Chapter 4 #2
“Emerald was a witch, yes, but that was from our mother. I don’t know the magic that came from her father’s side, and your grandmother never said.
It wasn’t because she didn’t want to, but more that she couldn’t.
Which leads me to believe they were something other than a warlock.
Your mom’s abilities far surpassed my own, Skully.
She could heal, yes, and potions were no issue for her, but she tiptoed on the line sometimes.
Just as she could heal a life, it was almost like she could take one as well.
” My aunt’s voice trails off, and she glances at Azriel.
He’s studying her, reading something more into her words than I could possibly understand. “Like she was part angel?”
My aunt’s shoulders tip up and drop heavily like the admission was too much for her. “Possibly.”
Azriel’s brow dips, and his eyes move over me, assessing.
“For my kind to procreate with another paranormal, they would have to be very powerful, usually a high-ranking superior. Angels do not step outside of their species, and even when they do copulate, it’s rarely about love but only about having offspring. ”
I scoff. “You’re making me sound like a science project. And we don’t know for sure if I’m an angel at all.”
Azriel’s purple eyes stay pinned on me, and he moves closer, taking my hand in his. “Give me your blood.”
“Excuse me?” I yank my hand back, a small prickle of fear sliding up my neck.
He shakes his head. “Don’t be scared of me, S. I’d never hurt you, girl. I just need a drop of your blood, and I’ll take it with me to confirm.”
Loreli moves in front of us, her hand lying gently over his hand that is gripping mine. “Gavin already tried, and he couldn’t get any information.”
“Is that why he moved me in with him?” I glance sharply at my aunt who flinches. “It is, isn’t it? He didn’t care about knowing me beforehand, but once I showed signs of my magic, he wanted to keep an eye on me.”
Tears roll down Loreli’s face. “I couldn’t stop him. I’m so sorry, Skully. I didn’t think that living with him would do this to you. You wanted the chance to know him back then, and he promised you’d be taken care of, that he would figure out your lineage so you would be safe. He promised.”
A harsh laugh escapes my lips, and I back away from both of them, my arms wrapping around my stomach. “Well, we’ll never know, will we. Because I can’t remember. I don’t know what happened or who I am or anything he might have told me. Just the minute I lost everything, he let me go again.”
“Skully.” My aunt wraps her arms around me and pulls me into a tight hug.
Emotions I had been holding onto since waking up in that hospital room pour out of me.
I really thought I had cried all the tears out of my body, but a new floodgate opened.
“He didn’t abandon you, sweetheart. We both thought it would be safer to be here with your unexplained injury.
You didn’t remember, and your memory was lost nine months back.
That’s excessive, even the doctor thought so.
Sweetie, I have to tell him you know about your magic again. ”
I shake my head. “No, I can’t go back, Aunt Lore.
” Him. Those light gray eyes and his cutting words.
I don’t believe that I’m capable of being evil, but he said I was.
I know you lie and cause destruction. So when your aunt gets here and wants to take you home…
go with her. Stay in California and forget about this family, my friends, me, and River Falls altogether.
We don’t want you here anymore. You aren’t welcome here.
My breath shudders in my chest, and I remember that once he left that day, it was like my body was being torn in two.
I needed to leave, but I couldn’t. I was stuck there with machines and tubes connected to me even while my body physically ached to get as far away from that town as possible.
Was it him? “What about my dad’s fiancé and their family? ”
Loreli pulls back again, and I see the frown on her face. “Sera? They just got formally engaged a few years ago to strengthen the lines between the families. The boys, Madden and Heath Danvers, are hers from a different marriage. That’s what Gavin said. But yes, they are reapers as well.”
“Can reapers cast magic, like spells?” I ask and watch as her frown deepens.
“Yes. They have magic mostly to do their bidding and to protect the Gate,” she explains. “Why?”
My lips part, wanting to tell her, but I stop.
All telling her will do is set her off to talk to my dad, and I don’t want there to be more issues than there already are.
My magic may be back, but that doesn’t mean I remember everything from the time I lived in River Falls.
It’s not like I’ll be going back anytime soon or having to face him anyway.
Madden Danvers. An involuntary shiver runs down my spine, remembering how he looked at me.
The sneer that tugged at his full upper lip.
I still can’t believe we dated or had sex, from what he said.
He is gorgeous, yes, but mean. Crude. A bully.
I must have been out of my mind to actually have liked him enough to let him touch me intimately.
And yet my heart squeezes painfully just remembering him.
I’m just tired. That has to be it. This has all been a lot to take in and my mind and my body are exhausted.
“I need some time.” I glance between the two sets of eyes currently watching me, waiting, probably expecting me to break. “I’m going to go lie back down.”
“You should eat something, sweetheart,” Loreli says, her fingers trailing over my jaw.
I nod my head. “Can you send it up?”
“I’ll bring her something,” Azriel cuts in before lifting his jaw at me, giving me the okay to head back up to my room.
I can hear them talk in hushed whispers then the sound of the fridge opening and closing, followed by a cupboard.
As I lie in my bed, I can’t bring myself to care if they’re talking about me.
I feel like my world has been tipped upside down, and even while I have that thought, it feels like another case of déjà vu.
I’ve been here. I’ve felt this confusion before, only now it’s eclipsed by a huge sense of loss.
A year ago, I had this figured out, and now I’m back to step one, just learning.
The need to do things differently this time overrides my sense of worry.
“Don’t think too hard, S.” Ariel’s voice comes from my open doorway. “I could hear your wheels spinning all the way downstairs.”
I sit up, leaning against my headboard, and watch my best friend, seeing him in a whole new light.
His skin seems more pale, smoother, and those eyes I always thought were just vibrant now seem almost ethereal.
Just like his. The thought snaps in my brain, and I quickly push it out, determined not to think about Madden ever again.
A reaper. But there seems to be a thin line between being a reaper and an angel.
“Do all paranormal beings have eyes like yours and Madden’s?”
Azriel’s brow arches, and he runs his eyes over me, probably wondering why I have not yet once mentioned my dad or his future stepchildren. “Some. Not all. It depends sometimes on the strength of their magic.”
Glancing past him to the mirror over my desk, I take in my own brown eyes. Just plain, like pools of stagnant mud water. “What do I do, Az? How do we move on from here?”
For the first time since last night, his shoulders drop a little, and he moves farther into my bedroom, finally sitting on the edge of my bed.
“Being your friend is nothing I ever had to pretend at, Skully. You scared the shit out of me when I realized you could see me. But every moment after that has been real. I’ve never been able to connect with someone who isn’t just like me. ”
My eyes search his, and I can feel my chin wobble from holding in everything I’m feeling. I feel so helpless and lost. “What comes next?”
“You get your powers back, Skully. They’re there, no longer dormant. Harness them, learn them, and let your magic get to know you again,” he answers.
“You make it sound so easy.” I roll my eyes and flop down on my bed.
“You’re a Morgan. It will come naturally to you,” Azriel adds, and I feel myself laugh despite the way my stomach sinks. “I need to ask you for something, S.”
I glance at him, and he lowers so his upper body leans over me. “That’s a first.”
His grin widens on his face. “I need you to trust me. I promise I have your best interest in mind.”
“You’re scaring me a little.” I chuckle, trying to blow off the tension that’s rattling my insides.
Azriel’s smile drops, and he watches me pensively. “I need your blood.”
“What? Why?” I scoot out from under him, eyeing him warily.
He holds both his hands in front of him.
“Whoa. I promise, I’m not going to hurt you.
I don’t even need much.” His hand dips into his pocket and pulls out a vial, the size of a sewing thimble.
“I know Loreli said your dad tested your blood, but I don’t trust what he found.
Knowing what I do now about you, your memory loss, and your relations, it feels like something is missing.
I can do a better job getting answers, no offense to your aunt. ”
I roll my lip between my teeth, contemplating what Azriel is saying.
There’s a voice in my head telling me to listen to him even though all of this feels weird.
Right now, there are too many unknowns and questions.
Thanks to my memory loss, it feels like I’m at a disadvantage.
Still, I trust Azriel. That hasn’t changed.
“Okay.”
He reaches for my hand and takes my middle finger gently with his.
“This will only hurt for a second,” he says when he takes out a small knife from his pocket and presses it gently to the pad of my finger.
It stings as a red blood drop pebbles to the surface, and he squeezes the drop into the vial.
Azriel lets three drops collect before letting go of my hand and making sure the vial is securely closed.
“I should have some information soon.”
“You’re leaving?” I glance at him and instantly hate how needy I sound. The poor guy already stayed here overnight to make sure I didn’t break down or have another panic attack. He’s allowed to go home. Wherever home is. “Where do you live?”
“Here and there.” Azriel smirks and gently rubs his knuckles over my cheek. “I’ll see you later. I promise.”
I blink, and then he’s gone. My heart races, and my hands clench.
The whole time he’s been able to do that.
How often did he disappear into thin air the second my back was turned?
How did I never notice? Flipping my hands over, I study them.
I will them to make magic again. The longer I sit staring, the louder the silence seems to become in my room.
I was harnessing my power before, but what if that is gone now, just like my memory?