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“I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND.” Silence followed a moment with shock. “She’s been living in France this whole time?”
Rae glanced at her mother out of the corner of her eye. The four of them were in the car, driving as fast as they could back to London. While her mother hadn’t remembered any other details about what had happened the day of the fire or how she had ended up in France, she completely accepted the fact that she was Rae’s mother and that the lot of them apparently had superpowers. Even now in the car, she was rhythmically snapping her fingers—delighted when tiny blue flames shot out of the ends of them. Devon, sitting in the passenger seat directly in front of her, stroked the back of his hair nervously and looked decidedly less pleased.
“Rae! Rae, are you listening?”
Rae turned her attention back to her ecstatic, frantic uncle waiting on the phone.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Apparently, she’s been living in France for over a decade. She has no idea how she got there or what happened all those years ago, but she recognizes me now.” Rae grinned as her mother tossed a flame from one hand to another. “I think things are starting to come back.” She pushed the phone away from her mouth. “Hey, Mom? Be careful.”
“Could you please not do that in the car?” Devon asked imploringly.
“Said the boy who tried to sleep in the same bed as my daughter,” Beth shot back. She smiled, but there was steel beneath the honey.
Devon flushed beet red. “That was her idea—I didn’t say a thing.”
Beth raised her eyebrows. “Oh, now you want to blame my daughter? You think that’s going to earn you points?”
“I’m never going to win here, am I?” he muttered.
“No, but I love that you keep trying.” She chuckled and Devon shook his head, trying to hide an exasperated smile.
Rae kept glancing between them, grinning from ear to ear. She couldn’t believe that all the things she loved most in the world were coming together in a freaky sort of blissed-out heaven. She felt light as air, like she could skip across the golden clouds that were crisscrossing their way back to the Chunnel.
“Did she remember anything? That she has a brother?” Uncle Argyle asked eagerly.
“I told her she had an obsessive-compulsive, neurotic little brother, if that’s what you mean.”
“Rae Kerrigan!” Uncle Argyle’s Scottish accent came out in his frustration, rolling his Rs.
Rae giggled into her hand. “I’m kidding! Of course I told her. She’s really excited to meet you. Again.”
“Well, I’m hopping onto the next plane to London. I just,” he said and sighed. “I can’t believe she’s alive.” His voice grew thick with emotion. “I could never accept the fact she had died, even after all this time. I just couldn’t imagine a world without her.” He cleared his throat briskly. “I’ve no idea what I’m going to tell your aunt!”
“Tell her...I don’t know. Tell her she was in a coma. And...misplaced. In France.”
It was Uncle Argyle’s turn to laugh. “I think I’ll have to come up with something better than that.”
“Well you know what they say, if you want something done right do it yourself.”
“Isn’t it my job to provide the proverb?”
Rae shrugged. “What can I say? I’m feeling unpredictable.” Her voice grew thoughtful as she stared again at her mother. “Just get over here, please. We have about a million family dinners to start catching up on.”
“Will do. Drive safe.”
“And you fly safe.”
He hung up and Rae glanced down at her phone. The first thing she’d done once they were in the car was dial her uncle, and only now was she seeing the massive amount of missed correspondence from various people in her life. It was a wonder her phone hadn’t run out of memory. She smiled as she scrolled down, selecting a random one from Julian.
I just drew a picture of you somehow setting yourself on fire. Please explain.
She giggled as she typed a reply: You need to pay closer attention to detail, my friend. Not me, my mother. And I wasn’t setting her on fire...exactly. Headed back to London. Will explain everything then. ☺
After Julian’s, there were about a dozen from Molly. They ranged from wild speculations that Rae’s mother had been caught up in an underground French slave trade, to her firm belief that Carter had no doubt imprisoned Rae and Devon in some sort of tatù-proof dungeon for their insubordination. Rae read through them all, struggling to suppress her laughter as Molly’s theories ranged from just mildly crazy to utterly ludicrous. Then she remembered that as far as Molly knew she and Devon were still trying to get to France, with Carter hot on their trail.
She was about to go into full detail and explain, when a sudden whimsy seized her and she ended up sending just one happy message: Guess who’s coming to dinner?
With Molly and Julian out of the way, the bulk of the messages were from an increasingly-concerned Jennifer. Rae bit her lip as she glanced through the frenzied texts. It looked like Jennifer had been going out of her mind with worry.
Instead of texting, Rae decided she needed to call her mentor. The woman had been her mom’s best friend before everything had happened. She was going to be one of the key helpers in bringing her mom’s memory back. She’d done missions with her mom and could fill her in on how much of a superstar her mom really was.
Jennifer answered on the first ring. “Tell me what’s happening.”
“We found her!”
There was a long pause during which all Rae could hear was rapid breathing. Finally, she frowned and clutched the phone closer to her ear.
“Hello? You okay Jennifer?”
“Yes, sorry. I’m here.” Jennifer’s voice sounded more subdued than Rae had ever heard it before. Almost childlike in its uncertainty. “So... How is she? What did she say when she saw you?”
Rae spoke gently, sympathetic to her mentor’s shock. After all, it would be like getting Molly back after a decade of thinking she’d died. Rae honestly didn’t know how she’d handle it. “That’s the thing, she didn’t remember me...at first.”
“But then she did?” Jennifer’s voice was sharper now, sounding more like herself.
“Sort of.” Rae glanced again at Beth—staring out the window now as they neared the water. “She knows she’s my mother, but she doesn’t remember anything else. She doesn’t know what happened to her or who she is. She didn’t even know she had a tatù until I...” She tried to think of a way to explain what she’d done. “Until I activated it for her.”
“Wait—you activated it?”
“It’s a long story,” Rae sighed. “The short version is that I set her on fire.”
She thought about the words with a slight frown in the silence that followed. Yeah, it sounded pretty bad, and must have looked even worse. She could understand Julian’s concern, and Jennifer’s.
“Well,” Jennifer still sounded tentative, “way to make a first impression. I guess you wouldn’t have it any other way. Where’re you guys now? Is Carter with you?”
“Yeah, he’s here. We’re on our way back to London. We’ll meet you guys at the hospital.” Rae’s face clouded with concern and she turned to face the window. “How’s Luke doing? Did he make it out of surgery okay?” After checking in with Julian and Molly, Rae couldn’t believe she’d forgotten what had happened to Luke.
“Yes and no.” It sounded like Jennifer was carefully editing herself. “He made it out of surgery, but... Rae, I should just wait until you get here.”
“No! What happened?” All the blood drained from Rae’s face. “Tell me now!”
Bethany glanced over at the sudden shift in tone and squeezed Rae’s knee comfortingly.
“There was a complication during surgery,” Jennifer replied slowly. “Too much swelling in his brain. They had to put him into a medically induced coma when they were finished, to wait for it to go down and him to wake up.”
Rae’s breath caught in her chest. “And if he doesn’t?”
Devon glanced at her from his dashboard mirror, fully capable of hearing both sides of the conversation.
“He will, Rae; don’t worry.” Jennifer tried to sound confident. “Give him some time, and he’s going to wake up. I’m sure you’ll be here when he does.”
Devon nodded deliberately and Rae caught the action. She forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“In the meantime, I’m going to book us all rooms at the hotel across the street,” Jennifer said. “You’re going to want to be close to your friend, and they might want to try to figure out what’s going on with Beth...” She sighed softly into the phone. “I just can’t believe she’s back. I wonder what happened.”
“I don’t know...” Rae said softly, cupping her hand over her mouth. She watched her mother bantering cheerfully back and forth with Devon and a fierce protective fire sprang up in her chest, clouding out every other emotion. “...but I think I know a way to find out.”
* * *
AFTER THEY GOT OFF the Chunnel, they stopped at a restaurant within sight of London. They needed to. One, being that none of them had eaten anything since Beth’s debacle that morning. Two, everyone felt the need to sit down and take a breath before hurtling back into the whirlwind of the city. And three, Bethany still had some rather important unanswered questions.
“So, just to be sure,” she began, and held her hands up carefully in front of her face, “this flame thing can’t start without my permission, right? I’m not going to reach for the salt shaker and accidently set the whole table on fire?”
Rae giggled as Carter shook his head. He’d been looking in the rearview mirror all day and blinking, like he wasn’t sure he wasn’t dreaming. He couldn’t take his eyes off her mom. “No, it doesn’t just happen on its own. You’re in complete control. That being said, it might take some practice to get back to the level you were at before the...disappearance. It’ll be like being sixteen all over again.” He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I know you’ll get there.”
Beth nodded seriously before giving Carter a speculative look. She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but after a short pause she turned to Rae instead.
“When you three first showed up at my house yesterday,” she gave Carter another almost nervous glance, “you said you were travelling with your dad...”
“Oh! No, no, no!”
Everyone was quick to reassure her.
“Carter’s not your husband.”
“I promise, Beth, we’re not and were never married.”
“Sorry, Mom,” Rae chuckled, “I was just trying to think of a plausible story.”
Beth nodded once and took a swig of her iced tea. “That’s what I thought.”
Carter set down his coffee with a soft thud. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Beth stared at him blankly and he elaborated. “‘That’s what you thought’? Like it would be so inconceivable—”
Devon kicked him not so discreetly under the table. “Keep it together, man,” he muttered.
Fortunately, at that moment their burgers arrived. No one said anything for a while as they dug in, suddenly aware of how hungry they actually were. It was incredible how much their world had changed in just the last twenty-four hours, and the whiplash of it left them struggling to keep up.
“So, let me get this straight...” Beth finally set down an uneaten chip and pushed back her chair. “I have superpowers.” She glanced around the table. “We all have these ink abilities, and that’s what the tattoo is on my back?”
“Tatù,” the three of them corrected her automatically. “But yes,” Devon added.
“Right.” Beth nodded. “I married a man with a superpo—tatù—even though I wasn’t supposed to and had an illegal child.” She smiled at Rae warmly and took her hand. “Things were good.” Her eyes clouded as she tried to keep it all straight. “Until I realized my husband was crazy, then I joined up with a covert organization to start spying on him, and then I disappeared in the midst of a mysterious fire everyone assumed killed me.”
Devon nodded cheerfully, pleased she was catching on so fast. “That about sums it up, yeah.”
She shot him a look. “What I don’t understand is why everyone thought I died in a fire, when it’s clear that fire can’t hurt me.”
Carter nodded understandingly. “At the time of your disappearance, your powers hadn’t yet progressed to the point where fire could travel over your entire body. Or maybe you knew and never told anyone that was part of your ability. You see, you have a very unique tatù. There are some that are common, but yours, like Rae’s, is very exceptional. It wasn’t until Rae discovered the latent ability in herself that she realized the truth and started trying to find you,” he explained, handing her another sugar. She looked at him blankly and his cheeks flushed. “I remember you like two in your tea...”
She took the sugar with a slight smile before turning her attention back to Rae. “So you have two abilities—mine and your father’s?”
“Yep.” Rae swallowed down a gulp of her milkshake, eager to impress. “I can control fire like you, but I can also mimic the abilities of others. I have a whole store of them. I didn’t know I had your ability till not too long ago. I thought I only had Simon’s.”
Beth leaned forward, unable to keep the excitement from her face. “What kinds of things can you do?”
Devon, heads up! Rae warned him with her mind.
He’d just looked up in surprise when Rae lobbed half a chip his way. It blurred through the air, almost too fast to follow, but his hand shot up and caught it without him looking.
Beth’s mouth fell open as she stared in between the two. “That’s incredible.”
“Devon has heightened abilities,” Rae explained. “Speed, hearing, agility. His is usually my go-to tatù.”
“I didn’t know that,” Devon said with a smile.
Rae shrugged casually. “Of course.”
“Really.” Beth shot him a suspicious look. “Well, I guess that makes sense. He’s a boy who likes to move fast.”
“Am I ever going to live that down?” Devon threw his hands in the air. “It wasn’t even me.”
Beth and Rae broke into simultaneous laughter and Beth shook her head. “No, I’m afraid you won’t. Mother’s prerogative and all that.”
“Fantastic,” he teased sarcastically. “So good to have you back, Mrs. Kerrigan.”
Beth chuckled again. “I’m glad to be here! To keep an eye on you two...”
A few minutes later, Beth and Rae were heading back to the car. Devon and Carter had lingered inside to pay and to give the two of them at least a few moments alone.
“There’s actually something else I don’t understand.” Beth put her arm around Rae and lowered her voice. “Your dad and I weren’t supposed to get married because it’s not allowed for two tatùs to be in a relationship, right?”
What felt like a heavy stone settled in the pit of Rae’s stomach. She had a good idea where her mother was going with this. “That’s right...”
“So I have to ask.” Beth stopped them walking and turned her daughter to face her. “What’re you doing with Devon?”
Rae sighed. “It’s complicated. Devon and I are...” How did she say it? How did she find the words to sum up what she and Devon were? “We’re in love,” she said simply. “He’s the love of my life and we want to have a future together. Whether or not the Privy Council agrees. We’ll figure it out as we go. We kind of just sort of admitted our feelings for each other. It’s been a long bumpy road since I turned sixteen.”
“I’m sorry. I should have been there.”
Rae waved her hand. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now.”
Beth frowned with concern. “But how is that—your relationship—going to work?”
The door opened and closed and they looked up to see both men walking toward them. Rae sighed again as Devon flashed her a smile from across the lot. “I don’t know. We’re kind of figuring it out as we go.”
Beth nodded thoughtfully before staring at Carter with a speculative, curious grin.
“So Carter and I really never—”
“Oh come on, Mom,” Rae cut her off and held up a hand in disgust. “Like I need that image.”
The ride back to London was a breeze, thanks in large part to the diplomatic flags Carter’s car still had flapping. Rae sent a text to Molly when they were near to the hospital, and by the time they’d parked a flash of crimson hair was streaking towards them from across the lot.
“Rae!” Molly collided with her and sent them both stumbling backwards. Rae easily corrected their balance with a tatù. “I’m so sorry about Carter!” she exclaimed as she squeezed the life out of her. “I did my best to throw him off your trail.” Her eyes flashed up and landed guiltily on Carter himself. “No offense, sir.”
“None taken,” Carter replied stiffly.
“Anyway, so much has been happening since you’ve been gone! Your mentor has launched a full-out investigation about...” She suddenly fell silent as her eyes fell on Beth. “Is this...?” Her eyes widened in amazement. “Are you my best friend’s mom?”
Before Beth could answer, Molly jumped on her in an embrace just as tight as the one she’d been using to discreetly strangle Rae.
“Oh my goodness!” Beth squeaked out.
“It’s so good to meet you!” Molly gushed. “I can’t believe we haven’t met sooner, but I guess that would’ve been impossible seeing as everyone thought you were dead. I’m Molly, Rae’s best friend. We met at Guilder. We were actually roommates our first year. Now I work for the Privy Council just like Rae and Devon do, although my job is a bit more important. I’m a designer—”
“Molly!” Rae clamped her hands down on her friend’s shoulders. “Take a breath.”
“Is that her power?” Beth whispered to Devon. “Talking like that?”
Devon gave her a long-suffering sigh. “Nope. That’s just Molly.”
Beth chuckled as Rae fixed her attention on Molly. “Now what’re you talking about? Jennifer launched an inquiry?”
A shadow darkened Molly’s sunny face. “She didn’t tell you?”
A chill ran up Rae’s spine—she rarely saw her friend so serious. “Tell me about what?”
“It’s about Luke.” Molly lowered her voice. “Apparently, a lot of his wounds look self-inflicted. When Jennifer went to check out the place he’s been staying, it was spotless—like he’d been planning to go away.”
Rae’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What does that even mean? She thinks he did it to himself? When we found him he was unconscious, bleeding a swimming pool onto the floor. She really thinks he’d do something like that to—”
“I have no idea what she thinks.” Molly held up her hands innocently. “I’m just telling you what she said.”
“Well, she’s wrong.” Rae felt Devon’s hand slip into her own. “She has to be.”
Molly nodded quickly. “I’m sure she is. She’s just being thorough. She’s trying to protect you, Rae. That’s her job.”
There was an awkward silence for a minute, then Carter cleared his throat. “I hate to break up this little reunion, but I’m heading back to Guilder to meet with the rest of the Council. We’re going to need to figure out what to do about this...situation with Beth.”
The hair on the back of Rae’s neck bristled defensively. “What situation is that?”
“Her safety,” Carter replied instantly, soothing Rae’s fears. “We have no idea who attacked Beth on the day of the fire. We’ve no idea if they’re still out there and if they’re going to try again.” His eyes softened tenderly as they fell on Beth’s face. “We need to protect her.”
Devon nodded seriously. “Rae and I will cover that while you’re gone. Nothing will happen to her, I swear.”
“I know,” Carter said. “She’s in safe hands, and Rae isn’t going to let this one out of her sight. Jennifer will also be right beside you.”
“We all will.” Rae chewed her lip a moment. “Carter, do you think Lanford’s responsible? He fooled me, fooled all of us. He’d been playing his cards until he could get me. I bet money that he’s the one who did this to my mom. See if you can find out anything there first.” Rae squeezed his hand and waved goodbye as Carter took off. Once he was gone, the three of them headed inside.
Rae’s head was a mess of different emotions. On the one hand, she had never been happier in her life. Her mother was back from the dead. Everything was going to be different now. Better. Rae was going to have a family—a slightly more normal life. However, Luke lay in a coma just behind these doors. What was more Rae’s very own mentor, a person she’d come to trust in spite of all her defenses, suspected him of foul play. Could Luke be involved in something dangerous? Or some kind of cover up?
She was still trying to make sense of it all as they breezed through the double doors and found Jennifer standing there at attention. Jennifer’s eyes grew wide as they fell on Beth, but it wasn’t she who spoke. In fact, it wasn’t Molly or Rae or anyone else who could make an introduction.
“I can’t believe it.”
Everyone turned at the same time to where Rae’s mother stood frozen in the doorway.
Beth’s mouth fell open as she took half a step forward. “Jenn?”
