Page 161 of Wretched Mage

It was a plea, a need for me to trust him. I didn’t know if I could, not without seeing my father first. “She will not hurt anyone, and she will not get a sentence. Is that clear?”

“It’s not a sentence, my love,” Reagan responded.

“Why is he calling you that?” Joy asked, her narrow gaze darting to me.

But I couldn’t explain that either. Not now.

“I wish I’d known earlier,” Reagan murmured, “but you were hiding from us. Or perhaps from yourself. Not knowing. Though at least...I don’t think you knew.”

I shook my head. “You’re not making any sense.”

“Forgive me,” he said softly, running a hand through his hair. “I only pieced it together a few days ago. Your sister...She confirmed what I’d been suspecting for some time. When she got upset, the weather shifted so suddenly, so drastically, it was impossible not to notice.” His eyes grew tender, pulling me in, coaxing me to understand. “And then I remembered the time you summoned my shirt to your room. It shouldn’t have been possible. Your closet wouldn’t give you something from my chamber. But there was a chance, however small, that someone had put it there by mistake.” He paused, as if waiting for the realisation to settle over me. “It’s why you have visions in your sleep, Jan.” He hesitated, visibly battling the urge to come closer. “It’s why the air turns colder when you or your sister are distressed. It’s why you were able to enter the mage lands atall. And, because I know how observant you are, I think you’ve already started to suspect yourself.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” I snapped, though the words weren’t entirely true. Something flickered at the edges of my mind. Something that was not possible.

His expression softened, a knowing look crossing his face. “Darling, you do know. Take off your ring.”

“My ring?”

He nodded slowly.

Gwinifer’s voice startled me. “It’s a relic,” she said, arms crossed over her chest. “You should know what it does for you by now.”

“Somehow, you still managed to cover this room in ice even while wearing yours,” Finnegan said to Joy, gesturing at her hand, where a ring identical to mine rested.

Our family heirloom.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Joy asked.

“But she shouldn’t have been able to,” Reagan said. “You take it off when you sleep, so it doesn’t block your sight. At all other times, though, the ring nullifies your access. Whoever gave it to you wanted to hide you. Both of you.”

Reagan took a cautious step closer, his lips twitching between a tentative smile and a frown.

“Darling, you and your sister are mageborn.”