

Even after classes started, they would continue being a hot topic of conversation, but things would settle down eventually. There were only so many questions someone could ask.

Not everyone embraced the idea of two humans on campus. It didn't escape her notice that some students gave them a wide berth, while others talked in hushed tones as they passed—wary, if not downright hostile in the things she overheard. Most of it came from fear of another rogue attack on campus.

She sighed. She couldn't blame them for being afraid. Still, she hoped one day those who hesitated to accept her and Blaire would eventually find peace with their presence.

At least no one tried to bully them .

Charlotte looked up as Dominic rounded the corner of a hedge. Sunlight from the midday sun dappled across his face where it streamed through the bits of foliage hanging over a particularly beautiful statue next to him of a creature she didn't recognize.

"I have news," he said, taking a seat on the edge of the blanket and grabbing the only unopened container of grilled chicken and pasta salad remaining. His eyebrow piercing caught the light, stealing her attention. She wondered if it had hurt.

Everyone stopped talking and focused on him.

"They've found your father," he said, looking at her. "Like we suspected, he returned to Florida to recoup his losses and formulate another plan."

"Where is he now?"

Dominic looked at Aiden. "After his capture two nights ago, they transported him directly to Cresbel Asylum—"

"What the hell?" Seth said. "He's human."

"You're right. They didn't move him there to imprison him."

"So what'd they do?"

Dominic looked at Riley. "They wiped his memories before transporting him back to the States."

"Wait. Back to the States? Where is Cresbel Asylum?"

"That's…" Dominic lowered the container and sucked a breath through his teeth. "The exact location isn't information privy to the masses. Only members of the Blackthorn Clan, like me, know the exact location."

"I thought it was in Eurasia, somewhere in Russia," Layla said, her lashes fluttering as she blinked in confusion.

"Well, yes. That's well-known amongst our kind, but that's a lot of land to cover. It's not in a convenient location for a reason."

"Why? "

He smiled. "So the humans don't find it." He winked, and she dropped her gaze, flushing. "And so rogues don't try to infiltrate the walls."

Riley shifted on Seth's lap. "So her father's not there anymore?"

He shook his head negatively, meeting Charlotte's eyes next. "He's back in Florida; but in wiping his memories of everything to do with the Vasirian, they had to eliminate his memories of you."

"What? Why?" Blaire said, her hand covering her mouth.

"We don't know how far back the memory of our kind goes, but he knew of us before Charlotte's birth."

"Wait a minute," Charlotte said, sitting upright. "You're able to see inside his head? That's insane. I never thought about how you wiped memories. How can you get in someone's head? What else can you do? Did you find out anything else?"

Dominic laughed at her rapid-fire questions and set down the container of food.

"The way compulsion works allows some of us to not only paralyze the body, but also influence someone to our will. Not all of us have the ability, but it's never used for harm—unless rogues use it. Beyond that, there exists an even smaller number of Vasirian who possess both the power of compulsion and the ability to manipulate memories. They can't see every thought and memory a person has, rather they single in on a subject—in this case, Vasirian—and purge every piece of information associated with that subject."

"That sounds dangerous. What about everything around it? Like, if you took away my memory of Blaire, how would I fill in the gaps around things we did and things I did while knowing her?"

"You wouldn't. In some cases, the mind is able to piece together enough information to smooth over the loss of a person or subject matter and it doesn't influence much. But in other cases, where the subject is a dominant part of the person's mind, it acts as a reset."

"Reset?" Layla asked. "I don't know a lot about compulsion. No one in my family can do it. What does a reset do?"

Charlotte didn't like the sound of it. By definition alone, it unnerved her.

"Most who have a memory wipe after learning of the Vasirian have seen them once, and only need that moment in time eliminated. It doesn't affect their lives in any way. With your father, he's known about us for years. There will be gaps in his memory, but he is stable. His mind was strong enough to recover, and he seems forgetful at worst. If he delved too deeply into it, the doctors would likely conclude a case of amnesia—but he would never recover from it."

"Okay, but how did you know you needed to get rid of his memory of Charlotte?"

Dominic looked at Riley, who looked seconds away from springing out of Seth's lap and going on a tirade around the central garden.

"After such a deep wipe, the authorities at Cresbel ask questions and run a human through a series of tests to assess the possible damage and how far back their memories of our kind go. They do this by bringing up events and people related to the person throughout the years." Dominic looked down at the ground, his lips thinning. He didn't look happy about what he had to say. "When asked about you, he didn't know anything about you. We didn't explain who you were, only asked if he knew you. We didn't want to disrupt his psyche by informing him of a daughter he couldn't remember."

Arms slipped around Charlotte's waist, dragging her into a lap. The scent of vanilla and orange surrounded her.

The news hit harder than she wanted to admit out loud. Even if her father was an evil man who chose the wrong path in life, it still hurt to know he wouldn't know her if they met on the street. Though mere days ago she wouldn't have known him either. Was it so different?

"If it helps," Dominic said, and she looked up. "He doesn't remember anything of the things that turned him into the man you met. His mannerisms became docile and polite. With this, he'll get a chance to start over and build a new life for himself. Whatever darkened his heart and made him seek power over our kind became lost."

Riley crossed her arms. "Hopefully this time he chooses the path of not being a jackass who abandons his children and tries to run a syndicate filled with a species more powerful than him, like some glorified mafia boss."

Charlotte toyed with the edge of her mint-painted fingernail.

As much as it saddened her to know he would never know her, if the loss gave him the chance to be a better person and grow a life where he could become the man he was meant to be without the influence of the rogues and whoever was above them, she would accept it. Not that she had a choice if it happened or not, but she could choose to be angry, throw a fit, and act irrational about it, or she could accept it with grace and see it for the positive it was.

Sometimes a loss was necessary to grow something greater.

Aiden moved her hair away from the side of her neck, placing a gentle kiss against her skin. His arms hugged her closer, and she sank into him, accepting his warmth and soothing love.

"I still wonder who is pulling the strings behind all this," Lukas said, elbow resting on the edge of the fountain, thumb pressed against his mouth.

"Whoever Red Carnation is," Aiden said. "Do the other members of the Blackthorn Clan know anything about it? Did they recognize the name? "

Dominic shook his head. "For now, only Adrian knows. He fears it getting out into the public if the other members of the royal family or the extended clan hold open discussion about it."

Seth raised his brow. "He doesn't trust them?"

"Why wouldn't the king trust his own family?" Layla asked. Once things settled the other day, they had filled her in on everything that happened.

Charlotte noticed she didn't know as much as the others, but Blaire told her that Layla had joined their circle after Lukas helped her with a bully problem. She was there for him while Blaire went through the Order's experiments, and he was suffering. While Layla kept away from the danger, she made a good friend, so they never hesitated to keep her informed of what happened when she wasn't around.

"Nothing like that," Dominic said, glancing at Layla. "Adrian knows there's a leak somewhere, whether it's a bug or an inside plant in the staff. If they hold open court, the information will spread. It's happened once already. Until they have more information on whoever this is, the king wants a lid kept on it."

"It isn't the first time the rogues brought up someone above them. Until we can find out who it is, Blaire will continue to be a target," Lukas said, eyes narrowing. He glanced at Charlotte. "I suspect you will be, too. Being human, they might try to use you to get to her again."

"Especially knowing that Blaire will risk herself for you," Seth said.

Lukas nodded. "They all saw the way Blaire tried to save you."

She looked down at her lap. "I didn't mean to make it harder for you."

Blaire pushed off the ground and moved over to plop down beside Charlotte. "Hey."

She looked up at Blaire.

"I told you. You're my sister. You haven't made anything harder for me. I don't want to do this without you. I'm glad you're going to be here when I go through the transition."

Charlotte's smile turned watery, and she sniffed. "Really?"

"Of course. We've been together for years. You think a few fangs and psychos are going to change that?"

Aiden kissed her neck again as she laughed.

"I'll be right behind you," she whispered.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

She looked over her shoulder at Aiden, and he nodded.

"After you do it, I want to transition too. I asked the Oracle already if I could do it, but she said it wasn't possible until you do. The magic that woke up our Korrena bond isn't strong enough for me to survive, or I'd already have done it."

Riley jumped to her feet. "Seriously?"

Blaire covered her mouth.

Charlotte nodded.

"Holy shit, yes!" Riley looked seconds away from bursting into dance.

Blaire leaned over and wrapped her arms around Charlotte, hugging her. She sniffled. "I'm so glad I won't go through this alone."

"You have Lukas," Layla said.

"I'm already a Vasirian. I think it's different for them." Lukas stroked Blaire's back as she held onto Charlotte, who started to cry.

Riley rushed over, dogpiling into their hug, all three of them crowding Aiden. He fell back on his hands, laughing.

While Charlotte didn't completely understand her place in their world, she wouldn't run away. She belonged in their world. Belonged with them. She didn't need a mystical oracle to tell her that. Her heart and their actions told her.

Her friends needed her as much as Aiden did. Her heart belonged to him.

While the future remained uncertain, she held hope.

Even though she couldn't become a Vasirian until Blaire took the first steps, it didn't matter anymore. The most important thing for Charlotte was staying with her family. Nothing meant more to her than family.

As they broke from their hug, she looked around at the faces surrounding her. She now had seven additional members of her family she would do anything to keep.

No longer on the outside looking in, she finally found a place where she could keep her family and secure the future that mattered most to her.

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