“Yes.” I tamped down the spike of fear in my chest. I wanted to be a vampire with James, and I wasn’t going to be frightened away from committing to that decision. If James was still willing, then so was I. Instinctively, my fingers went to the band on my left ring finger, spinning it around. The simple act of touching it grounded me, and my lips quirked into a smile. “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my entire life. I love James, and I love my daughter. I’ll do anything it takes to be there for both of them for as long as I can.”
“Even if turning might kill you?”
I deserved a medal for the way I was banishing these panic spikes. All it took was another rotation of my ring and the support James was pouring through our bond. “I trust him not to let that happen.”
“Wow… you’ve come a long way from banging incubi in bathroom stalls, haven’t you?”
“Banging… what?”
Victoria’s smile widened. “Does the name Connor ring a bell?”
Heat flooded my face, burning all the way up my cheeks and to my ears. I could practically hear the record scratch in my head. Itdid, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out howsheknew about a hook up from two years—and thousands of miles—ago. And he was an… “Incubi?”
She nodded. “Mmhmm. Witches can summon demons to work for them. My asshole of an ex cheated on me, so I sentan incubus to get my revenge. I had to keep an eye on him, but don’t worry; I didn’t see anything after you pulled him into that bathroom.”
“An incubus?” I echoed like some clueless fucking parrot. “Like… a sex demon?”
“That’s right. Don’t look so nervous, they only feed when you’re asleep. He was just having fun with you.”
I gazed back to my drink, which was still only half finished. “I should have asked you to meet at the bar. I don’t think caffeine is strong enough for this conversation.”
“Imagine my surprise when I got my powers with no warning.”
I grabbed the lukewarm coffee, intending to finish it if for no other reason than I didn’t want to be rude. Besides, it gave me something to do. “You didn’t know before then?”
“Nope. I was a foster kid. I bounced around from home to home until I got sick of it.” Victoria waved around the room. “But I’ve been a barista since I was old enough to work. I love it, but I didn’t always love the people I worked with. During a stressful morning rush at a chain coffee shop, I blew up an espresso machine.” At my widened eyes, she waved me off with her hand. “No one was hurt, unless you count the stuffed toy we kept on the counter. I went home that night and started researching, and I found a forum that explained what was happening to me. I reached out to someone, and that’s how I found my coven.”
Coven.As if my brain hadn’t caught up to a literalwitchsitting in front of me, that word solidified it. “Will I need one of those?”
Victoria shrugged. “Sounds like you already have one. They don’thaveto be exclusively witches. A coven is… a family. You know the saying ‘it takes a village?’ They’re your village. If you don’t already understand how powers work, they can be an amazing support system. But Gabriel raved about you andJames. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was jealous—but don’t tell him I said that.”
“Aw, come on. You can’t give me something juicy like that and expect me not to use it against him.”
Victoria smiled. “Stick around long enough, and maybe I’ll give you something even better.”
I’d finished my drink, but between the caffeine and the venom buzzing through my system, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to ask for another. “What’s going to happen to Hannah?”
Victoria didn’t answer right away, stirring what was left of her tea with a tiny silver spoon and watching me with one brow raised. I counted the scrapes against the ceramic mug. Eight of them before she spoke. “I can’t promise you anything, but what Icando is tell you that she won’t be alone.” She set her spoon down. “I’m in.”
“In?”
“Yeah, if you’ll have me. Your circle—and your daughter’s—is full of vampires, who can only teach you how to be a vampire. Gabriel can study all the lore he wants, but he’ll never know what to do with it. I can teach you how to curb your powers. How, every time you drink, you’ll need to work that much harder to keep your magick at bay.”
Fucking hell.Magick. As if learning how to manage hyper speed anddrinking bloodweren’t enough.
“Don’t overthink it,” Victoria said, pulling me out of my thoughts. She laughed at my expression. “It doesn’t take a witch to read someone’s face. If you’re still on the fence about it, I’d encourage you to talk to your mate. You’d be surprised what a little reassurance from your partner can do for you.”
At the mere mention of him, my chest warmed from the inside out, and I felt the color rushing to my cheeks. “Do youhave any idea ofwhyI’m not turning? The last time… I was sure that was it. I could hardly stand afterward.”
“There could be more to it than simple quantity. It’s tough to know without much research. Hybrids are rare. Most of us have never heard of them before and if we have, they’re sort of an urban legend like Nessie or Sasquatch.”
I shifted in my seat. The word “hybrid” didn’t sit right with me. It made me feel like some sort of science experiment. I stared into my coffee.
“I could do a reading on you.” She shrugged. “Maybe that will reveal something that we can’t see.”
What the hell did I have to lose? A “reading” didn’t sound dangerous. “Sure.”
“Come with me.”
