#Chapter 212: A United Front

Agnes The silence in my living room was deafening. I had told Evelyn and Gertrude everything—about my elemental abilities, about Thea being my biological daughter, about Olivia’s deception and my father’s machinations. The story had taken longer than I expected, and now the clock was ticking well past one in the morning, but our wine glasses were freshly filled. Evelyn had topped them off at some point and I’d hardly noticed. “So...” I said, unable to bear the quiet any longer, “now you know the truth.” Gertrude finally set her wineglass down with a shaking hand. “You can create fire,” she repeated, as if saying it out loud might make it more believable somehow. “Actual fire. From your hands.” I nodded. “I’d demonstrate, but…” I looked down at my palms. “I’m not really sure how yet.” Evelyn drained her glass in one long swallow. “Holy shit, Agnes.” “I know it sounds insane,” I said, picking at a loose thread on the couch cushion. “If I hadn’t e