"Actually, it is complicated. I had already told you I would teach you how to use your Odic Force to sense others having Odic Force flowing through their bodies. But if they want to hide themselves and appear as humans, then maybe it would be difficult for you to identify them. Not unless they use their powers or reveal themselves, but someone like Nyissa with her special eyes might be able to tell who all are exactly human or not. She got those eyes from her mother's side of the family, and it is actually considered a sacred gift in their clan. It could also be one of the reasons they already had arranged a fiance for her to rope her in. They just didn't expect someone like you to come into her life that fast," Umilia said with a helpless smile.
"Actually about Nyissa, she—"
"She came here, right? She actually met me first then told me to keep her arrival a secret till she can surprise you in college," Umilia said with an amused smile.
Viktor softly chuckled as he nodded and said, "I don't mind having a sexy teacher but tell me…with her help, I can see if any non-humans are hiding in the college?"
"Only if they come within her sight. Anyways…how is Saya these days?" Umilia's expression became a bit anxious as she asked.
Viktor's expression became a bit complicated as he said, "I think you might want to tell her the truth."
Umilia's expression became taut as she asked, "What? Why do you say that?"
"The power flowing through her…I don't think it's like normal humans with a dormant odic heart. Maybe you might have never detected it since it never showed up. But have you ever seen her being angry or very upset to the point of behaving differently?" Viktor curiously asked since he wanted to know if what he saw today happened before as well.
Umilia's expression became serious and contemplative as she thought for a few moments before answering, "Ten years ago when she was like eight years old, she was still a very quiet and gentle girl who wouldn't even hurt a bug. But one day I received a phone call from the school telling me to come there because Saya did something bad. I didn't believe it, and even now, I still don't…" Umilia trailed off as her gaze became glazed.
Viktor narrowed his eyes as he held her arms and asked, "What did she do, Umi?"
Umilia cleared her throat, and after a moment of hesitation, she said, "When I got there, they said that Saya beat up a group of five kids to the point they had to be taken to the hospital. She didn't even know martial arts at that time. Another shocking thing was that three of the kids were three years older than her."
"What the…was it really true?" Viktor didn't know what to think after hearing this. But for some reason, he felt that it was possible it happened.
"I-I don't know. I still don't believe it. She told me that she didn't do it. Saya would never lie to me. She isn't even a good liar. That is how pure-hearted she is. So ignoring how small and young, she was, somebody of her nature wouldn't surely do it. I thought that maybe those boys and girls fought among themselves and pinned the fault on her head just because they didn't like her. She told me that they always used to bully her for no reason, and that is why I started to teach her martial arts to help her defend herself. But tell me, what did she do for you to suddenly tell me these things," Umilia asked as her brows pulled together in worry.
Viktor didn't want Umilia to worry, but at the same time, since she was Sayana's mother, he didn't want to hide things from her as he said, "Well, today some snobby rich kids tried to bully me, well, Dorian and her. I didn't do much just to see if she could deal with those guys by herself, but at one point, when she became angry, she totally became aggressive to the point it surprised me. In fact, I had to intervene to stop her from doing something bad. But after that, it seemed as if she had a hard time remembering what she did."
Umilia had a look of disbelief as she took a step back as she mumbled, "No…how could that be…she…she…"
"I know this might be shocking for you, but you don't have to worry as long as you teach her how to embrace that side of hers instead of suppressing it. She needs to learn to control her dormant self, or it could become a big problem later," Viktor wanted Umilia to teach Sayana how to control her powers which were also one of the main reasons he wanted to tell her what happened today.
"No…she can't. I don't want her life to be filled with violence and death like mine. Since the day I held her as a baby and considering the circumstances she was born in and suffered, I had promised myself that I would make sure she grows up to be a woman who can live an ordinary, happy life," Umilia said in a feeble voice and then looked at Viktor as she held his hands and said, "You already know how she was born, right? Even if I was to teach her how to use her powers, then there is no way I can hide about how she was born. She won't be able to take it. Nobody of her age could."
Viktor's expression became soft as he could understand Umilia's worries. Still, he held her hands and said in a serious tone, "But you do know that she was never destined to live an ordinary life the moment people like us entered her life. Not letting her know the truth about herself would only put her in danger. I can't always be there for her. I cannot be omnipresent. You know that too. Now you got yourself involved with a dangerous woman we saw before. What's to stop her from targeting Saya once she knows who you are? Or maybe she already knows. We can't tell for sure."
Umilia's expression faltered hearing Viktor's words.