“There was a group of evil Immortals searching for the orphans from other realms. The Immortals were like us, born here on earth and turned by runes. They felt they deserved to move between realms and visit the gods because of the way they’ve defended humanity over the years.”
“Are you talking about Lord Worthington and the Immortals Raine and the others fought?” I asked, astonished. Did they know everything?
“Yes. Before they came here after Raine, they targeted the other orphans, those who have the right to move between realms. Children like you. It took Eirik weeks to find the Immortals and rescue the children.”
I blinked. “Eirik Seville?”
“Yes. He goes by Eirik Baldurson now because he is the son of Goddess Hel and God Baldur.”
“I know who his parents are,” I yelled. “And I don’t want to discuss him or the other orphans. You lied to me. Everything about our life is a lie.”
“Cora,” Mom and Dad said in unison. Mom reached for my arm, and I jumped up.
“Don’t. Do you have any idea how much I’ve agonized over telling you the truth about Echo and my ability to see souls. Oh God. You’ve known Echo was a reaper all this time?”
“Yes. At first we thought he was an Immortal, but…” Mom glanced at Dad. “Yes, we know he is a reaper.”
The past zipped through my head: Echo kissing me right in front of them during breakfast. Echo standing behind me and saying naughty things while Dad stood in the doorway of my bedroom. Everything we’d ever done while thinking they couldn’t see us…
“You overheard and saw everything. The runes on my car after I met him, when he’d come to my room and even in here, you knew, yet you acted like he wasn’t there. How could you?”
“Pumpkin,” Dad said.
“Cora,” Mom muttered at the same time and extended her hand toward me. I took a step back.
“How could you know and not say anything? Everything about you, me, us is a sham. We are a mockery of a family. Let me guess, the psych ward you took me to was not really a nuthouse, was it?” They didn’t have to admit it. It was written on their faces. “You tried to fix me again so I wouldn’t see souls and you could continue lying to me.”
Tears swam in Mom’s eyes. “We thought it was for the best, honey.”
“Best for whom, Mom? Obviously not for me. Why now? And don’t lie to me. Just once, tell me the truth.”
“Your parents want to meet you,” Mom said and lifted the green cloth on her lap. “This blanket is yours. They didn’t give you away. You were stolen from them, and they’ve been searching for you for a very long time.”
I was too hurt to feel pity for imaginary people.
“Screw them.”
“Cora!” my parents snapped.
“Exactly. Cora. That’s who I am. I’m not meeting some strangers who didn’t watch me closely enough eighteen years ago. I’m not walking away from the life I have. The life I’m meant to live.” Tears threatened to spill. I turned and yanked the door open.
“Where are you going, Cora?” Mom yelled in a pleading tone.
“Far away from you. Don’t bother coming after me because I will not come back.” I engaged my speed runes and took off.
I ran until my chest and feet hurt. My high-heeled boots weren’t built for speed, and I’d lost one heel somewhere along the forest. Giant trees whispered and swayed as though to soothe my pain. I dropped to my knees, and the banana I’d eaten spewed from my mouth until nothing was left in my stomach. I staggered back and sat on a log. I wanted to curl up right there and waste away.
Strong arms lifted me and cradled me close.
“Tell me who hurt you, Cora-mia,” Echo said soothingly, but his body was taut with anger.
Hearing his voice only made things worse. I couldn’t talk, so I clung to him. He opened a portal, walked across the main bedroom of the cottage to the large bed, and held me while I cried. We stayed there until I was rung out.
“Who hurt you? Is it Raine?” He sounded like he would take on my best friend, who would never knowingly hurt me.
“They knew, Echo,” I mumbled in his chest. “All this time, they’ve known about you and about me seeing souls, and they never said a thing. Even when you visited my house and spent the night in my room, they knew.”
“Your parents?”
“Yes. They lied to me. Everything about them is a lie. My whole life is… is a lie.”
“Why would they lie? And how do they know about me?”
I leaned back to see his confused expression. “They are Immortals.”
Shock flashed in his eyes. Then a frown chased it.
I told him everything and ended with, “They said my biological parents want to meet me. I don’t care. I never want to meet them.”
Echo sighed and ran his knuckles up and down my arms. Usually his touch soothed me, but not this time.
“I’m so sorry, baby. Keeping such a big secret was a terrible thing to do to you, and you have every right to be angry. How could I not have known about them being Immortals?”
“They stopped using runes fifty years ago.”
“I still should have known. There is a bright side to this,” he said softly. “Since you are one of the orphans, I can share things from the other realms with you.”
“I don’t want to know.”
“But it might help clarify things for you. I helped Eirik find the other orphans. Most of them didn’t know they were originally from the other realms either. They were scared, confused, and just wanted to come back home to Earth. To the Immortal parents who’d adopted them, and to the only homes they’d ever known.”
“Did their parents lie to them about who they were, or had they always known?”
A thoughtful expression settled on his face.
“Did they lie?”
“No.”
“Mine did.”
“The other orphans knew they were adopted, and that bad Immortals were after them. They spent their lives moving from place to place, never staying anywhere for long. Your parents and the Immortals here worked hard together to hide you and the other children and keep you safe.”
I glared at him. “Are you siding with them?”
“No, Cora-mia. I’m on your side. They were wrong to hide the truth from you.”
“Damn right. They’ve lost every right to call me their daughter or be my parents.”
“You may think so now—”
I scooted to the edge of the bed and glared at him. “I don’t think. I know so.”
He sighed. “Would you like to talk to the other orphans? I know one in New Orleans.”
“No.”
“Eirik?”
“Why would I want to talk to Eirik?”
“You were both raised here, and he went through what you are going through right now.”
“The. Sevilles. Did. Not. Lie. To. Him.” I got up and paced. “He always knew he was adopted. And when he found out, I wasn’t even there to see how he dealt with it because the Jemisons had taken me to a damn psych ward. A fake psych ward where they tried to fix my ability to see souls. The Jemisons. It felt weird calling them that, yet I couldn’t bring myself to say my parents. Not anymore. At least not right now. “Do you know I used to see souls when I was little? I guess Maliina’s runes didn’t give me the ability to see souls. They did. My birth father and mother. Maliina just gave me medium runes so she could use me as a suit.” I sat down, and Echo shifted closer and pulled me against him.
He pressed a kiss on my shoulder and then nuzzled my neck. “What do you want to do?” he asked.
“Crawl into bed and never leave.” I did exactly that and pulled the covers over my head. I wanted to lock out the world and wallow in self-pity. I couldn’t believe what the Jemison’s had done.
Echo lifted the covers. “Cora-mia…”
“Please, go away.” The last word came out in a wail. I wanted him gone so I could cry. Instead of leaving, he stroked my hair.
“Don’t cry, Cora-mia. It breaks my heart to see you like this.”
“I’m not crying,” I shot back even as my eyes brimmed. I pulled the blanket over my head again. “Just go.”
“I’ll be back.”