"Who is Courtney?" River asked, alarmed by the shimmer that was starting to take form beside Alaric.
"My birth mother," I gasped.
I didn't think I would see her again so soon. My heart raced, and I held on to the hope that it was her. For River to meet both Alaric and Courtney would be phenomenal.
When I had last seen Courtney, she had just appeared. There wasn't a shimmer like there had been with Alaric. What if this was someone or something else?
Sensing my fear, River's arm went around my shoulders, and he drew me closer to him. I saw that River had created a magical fire barrier between us and what or who was about to appear. Unfortunately, Alaric was not inside the ring of fire with us.
"Interesting. You are more powerful than I suspected. Well done, River," Courtney's voice pra
