I stared at my aunt, still not wanting to like anything about her. She might have been keeping her distance because she thought it was best for me, but she'd lied to me my whole life. If she'd told me the truth about who I was, I may have avoided the time spent with the Rose Circus. I would have been better prepared. "This is all your fault, you know."

"I did the best I could," she said.

"No, you did what you thought was easiest. You could have helped me. You could have taken me in, taught me about my family. Instead, I grew up looking for something to fill the void." At least that was what my therapist had said was my reason for partying too much. I never believed her until this moment.

Suddenly, I realized how much time I had spent trying to fit in. I had thought it was the usual teenage self-exploration and that my therapist was a nutcase. Now, I realized that there must have been a part of me that knew I wasn't the same as the other kids.

"It broke my heart to let you go. I always planned on you coming to stay with me when you showed an aptitude for magic, but you never did."

"So that's what this was about?" I shook my head. "You didn't want me around if I couldn't be of use?"

"It's not like that. I wanted you here with me, but I thought it would be easier for you if you didn't know. Your mother could never use magic, and it broke her."

"Ara," Joe placed his hand on my shoulder. "Remember what I said earlier? Sometimes, people really are trying to help you."

I glared at him. "You're taking her side?"

"I'm always on your side. You know that. Your aunt might not have made the right choice, but she did what she thought was best for you. Nobody is perfect."

I looked from Joe to my aunt. Her lips formed a tight line and her brow furrowed. She was waiting for me to say something. "I'm sorry."

Her shoulders dropped, and she smiled. "I'm sorry, too. Please know, that I'm here for you. Anything you need."

"You know, Kay's been using most of her magic to hide you since you were born." Adam was sitting on the love seat now. He looked at me, eyebrows raised.

"Shh, Adam," Kay said.

"What do you mean?" I looked from Adam to my aunt. "What's he talking about?"

Aunt Kay let out a sigh. "I worried that Tristan or Terra would try to find you. So I've been keeping your magical signature hidden. Well, up until you broke through it."

I blinked a few times, recalling the rush I felt when I released the lightning I had taken from Terra.

"Have you noticed anything different about the supernaturals you see from the humans you see?" Aunt Kay waited patiently. The whole room was quiet.

I glanced over at Adam. Like in the bar, he had a faint glow around him. Looking over at Aunt Kay, I noticed that she had a faint glow, also. I hadn't seen it at first. "They glow."

She nodded. "You'll notice that all supernatural creatures have a different aura than humans. The more in tune you are with your own magic, the better you'll be able to identify it. Soon, you'll know if you're looking at a Sayge, a Fae, or another creature."

"So we are getting involved in this thing," Adam said.

My head snapped over to where he stood next to the love seat. His relaxed demeanor gone.

"We were involved the minute you saved her from Terra's wolves," Aunt Kay said.

Adam ran a hand through his hair. "This isn't going to be easy."

"I know," she said. "But it was the wrong decision to avoid it for so long. It was a matter of time before Terra found a way around the curse. And we can't count on Brenan's abstinence forever."

My insides twisted at the mention of Brenon. I didn't want to care about him, but the words came out before I could stop them. "What's going to happen to him?"

Aunt Kay's face scrunched up for a second. "To Brenon?"

I nodded.

"If Terra has her way, she'll kill him and take his magic." Aunt Kay narrowed her eyes. "You know he was using you, right? He wanted to turn you against Terra. We don't think he has the same agenda as Terra, but you can't trust any of them."

"I know," I said. "But it seems like you might need to choose sides. I mean, how are we going to defeat them without the help of the other?"

"There might be a way to end all the Fae," she said.

"What?" My mouth dropped open in disbelief. Brenon and Terra might be manipulative and terrible, but not everyone I met was bad. "You can't possibly be talking about all the Fae. You can't do that."

"There aren't many of them left," Adam said. "And it might come down to them or the humans. We can't let Terra get back to Faerie. Who knows what kind of monsters were trapped there."

I swallowed down my desire to say more and looked over at Joe. His jaw clenched, and he looked like he was holding back his words, too. Each side of this war had given me a different story. Terra told me she wanted to go home, Brenon told me he wanted to stop Terra from getting back to Faerie, and my aunt wanted to kill all the Fae. There was an awful lot of groups wanting to kill the other.

"Look," Aunt Kay stood. "It's been a long day for you. Why don't you get some rest? I've got a guest room the two of you can stay in. We can talk more in the morning."

I looked over at Joe. I'd dragged him along on this crazy adventure. If I'd been thrown into this as he had, I would want out of here as fast as possible. "You doing okay?"

Joe stood, and offered a hand. "I'm fine. And your aunt is right, you need to rest. Come on."

We followed Aunt Kay upstairs to the small guest room. Pink and green swirling paisley patterns covered the walls on a faded wallpaper. A green and yellow paisley bedspread covered the bed. The woman had an obsession with the design.

Once we'd said our goodnights and closed the door, Joe and I sat on the end of the bed. "I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this."

Joe laughed. "Ara, will you stop it? You know I'd do anything for you. I'm glad you don't have to go through this alone."

I leaned my forehead against his chest, and he pulled me in for a hug. The warmth helped to calm my racing mind. After hugging him back, I stepped away. "Thanks."

"Any time," Joe said. "Try to think of something else for a while, okay?"

Easier said than done. There were so many questions in my head. If Aunt Kay was telling the truth, I wasn't just a Sayge, I was half Fae. And my father was a Fae who traveled in a flock of Crows. I shivered at the thought. Could all the Fae turn into birds?

Squeezing my eyes closed, I wanted to think of something else. Something pleasant. The first thing that came to mind was Brenon and the feel of his lips pressed against mine.