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“You have a sharp memory, dear prince. I was given the honor of attending your mother’s court on a number of occasions.” He sighed wistfully, his eyes searching upwards as if they were revisiting times gone by. “Ah, the rolling green hills and towering oaks of magnificent England. I should make time to go back there, one day.”
“You’re very welcome in my family home any time, Grand Master Fontaine.”
Mr. Fontaine shrugged and spoke in such a casually modest way, I couldn’t help but be endeared to him and trust him further, after Osric’s show of respect. “You flatter me, dear Osric. Please, call me Pascal.”
Jax and Aaron reappeared fully clothed, and Pascal reiterated his thoughts on his title. “Please, everyone, no titles. We are all equals in this weird and wonderful world, after all.”
“And I’m not calling you Grand Master every time I want your attention,” my mom quipped, cuddling into him and kissing him on the lips.
Oh wow, my mom had a boyfriend. Of all the bizarre and unbelievable things that had happened to me since I’d moved to New Nebraska, why did I find that the hardest thing to get my head around? She’d never even been on a date since my dad had died in a car accident, all those many years ago.
The sun was beginning to peek above the horizon, oozing hues of marigold and honey over New Lincoln and the Kings’ Hills.
“Why don’t we sit and have an early breakfast on the balcony?” Aaron suggested.
“Yes, that’s an excellent idea,” my mom replied. Then, she turned to me. Her eyes telling a hint of regret, she said, “And we can discuss some…long overdue explanations.”
Jax and Xander moved the dining table and chairs onto the spacious balcony, and I braced myself for whatever mysteries would be revealed.
The table was more than large enough to accommodate everyone. Aaron turned out to be quite the chef, filling the tabletop with plates of pastries, buttered toast, freshly sizzled bacon and sausages, a platter of poached and fried eggs, not to mention several pots of coffee and tea, billowing bitter and herby vapors as their steaming liquid was poured into cups, doused in milk and sweetened with sugar cubes. It was a delightful feast, and everyone, except recently fed Xander, dug in.
But my only appetite was for facts. Sipping at water, I listened intently to my mom and her new boyfriend—the concept was still odd to me—as they filled us in on vital information.
“I was so sorry to hear about what happened last night,” Pascal said as he crunched on a piece of toast, before placing it on his plate and reaching for his teacup. “I am so very glad that no harm befell you, dear Cecilia.”
Mom was sitting beside me, and squeezed my hand, kissing my cheek firmly, saying, “Yes, thank goodness you’re okay, sweetheart. I don’t know what I would’ve done if—”
I entwined my fingers in hers and looked into her eyes sincerely. “Mom, I need to know the truth. Everything.”
“You’re right.” She dabbed poached egg from her lips with a napkin. “Though we don’t think what happened last night had anything to do with the secrets I’m about to share.”
“Last night had to do with Jack 2.” I wrapped my arms around my waist and Jax, who was sitting on the other side of me, reached his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug.
“Yes, last night was Jack 2,” my mom replied, giving Jax a look of gratitude. “And that’s another matter. But there are things I’ve kept from you that no longer serve their purpose.” She drew in a long breath and exhaled in the same manner.
“I’m ready to hear them. I swear, Mom.” I straightened up, but put a hand on Jax’s thigh, hoping he’d leave his arm around me—I needed support right now—and he did.
“Okay, well, you and I appear to have an ability, a gift, or some might say a curse, depending on how you look at it. Let’s call it a gift, if used wisely.”
Everyone else remained silent and simply listened, sensing this was something I had to discuss with my mom alone. “What gift?”
“The gift of amplification. Being able to strengthen the powers of paranormals, through, erm”—her cheeks pinkened slightly—“romantic connections, let’s say. I think several people around this table know what I’m talking about…”
Jax nodded. Aaron and Xander mumbled words of agreement. Osric did neither, simply grunting into his coffee cup.
I felt awkward realizing that my mom somehow seemed to know I was in a relationship with multiple males, a vampire included.
“So, you have the same…gift?” I asked my mom.
“Yes, I do. My parents told me at an early age. They kept me away from paranormals as much they could. But someone who has the ability to detect our gift—which is very rare—sought me out. A particularly dangerous narcissist, and he made it clear that he wouldn’t stop until I had accepted hislove. But it was slavery in a gilded cage he was offering, not love. I’d long feared that we might be kidnapped and forced into some kind of obligatory situation, to be used for our abilities against our will. He was certainly capable of that, and worse.”
“So that’s why we moved so often, all those times?”
Mom nodded, her face contorted in sorrow, regret. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I just couldn’t take the risk. He was after me, but I worried about you too. I couldn’t bear to think about you being imprisoned and exploited. The normal way this phenomenon takes place is by consensual, erm, romance, but there are plenty of horrid males out there, females too perhaps, who would try to force it, for their own selfish gains. Not everyone is as nice as your friends here.” She looked at each of my guys and Osric, then over at Pascal, her eyes oozing love. “Or my new friend.”
Pascal cleared his throat, saying, “My lady, you flatter me, as always.”
“But why’d you let us come to New Nebraska then? If we have this amplifying power that only affects paranormals, and if you were scared of us being exploited, it seems the last place we’d be safe.”
