Chapter Seven #2
Starla already knew who they were from seeing them in some of Remy’s memories.
Even if she had never experienced that type of mind merge with someone before, hearing his thoughts and viewing his memories was as easy as breathing for her.
Although she was comfortable being in his mind, Remy wasn’t as used to that part of their bond yet.
It would have been easy to identify that Ava was Remy’s sister just by glancing at her, though. They had the same black hair with silver streaks and brilliant green eyes, but where Remy was ultra masculine, Ava was the epitome of grace and beauty.
“Hi, everyone! Sorry, I’m late. I’m Ava, Remy’s sister. I…whoa, what the hell is going on with Rem?” she asked, sounding more amused than curious. She set a large gift bag on the table before taking a seat in the empty chair between Anton and Remy.
“Don’t mind him. He’s been like that since we got here,” Koa said.
Starla smiled warmly as she held out a hand to Remy’s sister. “Ava, I’m so happy to meet you. My name is Starla Vale.”
Before Ava could shake her hand, Remy growled and snatched it away before his sister could touch it. Amused, Starla stroked his hair to try to calm him down.
“Calm down, killer.” Ava rolled her eyes. “Damn, Rem. You’re acting weirder than usual.”
“I think he’s scenting,” Damien said as he took a seat at the table.
“Scenting? I thought that was something only females did,” Anton said with a laugh.
Remy stopped rubbing his cheek against Starla’s shoulder long enough to shoot a glare at his friend before he pressed his face back against the crook of her neck.
“I think you mean nesting,” Jessica said. “Scenting is a different thing.”
“So, those are both real?” Ava asked. “I thought those were just concepts used in stories.”
Claudia snorted out a laugh. “Just look at him. He can’t keep his hands off her, and he growls if anyone gets too close to them.”
“What exactly is scenting?” Starla asked.
Not that she minded. She loved that Remy didn’t mind being affectionate with her in front of his friends, but she was starting to get a little worried about his behavior since it wasn’t exactly normal for him.
Over the last few days, he could barely stand being a few feet away from her.
While she actually loved the attention, she knew they had to figure out how to control their codependence if they were going to attend classes.
Damien grinned as he poured himself a glass of wine. “Scenting is an extremely possessive trait that occasionally flares up in a shifter mate right after a claiming. Basically, he is trying to rub his scent all over you as a way to warn others away.”
That made Starla frown. She didn’t think she had given Remy any cause to be insecure about their relationship. But if she was doing something to trigger his possessiveness, she wanted to know.
“Do you know what’s causing it?”
Damien shrugged. “I think it just happens sometimes, but it should ease up soon.”
Ava pushed the gift bag forward. “That’s for you, Starla. Consider it a welcome to the family and thank you gift for putting up with my brother.”
Starla tried not to wince as Remy tightened his arms around her.
She figured he probably didn’t want her to touch something someone else had given her, but it would be rude not to accept it.
Peeking into the bag, she gasped in delight.
She pulled out a bronze statue of a fairy resting on the curved branch of a tree with heart-shaped leaves and set it on the table.
“Oh! It’s lovely! You made this?”
Ava nodded. “I mostly sculpt mythical figures and occasionally abstract pieces.”
“It really is beautiful,” Remy admitted, relaxing a bit as he reached up to stroke a hand over the wings on the fairy statue. He pressed a kiss to Starla’s forehead. “It looks just like you.”
“It really does,” Ava confirmed. “I knew it was meant to be yours as soon as my brother told me he met his mate.”
“So, you are a prophet?” Lana asked, intrigued. “That’s cool. I’ve never heard of a shifter prophet before.”
Ava blinked. “What? No, it’s nothing like that.”
“But this looks exactly like my favorite tree I used to nap on back when I was a pixie in the Fairy Realm,” Starla told them. “You even recreated the notches I made on my day of birth each year.”
“That’s…that has to be a coincidence,” Ava sputtered. “I can’t be a prophet.”
Claudia tapped a fingernail against her lower lip. “It could be a new power. After the shifters got our magical upgrades, my cousin was suddenly able to predict the weather. Like, days in advance, which is not exactly a normal ability for snow leopards.”
Kyler frowned. “But it can’t just be a future thing, right? If she created that sculpture based on something Starla did before she became a fairy, that means Ava saw the past. But I thought prophets only predict the future.”
“I think it would be more accurate to call her a soothsayer since they can see glimpses of the future or the past,” Jessica clarified.
“From what I read, those glimpses mostly come through visions or dreams, but in this case, it might present as inspiration for your art. This is really exciting. Soothsayer abilities are rare. I recall that the powers can manifest unexpectedly, sometimes triggered by strong emotions or significant life changes. So, it would make sense that you suddenly developed this new ability after your magical upgrade.”
“This is making my head hurt,” Ava groaned.
“Think of this as a good thing,” Jessica encouraged. “Soothsayers are valued for their unique insight and perspectives.”
“Your visions might help unravel mysteries or even prevent future accidents or disasters. Fairies with the sight are revered and highly respected,” Starla explained. “I have even heard rumors that the Fairy Queen has a touch of the sight and that is how she has remained in power for so long.”
“I’m just a sculptor,” Ava insisted. “I don’t want to predict the future.”
“I don’t think you have a choice,” Remy pointed out dryly.
“Why didn’t you get this ability?” Ava growled. “Why me?”
“Maybe it’s because you suck at using magic, so the universe tried to take pity on you and gave you something extra?” he taunted.
Before they could continue arguing, Liam cut in. “Has this happened before? Has anything you’ve sculpted or drawn come true?”
Ava blinked. “I…ah, let me think. I don’t think so…
wait! I just remembered I did a sketch of a panther with two white paws a few months ago.
Right before we came back to school, a panther shifter named Jeremy joined our pack.
I didn’t know he had white paws until he shifted during one of our pack runs. ”
“What about those drawings of the water fae and demon fighting?” Anton asked.
“I thought those were cool sketches that looked like they would have made a cool manga series or something. A few weeks later, we encountered those assholes tearing up Jackson Square, and the fighting sequence was identical to what you drew.”
“Thankfully, people just thought it was some sort of magic show,” Remy stated.
“Interesting,” Damien murmured. “I don’t know much about this stuff, but there is a young soothsayer enrolled at Aegis Academy right now.
Perhaps you can get in touch with her. Or perhaps there is a professor who can help you develop your ability.
Let me ask around to see if I can find someone here in Mystic.
Right now, it would probably be best that we keep your new power a secret.
Otherwise, the wrong person might try to use you to predict something. ”
Ava shivered. “That’s a good point. Thanks, Damien.”
“Now that we’ve figured that out, can we order?” Anton pleaded. “I’m freaking starving.”
“You ate most of the appetizers,” Kyler accused.
Anton bowed his head in shame. “I missed lunch today.”
“I had a special menu prepared for tonight,” Damien said. “They are sending the food up now. And don’t worry, there should be plenty of it. I know how much you guys can pack away.”
That perked Anton up. “That’s why I love you.”
“Keep it contained, wolf.” Damien brushed off an imaginary piece of lint from the sleeve of his black suit jacket.
“I can’t stay for dinner since I have some other things to take care of this evening, but I wanted to stop by to give you an update on what I discovered about the potion Starla had been dosed with at the party. ”
That gained Remy’s full attention. “You found the bastard who spiked her drink?”
“Of course, I did.”
“Why in hellfire didn’t you tell me sooner?” Remy growled.
“Because this isn’t exactly a conversation I was willing to have through a locked door,” Damien replied blandly.
“Yeah, okay. That’s a fair point,” Remy muttered. “So, where is the bastard? I want to talk to him.”
“No, you want to rip him apart, limb from limb, which is an understandable reaction. But consider it already taken care of. We discovered a group of males had bought a magical party pack of potions through a local seller. They hadn’t known it had come from the black market, but ignorance is hardly an excuse.
They have now seen the error of their ways and are no longer students at the university. ”
Remy let out a growl of irritation.
“Was anyone else hurt?” Starla asked.
“Almost,” Anton admitted. “One asshole was trying to leave the party with a demon he had dosed, but we arrived in time to grab them before they could leave. We tracked down the rest of his group pretty easily, but another guy had already taken off with a female. Thankfully, Damien found them right away.”
“She is doing well,” Damien assured. “She probably would have been fine even if I hadn’t arrived, since she was in the process of roasting the asshole’s balls when I found them.”
“She a demon?” Claudia asked.
“A fae-witch hybrid with a mean streak.”
She grinned with approval. “Nice. I think I want to be friends with her.”
Damien chuckled. “Her name is Kiara Crescent, and she is also a freshman.”
Starla frowned. “Wait, this doesn’t make sense. She was able to use her magic after she was drugged? Why was I left powerless, then?”
“That struck me as odd, as well,” Damien admitted. “We took the rest of the drugs the guys had on them, but I couldn’t find any trace of the spell you were affected by. This kind of spellcasting isn’t really my specialty, so I asked someone to analyze the potion who might be able to tell us more.”
“What happened to the males?” Remy demanded.
“I assure you that they were properly punished. They will be spending some time in the Supernatural Prison once they get out of the hospital.”
Starla blinked in surprise. “The hospital?”
The demon smiled. “Ah, yes. You are new to the group. They spent a little time in the basement here at Carvers while I…questioned them.”
Remy coughed to cover up a laugh. “There is a slaughterhouse in the basement here that is used for more than just carving and storing beef in the massive refrigerators. I’m guessing a lot of Damien’s enemies ended up taking their last breath here.
It’s probably why he chose to open up a steakhouse in the first place.
It’s the perfect cover for his extracurricular activities. ”
Starla was all for using violence if the situation called for it, but owning a business with an underground slaughterhouse seemed a little extreme.
Then again, considering that Daimon was an ancient demon, it was understandable that his methods were shaped by centuries of experience.
He operated on a level that most supernaturals couldn't comprehend, and his approach to handling threats was far more ruthless and efficient than anything she was accustomed to.
She recognized the value in having powerful friends like Damien, who was not only capable but also unafraid to deal with the darkest aspects of their world. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the work. That was proven true when he spoke again.
“Wouldn’t it be bad if a bunch of torture victims showed up at the hospital?” Jessica asked carefully.
“There is a supernatural hospital here in town,” Kyler explained.
“It was a shame the Supernatural Council got to the local seller before we could question him.” Damien sighed. “I would have liked to spend some quality time with him before handing him over.”
Remy snorted out a laugh. “That must have hurt.”
“It did. I know the council wants whoever is making the potion. Something that strong that can incapacitate a full-blooded fairy, a demon, and a powerful fae-witch hybrid is dangerous. They’ve been very proactive at trying to shut down the black market recently, so they are taking these types of cases very seriously.
While the council has recently improved, they are still far too forgiving and slow to act for my tastes. ”
Starla understood why that would be frustrating, but she thought it was better to leave the investigating to the experts.
She was just glad the situation had been handled.
It was reassuring to know that the individuals responsible had been dealt with and would face real consequences for their actions.
Knowing they were in the Supernatural Prison was enough to satisfy her.
Now, she could simply focus on being with her mate and embracing her life as a college student.
The buffet table near the wall of windows was suddenly covered with platters of food, filling the room with a delicious array of scents.
Damien stood. “On that note, I have to get going. I’ll keep you updated if I hear anything else about the case. Dinner is on the house. Congratulations on your mating and all that. Enjoy.”
“Before you go, I have one last question,” Starla said in a rush. When Remy refused to release her so she could stand, she held up her phone and tapped on the screen until the Arcane Assist app appeared. “Have you ever seen this before?”
“That’s the app that Remy used to locate you?” Damien shook his head. “No, I’ve never heard of it, but I find it curious that it showed up exactly when you needed it. As for how it got on your phone, I guess that is a mystery the two of you are going to have to solve.”