Chapter 14 Aurora #2
The toast popped, and Gia spread jam on it. “We can figure out what’s best for the theater while we hide out. I’ll message Lilly about where to go, but if this takes too long to coordinate, someone could show up outside again, and we’ll be stuck.”
“Then let’s go out now.” Aurora glanced out the window. Still no one suspicious. “We can head to The Herb Emporium to see what we can do for your migraines while Lilly finds us a place to stay.”
Gia carefully chewed a bite of toast, almost like she was buying herself time. “You think the apothecary is worth a try?”
“Sure. The guy who runs The Herb Emporium is a friend of the coven. Seems like a decent witch from everything I’ve heard. You could even bring your pills to show what you’ve tried.”
Gia frowned. “Is an apothecary like a magical pharmacist?”
“Sort of.”
Gia considered as she finished her toast. She put the plate in the sink and grabbed the cereal box from the cupboard. “Okay. How much is this witch going to charge?”
The coast was still clear by the time they made it downstairs.
“I’ll tell you if I spot anyone,” Aurora whispered, floating invisibly at Gia’s elbow.
There was a chance someone was hiding in a stealthier location than Trey had been, but they’d have to be within sight of the building’s entrance or both ends of the street to tail Gia.
As Gia stepped outside, Aurora had a thorough look around, spotting no one. Had they read the situation all wrong? She couldn’t imagine how. But then, what was she missing?
The answer might lie with Gia rather than the Lockwoods or Thornfields. She was cagey and had a suspicious stack of cash she refused to explain. But how could money lead to Trey? The Thornfields didn’t deal with humans, and Gia’s shocked reaction to magic couldn’t have been fake.
Aurora would bet her soul on it.
At least no one Aurora recognized popped out of the woodwork to follow them. She’d take the win and figure the rest out later.
The Herb Emporium wasn’t far, and Gia had the address and a map pulled up on her phone, saving Aurora from whispering directions in her ear.
Reaching the end of the block, Gia turned down a cross street. An SUV pulled into traffic behind them, and Gia looked over her shoulder. She wore dark sunglasses, her expression unwavering, but the glance alone was enough to have Aurora on alert.
“I don’t recognize the vehicle,” Aurora said, confident it didn’t belong to her coven. They were more of a pickup truck crew.
“Good.” Gia strode forward with apparent confidence, her hands fisting around her backpack straps.
Was that a hint of nerves?
Trey or someone else could be in a car Aurora didn’t know—they might have rented one—but after yesterday’s obvious stakeout, stealth didn’t fit.
Still, Aurora floated into the street to get a better look.
Two unfamiliar men were visible through the front windshield.
She drifted out of the way, and the SUV overtook Gia, stopping at the next intersection.
Another car pulled out and followed suit. It was all normal traffic. Nothing to worry about. They were being paranoid, even if for good reason.
No one seemed to follow them as Gia walked several more blocks. The SUV and following car both veered off course before Gia made her next turn. Of course, there were more similar SUVs around, which wasn’t unusual.
Aurora did her best to look into as many vehicles as she could, and didn’t see anyone she recognized.
They paused at a red light. Maybe after the apothecary, they could go to a coffee shop to wait until Lilly coordinated a safe place for them. A relaxing environment would do them both good, even if Aurora had to stay hidden.
With a screeching of tires, a black SUV rounded the corner, going way too fast. Gia swore in surprise, and Aurora flinched. The vehicle came to an abrupt halt, blocking the crosswalk in front of them.
Gia stiffened and staggered back. It was a good thing she hadn’t been stepping off the curb to cross on the red light, or she’d have been hit. Shit, Aurora fumed. Gia could have died!
Assholes. Traffic wasn’t even holding them up. Why stop?
The rear door to the SUV swung open, and a middle-aged man in a leather jacket with slicked back hair jumped out.
Gia gasped, taking two quick steps away from him.
“There you are,” he said roughly. “I think you need to come with me.”
What the fuck?
“And before you run”—the man opened his jacket, revealing a shoulder holster and a fucking gun—“think about what you’re doing. You don’t want anyone to get hurt, do you?”
“Salvator.” Gia’s back was stiff as a board. Aurora could hear her heart thundering, could practically feel the frantic vibrations through the air, rattling her soul.
Gia knew this guy?
“Get in the car,” he ordered, tone threatening.
Gia looked wildly around. “I can’t.”
“You don’t have to,” Aurora said in her ear. But fuck, what could she do? She couldn’t cast a single damn spell in this form.
“Now,” the man—Salvator—snapped, reaching beneath his jacket.
Gia whimpered, taking a reluctant step forward.
Like hell. Aurora wouldn’t let her go with him. Gia may have left out a mountain’s worth of details when telling Aurora about herself, but that didn’t matter in the slightest. She was in trouble.
Gia took another step closer. A horn blared. The SUV was blocking traffic, but Salvator had the air of someone who didn’t give a fuck, his arm tucked under his jacket like he was holding the gun, ready to draw it any second.
Fury burned through Aurora. She was so damn sick of men like him. She didn’t need to know Salvator to know his type. And she wasn’t letting him get his paws on Gia.
Aurora zoomed in front of Gia, her will to be invisible evaporating, replaced with the consuming desire to be seen. To take up space and scare the shit out of this fucking guy.
Energy crackled, and Gia gasped, halting her steps before they collided. Aurora raised her arms, translucent skin glowing. “Leave,” she growled, dropping her voice low.
“Merda!” Salvator’s eyes went wide, and in one swift motion, he drew his gun.
Oh, Satan. That wasn’t supposed to happen.
Salvator’s surprise quickly faded into cold determination. He pointed the gun through Aurora’s translucent form, right at Gia. “In the goddamn car, Gianna. Now.”
Seriously? He wasn’t shitting himself when faced with a real-life ghost? Who the hell was this guy?
Aurora had to do something, except yet again, she was helpless. A witch who couldn’t use her magic to do what truly mattered: protect herself and the people she cared for.
“Okay,” Gia said, like it pained her, before stepping forward. Through Aurora.
Electric chills enveloped Aurora’s entire being, and she gasped. Gia gasped too, as if they were one, and Aurora swore she felt air in her phantom lungs.
Gia’s fear crashed into her. Aurora sensed her hopelessness, her regret, all as if they were her own emotions. She felt Gia’s pounding heart, but not in the electric way she had before. Blood pulsed through Aurora, flowing stronger than it ever had in her own body.
Gia shuddered, and Aurora’s soul shook, a shared cold dread threatening to smother them both.
Satan. Aurora was inside Gia, joined together in a way she hadn’t thought possible. And here, in the depths of Gia’s being, swirling along with her despair and fear, was her magic, bright and bursting to be used.
Aurora seized it as she would her own, and when she spoke, Gia’s mouth moved.
“Run,” they said, voice a booming echo.
Salvator’s mouth dropped open. He blinked, grip tightening on his handgun. “Stop fucking around and get in the car, or I’ll shoot every single person on this street.”
Aurora raised her hand, Gia’s hand, and for the first time, her power wasn’t restricted when she needed it most. She could fight back. Aurora muttered a spell, slashing her hand upward, and Salvator was thrown into the side of the SUV, hard.
He grunted, slumping to the side, and she took a step forward. Gia’s power sang in her grasp, seeming to grow, opening up to reveal a well far greater than anything Aurora had ever found within herself.
Damnation, Gia was powerful.
Excitement sparked within Aurora’s soul, lighting up Gia’s body as unexpected joy filled them. Aurora tipped her head back and laughed.
Salvator scrambled to his feet, waving his gun, all composure gone. “What the fuck!”
Aurora hit him with another wave of power, and he grabbed the hood of the SUV to steady himself. She poured magic into the metal, heating it to scorching in an instant.
Salvator screamed, nearly dropping the gun in his other hand. He clutched his burnt hand to his chest and ducked into the back seat. “Drive!”
The SUV’s tires screeched, and it peeled out from the curb, tearing down the street, the path ahead clear.
The rest of the intersection cleared slowly. People on the other side of the street stared, but they wouldn’t have seen exactly what happened behind the SUV, and no one was on the sidewalk behind them.
“We have to go,” Gia’s rough voice vibrated through Aurora, her throat tingling. “Before the cops are called.”
Gia didn’t wait for a reply, quickly returning the way they’d come and ignoring the concerned questions volleyed at her as people rushed over.
Aurora should leave, float beside Gia as she had been before, but the idea of separating felt akin to hurting herself. She couldn’t.
“Don’t go,” Gia choked out. “Stay there. Please.”
It was like she’d read Aurora’s thoughts. Could she? Aurora couldn’t hear Gia’s, but there wasn’t much difference between mind-reading and sharing their most intimate emotions.
Gia was like an open book, yearning for connection with a ferociousness that rocked Aurora to her core.
She wouldn’t leave. She’d stay forever if Gia asked.