The Spirit Guardians Book 3: Fated

Chapter 21

Cassie kneeled in her bedroom, folding laundry during a particularly warm summer afternoon. She had the windows open as a gentle breeze cooled the temperature of the house slightly. Cassie hummed to herself, happy to have some alone time. Between training, sharing a room with Marc, and caring for Elijah, she barely had time to sit in solitude anymore. So much had changed from that summer three years ago when she would've given anything for some company.

A quiet knock sounded at her door.

"Yeah?" Cassie called, easily assuming it was Marc.

The door swung open to Lillian instead. She stood in the doorframe, looking pale. Cassie glanced down at Lillian's hands, realizing they were trembling.

"Lillian? Is everything all right?" Cassie asked.

Lillian quietly shut the door behind her and visibly gulped. "I-I need to talk to you," she said quietly.

"Is everything okay?" Cassie asked, standing up.

"No."

"What's wrong?" Cassie wondered.

"C-Can I sit down?" The girl appeared to be on the verge of tears.

Cassie's heart began to beat nervously. What was Lillian so worked up over? She couldn't think of anything eventful that had happened in the past few days. Lillian had been acting normal. In fact, she'd been acting happier than Cassie had seen her in a long time.

Cassie sat down next to Lillian on her bed, staring at her concernedly.

"You're going to hate me," Lillian muttered.

"Lillian, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Cassie. I should've told you right when I found it, but I couldn't. I didn't want to. But I'm going to now..."

"Is this about Irene?" Cassie suddenly asked, wondering if perhaps Lillian had been secretly conversing with her.

"Irene?" Lillian asked, shaking herself out of her trance slightly. "No. No. Cassie, your mother is my mother. You're my sister."

Cassie froze, then gave an uneasy laugh. "You're kidding." Slowly, the memories of her mother's story came back to her. It had been a cold December night, right before the New Years. But no one knew of that story. Not even her father or Diana. How could Lillian have even come to that conclusion?

"I was eavesdropping," Lillian confessed. "I heard everything your mother said that night."

Cassie tensed. "But she didn't say who it was. She said she didn't recognize you," Cassie defended herself. Her mother would never keep something that big from everyone. If Jane Black had truly run into her first daughter again, then why had she not mentioned it?

"She's lying. And it's easy for her to when I hide from her every time she comes by. Your mother left her former husband and first child shortly after her birth. That was me. My father's name was George, just like in her story. She had her child in April. That's when I was born. I look like her, Cassie. Maybe not entirely, but in some ways. It makes me sick," Lillian admitted.

Cassie stared at Lillian, jolting suddenly. Even if the facial features were different, Lillian still possessed the same shade of hair that her mother and sister did. Their builds were similar. And...those eyes. Those green eyes. They looked exactly like Jane and Diana Black's.

"N-No. My mom wouldn't lie to me," Cassie said, finding it hard to catch her breath. "She would've talked to you." She was trying to deny this fact. Lillian didn't have much proof besides her past lining up with Jane Black's. Cassie supposed she wouldn't believe it unless she heard it from her mother herself.