Twenty-six years ago. I'm twenty-five.
"This woman..." I look up from the photograph, my hands shaking slightly. "You think she's my mother."
"I think she's the woman Morganna has been searching for. And I think you're the reason she disappeared." Vera's expression softens marginally. "That photograph was taken a month before she vanished. Someone who knew her sent it to me, asked me to find you, to warn you that Morganna is close to figuring out the connection."
"Who?" I demand. "Who sent you?"
"Someone who loved Celeste. Someone who tried to protect her and failed." Vera steps back from the border. "That's all the information I have. The warning is delivered. What you do with it is your choice."
"Wait." I move toward the border, and immediately Marcus's hand clamps on my shoulder, p
