Chapter 39 #2
“My shadow, you can thank me by never taking that off until you gain control.” He points at the magic bracelet, his eyes slightly wide.
“Yeah, don’t,” Story pipes up, eyeing my hidden feet with disgust.
I giggle at her expression. “Aww, don’t my tootsies get a kiss?” I say as I pull my feet out from hiding and wiggle my toes. I reach for the bracelet, and they all scream at once. I hold my hands up and chuckle. “Okay, okay. Don’t freak out. I’ll keep the bracelet on.”
Outwardly, I’m sure I look as if I’m not also freaking out, but inside I frantically pat my own metaphorical sweaty brow.
That could have been so much worse without Xander’s intervention—look what happened when my friends got a whiff of me. They know me. What would have happened if a bunch of creatures felt that power… Shit, they would have ripped me apart.
“You will be able to control your power with practice,” Xander says. Correctly reading the horror in my eyes.
Phew, that’s good to know.
Xander has crazy control. I wonder what he felt in the car? “How did my power feel to you?” I ask him.
“It didn’t kick in until we were halfway back. I can only assume you were still recovering from the transfer. Dr Ross is on his way to check you over.”
I groan. More poking, prodding, and tests.
“Let’s just say your power didn’t feel so nice.” Xander visibly swallows. “I believe you can attract and repel depending on your emotions.”
Attract and repel. Huh, handy.
“I’ll leave you to it. Tru, meet Ross in the orangery in ten minutes.” I groan again as Xander leaves the room.
Wasting no time, I tip the envelope from Ann out onto the bed and paw through its contents.
Bank stuff including a card, address details for a new house, and various keys.
I lean over and grab my datapad from the bedside table.
Opening up my server, I thumb through all the new paperwork. “I need a solicitor,” I grumble.
“So what happened?” Justin asks, poking at the items on the bed.
I tell them quickly about Denby’s death, the generational power of the horn, and Ann’s strange behaviour. But I don’t say anything about seeing the future. How on earth do I bring that up without looking like I’ve lost my mind? Perhaps it was my brain misfiring with magic overload. But I doubt it.
Among the documents from Ann on my datapad, I spot my younger self in a photo. I don’t know kids’ ages as I’ve never been around them, but at a guess, I look about four years old. I’m peeking behind a woman’s leg.
How did they get this?
The brown-haired woman in the photo is, of course, vampire beautiful. She has the perfect plastic look of a pureblood. Apart from her eyes. Her eyes dance with joy and happiness. As she looks down at me, her hand rests on my head.
Behind us stands a man. Seeing him makes my heart stop for a beat. Tears prick my eyes as I take in his handsome face.
We didn’t do photos.
Dark skin, bigger-than-a-human’s rich brown eyes, his hair is long and plaited in the way of the fae. His ears poke through with a delicate point.
Wow, I didn’t know he was there from the beginning… He was our guard. He must have made a promise to my mum, and he continued to look after me after her death. So many secrets.
“Is that your mum?” Story asks.
“Wow, she’s a pureblood,” Justin says, moving closer to our huddle on the bed.
“Yeah.”
“Aww, look how cute you were. You have the same face shape.” Story hops down my arm and traces my mum’s face. “Here around the jaw. Oh, and the colour of your eyes.”
I nod. I see it now.
“And the guard?”
“That’s him… my grandad,” I whisper with a watery smile. “He kept me alive and safe.”
“Why did you call him Grandad? He’s fae?” Justin asks, leaning on me.
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “I guess kid me called him that, and it stuck.”
“Do you know what happened to your mum?” Story asks.
“Yeah, there’s a guild report buried in here somewhere.
According to Ann, it doesn’t mention me, but it says Ryan, my unicorn father”—my eyes drift back to the laughing women in the photo—“he killed her.” Dexter jumps up and bashes me in the face with his tail.
I bury my face in his soft fur. “I think when he removed my horn, my mum tried to stop him.” I blink a few times.
“Shit, I need to deal with all this later… when my brain is working and I’m not exhausted.
” I clap my hands. “Okay, listen up. Things have changed, and we are moving.”
“To this new house?” Justin wiggles the address. “I know this area. It’s posh, gated, warded…” His voice fades, and he pales.
I bump him with my shoulder and squeeze his hand. “No, we’re moving to our flat that’s been paid for by our hard-earned cash. It’s time.”
“No fancy house? No fancy car?” Story asks, poking at the keys with her toe.
I shake my head. “Nope, we are doing this our way. So pack your shit.”
“Coolio.” Story nods.
“Sounds good to me,” Justin says as he drags himself from the bed.
“Reow,” Dexter adds as his big head butts me underneath my chin. I glance at the time. Gah, I better go see the doctor.