“I don’t care if he hears me.” Scrunching her wrinkled face into a frown, Sidonia spat on the floor.
“I don’t want Eve to hear you. She knows Judah is her father.”
“Poor little lamb.” Sidonia adored Eve, would do anything for her, but she feared for the child because of her father’s blood. She vigilantly watched for signs of the struggle between good and evil within Eve.
Mercy sighed heavily. “Judah will not go away meekly, and I’m afraid that I can’t force him to leave, not as long as Eve wishes him to stay. You understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, I understand only too well—the father’s and daughter’s combined powers are greater than yours. And because Eve’s powers are untrained, she could be dangerous without meaning to be.”
Mercy nodded, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “Judah is concerned about a man who’s his enemy, someone who isn’t a Raintree, a man who would kill Eve if he knew of her existence. I don’t know who this man is, but I’m certain he is another Ansara.”
“We should have wiped their kind from the face of the earth two hundred years ago when we had the chance. Old Dranir Dante made a deadly mistake in allowing even a handful of Ansara to live.”
“All that is ancient history.”
“Humph.” Sidonia glared at Mercy. “Why did Judah Ansara come here? And why were you with him tonight?”
“I don’t know why he came to North Carolina. And as for my being with him—I don’t remember everything, only that someone tried to kill me, and Judah saved me.”
“Why would an Ansara save a Raintree’s life?” Sidonia eyed her suspiciously. “You haven’t had any contact with him since you conceived Eve, have you?”
“Of course not!”
“Hmm…There is more to this than meets the eye. I think you should contact Dante and tell him that an Ansara has shown up here at the sanctuary, that he was able to cross the boundaries of protection.”
“Dante will want to know how that was possible.”
“I’m sure he will.”
“I can’t tell him that it might have been because of Eve…. because she’s half Ansara.”
“You have to do what is necessary,” Sidonia told Mercy.
“It’s for me to decide what that is.”
“That Ansara poses a threat to all of us, all who are Raintree.”
“Judah poses a threat to no one but Eve,” Mercy said. “He’s a single Ansara, one man. What could he possibly do to harm our entire clan?”
“Call Dante.”
“No.”
“It’s past time that you told your brothers the truth about Eve.”
“No. And you won’t call Dante. Do you hear me?
Sidonia nodded. “This man tricked you once, took you to his bed and gave you his child. Don’t let him fool you again.”
“I didn’t know he was Ansara then. Now I do.”
“Seven years ago, he wanted your virginity. Now he wants something far more precious. He wants your child.”
“She’s his child, too, as much as I wish she were not.”
“I believe he knew about Eve before he came here,” Sidonia said. “It’s the only explanation for him coming to you after all these years. Is it possible that somehow subconsciously you…?”
“No! I’ve shielded myself from Judah, just as I have shielded Eve.”