Page 15 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

My stomach dropped and I bit the inside of my cheek, dreading what I knew I had to do. “So you don’t know about my—gift?”

She shook her head.

A sigh slipped between my lips.

“I have the power of telepathy. Gideon and I—we share the gift—an unbreakable bond, for we drank the same sylph’s blood. It connected us… forever.”

Her pale face contorted in shock, and her mouth fell open as her eyes raked over me, searching for a hint of the monster lurking within.

“Don’t worry, I can only read your mind if you let me… or if I break in… and I don’t plan on doing that.”

She ran her thumb over her lower lip. Her brows knitted with concern as if she were putting puzzle pieces together in her mind.

“So, can you two communicate all the time?”

“No, only when we’re close. Then there are no secrets between us. We can enter each other’s minds freely unless one of us puts up a mental barrier.”

“Why would you agree to do that? To bond yourself to someone like that?”

I swore I could hear a touch of disgust in her voice. The same disgust I’d heard in Gideon’s voice a thousand times. Was it real or was I giving my sister attributes she didn’t deserve. How would I feel if I were in her shoes? Was she judging me or just in shock? The sister I remember would not be so cruel.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“I didn’t really have a choice. The blood was fed secretly to me at first, and then when I refused it…” I swallowed the lump growing in my throat. “It was forced upon me. That’s also how I got these.” I raised my upper lip, revealing a sharp incisor.

Baylis leaned in, examining me—looking for the invisible tether linking Gideon and me.

“Did it hurt?”

“It was torture—every minute of it. My powers were wild. I could hear every thought of every person in the palace. I thought I was going mad until Erissa told me of her little experiment.” Bile rose in the back of my throat. Memories long buried bubbled to the surface. I breathed deeply, letting the specters of my past pass through me.

“I’m sorry, Aelia. I didn’t—know. Once you left for Ryft’s Edge… you were so distant. I thought you wanted to forget us. And I wouldn’t have faulted you for that.”

Pressure built behind my eyes.

“Forget you? You were—are my best friend. I risked my life to free you. And I’d do it again.”

“Those were dark times, Aelia. We were all lost.”

She moved closer, putting an arm around me like she had when we were children. That was the Baylis I knew. The caring one. Not the one who looked upon me with disgust just moments earlier.

I swallowed the sob growing in my chest.

“I know. I hoped they were over.”

“Fate is a cruel master.”

I let out a little chuckle. “Speaking of. Do you remember that mother is a Fate?”

“I do. I was there when they carted her off in front of me.”

“Well, you share her gift.”

She fiddled with the thin golden chain around her neck. Was that a gift from Gideon or a remnant of our old life? My memories were too blurry to remember something so simple.

“Me? A seer? I’ve never had a vision in my life.”

“You have. I’ve seen you do it.”

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