The feeling did not leave Jenny the next morning.
She woke before sunrise with the strange sensation still lingering in her mind. It was faint now, like the echo of a distant voice, but it was there.
Something had noticed her.
She sat up slowly in the bed and looked toward the window. The forest outside was still dark, though a faint grey light had begun to creep along the horizon.
For several seconds she listened carefully.
The house was silent.
James was awake.
She could sense that much now without even seeing him.
Jenny frowned slightly at the thought. A week ago she wouldn't have believed such a thing was possible. Yet somehow she could feel his presence moving quietly downstairs.
The realization unsettled her.
Her senses were changing.
She stepped out of the room and walked down the narrow wooden staircase. The floor creaked softly beneath her feet.
James stood near the front window with his back turned, watching the forest as usual.
"You're awake early," he said without turning around.
Jenny stopped halfway down the stairs.
"How did you know it was me?"
James glanced over his shoulder.
"I can hear your heartbeat."
Jenny crossed her arms.
"That's cheating."
James smiled slightly.
"Perks of being a vampire."
Jenny stepped into the living room and looked toward the trees outside.
"Did anything happen last night after you came back inside?"
"No," James said. "Whatever was watching us left."
Jenny wasn't sure she believed that.
She could still feel the faint ripple of energy moving through the forest like a quiet current.
"I think something is changing," she said.
James turned toward her.
"In you?"
Jenny nodded.
"I can feel things now."
"What kind of things?"
She hesitated before answering.
"It's difficult to explain."
James leaned against the wall, waiting.
Jenny walked slowly toward the fireplace.
"When I closed my eyes yesterday by the lake… it felt like the forest was alive," she said. "Not just the animals or the wind. Everything."
James didn't interrupt.
"I could feel something moving through the world," she continued. "Like energy."
James studied her carefully.
"That's not unusual for magic users."
Jenny looked at him.
"So you really think I'm a witch."
James shrugged slightly.
"I think you're something we don't fully understand yet."
Jenny laughed quietly.
"That's comforting."
Before James could respond, Jenny suddenly stopped moving.
Her expression changed.
James noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
Jenny's eyes had gone distant.
For a moment she didn't seem to see the room anymore.
Instead, she saw something else.
A memory.
The forest.
But not this forest.
This one was older.
Darker.
Moonlight reflected across a circle carved into the ground.
Symbols burned faintly into the earth.
And in the center of the circle stood a woman.
Her long black hair moved gently in the wind as she raised both hands toward the sky.
Magic moved around her like flowing light.
Jenny felt the power of it.
Then the woman turned.
Their eyes met.
The same deep green eyes Jenny saw every time she looked into a mirror.
"Jenny."
The voice echoed through the memory.
Jenny gasped.
The vision vanished.
She stumbled slightly.
James caught her arm before she could fall.
"What happened?"
Jenny stared at him, her breathing uneven.
"I saw someone."
"Who?"
Jenny swallowed.
"I think… my mother."
James went very still.
"Are you sure?"
Jenny nodded slowly.
"She was performing some kind of spell."
James helped her sit down.
"Did you recognize the place?"
"No," Jenny said. "But it felt important."
James considered this.
"If your memories are starting to return, it means the barrier in your mind is weakening."
Jenny rubbed her temples.
"Edward must have known this would happen."
James frowned slightly.
"You think Edward sealed your memories?"
"It would explain a lot," Jenny said quietly.
James didn't disagree.
But the idea raised even more questions.
If Edward had locked Jenny's memories away, then what exactly had he been trying to protect her from?
Or protect the world from?
Jenny stood up again slowly.
"I need to go back to the lake."
James looked surprised.
"Now?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Jenny walked toward the door.
"Because I think the forest is trying to show me something."
James hesitated only a second before following her.
The morning had grown brighter by the time they reached the frozen lake. Thin sunlight filtered through the clouds, turning the surface of the ice pale gold.
Jenny walked to the same rock where she had sat the previous day.
She closed her eyes again.
James stood several steps behind her, watching carefully.
For several minutes nothing happened.
Then the air shifted.
A sudden gust of wind moved across the lake, scattering loose snow into the air.
Jenny's breathing slowed.
Her mind reached for the same quiet awareness she had felt before.
Gradually the forest grew louder again.
Not with sound.
But with presence.
The energy returned.
It flowed through the trees, through the lake, through the earth beneath her feet.
Jenny felt it moving through her as well.
Suddenly another vision appeared.
This one stronger.
She saw a stone building standing in the middle of a vast forest.
Tall towers rose toward the sky.
Ancient symbols were carved into the walls.
Inside the building stood dozens of people wearing dark robes.
Witches.
And in the center of the hall stood the same woman Jenny had seen before.
Her mother.
But she was not alone.
Another figure stood beside her.
A man with pale skin and golden eyes.
A vampire.
The vision shattered instantly.
Jenny opened her eyes in shock.
James stepped forward.
"What did you see?"
Jenny looked at him slowly.
"My parents."
James waited.
"My mother was a witch."
"That explains the magic."
Jenny nodded.
"But my father…"
She hesitated.
"Was a vampire."
James stared at her.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Finally he said quietly,
"That shouldn't be possible."
Jenny looked out across the frozen lake again.
"I think that's why everyone is looking for me."
James's voice grew serious.
"A child born from both bloodlines…"
Jenny finished the thought.
"A hybrid."
James ran a hand through his hair.
"That would explain why Victoria is hunting you."
"And why Edward hid my memories," Jenny added.
The pieces of the puzzle were finally beginning to fit together.
Jenny turned back toward the forest house.
"Edward didn't disappear randomly."
James looked at her.
"You think he went looking for answers."
Jenny nodded.
"Or protection."
James followed her gaze into the trees.
"Then we may not be the only ones searching for the truth."
Jenny felt the strange energy ripple through the forest again.
But this time it was stronger.
Closer.
Something was coming.
And whoever—or whatever—it was, they knew exactly what Jenny had become.