“Which is?” I prompted impatiently.
Jess’ expression softened. “Your grandmother. Asteria.”
“But how—oh!” I gasped. Of course.Of course.“She came to you? As a ghost?”
“That’s right,” Jess said. “It took some time to understand exactly what she needed from me, but eventually I figured it out.”
I frowned. “So I was her unfinished business?”
“Yes,” Jess said. “She reached out to me several times because it was important to her that you have that book I delivered to you.”
“And she didn’t say why?”
“Unfortunately, no. Much as I’m careful with my secrets, it seems your grandmother is, too. She wouldn’t tell me exactly why you needed the book, only that it was important to your family and to this town that you get it back.”
Out of nowhere, I was swallowing against something in my throat, something that threatened to choke me with an onslaught of tears.
“Hey, are you good?” Jess asked, her eyebrows pulling together in concern.
“Yeah, I…” I tried to shrug nonchalantly, but only Nova could pull off shit like that. “I guess… I wonder why she didn’t just come to me.”
“Well, most people wouldn’t be able to communicate with her in her current form,” Jess said gently. “It’s not that she didn’t want to speak to you, I’m sure. She probably just didn’t think she’d be able to make contact.”
I knew she was trying to make me feel better, but her words just felt like a slap across the face. I tried to take the blow stoically, but I could feel the tears welling up in the corners of my eyes, like traitors. Here I was, working night and day to develop my powers, and Asteria had to find someone from halfway across the world to deliver a message to me.
“Wren?” Jess prompted, looking concerned now. “Have I upset you?”
“No, no, it’s just… my gifts as a witch… well, connecting with spirits should be one of them. But I seem to have developed some kind of block. It’s not progressing as well as my other skills.”
“Wren, you’ve only been at it for a few months. You’re doing fine,” Nova snapped, sounding almost impatient.
“So you are a sensitive?” Jess asked. “And it’s a new power?”
“I’m supposed to be,” I replied. “And I’m not sure if it’s new so much as… undeveloped. I’ve only known I was a witch since June.”
Jess’ eyebrows disappeared into the curling mess of her wet hair. “But isn’t your whole family…?”
“Yeah. My mom sort of… ran away and hid it all from me. It was only when Asteria died that it all came out,” I explained.
I watched with confusion as a smile broke slowly over Jess’ face, followed by a chuckle that built into a gale of laughter. I stared, blinking at her as she seemed to come unglued.
“Jess? Are you… good?” I asked. Beside me, Nova looked as disturbed as I felt.
“I’m sorry,” Jess choked out, trying to compose herself. “It’s just… I’m starting to understand why your grandmother was drawn to me of all the Durupinen she could have connected with.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, obviously it was because of the book. I had handled it before, and knew where it was, but I wasn’t the only one. No, I think it was because you and I have so much in common, Wren,” Jess said.
“Why, do your spirit abilities suck too?” Nova asked. I whacked her on the arm and she grimaced. “What? It was only a joke.”
“I think it’s because Wren and I both came into our powers later than most,” Jess said, focusing her gaze on me now, as the rest of her laughter died out. “My mom spent my whole childhood running from our legacy—literally. I moved more than twenty times before I graduated high school. She died when I was seventeen without ever telling me what we were. I had to figure it out the hard way.”
For a moment, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I tried to imagine what it would be like, discovering I was a witch entirely on my own, and then trying to grapple with all the ramifications of that, without my mother and my aunts to guide me—without, in fact, an entire town full of people who could help me. I couldn’t do it. I looked back at Jess to see that she was watching me carefully as I absorbed this information.
“I’m sorry, but I’m getting a bit off track here,” Jess said, when I had sat in silence for nearly a full minute. “I was trying to explain what happened tonight, and I’m not doing a very good job. Can I continue?”
“Of course,” I said, in need of a distraction from the complex feelings still roiling inside me, like a brew in Rhi’s kitchen cauldron.
