“Not yet.” Francine rose from her seat.

Frustrated, Haven huffed. “And what the fuck does that mean?” He glared at Francine. “How about you tell me what you know and stop with the cryptic remarks.”

Francine exchanged a look with Samson. After a few seconds, he nodded. “Go ahead. If we want their cooperation, they’ll have to know everything.”

“You might want to sit down for this, Haven. You too, Wesley. It’s a long story.”

Haven looked at his brother, who shrugged and headed for the sofa, where Kimberly made space so he could squeeze in next to her. He kissed her forehead. “You okay?”

Kimberly nodded. “They won’t hurt us.”

Haven wished he had the same confidence his little sister displayed, but the hostility rolling off Zane was still palpable, and if push came to shove, he knew the bald vampire would kill him in an instant.

“I’m good.” Haven looked at the witch, indicating that he preferred to stand.

“Fine then. As you know, I knew your mother, Jennifer. She was a dear friend, but we had different views when it came to our powers. Hers were minor: some spells, some potions, but she couldn’t control any elements. Only powerful witches control the elements. She wanted more. She wanted real power. And she knew how to get it.”

For a moment, Francine closed her eyes as if it was too painful a memory.

“She chose your father not because she loved him, but because of the royal blood that pumped through his veins.”

Haven listened up. He’d never heard anything about his father being an aristocrat. Not that he cared to know anything about him that he didn’t already know: he’d left them before Katie was born. Just up and left as if he’d never loved his sons. Haven clenched his fists at the memories. The hatred for what his father had done had never waned.

“Not the kind of royal you might assume. Not a European aristocrat, but a descendent of one of the first witches.”

“Our father was a witch too?” Wesley gasped.

Francine shook her head. “No. His grandmother had given up her powers so her offspring wouldn’t be witches.”

“How can you just give up your powers?” Kimberly asked, eyes wide.

“It’s not an easy undertaking, but there’s a ritual by which you can release your powers and trap them in another vessel. That’s what she did. But it didn’t destroy the bloodline. The blood flowing through your father’s veins was still royal, and that was all your mother needed.”

She sighed. “There’s a prophecy. The three children of an ordinary witch unable to control any elements will receive the Power of Three if they come from royal blood. The Power of Three overrides every other power. Nothing is stronger. Nothing is more tempting, more alluring than that power. Few would ever be able to resist. The holders of the Power of Three will rule this world. Jennifer wanted to fulfill this prophecy, and she did everything she could to reach her goal. By giving birth to Katie, she had the three children she needed.”

Haven swallowed hard. “She and Dad fought a lot before Katie was born.”

“Your father didn’t want the third child. By then he’d realized what she was trying to do, and he wanted to stop it. But Jennifer was already pregnant, and she refused to get an abortion.”

A tiny sob tore from Kimberly’s chest. Haven’s gaze snapped to her, and he saw how Wesley had put his arm around her and pressed her head against his chest. “Katie … Kimberly, we always loved you,” he whispered to her.

Haven was glad that Wesley was comforting her. Knowing that your father didn’t want you to be born had to hurt. Even more than knowing that your father didn’t love you enough to stay. His heart went out to her.

“I’m sorry, Katie, but that’s the cold hard truth. Your father wanted to prevent the prophecy. But he couldn’t. Jennifer wouldn’t be swayed. Now she only had to wait until Katie reached her first birthday—”

“But I’m twenty-two now. Why didn’t we get our powers?” Kimberly asked.

“Every witch has some powers when he or she is born. They get honed until adulthood before they mature into true gifts. But your mother expunged your ordinary witch powers at birth so that they wouldn’t interfere with what she’d planned for later.”

“And what’s that?” Haven asked, not at all liking what Francine was telling them. It painted his mother in a bad light, and he didn’t want her memory tarnished.

“Once Katie was old enough, Jennifer would have performed the ritual to harness your Power of Three.”