Page 168 of Fractured Fate

Her hands came down on the table as she sat forward. “Remember? The Oracle said we were all supposed to be together. Like kindred spirits or something. Reincarnated.”

“I remember that, but what the hell do you mean by sixth?”

“She told us there was a sixth person who had yet to find us,” Blaire said.

Charlotte looked around the table. “But there are…” She counted with her finger pointing to each person. “Seven of you before I came along.”

“I’m not part of that revelation,” Dominic said, sitting back and crossing his ankle over his knee. “But I’m apparently connected to her future.” He nodded his head in Riley’s direction.

Seth grumbled and took a bite out of his biscuit.

Charlotte’s lips pulled in. Ookaay. A sore subject to avoid. Got it.

“I’m not either,” Layla said, her French tip manicure tapping on the side of her water bottle. “I’m learning things like you are. I mean, I obviously know all about our species and Korrenas, but all this prophecy stuff you’re finding out about?” Layla paused, swallowing the tasty pancakes.

Charlotte nodded for her to continue.

“It’s new to me. I didn’t start hanging out with them until last semester—something like that.”

“So you think it’s Charlotte?” Seth asked Riley.

“I do. It’s the only thing that makes sense. She’s Aiden’s Korrena. Besides, the Oracle said her soul is connected to ours, so that’s like writing it in the clouds with a plane by Oracle standards.”

“What?” Charlotte had no idea what Riley meant.

“The Oracle can be incredibly vague,” Aiden said.

“She often talks in circles because she can’t tell us information directly unless the Celestial Conclave grants the right,” Dominic added. “It risks upsetting the balance of things, which could influence a change to fate.”

“Did she say anything else?” Riley asked.

Charlotte explained everything she could remember from last night, hesitating to say anything about her awakening and blood. The Oracle wasn’t clear on the information for her to understand it enough to explain.

“Listen, there’s something else we need to talk about,” she said after they absorbed the information about the Oracle.

“What’s up?” Riley said.

All her earlier resolve wilted and turned to dust inside. She didn’t feel as comfortable broaching the subject after their productive conversation about the Oracle. She should have confronted them first, but she didn’t need Aiden knowing he’d hurt her. The familiar tightening in her chest made her realize she needed to do this or nothing would change.

Keeping her eyes on the last bites of her tiny pancakes, her words came out soft but clear. “I’ve felt left out. I always felt that way before I came here, and I know there’s a reason for it now, even if it still feels bad, but…” She looked up, meeting Blaire’s eyes. “Even though I’m now in this world, you’re still excluding me.”

Blaire dropped her gaze down to her tray.

Riley looked at Seth before looking back at Charlotte. “You’re not excluded. You’re our friend.” Layla nodded her agreement.

Lukas leaned over, his shoulder bumping Blaire’s. “I know Blaire has felt guilty leaving you in the dark for a long time. Even without her telling me, I felt it.” His hand went into his hair to push it away from his face. He had a habit of doing that. She wondered why he didn’t cut his long hair if it kept bothering him. “I’m not good at this sort of thing, but Riley’s right. You’re our friend. You were important to Blaire, and that made you important to us. We got to know you, and—”

“Now you’re one of us!” Riley said, voice firm, but her eyes looked sad.

“I don’t know you, really, but you seem nice,” Dominic added.

They all sounded so sincere, so why did it feel like it wasn’t true when they kept things from her? She needed to know why. Before she could say anything, Aiden spoke.

“You belong here, Charlotte. With me. With them. No one excludes you anymore. We had to before to protect you. It hurt us to do it, but we needed to make sure you were safe. If they wiped your memory, they would have to take away your memory that we even existed. What we had before wouldn’t matter. You wouldn’t know us.”

Aiden’s words made her feel guilty, but she couldn’t stop the weird feeling that he still was keeping her separated from his world. She might exist in their world now, but they still all treated her with kid gloves, shielding her from knowing things or handling things they deemed not appropriate for a human.

Blaire was human, but she was a witch with magical blood. If Charlotte understood correctly, Blaire’s magic protected her.