Page 77 of Splitting Secrets
“This is the entire reason we did all of this.” She holds her arms out, gesturing toward the house. “It’s why we left you the way we did. Why Divina was hell bent on having you grow up outside of the Midnight Syndicate’s eye. We’ve been waiting for your gifts to mature, buying as much time as possible.”
So, this must also be the reason behind locking us up here, inside the mountain. And why Griffin has been testing us so thoroughly on all the bloodlines.
They were trying to see if I would measure up.
“What makes you think I have all six?” I question. Last I checked, I haven’t been able to set things on fire or heal injuries. Not that any of that has ever been put to the test.
“We’ve been keeping track. As of this afternoon, you’ve officially mastered the Viridian gift.”
My smile wavers. “When?”
“Griffin says you experienced a vital surge in training and ended blasting Jonah clean across the garage.”
“That’s not . . . no—” I sputter. “That was just a small accident.”
“That was the final gift settling into place,” she chirps, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was happy about this. “I told them not to underestimate you. No one wanted to believe it was possible after I stopped having mine manifest after five. I knew you’d be the one.”
“This is why the Midnight Syndicate has been targeting me? Why they wanted me to join them in the first place?”
Her face sobers instantly. “Yes, that’s what I was getting at. Has anyone explained how the Midnight Syndicate came to be?”
“Finley certainly loves to talk about how they destroyed the Landry dream,” I scoff, then jump when I flick my gaze over toward the corner of my room and find him sitting there, glaring at me.
I shoot him an apologetic grimace, which he responds to by throwing a vulgar gesture in the air.
“Is he here now?” she breathes, glancing around aimlessly.
“You can’t see him over there?”
She shakes her head, her shoulders falling forward. “No, I can’t.”
“Is this what you and Aunt Divina were talking about in the woods that day? When you ran into Raze and Bane?”
Her expression grows guarded. “What do you know about that?”
There’s no use in lying now. “I saw it in a vision before the Syndicate caught me. You were arguing over whether you shouldsay something or not. Aunt Divina wanted you to keep your mouth shut.”
“If you saw that, then you must have seen . . . ”
I nod.
“She didn’t mean to kill that boy. The current was uncharacteristically wild that day. In fact, I haven’t seen it that bad since. And she panicked.” Her eyes drop to her hands, cheeks blotchy. “I tried so hard to save him. I know Raze hates me for what happened to his brother. That’s why he had no problem coming after us when the Syndicate sent him. And Quinn . . . she’s never been shy about how she feels. But there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think about those two boys in the woods and what would have happened if they’d never run into us.”
“I’m sure a lot would be different,” I agree.
Who would Raze be if he never ended up in the Midnight Syndicate? Would we have still crossed paths?
“That’s what all of this is for. When Bane died and I was expelled from Ravenshurst, I saw how corrupt their whole system is. How much unchecked power that society has over...well,everyone. I knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I went on with my life as if there weren’t innocent people being taken advantage of. People who truly believed they were doing something good. I came home from Ravenshurst with a broken heart and a dream, and your father hopped right on board.”
She shakes her head, holding her hands in front of her as if she’s trying to sort her thoughts out.
“But that’s not what I was trying to talk to you about. I wanted to make sure your gifts would mature before we started bothering you with the logistics of everything.”
“That’s why no one would tell me what was going on...” I guess again.
She tilts her head guiltily. “Yes. Your father and I told them not to. It can be a lot, learning about these new things your body is capable of. I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
So, they opted to bore me half to death.
