The Untold Tragedy of Patricia and Bernice (Spoilers for the series ahead)

When people think of Foothills Fae Academy, most remember the students—Amber, Ellen, Ben, Jared, Michael, and the Campbells. But woven quietly through the story are two women whose lives are among the most tragic in the entire series: Patricia and Bernice.

Both were descendants targeted by the immortals long before Amber’s story even began. The immortals didn’t just want to manipulate the present—they were tracing bloodlines from the 100,000 murdered in the sacrifice ten thousand years ago, grooming families for their plans. Patricia and Bernice became victims of this cruelty.

How Their Lives Were Stolen

The immortals switched Patricia and Bernice back and forth, erasing their memories each time. Both women were forced to live false lives—married to men they didn’t know, raising children who weren’t theirs, losing children who were.

Patricia lived believing she was married to Bernice’s husband, Doug. Under the immortals’ spell, she abused the Campbell boys, even though in her true self she longed for a large, loving family.

Bernice was hit harder. She had to live with the heartbreak Patricia was spared: believing she lost custody of Billy, believing she lost her soulmate, and subconsciously remembering Mason while being forced to live apart from him and raise Amber.

Where Patricia’s spell numbed some of her pain, Bernice’s amplified it. That’s why Bernice became harsher, more abusive—her anguish had no outlet.

Why They’re Both Tragic

Patricia’s tragedy was losing her identity. She didn’t even know who she truly was until the spell was broken, and by then she had lost Amber, Sierra, Billy, Carly, and her soulmate.

Bernice’s tragedy was having to feel two people’s heartbreak at once—her own and Patricia’s. The spell backfired, forcing her to endure memories and emotions that weren’t even hers.

Both women were victims. Both inflicted harm they never would have chosen. And both carried guilt for what the immortals forced them to become.

The Aftermath

When the spells broke, Patricia and Bernice made a decision: all eight kids—the Campbells and Amber, Sierra, Carly, and Billy—were theirs. They couldn’t undo the years stolen from them, but they could choose love going forward.

But tragedy didn’t stop there. Bernice died before she could fully rebuild, leaving Patricia to carry grief for both of them. And Sierra’s betrayal left Patricia with the impossible task of setting boundaries—choosing self-respect and safety, even if it meant losing a daughter.

Why It Matters

The Campbell boys endured years of cruelty under their mother’s abuse. Yet when they met Amber and heard her story, they realized her childhood under Bernice, Sierra, and Carly had been even worse. Their shared pain created an unbreakable bond—found family forged out of tragedy.

And for Amber, Patricia’s story is more than background. In Book Four, when Amber lashes out—“How can you possibly know what I am going through?”—Patricia’s truth shatters her. Patricia had suffered more: children stolen, her identity erased, and decades of love stolen. That moment is what finally forces Amber to confront her own flaw of dismissing others’ pain.

Patricia and Bernice are two of the series’ most tragic figures, even if they aren’t always in the spotlight. Their lives remind us of the cost of the immortals’ cruelty, the weight of generational pain, and the strength it takes to choose love after everything has been taken.