He nodded with a twinkle in his eye. “Your beastie has a mean streak.”
“Don’t I know it.” A long sigh escaped my lips. I wanted a bath and to fall into bed wrapped in his arms. But there was something I needed to start. “I’ll meet you in our rooms in ten minutes,” I told him with a quick peck on the lips. He frowned as I left the parlor and went downstairs, through my office, and into the Roberts’ family vaults. I opened my personal one and retrieved the scrolls. I unrolled them, glancing at what I already knew. Lenson and Rockhard were correct. Our family tree included every single female, with only the occasional male added. Was it on purpose to conceal their identity? Or were they omitted through my family’s arrogance, believing they were inconsequential past their genetic contribution?
Time to find out.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Never challenge a witch.
Sebastian poked his head around my office door and smirked at my crossed-legged position in the middle of the floor surrounded by open books and scrolls.
“Did you hear Dave at three a.m.? He has a surprisingly good voice.”
“I did. He went with Nina and could have butchered it, but I feel like the joke is on us with how well he sang.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“Aunt Liz already broke the news. He was less than impressed.”
Sebastian smiled, like antagonizing the dangerous wolf shifter was an amusing pastime. He jerked his head at the floor covered in writings and artwork.
“It’s been a while since we did a study session,” he said, stalking around my research.
I raised a brow. “Our study sessions involved keeping people alive through modern medicine.”
“True, so what’s this?” He narrowed his gaze on a hand-drawn picture of the ancient Egyptians removing organs before mummification.
“The dual souls thing Dayna mentioned has been playing on my mind, and I want to understand it more. Those remnants came from somewhere.”
He leaned against my desk and folded his arms. “You could always ask the expert.”
“I am the expert,” I muttered. Who was more qualified than me in matters of death? Oh, wait. He couldn’t possibly mean…
“No, you are the daughter of the expert.”
Yes, he could.
“My relationship with my father is a tentative thread. We aren’t at thecalling him for advicestage.” And I’m not sure we ever would be. A sigh escaped from me. I really needed a more informed perspective on this, perhaps from someone who lived and breathed this kind of stuff. I should ask Dayna if she knew anyone.
Sebastian huffed. “You haven’t heard a single word I just said, have you?”
He was talking? “No.”
“Rebecca says your attendance is not optional at games night.”
I groaned. “I’ll be up in a few minutes once I’ve put this stuff away.”
He left me sitting among a ton of knowledge, but none of it was helping. There was a niggling feeling that The Pit’s eventful spirits were part of some bigger plan. I had a lot of loose ends over the last few months, and they were all linked to the dead. I’d gone as far as I could on my own, and it was time to admit defeat and ask for help.
I stacked the tombs on the shelf behind my desk and eyeballed the family tree I needed to finish. Another loose end.I’d filled in a few gaps with my aunts’ knowledge, but my own bloodline was sorely lacking. My mother’s father was a massive unknown, and only one person could plug that particular hole. I hadn’t filled in my father’s side, in case this fell into the wrong hands.
I stared at my cell phone sitting on my desk and glanced at the ceiling. Time to make some calls. It was a gamble, but I was living with the motto of nothing ventured, nothing gained. I just hoped I was right.
I staredat the tiny tiled letters and moved them around in my mind. There was definitely an epic seven letter word in there ready to decimate my enemies, but it was just out of my grasp. Wait. No, I didn’t have a G.Dammit.
“You have the best poker face,” Rebecca observed. My eyes flicked up to the stunning British vampire princess. Clothed in a red off the shoulder dress with her hair pinned back, she looked like every red-blooded man’s dream.
Dave snorted. “Her face might give nothing away, but her heart rate does.”
