Unprecedented (Singular Magics #1)

Ten Years Ago

“Can I tell you a secret?”

I frowned at Rory. “Guapo, I already know you’re bi.” We’d come out to each other months ago, me as gay and him as bisexual. He was my best friend, which isn’t something I’d ever imagined could be possible with a blond-haired, blue-eyed prep school kid.

Mamá had cleaned house for the Blackbournes since before I was born, and I was allowed to hang out here in their kitchen and do my homework after school while she finished her duties.

When Rory’s parents had died, he’d moved in with the Blackbournes, his grandparents.

A month or so later, I’d been shocked when he’d asked if he could join me at the table to do his own homework.

But Rory hadn’t been brought up in a mansion like this one.

His father, one of the Blackbourne’s two sons, had been estranged from the family.

Something to do with his wife, Rory’s mom, but I wasn’t sure what.

It’d been over a year since Rory had come to live here, and we’d been best friends almost that entire time.

He shot a glance toward the door to the hallway. We were alone in the house other than Mamá. “I’m serious.”

“Sure, of course. You can tell me anything.”

He shoved his laptop aside and leaned forward. “Do you know about my mom?”

I shook my head. “No. What about her?” Was he going to tell me the big family secret?

“She was a medium. Like, she could see ghosts.”

I blinked. “No shit?” I wasn’t sure I believed in ghosts. I’d never really given them much thought outside of movies.

He nodded, his expression grim. “She was making a living at it when she met my dad. Grandmother and Grandfather decided she was a fraud who only wanted their money, so when Mom and Dad got married, they cut them off.”

“Dude, that’s messed up.” Rory’s grandparents were assholes, like most rich white people.

Mamá was loyal to them, as they gave her health insurance benefits and paid vacation time, which she’d told me she wouldn’t get anywhere else.

But to cut off their son because they didn’t like his choice of wife...

“Yeah.” Rory dropped his gaze and ran his finger along the edge of his laptop. “You know how I never met Grandmother and Grandfather until Mom and Dad died?”

“Right. It sucks that you have to live with them.”

He made a face. “Yeah, I didn’t have a choice. But....” He lowered his voice. “I never told them I can see ghosts too.”

I sat back in my chair. “What?”

He shrugged. “It’s true. I wanted you to know.”

I checked over my shoulder to make sure Mamá wasn’t coming down the hall. “Like, what ghosts? Your parents?”

He shook his head. “No. They passed on right away. I can only see spirits if they hang around after death. Most people cross over, and I can’t interact with them.”

I scanned the kitchen. “Are any ghosts here now?” I didn’t know how old the mansion was, but tons of people could’ve died on the land before it was built.

Rory’s gaze flicked toward the door to the laundry room. “Yeah. He’s a farmer, I think. He speaks German though, and I can’t understand what he says. He mostly hangs out and watches everyone.”

I looked in the same direction, but no one was there. At least to my eyes. Rory, it was clear, believed what he was saying. Which was... wild. And creepy. “So you, like, see ghosts wherever you go?”

He smiled sadly. “All the fucking time.”