I sat for a moment in stunned silence.
"He always did love his puzzles," I whispered to myself.
This image of my brother now seemed absurd. I pictured him young and innocent, a puzzle in front of him, Bella leaning on the table.
My imagination ran away with me. I watched as he took her hand and stoked her hair.
I stopped. Shaking my head, that wasn't him anymore.
"When he returned to me, something had changed. Under the surface, he must have had a thread of madness in him. I tried to help him, but the kind boy in him had gone. He became intense and powerful, obsessed with that girl." Sephrina shook her head ever so slightly.
I couldn't believe this. She'd had him in the palm of her hand. She could have stopped him.
"And you let him go," I exploded, struggling to get up. The chair creaked in complaint and I wondered if it would break so I could get to my feet.
"Easy Preston," She purred.
"Let me go," I screamed, but my legs wouldn't move. She moved over to me, her hand gently caressing my shoulder.
I couldn't move it off.
"I can't see the future," She whispered sounding almost tender, "If I'd known what Jadyn would be capable of, then I would have stopped him."
"Then stop him now," I said. I felt my bonds release. I shoved her hand off and stood up.
"I can't, only you can."
"What does that mean? You made him."
She shook her head sadly, "We all have a weakness. We chose it ourselves he made his, and it's something I can't exploit."
She reached out and clasped a lock of Justine's hair. She combed it with her fingers, then clasped a second lock and begin with careful fingers to braid them together.
"Preston, your brother is gone," She said.
Tears sprung to my eyes, somewhere deep down I believed I could save him.
Sephrina paused in her work, "Listen very carefully, Preston. You need to understand his only weakness is Bella. His magic is bonded to her. If he spills her blood, his powers will break. Then you can stop the madness."
Shock rolled over me, crashing against me like waves. I choked out, "No!"
Sephrina looked full of pity.
I added quietly, "There has to be another way."
She shook her head.
"So he has to kill her," I said quietly. "All I've done is useless. I can't protect her."
I felt like I was falling down a long tunnel with no bottom. This time I decided to sit down.
"Not kill, child, only hurt. It's the only way." She paused, letting it sink in. "He's grown too powerful. He must be stopped, or he will take everything."
She finished the braid and began another.
"We can't always protect those we love, sometimes we have to let go." She sighed heavily.
Justine's hair was completely braided. I supposed that Sephrina had once braided young Justine's hair, maybe even fitted it with flowers like I had with Bella.
How could I possibly put her in harm's way? Now that I knew the truth, I decided we were better off running where he couldn't find us, past the Sephrina woods and beyond.
"I wouldn't let him hurt her," I said firmly.
Sephrina just shook her head, "You must."