Ascend Read Online Free Page B

eating?” I asked as I got myself a helping of
raspberries.
    “I’m eating some,” Elora said, but she made no move to get a
plate. “How is your birthday?”
    “Good, so far. But I haven’t been awake that long.”
    “Is Willa throwing you a party?” Elora asked, picking
absently at a plum. “Garrett told me something about it.”
    “Yeah, she had a little party for me last night,” I said
between bites. “It was really nice.”
    “Oh, I assumed she would have it today.”
    “Rhys had plans today, and I don’t have that many friends,
so she thought it would be better to do it last night.”
    “I see.” Elora took a sip of her tea and said nothing more
for several minutes. She only watched me as I ate, which would’ve made me
self-conscious before, but I was starting to realize that she just enjoyed
watching me.
    “How are you feeling today?” I asked.
    “I’m moving about.” She gave a small shoulder shrug and
turned to look out the window.
    The shades were open slightly, letting the brilliant light
shine in. The tree tops outside were covered in a heavy blanket of snow, and
the reflection made the sun twice as bright.
    “You look good today,” I commented.
    “You look nice today, too,” Elora said without turning back to
me. “That’s a lovely color on you.”
    I glanced down at my dress. It was dark blue with black lace
designs over it. Willa had picked it out for me, and I did think it was really
beautiful. But I still hadn’t gotten used to Elora complimenting me.
    “Thank you,” I said.
    “Did I ever tell you about the day you were born?” Elora
asked.
    “No.” I’d been eating vanilla yogurt, but I set the spoon
down on the plate. “You only told me that it was hasty.”
    “You were early,” she said, her voice low, as if she were
lost in thought. “My mother did that. She used her persuasion, and convinced my
body to go into labor. It was the only way we could protect you, but you were
two weeks early.”
    “Was I born in a hospital?” I asked, realizing I knew so
little about my own birth.
    “No.” She shook her head. “We went to the city your host
family lived in. Oren thought I was interested in a family that lived in
Atlanta, but I’d chosen the Everlys , who lived in
northern New York.
    “My mother and I stayed in a hotel nearby, hiding out in
case Oren came after us,” Elora went on. “Thomas stayed on the Everlys , watching them until he saw the mother go into
labor.”
    “Thomas?” I asked.
    “Yes, Thomas went with us,” Elora said. “That’s how I met
him, actually, when we were on the run from my husband. Thomas was a new
tracker, but he’d already proven to be very resourceful, so my mother chose him
to help us.”
    “So he was there when I was born?” I asked.
    “Yes, he was.” She smiled at the thought. “I gave birth to
you on the floor of a hotel bathroom. Mother used her powers on me, induced
labor, and made it so I wouldn’t scream or feel pain. And Thomas sat at my
side, holding my hand, and telling me it would all be fine.”
    “Were you scared?” I asked. “Giving birth
like that?”
    “I was terrified,” she admitted. “But I had no choice. I
needed to hide you and protect you. It had to be done.”
    “I know,” I said. “You did the right thing. I understand
that now.”
    “You were so small.” Her smile changed, and she tilted her
head. “I didn’t know you would be so tiny, and you were so beautiful. You were
born with a dark shock of hair, and these big, dark eyes. You were beautiful
and you were perfect and you were mine.”
    She paused, thinking, and a lump grew in my throat. It felt
so strange to hear my mother talking about me the way a mother talks about her children.
    “I wanted to hold you,” Elora said at length. “I begged my
mother to let me hold you, and she said it would only make it worse. She held
you, though, wrapping you in a bed sheet, and staring
down at you with tears in her eyes.
    “Then she