Southern Secrets: Book 2 in Southern Charms Series

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Lessons in Grief

Rose

Mama dropped into the seat she'd pulled out for me. Her face went white and tears collected on her lashes, but they did not spill. Not until I gave her what she was waiting for. A single, slow nod of confirmation, and then she placed her face into her hands and sobbed.

Caly and I rushed to her side and threw our arms around her shoulders, our arms and fingers interlocking as if to bind Mama together, to stop her grief from shattering her. Daddy came up behind us and lent his solid strength. It reminded me of the day of his accident when three sisters clung to one another in the aviary. Only this time we were not holding onto hope. This was a submission to sorrow.

We stayed that way for a long time. No one in the room moved or spoke. Only when Mama dragged in a watery breath and straightened, did we draw away- only to the chairs on either side of her. When we sat, she extended her arms out, and we took her trembling hands in ours, resting them on the tabletop and running our thumbs over her knuckles in a soothing gesture.

Daddy moved back to the wall. Willow and Okea took the chairs opposite from us, and Ash- Malphas had returned control to him- took the chair at the head of the table. Pain burned bright in his face. It was a different grief. The kind born from watching those you love hurt and being powerless to make things better.

"What happened?" Mama asked at last. There was nothing of Alizon Wych in her tone. Just broken disbelief.

"I don't know," I replied. I had attempted to use my ability as an Augur to see into that moment, but nothing came of it. The gods either sought to protect me from witnessing such a thing or did not believe I needed to know the details.

"T-then how do we know she is gone?" Mama demanded. "If no one saw her die, she could be held captive."

Okea shook her head. "Rose's eyes."

Mama whipped her head around to look at me. Really look at me. Caly leaned over the table to do the same, and they gasped together.

"Those are Clemmy's eyes," Daddy said. He'd stepped in front of me to get a better look, and the weight of guilt settled on his shoulders, aging him in an instant.

Mama cupped her hand over her mouth. "You're the Augur. Oh, my sweet girl."

I stared at Mama, irritation smothering my sorrow. "You knew about that too? Did you also know that Papaw Leopold wasn't your actual father?"

She let us go and placed her hands in her lap. I could see her rolling the fabric of her skirt between her fingers as she collected her thoughts. The scrape of chair legs on the wooden floors interrupted the silence as Caly scooted away from Mama, the sting of betrayal bright in her pale face. A childish part of me wanted to ask her how it felt to learn they had lied to her. Kept her in the dark her entire life. The same part of me felt some sense of relief that my sister didn't know everything, leaving me to be left out all alone.

"I know this won't make it much better, but we didn't keep secrets from you girls to hurt you. My daddy-" She stopped and drew her brows together. "And Leopold was my father in every way that counts. He knew I wasn't his biological child. Clemmy never hid that from him. He found her half dead on the beach when she was three months pregnant with me. She wouldn't tell him much at first, but then they fell in love. She told him everything, and because they knew my life would be in danger from Atticus, they told me as soon as I was old enough."

Caly twisted her blonde hair between her hands. "So why not tell us?"

"At that point, we thought we were safe. We came to Black Brier because of the wards around the town, and my mother inserted herself into the Council. It was our sanctuary and part of the reason it has been so hard for me to let you go out into the human world, Rose. It wasn't that I thought it was a terrible place as much as I thought you would be vulnerable, but Mama finally convinced me that Atticus wouldn't be interested in you because you held no power."