Page 116 of The Immortal’s Mark

He nods. “She felt your agony during your awakening. She didn’t know how to reach you, but she knew the clan could. When she went to them, they agreed to help on the condition that she rejoined them.”

“How could she do that?” My voice cracks with disbelief. “She agreed to go back? To let herself be used again?”

Alex laces his fingers together and rests them on his stomach. “In Master Ben’s defense, he’s not the leader his father was. He offered Jennifer a leadership position as an act of goodwill. And from what I can see, he’s not driving the clan down the same path his father wanted.”

Suspicion rises.

“Then why would he insist she rejoin?” I ask. “Why not just help her find me? Why ask for something in return?”

“Because not doing so would have been unwise.” Alex shrugs. “No clan has ever had a member as powerful as Jennifer. Ben wanted her back in the fold. I suspect he hopes to regain her trust and convince her to use her power for the good of the clan.”

“And will she?”

“I have no idea.” He stands, stretching his arms overhead. “Like you, your mother has her own mind. It is often hard to know what she is thinking.”

“But,” he adds. “I know she is determined to keep you from ever being used or manipulated the way she was. Perhaps, now, you can give her a break when she seems overbearing.”

With that, he turns and leaves.

I stare at the open doorway, my head spinning with the information about my mother’s past.

The idea of being used by people you trust…of having your gift twisted into a weapon…makes my stomach turn.

And yet⁠—

Does any of that excuse how she treats me now?

Isn’t she being just as stifling and unreasonable as the people who once controlled her?

Sure, her intentions aren’t cruel.

But that doesn’t make them right.

Does it?

“Ugh,” I groan, letting my heavy head fall into my hands.

Nothing in my life can be simple, and things aren’t going to get easier anytime soon.

28

DARCIE

All of my pent-up emotion, combined with my growing frustration at my lack of control with my powers, manifests into an unexpectedly successful training session.

“Outstanding, Darcie!” Mistress Lola claps her hands. “Brava!”

I want to bask in the praise, but I hold my focus on the orb of light hovering in the air in front of me. It’s small, barely bigger than a ping-pong ball, but the tiny sphere of power is a monumental achievement.

Failure has haunted me for weeks.

And now…this. Proof that I have some control. Proof that I can do this.

The orb is far more impressive than the weak shield I conjured weeks ago with Henry. It’s brighter. Denser. Real. It hums faintly, as if it has a pulse.

When I’m confident looking away won’t make the orb disappear, I shoot a grin toward Gregory, who watches from a park bench a dozen feet away.

“Do you see this?” I ask.