Page 157 of Fractured Fate

“You’re dating?”

“Oh. Well, they suspect that already.” Exhaling a long sigh, she looked at Aiden. “I don’t know what to do. Even though I’m grown, they are a big part of my life. Will they ever be able to know? I mean, if things actually work out where I stay with you and we don’t break up, what then?” Her gaze moved to the others. “What am I supposed to tell them when school’s over?”

Dominic shook his head. “Breaking up really isn’t how it works with Korrena pairs. Once you two seal the bond, you’re bound until death.”

“Okay,” she said, tone casual. “I’m not put off by that at all. Aiden explained how it works. How it’s stronger than marriage. I just wondered if it was ever possible.”

“Only the breaking of the bond ritual, which was explained to you,” Aiden said, low, but Lukas flinched at his words.

She glanced at both Blaire and Lukas and the turmoil in their expressions. Watched how they moved closer to one another to comfort each other. Was that how the bond worked?

“Listen,” Dominic said, stealing her attention. “Your parents can never know. The clan will wipe their memories if they find out anything about our world. And if they discover the information was given intentionally, there would be punishment for the guilty party. I can’t cover everything up.” His eyes met Aiden’s across the table. It reminded her of his words in the alley last night. He covered up the murder for Aiden.

“When you’re done with school, and start your career, you wouldn’t be living with your mothers anyway,” Blaire reasoned. “They won’t know the difference because you can still visit them and everything. Look how often we go to town, and Riley is working for Sara.”

Maybe she put too much emphasis on sharing things with her mothers, but if it would put them in danger, she would keep their secrets.

31

ADAPTATION

Several days passed without incident before Charlotte asked Aiden to accompany her back to the apartment in Athens at the end of the week so she could pack everything and talk to the landlord.

She would take the most important things she couldn’t do without, like video games and her favorite decor, and donate the rest to those in need. She didn’t want her mothers forced to keep stuff when she already had a room there, and it all wouldn’t fit in the dorm.

Once they finished in Athens, she and Aiden returned to Rosebrook Valley to meet her mothers for dinner to give them the details about her scholarship. She had only given a brief explanation during a quick phone call when she’d given her mothers the news before they set off for Atlanta to take care of her grandmother’s paperwork.

The news that she would stay close to home thrilled both of them, and neither questioned the stipulation of living on campus. If the elite university would pay all expenses, who were they to question the policy, her ma had said.

She still hadn’t decided on a major, and classes started in two weeks. The headmistress understood and told her to take her time, that even if she started late, they would help her catch up. The college credits she’d already accumulated both in high school and at UGA met the criteria for her to start as a third-year student alongside her friends.

It helped ease any concerns her mothers had, knowing she had friends like Blaire and Riley there. The subtle mention of her boyfriend, Aiden, didn’t hurt either.

It made her feel guilty to hold things back from them. She went from hiding her discomfort about accounting, to hiding the stalking situation, to now keeping a dangerous secret that put them all at risk.

Aiden tried to reassure her when they left her mothers—he literally sensed her frustration—but it didn’t stop the gnawing pain in her chest and the growing uncertainty surrounding her place in a world where her family stayed on the outside.

Now, as she sat on the edge of the large fountain staring across campus at a flowering apricot grove in the distance, she wondered what it meant in the long run for her family.

If they aged differently from humans, her mothers wouldn’t miss it when Riley and Aiden remained youthful while she didn’t.

“You look like you’re thinking really hard,” Riley said, swinging her legs, the heels of her knee-high boots tapping on the marble, making the buckles clink and rattle.

“Thinking about the future.”

“What about it?” Blaire said, taking a large bite out of the taco in her hand.

“My moms. Aging. What’s going to happen.”

Instead of eating lunch in the cafeteria, they came outside to have a bite to eat while the girls could have her to themselves. Aiden had a meeting with the student liaison about adjustments to his schedule for the fall semester.

Blaire finished her taco and looked at the container beside Charlotte. She’d eaten two hard tacos already but couldn’t stomach the third.

Her diet since arriving at the academy had been full and consistent instead of her usual grab-and-go breakfast to ensure her medicine didn’t make her sick, a quick bite for lunch if she thought of it, and a sensible dinner. Now, with Aiden needing to manage a regular schedule of blood intake, they went to the cafeteria or canteen for every meal and occasional snack.

Breakfast wasn’t a single-banana affair anymore; she had an entire buffet at her disposal. She didn’t even have to worry about the costs, either. The headmistress said her meals were part of the funding from the Blackthorn Clan for her use.

She didn’t know if she could get used to not pinching pennies, but she wouldn’t snub the hand that feeds, either.