Page 84 of Blade

I wasn’t sure I could explain it, but her understanding nod said I didn’t have to. “I’d be glad to. We originally thought we’d find you fairly quickly but that didn’t go as planned. Even tracking spells didn’t work. We’re still not sure why but we think it’s because of your mother’s line. You have a strong connection to her lineage even if you were never trained, from what I was told.”

Ah.

“Um, no. I was always more interested in shifting and sports and things like that.” Getting into trouble had also taken up a lot of my time. “And my mother’s parents were old when she was born, so I never had a lot of family on that side.”

When I had the chance of going to a football game or spending the weekend with distant cousins and a coven I’d only met a handful of times as a child, I’d always picked the game or something else that was more fun.

Shaking her head, she held up her hands. “No guilt here. It’s got to be something you want, not that you do just because you can.”

She was more understanding than my relatives had been.

“That might’ve made it hard to track me, though?” I’d have never thought of it. I mostly ignored that side of things.

“We think so.” Settling back in her chair, she let out a breath and seemed like she had to work not to let stress take over. “Honestly, I find not knowing to be very frustrating but there just wasn’t enough specific information from the incident to explain it exactly.”

Ah.

I could understand that and it seemed like Henley could too based on his nod and how low his own stress was.

“You did your best and you fixed me once I was found.” That was all I could ask. “You even took good care of my life in the meantime.”

Smiling softly, she looked around the house. “From what my mother told me, your father invited several of the original coven members to live here with him when his health started deteriorating. He was positive it’d be handled quickly and the stories about him say he thought he could will it to happen.”

“That was my father. He could be a force of nature when he’d wanted something.” It was why we’d butted heads so often. “But his health…”

The prompt got a frown from her but she didn’t drag it out. “He had a heart attack about a year after you disappeared. They thought it was the stress. After the second one, he realized hewas going to pass before we found you and he started making plans.”

Planning would’ve made him feel more in control but I couldn’t imagine myself in his shoes.

“My grandmother had been getting psychiatric care at that point but it was decided she couldn’t be left on her own, so she moved in with several coven members who were working on the spell and who could watch over her.” Something in Serena’s eyes made me think she was barely holding back another apology.

I didn’t need it, though.

She must’ve seen that because she kept going, trying to sound calm and factual. “When he finally passed away, the house was put into a trust for when you came back. The way it’s worded is you or one of your direct heirs. That was added once we realized how long it might take to find you.”

Yeah, I couldn’t just pop up unchanged after ten years and expect humans not to notice.

“That would’ve been hard to plan for.” Henley’s curious mind seemed to be going a thousand miles an hour as he looked around the room like he was actually seeing the whole house. “I’m not sure what I would’ve done.”

Nodding, she looked like she appreciated his understanding. “At first they just left everything as it was but over time they realized they had to preserve as much as they could.”

“And they’d have wanted to put their own touch on the house.” Anyone would’ve done the same. “It’s understandable and under the circumstances I’m grateful anything was saved.”

I wasn’t sure there was anything else they could’ve done in the situation. Leaving things to rot away just to keep it unchanged wouldn’t be practical. It would’ve been traumatic for them to live through too.

“It was.” Squaring her shoulders, she looked more like the head of the coven than the casual woman we’d been talking to.“Your father showed them the furniture you’d inherited from your mother and some of her favorite pieces. Those are in the attic along with family papers and pictures. They’re under a preservation spell and in the same condition as when your father passed.”

“That much?” I’d hoped but I’d tried to be logical about it. “Thank you.”

“No.” Taking in a slightly shaky breath, she shook her head. “Please don’t. That was the least we could do.”

As I was gathering my thoughts, Henley took over. “You did a wonderful job, but I think you need to take some time to accept that you accomplished your goal. You did it. He’s back.”

So maybe he was feeling more generous now?

Shaking her head, she relaxed back in the seat. “It’s a lot to take in, but there’s still a lot to do, though. I know you must be feeling overwhelmed but there are financial considerations to talk about as well.”

Yes.