“I didn’t. She figured it out. I’m afraid she’s remembering.”
“You said she wouldn’t! She couldn’t!” He exploded and grabbed Cross by the collar. “It was supposed to be effective.”
“The potion was powerful but untested. I told you that.”
“But—”
“Can someone please explain this all to me?” she cried. “Please, just tell me the truth.”
“What the hell happened?” her father asked Cross.
Cross relayed all the events of the last few days to him, from the time the mages had come to her apartment, until she remembered the night she’d killed all the plants in her apartment, then he stopped. “You should tell her again, Jonathan. What you said the night she brought them back.”
Jonathan went pale. “I did it for you, Sabrina. I promised your mother. I promised her I would do anything to keep you alive.”
“Even make me forget about what happened? Forget about Cross?” she said through gritted teeth. “Was it because he wouldn’t accept your bribe?” She was shouting now, and her body shook with each breath. “Why did you do this to me? Did you force me to take that potion?” Her skin crawled at the thought. She suddenly felt violated. “There was no accident, was there?” He shook his head. “Why did you do that? How—how could you take my memories away without my consent?”
Jonathan and Cross looked at each other, not saying anything.
“What is it?” A strange pit in her stomach began to form.
More looks passed between them, until finally, Jonathan spoke. “It wasn’t our idea, sweetheart.”
“No?” she spat. “Then whose idea was it?”
Jonathan turned on his heel and walked over to one of the paintings on the wall. He took it off from where it hung and placed it on the floor, revealing a hidden safe, then unlocked it. Reaching inside, he took out something rectangular and flat.
“Here,” he said quietly, handing the object to her. It was a small tablet PC. “You should watch this.”
Her hands were shaking as she took the device from him. She tapped on the screen but nothing happened.
“Put your thumbprint on the sensor,” Jonathan said.
She did, and to her surprise, the black screen lit up. “But how?”
“It’s programmed for your biometrics,” Cross explained. “Only you can open it.”
Slowly, she turned back to the screen. There was only one icon on the desktop, so she tapped on it. The file expanded, and she felt her heart jump to her throat when she saw what was on the screen. Or rather, who.
“If you’re watching this, Sabrina, that means that somehow, despite all our efforts, you remembered everything.”
Horror. Surprise. Anxiety. Distress. Her emotions swung back and forth like a wild pendulum. “That’s …” She covered her mouth. “That’s me.”
The woman in the screen was definitely her. The video was taken on her sofa, and she was wearing her favorite purple sweatshirt. “… but before I explain everything,” Sabrina in the video continued. “Don’t blame Dad. And definitely don’t blame Cross.” The light in video Sabrina’s eyes seemed to die when she said his name. “This was my idea. I made him promise never to reveal it to you … me. I wanted … needed to forget. The fact that you’re watching this means you know why.”
“I … I remember,” she gasped. The pounding at the base of her skull came back. “I asked how you knew I could do that to the plants …”
Three years ago …
“How did you know I could do that?” Her voice trembled so violently she hardly recognized her own voice. Cross remained silent, but his gaze flickered to Jonathan. “Dad? What’s going on? Do you know anything about this?”
“Sabrina …” He took a cautious step toward her, then took her hands in his. “Sabrina, do you remember what I told you about this?” Lifting her hand up, his gaze fixed on the ring on her finger.
She nodded. “Y-y-es. You said it was Mom’s.” She’d had it since she was a baby and had worn it around her neck as a necklace until she was grown up enough to put it on her finger.
“What else did I say, sweetheart?”
“You said that … that I should never lose it or give it away. That no matter what, I needed to keep it forever.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed visibly. “Melanie … your mother … she was healthy throughout the pregnancy. There was no indication at all … but she went into labor earlier than expected.” He became even paler, and his eyes glazed over. “She knew something was wrong, so she made me promise. Made me promise that whatever happened, I would choose your life over hers. And that I would do anything to make sure you lived. She died giving birth to you, but the doctor said you weren’t going to make it. And you didn’t. You died right after your mother did.”
Her lungs squeezed painfully, and she couldn’t make a sound, no matter how hard she tried.
“I held you, alone, in the operating room. The doctors and nurses left to give me some privacy. And then … and then I can’t explain it to you now, but they appeared. These men. They were wearing red robes, and they said they could bring you back. I was delirious with grief, and I said yes, even before they told me what they wanted in return. And they did. I cried when you started breathing again, right there, in my arms.”
“Who?” she gasped. “Who were they? And what did they do?”
“The ring, Sabrina.” His face was stricken with horror. “They said that you needed to keep the ring close and never lose it or destroy it. It was what brought you back to life.”
“No. That’s not true!”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry.”
“What did they want in return?”
Her head whipped toward Cross. She’d almost forgotten that he was still here. Oh God, now he was going to get mixed up in this mess!
“Those bastards,” Jonathan spat. “What else would
