Gifted

Chapter 27 - Sage

Entering my grandfather's study, he stood peering out onto his vast gardens.

He turned as I closed the door behind me. His face was unreadable.

Taking a few steps towards the middle of his study, a strange deja-vu moment sent a ripple of shivers down my spine. Something had taken place in this room. I had been here recently. Dread triggered a thought of wanting to run, escape. My heartbeat picked up, and I hesitated to take another step forward.

"Take a seat Sage," he instructed.

Avoiding eye contact, I didn't move from my spot. Standing would give me some control. Straightening my spine, determined he would hear me out.

Meeting his stony stare, I played dumb not revealing I had spoken to Uncle Harvey. "Why are all these people here? I thought you wanted me to meet Victor?"

"Yes, yes Sage. You will meet Victor shortly." He didn't answer my question.

"Grandfather, why are all these people here?" I asked again.

"To celebrate your engagement to Victor. The joining of two old families."

My stomach went haywire, my uncle was right.

"Grandfather, I can't do this. It was one thing to come here tonight and meet him the man. I agreed to that, but you've gone too far. What if I don't like him, or he likes me?" My heart grew heavy.

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze intense. "Do you think I would choose someone unsuitable for you Sage?"

Shaking my head. "No no, Grandfather. But that's the problem, right there—You chose him. Not me." I placed my hand on my chest.

His stare never wavered as I continued. "Grandfather, it should be my choice; I don't want an arranged marriage, I prefer to be in love with the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. I want to find my mate."

He scoffed at my suggestion of a mate. "Mates are a myth. I thought I'd raised you better than that."

I bristled at his remark but held my tongue.

We stared at each other; his annoyance clear as the window behind him. He cracked his knuckles before finally turning away from me and walking toward his study table. Taking a seat in his usual chair, he reached inside his drawer and retrieved his laptop. I observed as he opened the lid and entered his password, swivelled it around so I could see the screen.

"I have something to show you, Sage." My chest tightened, but still, I didn't move.

"You may want to sit for this." He signalled towards the seat in front of his desk. "We need to discuss the blackouts."

What? How did he know about them? There was only me and Pearl who knew about those. I called his bluff.

"I don't know what you're referring to Grandfather, please explain."

An ominous look crossed his expression as he released a forceful breath.

"Don't test me, Sage. I'm well aware of your blackouts. Now I won't ask you again, take a seat."

As I clenched my fists, forcing my feet to move, I rapidly felt exposed and vulnerable. Slowly sitting, I waited as he pressed a button and a small video popped up.

A cold sweat ran across my hairline. My eyes widened; a gasp escaped and my hand flew over my mouth to capture the next one as watched in horror at the events unfolding.

"We have been watching you for quite a while now, Sage. It appears this gift of yours is growing in power, and I'm not sure how we can control it. The blackouts result in the same outcome each time—someone gets hurt."