Free Illicit Magic by Camilla Chafer

they had known where I was for a long time, not just in the few days or weeks that led up to the witch hunt. At least they had the grace to look embarrassed, or I thought they did.
    It was Eleanor who answered in her clipped Manhattan accent. “No, we had no idea for quite some time. Not until the last year or so. We couldn’t just pluck you out of England on a whim,” she said. “You wouldn’t have come. Besides, we didn’t know what would become of you for certain.”
    “You managed to get a passport for me when it suited you.” I was trying to keep my voice as even and inoffensive as possible. It was tough going.
    “That passport is yours. Your name, and your nationality.” I was puzzled. Hadn’t Étoile handed me an American passport, when I was English? As I tried to make up my mind whether it was some kind of fraud, Eleanor took pity on me and solved the puzzle. “Your father is American, as you know. You have every right to be here, though he spent many years in England with your mother.”
    It was strange to hear these strangers speak about my parents. When I was younger, I often asked many questions about them, but no one seemed to know the answers beyond their names and dates of birth. Letters and numbers on a piece of paper that meant so little and so much. One day they were there, the next they were gone and I was alone. I thought I might have been around five when I last saw them. Too young to form lengthy memories and too young to grasp the answers to my own questions.
    “We knew your father well, your mother less so,” said Eleanor, quite smoothly. I noticed that her bobbed hair barely moved and its golden colour was subtly highlighted. “Tonight, when the council convenes, you may have the opportunity to ask more questions, if time permits. Some of the other council members were friends with your parents.”
    Robert was ready to take back centre stage as he deposited his cup on the tray with a light clink. “As Eleanor said, you will have the opportunity to meet some of the council members tonight. We have already decided what may be an appropriate route for you... but we will need to be quite sure that we are doing the right thing for you. As I said though, the final decision is yours but do rest assured that we are trying to do our best for you.” I almost missed the look Eleanor flashed at him but Robert didn’t and he shook his head at her, with the barest fraction of movement. He paused then added, “To atone, perhaps, for not finding you sooner.”
    I nodded, agreeing somewhat. Too right they could atone if they had known I was on my own! Even if they said they didn’t know where I was my whole life. I wasn’t sure what to believe. They were pleasant enough though , I thought, careful to keep my temper in check. But I couldn’t help wondering if what was right for me would travel along the same road that was right for them. It seemed at odds to pick a route, as they seemed to be calling it, that would not somehow be simultaneously profitable for their cause. After all, they’d only just picked me up now when they could have done so years ago apparently.
    If I had real power, as Robert said, and others wanted to crush it, it stood to reason that they might want it too. I made a snap decision that it might be best if I kept those thoughts to myself until I had the measure of them. It would do to keep my wits about me and not be seduced by the obvious wealth and implied sincerity, both seemingly designed to put me at ease.
    Robert tucked his hands into his trouser pockets, smiled and seemed to have finished his speech. He told me nothing that I didn’t already know, other than that my parents were known to them and I wondered if I was about to be hit with a bombshell of information that evening. I rather hoped so.
    “Will Étoile be there later?” I asked the room. I still hadn’t spoken directly to Marc, and it would be rude to lean across him and whisper to Étoile, but I knew I