Out of nowhere, an ache started low and dull in my chest, odd and out of place. My head jerked up and there was Mischa, her eyes locked on the three of us. She had been near the back of the room with our parents, but my newly formed twin bond was telling me that something in the way us females were grouped against the wall had upset her. Made her feel on the outside again. Mischa’s face showcased about a zillion facets of anguish. With a stifled cry, she stumbled away and left the room. I lurched to my feet to stop her, but she took off like a shot.

Shit!

I really wanted to stay here with the Compasses, I needed to know what was going to happen. I was afraid that if they decided to go all crazy-marked-hunters, there weren’t many supernaturals here who could stand against them. Only Louis and my father had a possible shot. But I also knew deep in my soul that this thing with Mischa was important too. I started to follow her path, it was time to deal with my twin’s drama. I was just about at the elevators when Lienda halted me with a hand on my arm. “I’ll go, Jess, you have other responsibilities.”

I blinked a few times at my mother. “Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

I sort of did, but I was giving this “nice supe” thing a try. Must be all the love pheromones confusing me.

Lienda kissed my cheek and I barely even flinched. See, emotional growth was my bitch. “I’m happy to go,” she said. “I haven’t seen my daughter much lately. It seems we might need a mother daughter chat. I’m worried about her.”

She wasn’t the only one.

I tried not to let it upset me that she’d said “my daughter.” I was her daughter too. But I knew that with so many years between us, it was going to be difficult bridging that gap. For reals … I could have used mother-daughter chats myself over the years. But there was no point dwelling on the past. Had to move forward. Like I told Mischa, there was no other direction to go in.

“You’re my daughter too,” Lienda rushed to add. Either everyone was a mind reader, or I wore my emotions on my face. She wrapped an arm around me. “I love you, but Mischa is just a little more alone than you are, a little less independent. Children need different things from their parents, it doesn’t mean I love you less. You just need me less.”

It was true, I didn’t really need Lienda anymore. I’d learned not to need her.