“Come in,” I sighed. I opened the door, and he walked past me. He saw Elvie and nodded.
“Hello.”
“Hi.” Elvie stared at him with wide eyes. He eyed the couch, still covered in blankets. I went to it and pulled them off, clearing a spot for him. He sat rather politely and offered me a smile that was… friendly. It was a stark difference from the first time we had met each other.
“Ludovica, this is Jaime. Scout’s—”
“Brother?” Elvie smiled wide and extended her hand out to him. The vampire looked surprised and shook her hand. I had to look away when he lifted it to his lips, and she giggled. They sat on the couch together, and I went to see how Scout was coming along.
She was putting her messy curls into a high ponytail. She had changed from her pajamas into some black shorts and one of my older band shirts. The words “Accepted Perversion” were emblazoned on her chest with a green cartoon snake eating a zombie underneath it.
“Hey!” She turned when she saw me in the mirror. “Who was here?”
My jaw locked, and I had to force myself to relax and answer her. “When you’re ready, come out. I’ll introduce you guys.”
She grinned, reaching for her lipstick. “Sure. I’ll be out in a second.”
I waited for her rather than go back and listen to Elvie and Jaime flirt with each other. Scout came over to me finally, and together we left the bedroom. I reached for her hand, and she laced her fingers through mine. I squeezed them as we walked down the hall. I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread from my gut.
“Why are you acting so weird?”
I stopped and turned to face her before we stepped into view of the couch.
“I just don’t want you to leave me again.”
She frowned and then nodded. She didn’t understand yet, but it’d be pretty clear why I was so nervous in a moment.
Jaime stood when we entered the room. Scout dropped my hand instantly, and I felt her stop breathing.
Ludovica and I watched with caution at the two apparent siblings. Standing across from each other, I guess I could see the resemblance. Jaime had a darker skin tone than Scout, but living in hot, sunny Mexico your entire life would do that. But it was their eyes that I saw it. Were they related? I wasn’t sold yet, but perhaps.
“Scout, this is Jaime. He came from Mexico to meet you. He has reason to believe that you two are related.”
“Related?” She raised her eyebrows and looked from me to him. “How so?”
“There is no question,” Jaime smiled wide. “You are my sister, Julieta.”
Scout crossed her arms and popped her hip. She smirked. “Julieta? Sister? Bro, I have no idea who you are.”
He shook his head and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. “I know. I was raised in Mexico by my—our Aunt.” He didn’t look up from his phone as he spoke. He swiped his screen a few times before grinning and bringing the phone up for her to see the screen. “This is her.”
I couldn’t see the screen, but Scout’s reaction was enough for me to reach for the phone. He let me take it from him, and my mouth fell open when I saw the photo. That woman in the picture had Scout’s face. The shape of her nose, her cheekbones, the eyes, the lips, all of it! It was Scout, but… not. Her eyes were harder, her makeup more intense. Her hair, it was styled, and the clothes she wore looked expensive. She could have been Scout’s twin, sure, but they were not the same woman.
“Magdalena?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yes.” He turned to Scout. “I would like to take you to meet her. And the rest of our coven. We’ve been looking for you for many years now.” He smiled.
Scout took the phone from me again and stared at the photo. There was no denying that the two shared some kind of blood lineage. “She’s your aunt?”
“Our aunt,” he corrected. “She can do things beyond your imagination, and we would like to see if you can too.”
Scout and I exchanged a look, which everyone in the room caught.
“I don’t know. Why doesn’t she come here?”
“If the High Priestess leaves, her powers go with her. Our coven would struggle without her.”
“If I go, it would only be to visit,” Scout said carefully.
