"How long have you guys known about this?” Phoebe asked, her tone sharp with annoyance.
“We’ve only known for a couple of hours,” Airam said quickly, trying to diffuse the tension. “Pandora was the one who told us about it.”
Phoebe’s eyes darted toward Pandora. “And why didn’t you say anything to us?”
“Calm down,” Freya interrupted before Pandora could respond. “They were probably just trying to make sense of all this themselves.”
Phoebe huffed, dragging a chair from another table and plopping down in it. “Fine. So, why are you guys even looking into Florence Costea in the first place?” Dahlia asked
“I found a strange flower in the greenhouse,” Iris explained. “She was the one who discovered it first, so I thought there might be a connection.”
Sean, who had been quietly scanning the books on the table, picked one up and raised a brow. “Okay, but why are you reading occult books? This is… a little weird, even for us.”
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Airam hesitated, glancing at the others. “Well… we think there might be a reason why the people in these old pictures look exactly like us.”
“And we think these books might help us figure it out,” Pandora added, her voice calm and deliberate. “At the end of every one of these stories—”
“They get cursed with a reincarnation spell,” Sean interrupted, his voice rising with sudden excitement. “Oh my god, I read about that! I went through this whole phase of studying the occult. This makes so much sense now! We could be these people in the stories!”
“Can you not say that so loudly?” Phoebe snapped, narrowing her eyes at him. “People are going to think we’re insane.”
Sean lowered his voice, but Phoebe leaned forward, her tone dripping with skepticism. “Okay, but how do we know any of this is real? Has anyone here actually experienced… powers?” Her last word was laced with sarcasm.
The room fell silent as everyone exchanged uneasy glances. It was all the confirmation Phoebe needed.
“Wait a second.” She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. “So, all of you have powers and just decided not to say anything?”
“I don’t think everyone does,” Sean piped up, shrugging dramatically. “Because I sure don’t, and honestly? I’m jealous.”
Phoebe shot him an irritated look.
“Okay, okay, I’ll stop,” Sean said, holding up his hands in mock surrender.
“What should we do now?” Freya asked, cutting through Phoebe and Sean’s quiet bickering with a pointed look.
