Real smart Vinna, what could possibly go wrong when you fall asleep in a car full of crazy weirdos? Way to think that through.
“This is where we’re staying. We all decided it would be best to do a quick beacon spell. It will confirm for sure if you’re a caster, and everything we need for the spell is here.” Silva tells me.
Aydin gives an almost imperceptible shake of his head.
“So you guys just up and decided this and now you expect me to what...go with it?” I ask, incredulous.
“It won’t take long, and then we’ll take you home. We’re leaving tomorrow, so this is the only chance you’ll get to find out for sure.”
I glance back and forth between Silva’s caramel brown eyes and the well-lit stucco monstrosity of a house behind him. My fear of missing out on answers overrides my apprehension at the shadiness of this situation. I climb out of the SUV and follow them through the front door, staying alert and keeping a suspicious eye on my surroundings.
“Keegan, set up in the library. The rest of you go get cleaned up, you have about thirty minutes,” Lachlan barks out.
The others split apart, and Aydin gestures for me to follow him. We wind through a few hallways before he shows me to a guest bedroom, pointing out the attached bathroom. Immediately thoughts of a steaming hot shower flit through my head, and I race into the bathroom, Aydin’s chuckles rumbling in my wake.
I lock the door, and adjust the temperature of the water to just shy of lava-hot and step into the stream of water. The steam and heat instantly relax me as I scrub the fight and aggression from my skin. The hot water feels so good, but it drains the last of my remaining energy, causing sluggishness to creep in. I crank the knob from red to blue and force myself to stand under the icy bombardment in hopes that it wakes me up a bit.
I towel off and wipe the steam from the mirror. I tilt my head from side to side and stare at my reflection. “Magic,” I say out loud, trying to get a feel for the word on my lips and tongue. I havemagic.Maybe.
I look back and forth between my eyes and take in the seafoam green color that leaks into a darker jade that rims my irises. Long, thick black lashes frame my large eyes, and I have a small straight nose that turns up at the end.
Beth used to taunt me about myposhnose, always doing whatever she could to make me feel insecure. But I liked my eyes and my nose, so it didn’t bother me. My lips, however, are a whole other story. They’ve always been big and a constant source of teasing and torture when I was younger. Some people call them bee-stung lips, but Laiken always joked that mine were more wasp attacked.
Thinking about Laiken and her silly jokes sends a bolt of pain through my chest, but I try to shake it off. I lean in closer to the mirror and continue my scrutiny, running my hand over my long, almost black hair. I tilt my head and find the hints of plum that peek through in the right light. It’s down to the middle of my back now, cut in layers that under normal circumstances, make it look voluminous and textured. Right now, it just looks matted and tangled.
I may not have known thatmagicwas behind the things that I can do, but I’ve been using it in many ways since it first showed up. Aside from the things myrunesdo, one of my favorite tricks is to use my unique skill set to dry and style my hair. It’s the best hairdresser a girl could ask for, and it saves me a crap load of time. Now, if I could just figure out how to magically apply my makeup, I’d be set. I tried it once, but the results were more of awhat not to do.
I dry my hair until it’s straight and shiny, but I don’t bother to do much beyond that. I change into my spare workout gear and retrace my steps back out to the front door.
Dropping my bag by the entrance, I sit on the bottom step of the stairs and wait for someone to come to collect me. This place is massive, and I don’t want to get lost. Sure enough, soon Aydin tracks me down and leads me to a huge, fully stocked library.
I look around in awe and fight the desire to have a full-onBeauty and the Beastmoment, twirl and all. When I’m done fighting off my inner Disney princess, I notice that the others are seated on brown leather couches and chairs arranged in the middle of the lounge.
“All right, Vinna, we’re all set. We just need your blood, and we can get this spell started.” Keegan tells me.
“Oh yeah, that’s doesn’t sound ominous at all,” I snark. “How muchblooddo you need and from where?”
Keegan gives me a warm smile, but this time I don’t match it. “Only a drop. A prick of your finger will do just fine. Then I need you to drip it right in here.” He points to a stone bowl that has some other unidentifiable things in it.
I move closer to the bowl that’s centered on a big leather ottoman. Everyone is watching me expectantly.
“Aydin, pass me your knife?” Keegan instructs.
“It’s fine, I’ve got it," I tell him.
I call on the runes that give me my throwing knives, and one solidifies in my hand. I use the tip against my middle finger. I extend the cut over the stone bowl and a couple drops of blood drip in. I release the magic, and the throwing knife evaporates.
“I cannot wait to find out how you do that," Evrin exclaims.
Keegan starts to add other things to the bowl, and it looks like he’s getting ready to bake something instead of performing a spell that could possibly change my future. My stomach growls, and I silently agree that brownies would be better than whatever this spell is supposed to do.
“So what happens now?” I ask.
“Keegan will combine your blood with spell-woven magic. If the spell works using your blood, we’ll know you’re a caster,” Silva explains, and I notice for the first time he’s standing by a set of windows instead of sitting with everyone else.
His ebony curls hang loose, instead of in a ponytail, and it makes him look younger than the mid-forties I pegged him as initially. Aydin growls and turns to scowl at Silva. He looks pissed as he stares daggers at Silva and then Lachlan. The venom in his eyes immediately makes me second guess what’s going on. Aydin turns to me, and we watch each other for a beat without speaking.
“This spell will also send out a signal to any blood relatives that you may have,” he grumbles. “You deserve to know everything that it does.”
