“Just what I always wanted for my birthday,” I joke deliriously as I wipe the tears from my eyes. “Any other fucking plot twists I should know about?” I exhale harshly, looking between the three of them as the cat climbs my chest and sticks its cold, wet nose in the crook of my neck.
“Only two,” Brandt smiles—well, tries to smile, at least. “Up until yesterday, Bloodwitches have appeared in historical record less than a handful of times. The last one was documented more than two millennia ago, and even then, only fragments of those records remain. I have tasked Master Roux with scouring the Library archives for any and all references to Bloodwitches.”
“Wait, wait don’t tell me—the last Bloodwitch. They lived happily ever after, didn’t they?”
“They were found dismembered and exsanguinated after accidentally creating the first vampire as a result of a failed experiment.”
“Got it, so I’ve got big shoes to fill.” The two men blink at my sick attempt to deflect my terror with humor, but at least Esmé snorts.
“Nyx, there’s one more thing.”
“Oh yeah, there was a part two to all this,” I giggle.
“After you were brought to the Medical Center, Dr. Mercer found something when she evaluated you.”
“I swear to God, if you’re about to tell me I have a fucking tail or something, I will actually die.”
Ooohhh yeah. I’ve lost it.
“No such luck this time, I’m afraid.” She smiles. “While your epiphaneia revealed you to be a Bloodwitch, it also revealed that Fate has bestowed you with a soulmate mark. Five of them, actually.” She taps the center of her chest.
“Get out.” I immediately respond.
“No.”
“Asoulmate.”
“Soulmates. Plural.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“What thefuck?”
“I know, right?”
“Esmé, are you fucking with me right now? You legally have to tell me the truth. It’s the law.”
“It’s not.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Look under your gown.”
I wrap my arms around the cat and squeeze it to my chest until it squeaks, as if the universe will pull it down just to spite me. “No.”
“Yes.”
“Seriously?”
“Promise. Brandt will send you some introductory reading about soul-bonds along with what he and Master Roux can find about Bloodwitches, but when you’re ready for answers, come to me any time. We don’t usually cover those until Junior year, but clearly you’re more than just an academic overachiever.”
My jaw drops. “Did you just make a joke at my expense?”
“Yes. Did it work?”
I groan and close my eyes as I lean back onto the bed, releasing the cat from my death grip. Which reminds me?—
