“So, wait—we weren’t even supposed to be born?” Seth’s voice was incredulous, and Sadie couldn’t blame him this time. This was news to her.
“How?” was all Sadie said.
“I don’t know the details. But I knew it was dark magic. And I knew that nature would try to stop you both from coming into this world. Too much power. Too unpredictable. Now, to save a life takes a life, and I took Julian’s. Only, I didn’t know there were two of you. And by the time we found out, it was too late. No sacrifice would have been enough.”
There was a beat of silence. It seemed to press in on them. Like the walls were leaning, aching to hear the secrets that hadn’t been spoken about in decades. Time seemed to trickle through the hourglass. The grandfather clock ticked louder. Sadie wanted to scream. Or laugh. Or both. She wasn’t quite sure.
“Slow down,” Seth said, extending his hand. “Let’s back up here a second and focus on the ‘taking a life’ thing. Are you saying you killed this Julian guy? Our father?”
Gigi nodded. Just like that.
“She came home.” Gigi sighed. “Tried to leave him. Told him he was never going to see her again. And even though I threatened him, he stuck around. And then, when I was gone one day, he forced himself on your mother, the jackass. I didn’t know until later, of course, when she started showing. Not that that’s an excuse. I should’ve known. I should’ve …” She cleared her throat, her hand frantically picking at an invisible thread in her sweater. “I was about to get the shotgun and shoot his fucking balls off. I wanted to shoot his heart right out of his chest. But even though I may be dumb, I wasn’t that stupid.
“She was a mess. He’d beaten her everywhere the babies weren’t. You were too precious. Too important to his plan. The only ritual I knew to save life, required life. Balance. And …’” Gigi paused and cleared her throat. “Well. He ended up being the sacrifice.”
Sadie was too shocked to say anything at all. Gigi just sat there like nothing at all had happened. Like she hadn’t just admitted to murdering a man. Their father.
“For one of you, at least. For the other, I cast magic to ensure you lived, tied the darkness to me to make sure you could have your light. But it’s never been enough. Life demands life. Where do you think this cancer came from?”
Both of them sat there a moment. Silent. The bile rose in Sadie’s throat until the acid threatened to come up.
“It’s our fault.” Sadie’s words came out fast, before she’d fully formed them in her head. She wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement.
“Sugar, it’s nobody’s fault but Julian’s—may he rot in hell.”
Sadie was too stunned to believe her. It was like a puzzle piece had fallen into place. But the picture still didn’t make sense. Some of the pieces were turned over, just blobs of brown in a sea of color. Other pieces were mangled or missing, but the image, blurry though it may be, spoke to Sadie of a truth long harbored in the dark recesses of her heart. Maybe she really wasn’t supposed to be here after all. Maybe that’s why everyone left. Maybe that’s why her curse was one of four heartbreaks. She was swimming against a tide of fate.
“What did you do with the body?” Seth demanded, always practical.
“Called your Aunt Anne,” Gigi said, as though it was the most obvious answer in the world. “She helped me pack him into the trunk, and we buried his sorry ass at Old Bailer, where Evanora could keep an eye on him. Now, certain magic always comes with a price. I helped save you two. But in exchange, your mother had to leave. That magic, it created its own kind of curse, and she couldn’t be near you two without endangering you both. It was the price of the magic. Part of the sacrifice.” She drew a deep, shuddering breath and arched her back with a groan.
Sadie’s eyes automatically tracked to Seth, who was breathing heavily.
“She didn’t want to leave,” he said.
“She wasn’t ready to be a mother,” Gigi said, her voice tight and scratchy as though it was hard to get the words out. “She still had wildness left in her. She was so young. Every Revelare leaves—you know that.”
“But they always come back, right? Isn’t that part of the stupid prophecy?” Seth demanded.
“When it comes to you two, things are different,” Gigi said, not exactly answering his question. Like her. She’d never left. And she never would.