“I think so. It is good you mentioned it. Cursed objects often have an aura about them that discourages people from mentioning them. You’ve learned from your experience last year.” Gabriel stood, dropping the necklace on the desk so hecould remove the glove from his hand. He opened his mouth to explain further, but we were interrupted by James’s return.
He held the black leather-bound book in his hand—and I didn’t like the look on his face.
Rebecca, still silent, watched the three of us.
“Ah,” Gabriel said, reaching for the book. He flipped it over in his hands, running his fingers over the cracked leather. “I thought so. I haven’t seen one like this in centuries.”
“One likewhat?” My heart thundered against my ribcage now, and I could practically feel James vibrating with the need to rush over and comfort me—but why?
“It’s a spellbook,” Gabriel finally explained.
For a long moment, I could only sit there and stare between the three vampires in the room. “Excuse me?”
“It all makes sense now,” Gabriel continued. “When you admitted that you weren’t turning, I thought that was strange on its own, but then you said you could see the venom trapped beneath your skin, something humans shouldn’t be able to do.”
My mouth went dry. “What are you saying?”
Gabriel set the book on the desk and slid it across to me. Up close, and with more light, I could see the figure etched into the front of it: It was a pentagram. “It’s no mistake that you found this when you did. You aren’t turning,” he paused, holding my gaze, “because you aren’t human. “This—” he pointed to the book, “—and the fact thatitfoundyoumeans that you’re descended from witches.”
James’s hand found my shoulder, and it was enough comfort to keep myself from hightailing it out of the room and not looking back. I blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Can men evenbewitches?”
Gabriel lowered himself to the couch, drawing my attention to his sister, who was watching me with an intensity that raisedgoosebumps over my body. “No,” he said. “Not in most cases, anyway. But you carry their DNA.”
Okay, this was good. If only women in my family became witches, then I was probably safe. I…
My eyes went wide at about the same time James reached the same conclusion. “Hannah,” we both muttered.
Before I could start to spiral, he added gently, “We’ll tell her once we know all the information, love.”
“How does…” I swallowed, throat dry. James fetched a bottle of water from the mini fridge. After taking a sip, my voice was still quiet. “How does this affect me turning?”
The three vampires in the room shared a look, and I knew what they were going to say before any of them opened their mouth.
Gabriel was the one to answer in the end. “We don’t know. There’s never been a case of a vampire/witch hybrid before. At least, not one that we can accurately trace.”
Hybrid.I hated the sound of that—almost as much as I hated the idea that my daughter could be awitch. The last thing I wanted was to drag Hannah into anything supernatural.
“A witch’s DNA would prevent the venom from spreading,” Rebecca mused. She turned to Gabriel. “Wasn’t there a vampire in the early 1900s who successfully turned a wolf?”
“Therewas, but he needed amuchstronger dose of the venom than the average human, if I recall correctly.”
I swallowed. “What happened to him?”
Her eyes glittered. “The first full moon, and he lost control, murdering his entire village. No one knows after that.”
My heart sped up, my hands grew clammy. That fist clenching around my lungs returned, the one I hadn’t felt since giving myself wholeheartedly to James. It felt like someone had punched me in the chest. Coughing around the tightening sensation, I tried and failed to take a deep breath.
James rubbed soothing circles on my back. “Thank you for all of your help, but maybe we can finish this conversation another time? This is a lot to take in. Can I call you if we have questions later?”
“Of course,” Gabriel answered. He stood, approaching James and me. After snatching a pen and paper from the desk, he scribbled down some information and placed it on top of the…spellbook. “But I have a friend that might be of more help to you. Her name is Victoria, and she owns a coffee shop nearby. Give her a call whenever you’re ready.”
Skeptical, I glanced at the messy handwriting in front of me. “You justhappento have a friend who’s a witch? How do you know her?”
Gabriel’s smug grin disabused me of any notion that he was up to anything nefarious. He slid his glove back on and tucked the necklace into his pocket, saying, “Some things are better left to the history books. I’ll take the necklace and destroy it. Would you let me know how it goes with her?”
I nodded, then dropped my head between my knees, so I didn’t see Rebecca linger so much as I felt her presence.
“Will you be okay here for a minute?” James asked. “Shiloh’s still here; I can see if they’ll come sit with you while I see these two out.”
