Page 59 of Untraced Magic
My breath stilled at the realization there could be some truth to this. That she could in fact be my grandmother.
“Yes,” I breathed, barely loud enough to hear myself. “Yes, I was. How…? How do you know this?” I stammered, a lone tear escaping my lashes.
Betty sighed. “Because, dear, I left you there.”
Shock pinned me in place, before words purged from me with force. “I don’t understand. Why would you leave me there? How could you leave a helpless baby with no one to look after it?”
Streams of heat coated my cheeks as I rose to my feet with Tyler’s help.
Skye’s voice came from beside me. “Morgan, I think we need to let Betty speak.”
Betty took a step in my direction, and I threw my hands defensively in front of me.
“Morgan,please,hear me out. You need to believe me when I say I never wanted to leave you there. I had no other choice. It was the only way to keep you safe.”
This wasn’t real; it couldn’t be. I shook my head.
“Keep her safe from what exactly?” asked Wesley.
Betty frowned. “Morgan, can I ask if you’ve noticed anything strange happening? Anything you can’t quite explain?”
“We wouldn’t be asking if we didn’t have reason to,” Tyler said flatly.
Betty stilled, her finger tapping her forearm. Her shoulders rolled back, chin rising as if a wave of confidence had rolled over her. “Dear, your father made me take you away to keep you from harm.”
“From what?” I demanded.
Her expression turned wistful then. “Your father was a great man. He adored you and only wanted the best for you my dear. Your parents are both witches, but your mother became very unstable. She was not of sound mind and started to dabble in dark magic. Your father felt you had a gift so rare he couldn’t chance her knowing about it. Couldn’t chance your safety.”
“And what gift is that?” questioned Wesley.
“Your father believed you had access to the most sought-after magic known to witches. Like I said, it is very rare, and only a handful of witches possess it. Even fewer can handle it. It’s obsidian magic, a magic like no other. The ability to call on light or dark magic, and any element that you please, as easy as taking a breath.”
Holy crap.
“It skips generations in the same bloodline. Your father’s great grandmother possessed this power, and he was certain you would embody it next. He worried your mother would take advantage of your gift if it were to be true, and it had never skipped so many generations before, so he was certain it was to come to you next. He asked me to take you somewhere far away, but I felt I was being tracked, so I had to leave you at the orphanage.”
Betty’s eyes glazed over, her voice wavering slightly.
“I cast a spell to suppress both our magic, then left you on the doorstep of the orphanage. I had no choice… I couldn’t look after you myself with no home, no job. It was my only option. I knew you would be looked after by two loving parents. Fed and watered. Kept safe.”
She drew in a long breath.
“Your magic was to return to you when you turned twenty-five, when I knew you would be old enough to fend for yourself. Not even I could sense you or your magic once I left. I never knew where you were. But I would have found you… hired a sensor.” She paused, looking at Wesley. “I would have gone to the ends of the earth to find you again, Morgan. I planned to teach you everything, but it seems you found me.”
Tears fell freely down my cheeks with the knowledge my father loved me enough to give me up. To keep me from harm.
“That explains why Wesley couldn’t sense your magic,” Tyler mused, staring pointedly at Wesley, who chose to ignore him.
Betty continued, “As far as I know, your parents are alive. I can tell you everything, but yes, you are a witch. And quite possibly a powerful one, too. Your birthday is soon, if I’m correct?”
I swallowed a large gulp of air, unease prickling my skin. “Yes, on Friday,” I said, my voice barely audible.
Skye turned to me, words I couldn’t read scattered across her features.
Tyler’s voice came from beside me. “So, am I correct in saying that on Friday, the spell is broken?”
Betty nodded. “Yes.”
