“How is it possible that her powers cannot be activated?” came a voice from the hallway just before a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and ice-blue eyes entered the room, dressed in a dark blue business dress. She looked very pretty, and somehow, she also looked familiar, but I had certainly never seen her before.

It was immediately obvious that she must be Vivienna’s mother, because they were the spitting image of each other.

When our eyes met, she paused for a moment and unease spread through me.

Her thoughtful look gave way to suspicion, then she looked back at Amara.

“Could you please give me an explanation of what happened there last night?”

Last night? What time was it, exactly?

“I don’t know, Amanda.” Amara ran a hand through her hair. “What are you even doing here at this hour?”

The woman addressed propped both hands at her sides.

“I’m worried about our Circle,” she snorted in disdain.

“That’s news to me,” Margot laughed, earning a stern look from Vivienna’s mother. I was pretty sure it had to be her mother.

“She’s possibly an ungifted one. Extremely rare, but yet it has happened many times in history.”

An ungifted one? Amara could have just said ordinary mortal or human. But in the end, it came out the same, and that was that I didn’t have any freaky gifts.

I cleared my throat audibly.

“Listen, whatever you all are and can do here. I don’t. And no matter what my mother has to do with this, I’m just a normal person and I don’t want anything to do with any of this.”

“Impossible,” the woman in blue hissed without giving me another look. “Ungifted Quatura don’t cause reactions like that, Amara.”

Amara looked at my mother.

“Where’s the father?”

“Doesn’t matter anymore,” Mum said quickly, but swallowed, because I knew it had very much mattered in her life.

To my surprise, Amara just nodded knowingly, as if that answer was enough for her. Suddenly the suspicion sprouted in me that perhaps he had also been one of them. But would I really be ungifted then, as this cult – or rather their cult leader – claimed?

“Whether she is ungifted or not, the Councils are unsettled by what took place yesterday, and the Councils demand an answer.”

The Councils?

“What does Gloria want now?” Amara asked suspiciously and stopped.

“Order and stability, Amara,” Amanda said and then pointed an outstretched finger at me. I blushed. “Whoever she is, she means chaos.”

Thank you. That was an accurate adjective for my life.

“So, what do you suggest?” Amara asked.

How about this: let me finally go home, and everything will fall into place. When would they realize that I didn’t belong here, let alone that I didn’t want to be here at all.

“I want to go home,” I sighed softly so that only Mum should hear it.

She looked at me regretfully and stroked those of my hands that hadn’t been mutilated by a dagger.

Couldn’t she just take me and leave? Just get out of this witch’s house.

As if Mum had read my mind, she grabbed my arm to pull me up.

“You’re right, this place isn’t good for you right now.”

But apparently, Amanda objected. “She’s staying here until we sort this out.”

“No, we’re leaving now, Bayla has to go to university in a couple of hours, and she’s had a rough night,” Mum insisted firmly, pulling me past the little salon table.

“You’re still as you were in the old days!” Amanda murmured, striding to the salon doorway.

“And you’re still interfering in matters that are none of your business.” Mum looked challengingly at the woman. “Bayla is my daughter, and if I have to, I’ll use my word against Gloria.”

Julie’s eyes widened, and Grace sucked in a sharp breath while Vivienna’s mother pressed her lips together.

Wow, what a dynamic. And apparently, it had its origins in Mum’s mysterious past, too.

“You’d better not do that, Diana,” Amara now interfered again. “You know yourself that she can’t be convinced. And besides, Amanda is right.”

Named raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

“What does Gloria want?” Amara asked, turning to Amanda with a sigh.

“The ritual is to be repeated. In a month.”

My heartbeat stopped.

Not again would I throw myself on that altar down there for the vultures to eat.

“If nothing happens...” The woman looked pityingly at Mum. “...She’ll have to forget.”

Mum swallowed nervously and stared motionlessly at Amanda for three seconds. I looked questioningly at Amara, but she ignored me. Then I looked at Julie, who was still leaning against the doorway and seemed to be eyeing me as pityingly as Amanda was eyeing my mother.

What had been meant by forgetting? Did they want me to forget all of this? If so, what was so bad about it? Wasn’t it better, if I just forgot? Would I even be able to convince Mum to move away from here?

Just the idea raised hope in me that there was still an escape from this nightmare here.

I wanted nothing to do with any of this. I wanted to live a human life together with my human friend at a university full of humans.

“Agreed!” it blurted out abruptly, as if I had any choice at all.

“Bay...” Mum looked at me in shock.