Third Person POV Selene’s heart skipped an erratic beat, and a wave of dizziness suddenly washed over her. She swayed on her feet slightly, having to use her vanity before she fell to the ground. She blinked a few times, lifting her gaze to meet her own eyes. She looked normal… but something inside of her changed. Something was happening… she just wasn’t sure what it was. “Selene?” She heard her husband’s voice before she saw him at the doorway of her walk-in closet. “Have you seen my mother? She isn’t anywhere.” “No,” Selene said, her eyes remaining on her own, like she was trying to recognize herself. “Something is happening,” Zachary said. “I could feel it.” Selene blinked…so she hadn’t been the only one. She turned to face her husband and mate, her eyes wide. “You felt it too?” He blinked. “Yes,” he said, stepping towards her. “I could feel… the shift.” “What do you suppose it means?” Selene asked. Zachary opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by another voice.“It means that the true host of magic has awoken at last.” They both turned and gawked as Cora stepped through the door. Her eyes were shifting between Zachary and Selene, her lip sucked into her mouth as she fought to keep herself steady. Selene could tell that she was nervous; she kept running her hands up and down the skirt of her dress, and Selene could practically hear her heart beating out of her chest. Cora let out a shuddering breath, her nose and cheeks pinkening slightly. “I’m sorry to just walk in…” Cora said softly. “I never used to knock… I suppose old habits are hard to overcome.” “Cora…” Zachary breathed, his eyes wide. “H…how? When…? W…where?” He tried to ask, but each question failed to pass his lips. “I know you must have a million questions,” Cora said, tears filling her eyes. “You must hate me for abandoning you all those years ago. And if you don’t already hate me… then you soon will. I have done you so wrong, Brother, and I am so sorry… this is all my fault…” Zachary stepped towards his sister. “Cora…I thought… I thought something happened to you,” he said, reaching out to touch her. “Are you really here?” Cora nodded. “Yes, I am really here…” she said. “I wasn’t going to come back…but then she came to me, and I knew I couldn’t stay away any longer. I have ruined so many lives, and for that, my debt will never be repaid. I am so sorry…” Tears flooded her cheeks as she cried. Zachary didn’t think twice; he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He tried to soothe her, as he had when they were children. He wasn’t sure why she was so upset and what was going on, but he knew that he didn’t want her to feel bad about anything. Selene was also confused; she adored Cora when they were younger. She was the kindest in the Blackwell family and actually made friends with Selene when Selene married Zachary, rather than shunning her as the rest of the family did. Then, right after Lila’s birth, she just disappeared. It broke Zachary’s heart, and after years of no contact, he assumed the worst. It broke him, but at the same time brought him a bit of peace to lay her to rest. “I am so sorry,” Cora continued to sob, her body trembling. “What do you have to be sorry about?” Zachary asked. “Why did you leave, Cora?” She pulled away, her bottom lip trembling. “I am the reason they are dead…” she whispered; her voice was so low, Selene almost didn’t hear her. “Who?” Zachary asked, his brows furrowed. “Cora, you aren’t making any sense.” “Our parents,” she blurted. “I am the reason they are dead…” Zachary let out a low chuckle, shaking his head.“They were in a car accident, Cora. That wasn’t your fault…” She shook her head, her lip trembling even more. “Don’t you remember? Mom and Dad were taking my best friend, Ivy, and me to dance class at the time.” Zachary nodded. “Yes… and then I got a call saying that there’s been an accident and I needed to come to get you right away.” She nodded and let out a shuddering breath. “In the backseat of the car, I was showing off my magic to Ivy, and I lost control of it,” she admitted, looking away shamefully. “I was the reason we got into the car accident…I was the reason they are dead.” Zachary’s heart broke at her confession, but he tried not to show it in the sake of his sister. “You were only a child, Cora,” he said, shaking his head as he stepped closer to her. “You didn’t know any better, and it was an accident. You can’t beat yourself up over something that happened when you were a kid.” “But I’m the reason they were killed,” Cora said softly. “And the reason Ivy lost everything.” “What?” Selene asked, her brows furrowing together. “What are you talking about?” Cora glanced over at Selene. “I’m the reason Ivy Churchill lost everything… she can no longer dance or sing… at least not like she used to. I took away her only goals in life…she lost so much, and she blamed me for it. She threatened me, and I had no choice but to do what I did.” “You were best friends with Ivy Churchill?” Selene asked, her heart thudding against her chest. She knew Ivy well, and the two never got along. She was as evil as they come. She spotted her at the hospital the day Lila was born, and the iciness in her eyes was something that Selene could never forget. A chill crept up her spine at the very thought of that nasty woman. A woman who only cared about herself. “Used to be,” she said softly. “Until I made her lose everything she’s worked so hard for… and now she can’t stand me. I am so sorry…” “Stop apologizing, Cora. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s okay…” Zachary tried to reassure her. “I did, though,” Cora said, shaking her head quickly. “I killed our parents and took Ivy’s goals in life away. I made her life miserable to the point where her own family disowned her. She ended up having a baby with someone she didn’t love and named the baby Megan. When that relationship fell apart, she turned to the Churchill family, where she eventually married Arthur. Megan was so young when they moved her into the Churchill manor. She was mistreated by literally everybody, including Ivy …” “I don’t understand… how do you know all of this?” “Because I was cursed with true sight,” Cora admitted. Selene couldn’t help but gasp; true sight was scarce, but Selene had heard of it. It meant that Cora could see the big picture just by touching someone. She knows their past and everything there is to know about somebody without having to ask them. Selene didn’t think of it as a curse, though… it seemed like a gift. But telling from the look on Cora’s face, maybe it wasn’t what Selene had thought it was. “Ivy was there when I went to the hospital… she overheard my conversation with grandmother,” Cora continued, her eyes fixed on the ground. “She heard Esme’s prophecy about the third baby born to the Blackwell name… a girl… the host of magic. And she wanted to use that against me in hopes that everything she had lost and then some would be restored to her. She was hungry with power, and I knew it, but I still let her use me…” “You aren’t making any sense, Cora. What exactly happened?” Zachary asked, his brows now furrowed. “What exactly did Ivy make you do?” “She wanted that magic… she wanted the host of magic so she could exploit her power,” Cora muttered, her nose crinkling in disgust. “She was ready to give up her entire family for that magic. And because I was so scared of you finding out the truth about our parents… I agreed to her terms.” Selene gasped again, covering her mouth with her hands. “You agreed to give her our child?” Selene asked, disbelief etched in her voice. Cora sobbed into her own hands, her entire body trembling. This time, Zachary didn’t comfort his sister. He stared down at her, still confused, but he knew this wasn’t everything… There was more, and his entire world was about to flip upside down.“I ended up switching your baby with another one,” Cora finally blurted, her cheeks reddening. “I switched her with Megan’s baby. I figured once they find that she has no powers, they’d give her back. I didn’t know that the baby would get adopted by another family, and because I took the magic out of your baby, they weren’t able to detect her. I had disappeared out of shame for what I had done, though my curse kept me current.” “You switched our babies?” Selene asked, her voice coming out barely above a whisper. “Yes,” Cora said, more tears spilling down her cheeks. Anger flared in Selene’s body. “If Lila isn’t my daughter…. Then who is? And where can I find her?”