He cocked his head to the side and gave me a strange look. “You’re next in line to be the Seer. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of St. Lucia, the first Seer.”
“Excuse me, did you just say what I think you said?” All the air seeped from my lungs. Coughing and sputtering, I gaped at him. “I’m not next in line. I’m not even the firstborn. You’ve met my brother.” The entire room felt like it was spinning around me and I couldn’t catch my breath. What was this guy talking about?
“Oh, no. Lucy, I thought you knew…” His eyes went wide as voice trailed off. Then he took both my hands in his. “I can’t believe your family never told you. Since your mom is a high-ranking Nexis officer, I assumed she got permission to tell you the truth.”
Fire burned in my gut as I leveled my gaze at him. “Tell me what?”
He shook his head, palms sweaty. “Maybe you should just ask your parents. I don’t know think this news should come from someone you barely know.”
“Just tell me.” I gritted my teeth together, bracing for impact.
“Okay, if you insist.” His voice, his words transcended my inner chaos. “After he graduated, Nexis discovered James wasn’t the firstborn in your father’s line. Lucy, he’s your half-brother.”
“What?” My stomach clenched into a thousand knots I could never untie. I’d spent my whole life training in firstborn bloodline powers with James and my younger sister, Paige. Dad trained James to be the Seer. It didn’t make any sense. “How could you know that?”
A pained looked crossed Will’s face, and he squeezed my hands. “A ceremony was scheduled to help James harness his Seer powers. But the Nexis Council found an updated birth certificate he’d given to the school for his senior trip. It listed another man as his father. They banished him from Nexis.”
“No.” The barest of whispers left my mouth as one thought played on repeat in my head. No way my mom had an affair. How could she keep it a secret this long? “It can’t be true. You’re wrong.”
“I’m sorry. This is not how I wanted this conversation to go.” Wriggling one hand free, dug his fingers into his short scruff of golden-brown hair. “Just look at the book. And use your gifts.”
“Okaaay…” I let my eyes wander from his face back to the book. The saint’s picture seared into my brain, as if I’d seen her before. My heart pounded a new rhythm as I watched the illustration come alive on the page. The blue, purple, and red gemstones swirled above St. Lucia’s head. Then her eyes hollowed out, sinking several inches into the parchment. You are the Seer, she whispered from the page.
My heart jumped and my spine tingled. This couldn’t be happening. I tore my gaze from St. Lucia’s hollow eyes to stare up at the moon, inhaling a much-needed breath. I couldn’t take this anymore. I had to get out of here.
“Why don’t you let me take this book home and see for myself?” Reaching for the book, I rose to my feet.
Will stood just as quick and hoisted it over his head. “Not until you’re a Nexis member. If you join us, then we can help you realize your potential.”
“No way. If what you said is true, why would I join a group that banished my brother?” Dimples here wasn’t gonna keep me from my finding my brother, full or half or whatever. He was still my brother.
I jumped for the book, my fingertips grazing the brass emblem. Butterflies dive-bombed the pit of my stomach as the bottom dropped out.
In a split-second, the observatory disappeared, and I was transported to a black field.
Flaming torches popped up all around me. I stood in the middle of a circle, six cloaked figures in black surrounding me. Some men, some women, all with angry eyes that glared fireballs at me.
James emerged next to me. Pillars of torchlight formed a semi-circle around my brother, his face contorted with fear.
I reached for his arm, but my hand went right through him like I wasn’t really there. Or he wasn’t. This was getting weird now. Flames cast tendrils of shadow on each hooded face in the circle, the shadows clawing at James.
Cynical laughter rippled around the fire-circle. “You’re crazy.”
“You’ve been corrupted.” A screech cut across the sphere.
“For your crimes, you are banished.” The hiss was right next to me.
“Banished.” The word echoed five times, each figure nodding in agreement.
James crumpled to the ground at his pronouncement. A choked scream escaped my throat, but only silence came out. Two guys grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled his wriggling body out of the ring of fire. He reached for me.
I stretched out my hand to him. “James!” My voice was mute. I could only watch as two robed figures dragged him out of the circle of firelight.
Then the ground buckled under my feet. Green grass morphed into charcoal hardwood again.
The toe of my silver flat caught a nail in the floor. I lost my balance and teetered toward the edge of the platform.
Will’s muscular arm encircled my waist, pulling me toward him. Away from the tower’s ledge. The smell of him so close, with that cinnamon spice, made my heart lodge itself somewhere in my throat.
Bang! The book thudded on the floor.
I flinched, and his other arm wrapped around my back.
“Are you okay?” His gray eyes sliced open the shadows as he held me in his arms.
The butterflies soared straight to my chest and clogged my lungs. My lungs heaved, but I couldn’t nod my head, I couldn’t blink. I was frozen like a statue, the expression on my brother’s face still stamped in my mind. Banished. Whatever that meant, I knew I didn’t want to follow in my brother’s footsteps.
Will’s hand slid from my waist, the other still steadying my back. “You’re fine. I’ve got you.”
“Thanks.” Each breath brought more
