Free Crest (Book #2,Swift Series) by Heather London Page B

Patricia would recommend you coming to me for anything.”
    “She’s just trying to help me and thought you were the person I should ask.”
    “Well, let’s not drag this out any longer than we have to. Tell me, what is it that you need?”
    I took in a deep breath, hoping I had enough courage to get the next few words out. “I need to contact the council.”
    She began to laugh, a little at first and then, before I knew it, she was in hysterics. “I’m sorry, give me just a minute.” She spoke through her laughter.
    This was not the reaction I was expecting or hoping for. Being curious or maybe even an outright refusal, sure, I had been prepared for those, but this was not even close to the outcome I had imagined.
    After a long minute, she had composed herself enough to speak coherently. “Okay, I’m sorry. Really, I am. It’s just, that was such a bold statement and you said it with such confidence. We don’t contact the council. The council contacts us , if they need us. I’m not saying that it can’t be done, it’s just that I’ve never done it and I’m not sure I could, even if I tried.”
    I sat there, not knowing what to say. Deep down, I feared that this would ultimately be the response I would get, but I also had hope that my deepest fear would be wrong.
    “Would you like to tell me why you need to contact the council? If I was able to find a way to help you, I would want to know the reasoning behind it.” She looked at me expectantly, awaiting my response. It was a question that I knew would eventually come, and understandably so, but I still wasn’t sure what to say.
    I exhaled loudly, not even realizing I’d been holding my breath. “Well, my reasons are private for now and I’ll understand if you can’t help me because of that.” There were just too many things that I would have to explain if I told her my reason for wanting to contact the council, and I was still not sure how much I could trust the stranger in front of me, aunt or not.
    Jackie cleared her throat and sipped her tea, looking me up and down, almost as if she were examining me. “I can sense the power in you—a great power, I might add—but it also feels young and not fully developed. This tells me you have chosen your destiny. Now, let me ask you, are you ready to own it forever, or give it up after a few years, like your mother?”
    That felt like a slap in the face and if I was being honest, I wanted to slap her across her face. She was speaking about my mother in a negative way and I didn’t appreciate it. My mother had her own reasons for giving up her powers and wanting a life outside of magic. It was her choice and I felt like she shouldn’t be judged for it, especially since she wasn’t here to defend herself. In fact, after seeing what magic was capable of, I completely understood my mother’s choices. Magic brought a lot of great things, but it also brought a lot of danger and evil, as well. I sat there for a moment, contemplating on how to respond, but before I could think of what to say, Jackie spoke up.
    “I’m sorry to be so harsh. You’ll have to excuse me. Sometimes I say things I shouldn’t. The last thing I want to do is get off on the wrong foot with you. Your mother and I never saw eye to eye on things, but those things went far beyond magic. We tried to get along over the years, but eventually, we just agreed to disagree, realizing that we would never be close and loving sisters. After she left, I just couldn’t have a relationship with someone who was willing to give up on their destiny. However, it would give me no greater pleasure than to have a relationship with you.”
    I had only spent a small amount of time with this woman, but it was clear that Jackie was very blunt and had a much more aggressive personality than me. She said what she wanted, when she wanted, and didn’t hold anything back. A part of me wasn’t sure we would get along and the other part of me wasn’t sure if I even