Another that caught our eye was the bookshelf in the living room. Most of the titles looked to be handbound in leather. The titles chilled me to the bone.Herbs and spells, Magical uses for mammals and reptiles,andThe Book of Shadows. The largest book was sitting on a small table beside the shelf. Nico opened it and was flipping through a couple of pages when I leaned over his shoulder to see. All I found on the pages was a strange illegible script and some obscure hand-drawn sketches.
Flipping through the entire thing, Nico shook his head in wonder. “I can’t read any of this. What do you think it is?”
I touched my finger to the book. The pages were ancient and dry as old bone. “All of this is handwritten. I think this is the spell book Isme spoke about. This has all her spells.”
Nico let out a laugh. “I can’t get over it. Witches are real. I’ve never met anyone who’s ever met one. Now I have one bound to my pack. It feels a bit like we’re inside a fairytale, doesn’t it?”
Hewasright about that. Everything that had happened to me over the last few months seemed surreal. “Do you think it will help?”
“It will, but it’ll also put a much bigger target on our back. Once Viola and her people realize we not only have the vial but have magic on our side too, things will get pretty crazy.”
The strange air pressure pop happened again, and I turned to find Sinthy standing in the living room with us. Her face was red and splotched from crying, and she looked like a little girl instead of the young woman she was. I stepped forward to check on her, but she waved me off. “It’s fine, I’m fine, it’s all fine. Please, don’t worry about me,” she said and wiped at her nose with a silk handkerchief that appeared from up her sleeve. “So,” she went on after composing herself, “are we ready to go? It’s about time I got you back home.”
Nico nodded. “Yeah, things are getting bad back home. The sooner we get back, the better. You can stay in my guest bedroom as long as you need until we get you your own place set up.”
Sinthy froze mid-nose-wipe and looked at Nico. The expression on her face was one of confusion. “What? A place?”
Nico frowned and glanced at me. I was no help because I had the exact same look on my own face. Nico glanced back at the witch again. “Well, yeah. A place for you to live back home. I don’t want you to be like a hobo or something. You need your own place to live.”
“But… I…” Sinthy closed her eyes and shook her head like she was trying to clear it. “You want me to live with you? In your pack lands?”
“Uh.” It was the only sound Nico could make, so I stepped in to speak.
“I thought that’s what we just talked about—you coming to live in the pack lands and offer your services. Right?”
Sinthy blinked at me in confusion. “I thought you all would go home and then call on me when you needed help or something.”
That was not what I wanted. I looked around at the quiet little house and how empty it seemed with Isme gone. This woman needed more than these four walls and a spell book. I shook my head. “No. You are part of the pack now. You are not the hired help that we forget about until the right time. You are part of the pack now, not an employee.”
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, and she smiled. “Seriously?”
“Yes, now pack up what you need, and let’s go. You can always come back and grab some stuff if you forget anything.”
Sinthy grinned and grabbed a canvas bag from a cabinet and put the spell book inside first, then started grabbing clothes and a small, framed picture that sat on the kitchen counter. Before it slipped into her bag, I caught sight of a man and woman holding a small baby. The parents were smiling, and the woman looked a little bit like Sinthy. I had to assume it was a photo of her parents before the royals killed them and stole Sinthy’s entire life. Again, I felt a connection to this young woman and her life.
She headed down the hallway to another room. While we waited, listening to the rustle and thump of drawers being opened and closed, Nico leaned in and put his lips to my ear. “Why does it feel like we just adopted a teenager?”
All I could do was laugh. He wasn’t wrong.
97
NICO
Sinthy took our hands like before, and I braced myself. The last trip was still fresh in my mind, and I was worried it would be worse a second time, but when we teleported this time, it wasn’t as bad. It wasn’t comfortable by any means. I still felt like I’d been pulled through a vacuum cleaner, but when I opened my eyes inside the bedroom we’d left a couple of hours before, I didn’t feel like throwing up. Maddy looked a little dizzy, but otherwise, it was a much more pleasant experience than the last time.
“Everyone feel okay?” Sinthy asked.
I let go of her hand and rubbed my face. “As good as I can be. That wasn’t too bad.”
The witch grinned. “It gets easier each time.”
From downstairs, the sound of conversation drifted up. From what I could hear, several people were there. They’d want to know everything that had happened. “Sinthy, I’d like to introduce you to everyone. I know you’ve been through a lot, so if you’re not up to it, it’s totally fine.”
She glanced at the door and chewed on her lower lip. Whatever contemplations she’d been going over were resolvedfairly quickly. In a few seconds, she met my gaze. “Yeah, that would be nice.”
The three of us descended the stairs and found Dad, Felipe, Sebastian, Luis, and my brother Mateo talking in the living room. Mateo was the first to see us descending the stairs. His eyes widened in surprise, and he jumped to his feet. “Nico!”
The others spun around. Dad got up and almost ran to give me a hug. As strong as I was, my father was still formidable. His arms wrapped around me tightly, making my ribs creak. “Easy, Pop. Jesus.”
