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I tucked my head under his chin “I’ll only tell you my story if you promise not to pity me You also have to promise not to ask a bunch of follow-up questions I just want to put it out there and be done with it”

He kissed the top of my head and whispered, “I promise”

I took a deep breath and tried to leave the ean to speak If I just told him the facts, maybe it wouldn’t hurt asbut conte childbirth, and he adored her There was a huge portrait of her in our ho and fresh flowers beneath it If he’s still alive, I’d bet anything he’s stillthat altar”

I shifted htly as I continued, “His love for his as obsessive, and he bla her away from him Most people would realize that was irrational, but he was the type of person who had to blaoat

“He feared me, too, which was probably why he was so determined to control me I’d inherited my powers froical abilities I think he orried I’d eventually realize th and becoic But I was a kid, and I was curious

“When I was eleven, I found my mom’s spell book and snuck out to the barn to see if I could actually do any of the things it described Not really, it turned out, since witches and warlocks don’t fully come into their power until they turn twenty-five I also couldn’t control what little power I had, because no one ever taughtto work a si the barn on fire

“My fatheras a horse breeder I barely le horse out safely By the time I stumbled out of the barn, my father and a few of his ranch hands had arrived Thewith blue flan of the cross and yelled, “El diablo!” This was over a century ago in rural Mexico, and a lot of people were pretty superstitious I think they really believed I was the devil, orthey could use as a weapon and started to come after me

“I begged my father to tell them I wasn’t evil He knew his wife had been half witch, so he knehat I was But I guess he was afraid the men would turn on him too, so he sided with them and called me a demon I had to run for my life” My voice shook at that last part

I paused for a few ain Then I continued, “I knew I could never go hoain, so from that point forward, I was on my own All I had at first were the clothes on my back I’d even lost ed to escape to northern Mexico by hiding in the back of a wagon, and then I learned to survive I grew up and got stronger, and I drea a new life in the US, the land of opportunity Right before I turned twenty, I finally made my dream come true and moved to California”

“And then youI did was try to control you,” Elias said softly

“You didn’t knohat I’d been through”

After a pause, he asked, “How did you survive all those years on your own? You were so young, and—sorry I promised not to ask a bunch of questions”

“It’s okay, I’ll answer that one I begged in the streets, but only at first Pretty soon, I realized it was up toof myself, and I wanted to be et, saved some of the money I made, and worked toward my dream of a fresh start in America”

“Did your powers help you survive?”

“Not really I was afraid to use them after the fire, and in the years that followed Also, when I realized I could readadvantage of people, so I didn’t use those abilities, either It’s always been important to me to be respectful of my mother’s memory She’s the reason I have these powers, and I’”