Chapter 12 Aurora
TWELVE
AURORA
Checking Gia for curses wasn’t the direction Aurora had thought Lilly’s visit would take. She’d love to peek into Gia’s mind, see how she’d gone from denying magic had anything to do with her, to thinking magic had been harming her for years.
Maybe it wasn’t anything more than distrust of the unknown, assuming magic must be responsible for all that was wrong and unexplained in her life.
Aurora would admit, up until now, she’d been too wrapped up in her own problems to focus on anything else.
With Lilly here, Aurora wasn’t consumed by helplessness and could take a step back to consider Gia more thoroughly.
Was Gia’s distrustful nature all about magic and the shock of finding out ghosts and witches were real? Aurora couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it.
Lilly took her time casting a ward over the condo to stop Trey from entering, at least without breaking the spell and alerting Lilly.
“There,” she said when the spell was finished. “That’ll be better than nothing, but you can’t stay cooped up here for long. What’s the plan?”
If only Aurora had one. “As much as I want to storm into the Thornfield compound and find my body, I need to know if Trey’s found me or if he’s after the Lockwoods.”
“He must have found you,” Lilly said, taking a look out the window to confirm he hadn’t left. “If Trey knows your soul is here, he may have followed Gia after sensing her magic. To check if she was heading out to find your body or help you in some way.”
Electric ice rippled through Aurora. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Of course not. You didn’t know I had magic,” Gia said from where she was curled into the corner of the couch.
Aurora had been pretty sure Gia possessed magic even if she hadn’t confirmed it, but she didn’t argue the point. Guilt for bringing this on her threatened to overshadow everything else. She faced Lilly. “If that’s the case, what’s Trey waiting around for? Why not break in and come after me?”
“He might not know how to capture you, and is keeping an eye in the meantime. Or perhaps he wants a better idea of what he’s up against. He doesn’t know who else is here with you, and if he knows Lockwood headquarters is across the street, he might think we’re all here.”
“Are coven headquarters listed in the witch registry?” Gia asked, tone dry.
Despite her growing unease, Aurora snorted in amusement. Gia’s lips twitched, and Aurora felt lighter. “There’s no registry.”
“You never know.” Gia shrugged. “So, how’d he find out where your headquarters are?”
“The Lockwoods’ association with the theater isn’t a secret in the magic community,” Lilly said, pausing at the door.
“Which is why he could theoretically have a purpose for lurking other than Aurora. I’ll update everyone on what’s happening on the off chance Trey is scoping us out while we’re between leaders. ”
“I don’t want to say that would be ideal. It’s not, but…” Aurora deflated. She didn’t want the Thornfields to have their sights set on the Lockwoods. Not at all. Nothing good would come of it. But selfishly, it scared her less than her coven working out where she was and how to recapture her.
“I know,” Lilly said, full of understanding. “It would make retrieving your body easier, but it feels unlikely. I can’t imagine what the Thornfields would want with us.”
Aurora couldn’t either.
Gia’s brow pinched, studying Aurora. “So you’re saying, best-case scenario, your family thinks you…died?”
She nodded. Gia looked horrified, and there was something wrong with Aurora because Gia’s concern made her skin prickle.
Lilly opened the condo door, oblivious to Aurora’s ridiculous feelings.
“I’ll let you know what I find out, but don’t expect to be sitting in ideal territory.
Getting your body back will probably mean facing the Thornfields head on.
We’ll need to be ready.” She gave an apologetic smile as she said goodbye and left.
The door clicked shut, and silence fell over the room.
Gia probably needed space to process everything she’d learned, but it wasn’t like Aurora could go far.
She also didn’t want to leave. Chasing that comforting prickling sensation was much more appealing than dwelling on the jam she’d gotten herself into.
Gia stared into the middle distance, clearly a thousand miles away, so Aurora banished her desire for closeness and drifted over to the window to watch Trey. He didn’t follow Lilly as she strode down the street and disappeared from sight.
If he’d followed Gia because she was a witch, why not do the same now?
“Is my magic keeping you here?” Gia asked abruptly.
Spinning around, Aurora eyed her, but her expression didn’t give anything away. “No. Like Lilly said, your magic can’t do anything without your direct guidance. You’re not casting a spell to trap me, are you?”
Gia stiffened, a scowl creasing her soft face. “Of course not. As long as you’re sure it can’t be subconscious.”
“One hundred percent sure. I’m probably tied to you for the same reason I was tied to the theater: my growing link to the Lockwoods.”
Gia chewed her bottom lip. “So I’m in the Lockwood Coven then? Because I’m related to Susan by blood?”
Aurora drifted closer. “You can be in the coven, if you want. There’s a potential link, or the beginning of a link forming. But you don’t have to join if you don’t wish to. It’s not like my family, where you’re trapped from birth.”
“Good. As long as they aren’t going to force the issue.”
“Most covens would never. My family is just particularly fucked up. Really, if you’d found out about magic from anyone other than me, I bet you wouldn’t be worried.”
Gia’s lips parted, her expression giving the impression she disagreed. “What’s Trey up to?”
That wasn’t what Aurora expected her to say. “Looking at his phone.”
“Is he going to be there all evening? I’d have bought more food if I’d known I couldn’t leave again.”
“Get delivery,” Aurora suggested absently, not taking her eyes off Trey.
This might not be as bad as the windowless room in the theater, and nowhere near as bad as the Thornfield compound, but being confined grated like nettle on tender skin.
And now Gia was trapped too. Involving someone unsuspecting was bad enough, but Aurora had to go and be selfish about it.
Gia was the kind of woman who’d have caught her attention regardless of the situation, and Aurora couldn’t deny that part of her was relieved they were stuck together.
It was almost as if whatever had drawn Aurora’s soul to Gia knew her heart’s desire and had given it to her. She didn’t know Gia, but what she’d seen had her craving more. Each snarky remark, her determination, her beauty—it all captivated Aurora.
Maybe her feelings were heightened in this form. Maybe it was harder to hide from her inner self when her essence ruled her. Whatever it was, Aurora didn’t want to leave her, no matter how horrible this situation was, and Gia deserved better than that.
Gia busied herself ordering pizza over the phone, and Aurora tried to pretend everything was normal. She was hanging out with a friend, not complicating Gia’s life. Then Gia said, “It feels weird not getting you anything. You won’t starve, right?”
A chill rippled through Aurora. “I shouldn’t. My body is preserved by magic.”
“Like Sleeping Beauty?”
Aurora snorted, the cold feeling vanishing. “I guess. But it’d be pretty fucked up if anyone tries to kiss me.”
Gia’s lip curled. “Gross.”
“I assume you mean kissing an unconscious person, not kissing me.”
“Obviously.” Gia rolled her eyes.
Aurora’s heart fluttered, or, near where her heart would be if she had a body, a light tingly sensation erupted, an image of Gia kissing her filling her mind.
Would Gia be down for some conscious, consensual kissing? There was no real point in asking at present, but when Aurora had actual lips again, she should bring it up. If Gia didn’t run the moment they were unbound.
Aurora glanced back at Trey, her mood souring. The man still wasn’t doing more than loitering.
There was a rustling sound, and Aurora turned. Gia was digging her hand into a cereal box, the inner bag discarded on the counter. She pulled out a stack of cash.
“Holy shit,” Aurora said before she could stop herself.
Gia froze. “What? Is it Trey?”
“No.” Aurora pointed. “How much money is that?”
Gia’s cheeks bloomed with color. “It’s nothing.”
“Are those ones? Do you strip?”
Her cheeks got even redder. “No! I don’t strip. They’re twenties.”
“Meaning that stack of cash isn’t nothing.”
Gia peeled a few bills free and shoved the rest back into the box. “I don’t have a bank account right now.”
Like that wasn’t suspicious.
Aurora schooled her expression. Gia wouldn’t open up if she felt judged, and Aurora wasn’t judging. She was just shocked. “Do you get paid in cash?”
Gia shoved the unopened bag of cereal into the box. “I don’t have a job right now. This is my savings.”
“Okay.” Aurora wasn’t sure it was the truth. Gia seemed closed off, guarded in a way she hadn’t been when talking about anything else, even her headaches. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”
Gia arched a brow.
“I only meant to pry a little,” Aurora amended. “It’s not every day I see that much money. No shade if you sell weed or whatever.”
“I do not sell weed or strip. And yeah, no judgment to anyone who does, but I’m unemployed,” Gia said, calmer than before.
Aurora didn’t buy her nonchalance. “You’re the only unemployed person I know with stacks of twenties lying around.”
Gia lifted her chin, her composure fully in place now. “Maybe I robbed a bank.”
Aurora snorted. They could pretend this wasn’t a strange development all they wanted, but what the fuck? There was a hell of a lot more to Gia than Aurora had thought, and it had nothing to do with magic.
Damnation, nothing drew Aurora in like a mystery. Secrets. A little danger. She wanted to be the keeper of all Gia’s hidden pieces. Her protector, her co-conspirator, pulling answers into the light.
Most of all, Aurora wanted to earn Gia’s trust.
She drifted closer. “Seriously, whatever’s up with—” She gestured toward the cereal. “You can tell me. You won’t shock me. I’m literally a ghost.”
Gia didn’t crack. If anything, she closed off further. “It’s nothing. I found out I inherited this place and decided to move, taking what I had with me. I don’t trust banks, okay? Who knows what they do with your money.”
“Okay.” Aurora didn’t believe her, but pushing wasn’t working, so she resolved to drop it.
A buzzer sounded, and Gia jumped, her careful composure shattering as a hand flew to her chest, gripping her hoodie.
Yeah, she was hiding something important. Maybe even dangerous.
“Pizza’s here.” Gia hurried over to the intercom and buzzed the delivery person in.
Aurora checked out the window, and sure enough, Trey wasn’t paying the pizza delivery any attention.
Soon, the delivery was at the door. Gia paid the guy politely, and he thanked her with a grunt before turning to go.
“Hey, Gia,” another voice called from the hallway.
Aurora willed herself invisible and zoomed over to see who it was.
“Hi, Viv.” Gia jostled the pizza box, her other hand coming to rest on the door like she wanted to close it.
A petite, young woman with short black hair and a sleek all-black outfit grinned slyly at Gia. “Dinner smells good. How’re you settling in?”
“Oh…fine.” Gia glanced over her shoulder, right through Aurora toward the window.
“Don’t worry, I won’t keep you from a good pie. But I wanted to ask if you’ve noticed that guy handing around?”
“What guy?” Gia did an excellent job acting confused, as if she really had no idea Trey had been lurking across the street all day.
She was a good liar. Interesting.
“There’s a man hanging around across the street. He’s been there for hours, looking at the building,” Viv explained.
“Oh. I hadn’t noticed. Are you sure he isn’t waiting for someone?”
“All day?”
“Right. No, that’s weird.” Gia sounded shocked. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be careful, but I’m sure he’ll leave.”
“He better. If you need anything, I’m across the hall.”
Aurora rolled her eyes at the eagerness in Viv’s tone.
“Thanks. I’ll see you around.”
The door shut, and Aurora reappeared. “Who’s she?”
Gia brought the pizza to the kitchen and grabbed a plate. “My neighbor.”
“You two friends?”
“No.” Gia looked confused—genuinely now—by the mere prospect. “Viv knocked on my door when I moved in, but I’ve been busy since. As you know.”
Aurora bit back a grin. She had taken up an awful lot of Gia’s time since they’d crossed paths. “Well, Viv seemed friendly.”
Gia took a slice of pizza to the couch. “Yeah. I wonder why.” She took a bite, seeming to contemplate this new mystery.
Was she serious? Viv was probably excited to have a new neighbor closer to her age. Or she noticed that Gia was hot and wanted to get to know her. Aurora would, if she weren’t busy being a damned ghost.
But Gia seemed suspicious of Viv, and it didn’t seem like an act. Taken alongside the cash, Gia’s attitude didn’t come across as a casual antisocial reaction, shyness, or other form of social awkwardness. It pointed to something more sinister.
Who was Gia? Aurora wanted to know more than anything.