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"A woman?" My eyes widened "What happened to her?"

"Well, the energy didn’t end up in her exactly She was pregnant when it happened, and it ended up going into her unborn child"

I froze Why did this seem so familiar? And why did the incident back at the telescope--the one where I’d been sucked away to the field--pop into my mind "So what happened to the mother and the baby?"

"They both lived and everything, but the stars energy got trapped inside the baby And it’s still there For some reason--and no one knows for sure because no one’s ever ca like it before--no Shifter could transfer it back out of her" He pressed his lips together, his hand tightening on mine "A few years after it all happened, theto do with the star" He watched me closely "She was a Keeper and her name was Jocelyn"

"Jocelyn," I repeated "Why does that name sound so familiar? Did I know her?"

He nodded "You did and very well"

"How?" But before he could answer, I realized why Because I’d seen the name before On my Birth Certificate

Jocelyn was my mother

Chapter 14

Neither of us spoke for awhile The only sound cawith static He’d never actually answered my question when I’d ask how I knew the woured it out by my sudden muteness

"Gemma, are you okay?" he finally asked

I nodded slowly

"You do knoho she is, right?"

I nodded slowly again

"Then you understand what that ether Yeah, I understood what itthat for the last eighteen years, I’d been harboring a fallen star's energy inside ofsolar systems sun And as crazy as it sounded, it made sense I’d never been normal I’d been hollow and emotionally numb until an invisible prickle had shown up, andout of me Add that to the violet color of my eyes, and my ability to either sense or cause electricity to flow just by being around someone…I really was a freak Literally I probably wasn’t even considered human

"So what am I?" My voice sounded so numb

"What are you?" His eyebrows dipped down "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Well, I can’t be human?" I choked on the words "So what am I?"

"You’re hu inside her"

I could feel that power buzzing right now, and it was ht throw up I tried to ease my hand away froan in a very guarded, yet very determined tone "I know this all sounds crazy And I understand that you’re probably freaking out right now, but there’s more I have to tell you"

"There’smore than to hear the truth But now, after what I’d heard, part of o back in tiave a slow nod "And I think I should probably warn you that it’s just as bad--if not worse than what I’ve already told you"

My hands shook, and I felt like I was suffocating How could anything be worse than getting told I was carrying around the power of a star that could possibly save the world from a deathly, apocalyptic portal? I ripped my hand away from his and let my head fall into my hands "This is a lot to take in I’m not sure if I can take anymore"

"Well, if you want me to stop then--"

My head snapped up "No" I sat up straight I was going to have to tough it out "I need to hear the rest otherwise it will drive ht have been hoping I’d tell hiood or bad, I needed to hear it I’d already learned toowas si ever been simple for me?

He looked reluctant, but continued "Well, we lucked out because Demetrius never discovered the location of where the stars power ended up A few h, a Foreseer told Stephan another prophecy about the star The prophecy said that if your emotions weren’t controlled then the power of the star would weaken and eventually die altogether, which would " He placed his hand back on top of ht was kind of weird He sure did seem deter, and to keep De out, Stephan o and live with Marco and Sophia in the real world"

"How old hen I went to live with them?" I asked

"You were one when you went to live with Marco and Sophia," he replied in a flat tone that puzzled me His palross "And they were under strict orders to make sure you stayed une for awhile I’d hit so Or ht then and there that any doubts I’d had about Alex telling the truth were gone How could I deny it when he knew aboutwas that I was made to be that way

Intentionally

"Gemma," he said