Page 41 of Bitter Discord

“Zuri.” I tried not to snap, but what she said wasn’t an explanation.

“It’s a disownment. Either the parent can disown the child, or the child disowns the parent. It doesn’t matter which way it goes. It’s a slap in the face for both of them, a mark. A way of telling everyone that something is broken and is unfixable. It’s one thing not to know who Changed you. There’s no official way to say that except to explain it like Tokabi did. But to say you are a daughter of No One means you had someone. Either you were so terrible, they disowned you, or they were so bad, you disowned them. There’s a core disagreement, and the relationship is broken, in most cases, irreparable.”

“Why a whole title?”

“Why not?” Zuri asked in return. “Things like that are symbolic. Every person might draw a different line of what they feel comfortable explaining. I don’t know Marnar. I don’t know her reasons or if it was her decision. It would be rude to ask, by the way. Unless she offers to explain, don’t pry. Anything else?”

“That’s… all I could think of to ask,” I said, putting my hands into my pockets. It was a little chilly outside.

“You did well in there. I was the one who lost my cool. I won’t have you disrespected like that.”

“Does he really…” I stopped, shaking my head. She didn’t want to talk about Hasan.

“Go back inside,” she said, sighing heavily.

I backed away from her, turning after a few steps.

“Apologize to Mason, but don’t make it our fault. He should have seen the room was against him. He shouldn’t have gotten up and attempted to approach me like that.”

“Okay.” I left her there to her thoughts.

When I reached the back of the house, I saw Chao, Marcia, and Elissa. Elissa was prepping the fire pit.

“In all my years, I have never seen Zuri storm off,” Marcia said, looking up at me as I passed.

“Quite the way to expose you’ve had magic for all these years and never used it,” Chao said. “How long have you known, Jacqueline?”

“Just Jacky is fine, and I’ve known for a while. It’s not that surprising, is it? She’s never taken the Tribunal seat when she’s more than qualified.”

“I always had my suspicions,” Elissa confirmed, nodding at me as she threw another log into the fire pit. “Just for that reason. If Subira had an heir who was a good fit, it was Zuri, but Zuri never made a move. Mischa was a terrible fit, and Liza was too passive. You’re too young, and no family is going to want a rebel seated in power. It had to be Zuri… but it never was.”

“Hm, yes, I was of the same mind for a long time.” Chao tossed her the lighter. “The young ones wouldn’t understand, just assume it’s the way things are. Marcia?”

“I never gave it a thought. I kind of wish she wasn’t a witch. Just what we needed. Hasan’s precious blood daughter with her mother’s magic. No wonder he’s always rolled out the red carpet for her.”

“You’re a petty, jealous bitch,” I said. Hasan loved his children, especially his biological twins. They were his right and left hand, as Zuri had said. It certainly wasn’t the magic. If anything, I knew my father probably had to overcome some problems with it when they were young, then let them keep it secret, so he never had to confront it.

“You have a mouth, little girl. Let’s hope your tongue stays in it,” she growled.

The scent of magic rolled over us, and Marcia paled.

“It will,” Zuri said, walking up to the group. She glared at Marcia as she sat down next to Chao, then looked at me. “Go check on the ones closer to your age. I’ll keep my fellow old people entertained.” She reached out and snapped her fingers, and the fire pit erupted in gold flames. Elissa jumped away with wide eyes, but she was only surprised for a second. She turned to glare at Zuri. “The witch fire will be easier to put out when it’s time to head in,” she said, smiling boldly at the group.

I shrugged and walked away, heading inside. I found Abraham in the kitchen with Roland, who noticed me first.

“Speak of the devil,” he said as I entered, wanting to grab a drink. “We were just talking about you, wondering how you were going to feel, knowing so many people in this group once knew the fools who took you hostage.”

“It’s a small world. So long as no one tries again, I don’t care.” Abraham moved out of my way as I spoke, and I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “I knew one of them before it happened, too.”

“Oh really?” Abraham’s surprise was genuine.

“Lani. She showed up at my territory shortly after I established it. One of the reasons she helped Mikkel was my deception. I wasn’t honest with her when I should have been, though she admitted she was never really honest with me, either, so…” I opened the bottle and took a sip. I could hear someone else walking toward the kitchen. “I had come to Texas and hid who Changed me. I knew Hasan had been missing for a century, grieving Liza’s murder. There were more reasons beyond that, but they don’t matter anymore. That was my deception. Her greatest deception was that she was ever my friend to begin with. Later, she admitted she only spoke to me because she pitied me.”

Shrugging like I was over it, I turned to leave the kitchen. I tried my best on most days not to think about what I had seen and gone through. If I spent too long thinking about it, I would go mad. Lani’s betrayal had cut deep, and I had killed her for it.

“I remember the day Lani told me how she learned who you were,” Hannah said as she walked in. “I wasn’t surprised. Your family is good at deception. Look at what we just saw. Zuri revealing she’s been a witch all these years.”

“Says the one here who is terrible at it,” I replied as I drank my water, threw the bottle away, then looked at Roland and Abraham, purposefully ignoring Hannah. She was pissed off again. “Do you know where Mason is?”

---