Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

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~ Genoa ~

Calista pouted when I told her that I need to talk to Aldus first, but there were several things I needed to discuss with him before I engage in gossipy-like chats with Calista.

She calmed down when I promised that we will talk after dinner in my room, and we will not stop until she is satisfied.

Aldus and I went to Aldus's study.

"I assume that Marius told you how a werewolf is working for Duke.", I went straight to the point.

Aldus nodded in confirmation. "It's not unusual for creatures to work for humans. If they live in this realm, money is necessary."

I remembered that Sergio was afraid of Aldus. "Do you know Sergio?"

"Sergio is not an unusual name, but a name doesn't mean much. Creatures tend to change their name and appearance in order to conceal their long lifespans."

I knew that Aldus was right, but part of me hoped that if he knew Sergio, he might know what happened to Duke's family.

I reminded myself that was Duke's past. Mateo's past. I shouldn't pry into his matters. We only reconnected and I had my own problems to deal with.

"I assume that is not why you wanted to talk to me in private."

Aldus's words reminded me of a few points I wanted to discuss.

Let's start with the easy one.

"I invited Duke to accompany me for the event on Friday."

This was the first time for me to bring a date to the event for Notte Pharmaceuticals.

Aldus smiled. "So… the reunion was fun and more than just one day long affair?"

I was puzzled by Aldus's peculiar choice of words. What the…?

Oh, no! He probably knows that Duke spent the night in my apartment. In my bedroom!

Will he believe me if I say that we slept together but that we didn't sleep together? Well, I probably wouldn't believe it myself.

Aldus laughed as my expression probably spoke volumes. "No need to feel awkward, Serina. I'm happy for you."

He looked at me seriously. "I told you that I will not interfere with your love life, but always keep in mind your identity. Friends can betray you even after swearing loyalty and the same goes for lovers. The only secret that is safe is the one you don't share."

"I understand, father.", I said while trying to suppress my embarrassment.

Why was I embarrassed? Nothing happened! And even if it did, it would be fine. We are both grownups!

I felt the urgency to divert the topic. "Do you remember the ivy you sent to my balcony?"

Aldus confirmed. "Passiflora incarnata. What about it?"

"It bloomed."

Aldus didn't seem impressed. "It's a bit early, but not unusual for it to bloom if the conditions are favorable. Do you like it?"

I unlocked my phone and opened the photo of the trellis covered in purple and white blooms.

Aldus looked at the photo with a small frown and then his eyes widened. "This is from your balcony?"

"I took this photo before leaving my apartment. It was all green yesterday morning without a single bud showing, and a few hours later, it was like this."

"Just in a few hours?", Aldus asked skeptically. "Are you omitting some parts?"

I opened my mouth to respond and then closed it. How am I supposed to tell my father that there was a steamy make-out session with Duke just before I noticed the blooms? I don't even know if those are related!

I fidgeted while trying to find the right words.

"I was with Duke on the balcony. We were talking, it got emotional, we hugged, and I had this feeling in my chest…"

"You think it's an ability?", Aldus interrupted me, and I was happy that I didn't need to tell him more than that.

"I'm not sure, but I don't know how else to explain this."

Aldus rubbed his chin while his brows furrowed. "I want you to be careful. I will bring the plant here to run some tests."

I was confused. He was always elated about the possibility of me unlocking more abilities. How is this different? "Why should I be careful?"

"Assuming that you are responsible for making the plant bloom, it could mean several things. Maybe you sped up its maturing, or maybe manipulated the time. Actually, it could be many things and that is why I want you to proceed with caution. Did you notice anything else changing?"

Anything else? I was busy with Duke so there is a possibility that other strange things happened, and I missed them.

I shook my head, indicating that I didn't notice anything, and Aldus continued asking questions.

"Was there any change in you? What about your energy levels? Did Duke act strangely?"

"I'm not sure.", I responded honestly. "We were talking about a woman who might get between us, and we confirmed that we are in this together and we will not let her. We hugged and that's when I noticed the sweet scent and the blooms." I didn't want to talk about kissing.

Aldus's brows were furrowed, and the small movements of his eyes told me that he was thinking about my words.

Eventually, he spoke, "I don't need to remind you how important is to…"

"Keep it a secret.", I finished his sentence.

I knew very well what Aldus was warning me about.

After the event that was organized by the Council, I realized that there are many dangers I'm not aware of. It was my luck that those three hooded creatures didn't kidnap me. Next time, they will know that my mind has some shield, and I might not be so lucky.

If I could really manipulate time and others find out about it, I would have a huge target on my back.

Who doesn't wish to travel into the past and change an event or two? Or go into the future and see who will win the world cup and where the next big deposit of minerals will be located? This information could be used to place bets or make business decisions that will return a fortune.

If I impacted the maturity of that plant, doesn't that mean that I could impact creatures and make them younger or older at my will? Now that would be dangerous… dangerous for me, if others find out I can do it.

In a world where creatures live for centuries, being able to speed up that clock might be the ultimate weapon. And there is also the point of making someone younger and giving him a renewed lease on life.

I told myself not to worry. Maybe it's not an ability. It could be a random phenomenon that has nothing to do with me. But I knew I'm not that lucky.

Why does my every ability seem more like a curse than a blessing? Does everyone with abilities feel like this?

I wanted to leave the study and chat with Calista. Her random carefree banter always puts me in a good mood.

I was hoping that with Calista I can talk about my time with Duke and forget about this life of immortals and abilities. I wanted to focus on happy things, like my relationship with Duke that I still refuse to label as dating.

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