“Gianna, I discovered something strange in my aunt’s attic just now.”
“What?”
After taking a moment to try to sort through all I’d learned and the order in which to present them, I decided that chronological was best. “While clearing out her things, I found a book.” I didn’t mention where I was or where I’d found it as the responsibility to keep it guarded had already been pressed onto me. “Inside it was a letter addressed to me.” The contents of the letter tumbled out in a rush of word vomit as I tried to hold myself together.
“Oh, honey,” she said. “I’m so sorry. I understand why you’re upset.”
I had managed to hold the tears back, well, most of them. “And now I have this book I’m supposed to take care of. How would I, out of anyone, know what to do with it?”
“A family Book of Shadows?” She groaned. “That does sound like an epic ton of responsibility.”
“Exactly. And since I didn’t know I had the ability to do any sort of magic until a short while ago, I feel the least capable of protecting it.”
“Hold on a sec.” It seemed more like twenty before Gianna said, “Okay, I’m back. Funny, it was the hot guy I was just telling you about. He came out for a smoke. I walked away so he won’t overhear me.”
Shit, maybe I shouldn’t have been telling Gianna any of this. And perhaps not over the phone. It could be tapped.
Ugh, I dropped my head back. Now what—I was getting paranoid? All because of this stupid book.
“What are you gonna do?” Gianna asked.
I rubbed my eyes. “Good question. I don’t know where to start. I need to talk to my mother, first of all.”
“Good plan. Talk to your mom and let this all sit before you make any rash decisions.” A man’s voice called Gianna from the background. “Shit, I need to get back inside. Want to come by for a drink?”
“No. I think I need to let this settle. My mind hasn’t just been blown, it’s like someone lit fireworks off for the grand finale inside my brain.”
“Totally get it. How about I come by tomorrow morning?”
“That would be awesome, thanks.”
“Listen,” she added. “I know you’re freaking out, but look at the bright side. You always thought you sucked at magic, but that’s not the case. You might find this new world one you flourish in. Maybe you should follow along with what’s in the book and learn more about what you’re capable of.”
I grunted. “That’s probably not a good idea. After all, I just inherited a house. I don’t want to accidentally set it on fire.”
Chapter 11
Diego
After dark on Tuesday, I headed into work. I hadn’t seen Nova since my outburst yesterday and still wasn’t sure what had come over me.
While I ran blood tests, I replayed our conversation again, the same as I’d been doing for the last day. Had I overreacted?
Probably.
Did Ihaveto come off as a defensive jerk?
Nope.
If I couldn’t handle a fling without getting butt-hurt over her living her life, it was probably better that I stayed away. Since she was leaving by the end of the week, it would’ve ended soon enough, anyway.
It didn’t make it any easier to forget her.
How could I? Not only had we had fun together, but the sex had been amazing. Just thinking about how good it had felt to drive inside and taste her blood got me semi-erect.
Maybe I was giving up on this too easy. Sure, Nova would be returning to New York soon, but it wasn’t a planet away. If we wanted to keep this thing going on, we could visit each other. Weekend trips wouldn’t be difficult to arrange. People did it all the time.
When I returned to the house before dawn, I added some pouches of blood to the fridge. That was one of the benefits of this job—the blood I was given. It reduced my need to access it in other ways, such as taking it from a human donor. Although after I’d had a taste of Nova’s blood, how could I not crave it?
