Page 94 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

I flicked my wrist up and froze everyone but Della and Lyra. Lyra was hysterical as she realized everyone was frozen but her. I pulled the gag from her mouth.

“Please don’t kill me. It's Genia, not me!”

“It’s alright,” I assured her. “I already know.”

“You do?” She stopped crying.

I nodded and sighed heavily. What in the fuck was going on?

“Why is she doing this?”

“She lied to you when you came here. She had Yerma under a blood possession and was controlling her for years,” Lyra stated. My mind flashed to when I saw Yerma’s wound and thought it was infected. It was a blood witch mark. Fuck. “She’s been in control of Yerma since we’ve been here. She is not letting any of us leave and bound our tongues with magic so we couldn’t speak of it.”

“But why?”

Lyra swallowed hard and looked away for a moment.

“Genia helped your father kill Bayla. He promised Genia that she could rule the blood witches. Genia and your father..." She glanced away from me.

“Are sleeping together,” I said, disgusted.

She nodded.

“Genia had children with him.”

I forgot about this. I had been too engrossed with Cassius and my curse. I had brothers.

“It was around the same time your mother was pregnant with you. The children were not powerful like you were, though. The twins were both boys, and male blood witches hardly ever inherit their mother’s abilities. It’s not impossible, just extremely unlikely. Both of them had elite magic, though. Your father never claimed them, but he did have them living in the castle with him.”

My mind raced at this news. What twins were living at the castle with elite magic? Now would be a great time to remember my fucking life. I glanced at Della when she gasped.

“Are you talking about Kaz and Kai?” she asked Lyra.

“Yes.”

My ability to breathe seized immediately. My Kaz and Kai, who I thought of as brothers, were my actual brothers. Their smiling faces popped into my mind, and with it, their elite magic marks. Ravens.

“Is Genia a blood witch or a Ravenstonewitch?”

“Both; her father was from Ravenstone, and her mother was a blood witch. It’s why she can change her eye color to match either coven.”

“For fuck’s sake.” I turned from Lyra and began pacing around. “My father is a fucking slut.” I glared at them as I completely lost my mind. “I will lose my shit if the twins are part of this.”

“No, Kaz and Kai are nothing like Genia or Luren. They are so much like you. The three of you practically raised one another.” Lyra frowned. I saw something in her eyes that reminded me of the way Cassius stared at me.

“Which one do you care for?” I asked. A frown took over her face. “I can see it in your eyes that you are missing one of them.”

“Kaz.” Tears filled her eyes. “They would never. This is all Genia and Luren. Genia cursed Exile through Yerma to make it seem like she had nothing to do with it just in case you ever came for us. Your father is using Genia for his gains, but she’s doing the same.”

I closed my eyes tightly and couldn’t shake the images of the twins.

“Who else is involved?” I asked.

“Her other son.” She shook her head and frowned. “Genia and the King of Kizar had Jesper together. The queen of Kizar couldn’t have children, and Genia approachedHalvor and agreed to have an heir. She was hoping it would be a girl so that they would have strong powers, but Jesper was born without any. So, she had twins with your father, hoping that she would be blessed with a girl who was powerful like you. The twins have power but nothing close to what she wanted.

“We didn’t know Jesper was her son until recently when he came to talk to her. I’m pretty sure it’s why Jesper chased after you so much. Genia said that he needed to marry you because she knew of the prophecy and your powers. If you think your father is power-hungry, then double that, and that’s how badly Genia wants everything. The only thing standing in her way is you. She is having Jesper marry Tally so that he can inherit all of Cerithia after the wedding. Genia is planning on killing your entire family.”

Well, that pissed me off.

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