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I don’t know if I would call them gifts. Mine is feeling more like a curse.
“I don’t know why Veronica is so set on the fact that it is now broken, but she’s saying it has to do with you since it happened while you were present during The Hunt.”
“So one of them is pregnant? How can she know straight away?”
Brantley shrugs. “Veronica has always known weird shit. Even when I was a kid, she would tell me stories of sorts about my past and Lucan’s. She just swore me to never tell him that she was still alive. She was afraid he would want her back, and as much as she loved Lucan, she said she couldn’t be in his life and live as a witch. She wanted to make right what she fucked up.” His thumb is beneath my chin, gaining my attention. “You have to understand that the relationship I have with Veronica is not like a typical mother-son relationship.”
“I gathered as much,” I say, pushing off his chest and allowing him to slide out from me. He protests slightly. “I just got the feeling she wasn’t telling me something, and that she didn’t want me to leave.” I pick up my clothes and shuffle them on, keeping Brantley’s hoodie before tossing him his clothes.
“Oh, she didn’t want you going anywhere.” He changes quickly, leaving his jeans unbuttoned. “But since right now everything in the Kings’ world is smooth while Bishop gets into the swing of everything, you needed to be back where you belong, and witch or no witch—” He’s directly in front of me now, his fingers buried in my hair. “You belong with me. With all of us.”
I could fight the smile that’s demanding to be seen on my mouth, but I want him to know how happy that makes me. “I know.”
We make our way back to the main house. It’s quieter now, with everyone gone except Abel. I started in this world alone and spent all of my time with myself and my dogs, so being told I now have three half-siblings, it’s a lot to swallow all at once. I’ve spent so much time with Bishop, and even with Tillie, but none with Abel.
“Hi.”
He looks me over, his face a lot similar to Bishop’s, only not as sharp. “Hey.” His eyes move up and down my body.
“I’m very familiar with this conversation now since I have had to do it two times over.” He pauses with empty bottles in one hand and trash bags in the other.
“Yeah, I figured you’d talk when you’re ready, and besides, Brantley keeps the locks on you tight.”
Brantley walks past him and pats his head like one would a cute puppy before disappearing upstairs.
I gather up a couple of empty Grey Goose bottles. “Who drank this much?”
“Bailey. She packs them away pretty fast.” Abel dumps everything into the trash.
“Where is she?” I ask, shaking my head to stifle a laugh. I can’t imagine tiny little Bailey drinking that much alcohol.
“I put her to bed.” Abel turns to face me. “It’s fucked-up how Hector literally had his dick in everything, and Scarlet still stays with him.”
I nod as we make our way into the main house. I don’t know where Brantley disappeared to, but being back here, being home, already has my soul at ease. For once, I feel like things are finally fine-tuning.
“I guess that’s between her and him.” I stop at the bottom of the stairs, desperate for a shower since I know my hair contains particles from the cemetery. “I’ll see you in the morning?”
He smiles up at me. “Sure.”
As I make my way up to my bedroom, I can’t fight the feeling of Abel. He’s a good kid, but there’s a sadness in his soul that I’m not sure anyone can fix.
Closing my bedroom door, I breathe out a sigh of relief, finally having peace and quiet. Both Kore and Hades jump off my bed and I let out a small squeal, dropping to my knees to be slobbered in dog saliva.
“Oh, I missed you both, too.” I laugh as they jump and dive over me.
The door opens from behind me and I pause, turning to look over my shoulder. Brantley’s standing dressed in black. Dark jeans, hoodie, leather jacket, and military-style boots. He shakes his head though a small smile hints on the corner of his mouth. “I’ve got to head out, but I’ll be back in a couple days.”
I pause, standing to my height. “Where?”
He doesn’t answer, but his eyes say the words his mouth does not. I swallow past the swell in my throat. “I haven’t decided if I want you to know the full extent of what I do.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I whisper, blinking. “It won’t matter to me.”
He allows the silence to spill between us before taking a step in and closer to me. “You say that you could handle me. This, what I do for The Kings and what I will most likely be doing until it’s passed down to” —his mouth snaps closed— “until it no longer needs to be done, but it’s not going anywhere.”
I reach for his fingers and he tenses, but I feel him relax slightly before our fingers intertwine. “I want to know what you do. I want to know everything.”
“Saint…” he warns. “This is real shit.”
I bring my eyes up to his, hooking my hand around the back of his neck. “When I said I would be happy with you, I meant all of the parts you aren’t happy with, too.” I squeeze his neck when he doesn’t answer. “You don’t have to live with your demons alone.”
He chuckles softly, wrapping his arm around my waist to pull me closer. “I don’t have demons, Dea. I am my demons.” Chills break down over the arch of my spine. He leans down until his lips trace the shell of my ear. “Does that scare you?”
My eyes close when my blood turns warm. I shake my head.
He nibbles on my earlobe. “I’ll have to see about changing that.” He steps backward, rubbing the back of Hades’ ear before reaching inside his pocket and tossing a small black rectangle device at me. “Your Tesla.”
I squeeze the glossy black device. “Freedom?”
He snorts. “Hardly. Install the Tesla app on your phone so you don’t need to use that and risk the chance of losing it. I’ll see you when I get back.” He turns and leaves, throwing his hoodie over his head.
A sadness throbs deep in my belly. How long has he been living this life, and just how much damage has it done to an already dark soul?
She stood at the end of the hospital bed, watching as nurses and doctors rushed around, frantic to take control of the situation.
“You need to push!” the nurse said. My fingers tingled with anticipation. I knew what was coming. Oh, but I knew what was coming. My heart raced, as did Saint’s. I could feel it. Taste it as it drummed against her chest.
I stepped up beside her. “Why did you bring me here?”
I laughed so loudly that I almost thought I would interrupt what was happening in front of us. “Did you know that anything you see in your visions can’t be fabricated, they can only be displayed? It’s why it’s called a gift. The gift of truth.”
“Yes,” she hissed. “I knew that, but why are you showing me this?”
“I’m not controlling this one, child.”
“What do you mean?” she asked around the screams of the woman lying on the hospital bed.
“I mean, this vision is not from me, I’m merely here for observation.”
I kept my eyes on the woman, my knuckles white. Saint wasn’t afraid of me. I got that. It was hard to scare a girl who was raised in the belly of the beast. Nothing would frighten her. I knew that. But I also knew that nothing would separate the pet from the monster. Nothing. Not ever. I didn’t even want to try; I don’t think anyone did.
Until now. I couldn’t say I was surprised with the extent of the effort.