“As it once was, let it be once again…”
I watched in wonder while the books levitated from the ground, rearranging in the air and floating towards the bookcase still standing. “Please don’t mix them. I’m not done learning.”
With a gentle smile, Dante nodded, making the books change direction while the ones that remained on the shelves began to float too. The shelved books came together from all different sections, occupying one single area to mark the ones I still needed to discover.
The wood pieces on the ground began to float too. Only, it wasn’t Dante doing that.
Somehow, Bjørn was calling the wood to him.
His silent call stirred each shattered piece, fitting them back together like a puzzle. Sheer, copper-colored threads danced from his hands, tethering the pieces. He finally placed both hands on the now-standing bookcase, and the entire thing shivered before it solidified, coming together perfectly. As though it was never broken.
Bjørn did the same with the broken coffee table.
“Incredible,” I whispered, truly taken aback.
“That was his energy…” Vanessa reminded me in case I couldn’t remember. “Bjørn is an Ethereal Fae. His gift allows him to see beyond the physical world to the ethereal energies of the universe. He can see, sense, and manipulate them.”
“Did we know that?”Star asked, and I wasn’t entirely sure.
“You knew that, Dearie. Remember?” His gentle smile urged me to search my mind more than his words.
That serene and warm energy that felt fatherly to me exuded from him, reminding me why he meant so much to Natasha.
She’d needed just that when she met him.
I searched Natasha’s mind and images surged with my effort like I was accessing an archive.
His form quiver out of existence. A few seconds later he returned, carrying a paper bag in his hand.“Chocolate croissant?”
Blinking, my attention went to him, and I smiled. “I remember.”
He winked at me, and a wave of relief swept the room. If only briefly.
8
“Sorry about the mess,” I offered, looking at Isis and the others. “I was a bit too hyperactive when I first awoke, and apparently, I can’t measure my strength properly.”
“Wait. You told Dante not to mix the books because you were not done learning?” Vanessa paused for a moment like she couldn’t believe what she was going to say. “You read the entire pile on the floor?”
“No. She couldn’t have,” Isis rebutted. “They probably just fell?—”
“She read them all,” Hannes assured her, seeming like the only one calmed and collected.
“How is that possible?” Isis’s question went to Countess Dariah, who released a deep breath.
“Her hybrid nature seems to have enhanced her Vampiri strength and speed.” Glancing at me, she assessed me for a second. “At the moment, we are not sure if this is only a newborn effect or if it will be permanent, but she is adjusting to them.”
“I’m perfectly fine,” I confirmed, getting a pleased nod from her.
“Can we see it?” Alyce asked with a hint of mischief in her voice.
I smirked. “My pleasure.”
Before she could blink, I dashed across the room, picking up one of the stories I’d loved and placing it in her hands before returning to my place.
“Shit!” Alyce laughed as her hair fluttered about her, eyes falling to the book now in her grasp. “The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I’ve never read this one.”
“I loved it… Only, it seemed familiar somehow.”
