Jac smiles, brown eyes lighting up. “Good.”
* * *
Jac takesmy hand and looks behind him. “I’ve had wings for so long I almost feel unbalanced without them.”
“I didn’t think about that.”
“I didn’t either. But it feels good. I feel like me again.”
“You look like you again,” I blurt. “Sorry, I mean, I just…you know.”
He slows. “I don’t. Not really.”
“You were in my dreams. I thought you had dreams too.” Color rushes to my cheeks.
His lips curve into a smile. “I may have. You should tell me about these dreams. In detail.”
I playfully nudge him. “I know you had the dreams too. So maybeyoushould tell me yours and I can compare.”
“Fair enough. We had sex. A lot of it.”
“Way to cut to the chase.”
“It’s the best part.”
I unlock my car and open the driver’s side door. “And the other parts?”
His face turns solemn and he concentrates harder than necessary on getting in the car. “They were far from the best,” he says once we’re both seated. I start the engine and nod, feeling a tad awkward. Not because I’m embarrassed about anything around Jac anymore, but because in the dreams I was Braeya, a distant relative who cast a love spell on Jacques. Her death is the reason the guys are gargoyles.
“I didn’t see my mother again today.” We roll down the gravel driveway.
“That’s good, I suppose.”
“Did the spell only work for a limited amount of time?” Even in the dark I can see the incredulous look on Jac’s face. “I’m not trying it again, don’t worry. I’m curious.”
“I don’t know how the spell worked. I looked through that book after you fell asleep last night and it’s loosely based on legend.”
“There’s a chance that stuff’s legit?”
“For the average witch, no. But for you, yes.”
We pull onto the road and head toward the party. “And you still don’t think what I saw was my mother?”
“I’m not sure on that either. Only you saw her.”
“Yeah, makes me sound crazy, right?”
“No. The opposite. Not everyone can see spirits. I’m not sure how to exactly test this theory, but Hasan never could see them before. We’re cursed, but that doesn’t mean we’ve gained powers. If there was a spirit in the house, only those able to see them would.”
“That makes sense. I never thought about it like that. But I never could see spirits before.”
“You made it a point not to look.”
I shake my head. “That’s my job. Looking into the paranormal. I used to debunk it, but trust me, if there was a ghost, I would have seen it.”
“I didn’t mean only in the literal sense. You didn’t believe in ghosts or magic. You didn’t allow that part of your mind to see them. Now you’ve woken a new side of you.”
I mull his words over as we make the short drive to the party. There are still cars lining the driveway and lights and music coming from the backyard. I park near the street, not wanting to get boxed in and stalled from making a fast getaway if it becomes necessary.
