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I chuckle darkly, my nostrils flaring as I jerk my gaze toward the floor. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“I was so mad when they locked me in that room. The Sages think they control everything.” She snorts. “Even outside of Goldenrod, they think that…”
My head pops up to find her watching me coolly. I swallow a burst of emotion as my heart skips a beat, and I shuffle closer to her. Is she reading my mind?
“But you know they’ve never controlled me?” she continues. Her tone is light, but her brown eyes are flinty and serious. “Don’t get me wrong. I love Wyatt, but I’m not one of them.”
I tilt my head, questioning her. “Then who are you?”
“I’m a Maidenhair,” she enunciates, her voice laced with darkness. “Spruce Street trash.”
It feels strange hearing that phrase in this place. “What does Spruce Street matter here?” I can’t stop the words from falling out of my mouth. “Goldenrod is miles away.”
“I know.” Her smile is wide and a little delirious. “Isn’t that marvelous?”
“Do you think we’re the same out here, Cami? Is that what you’re trying to say?” I press, a darkness lacing my voice. “Because I can think of about a thousand reasons why that’s not true.”
She shrugs. “Why not? We’re not as different as you’d think, and if being a Maidenhair from Spruce Street doesn’t matter here, then why does being a Sage House beta servant?”
I open my mouth, not sure what to say. But luckily, there’s a knock at the door, saving me from saying anything.
“Oh, good, she’s here.” Camilla sits up straighter, motioning me forward. “Help me up.”
I step forward and grab hold of her stretched arms, pulling her up from the chair. She wobbles on her feet but quickly catches her bearings and shuffles toward the door. Opening it, she peers into the hallway, whispering dramatically before opening the door wider.
In walks Lyn, the omega from Cypress House.
I haven’t seen much of her since arriving at the lake, but seeing her and Camilla standing next to one another, there’s no mistaking they’re mother and daughter. They have the same doe brown eyes and bouncing chestnut curls, although Lyn’s eyes are surrounded with a gentle web of wrinkles and her hair is a little more faded than Camilla’s.
“This is my mother, Lyn,” Camilla says blandly, gesturing toward the older omega as she eases her body back down onto her chair. “I think you’ve met her?”
I nod and watch warily as Lyn approaches me, her eyes skeptical as she looks me up and down.
I pull back with a start as she inhales the air around me, and gasp when she presses her cold fingers into my sweaty forehead. The motions remind me of Gran—always touching and sniffing me. Like she was looking for something.
Disturbingly, Lyn does the same thing, and much like Gran sometimes did, she finds what she’s looking for.
“She’s in heat,” she says bluntly, turning toward her daughter. I can’t see Lyn’s face, but Camilla doesn’t look surprised, tilting her head and smiling at me.
Relief washes over me—finally, someone believes me. I nod fervently, my eyes moving between their faces. “Noah’s my mate. I called to him earlier.”
Neither of them is taken aback by this announcement. No, they appear perfectly calm as they study me, tilting their heads and narrowing their eyes in an identical fashion.
“It’s so strange, though,” Lyn finally breathes out. “You’re definitely a beta—it’s easy to tell with your scent and stature—your hips are too narrow for an omega. But there’s a fire in your eyes and an aura of an omega’s heat about you. So, there’s no denying it…”
She bites her lips, staring at me for so long that I find myself shifting my weight in discomfort under her intense gaze.
“Who are your parents?” she finally asks.
I shrug, remembering my conversation with Isolde in the greenhouse. “I don’t know who my father is, but my mother was a beta named Bryn. She died when I was born.”
Her eyes flash. “Bryn Nigrum?”
“Yes.” I forget Noah for a half second. “Did you know her?”
“Yes, I did,” she swallows, her eyes distant. “She was Isolde Ambrette’s beta maid.”
I nod. “What was she like?”
