Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
It’s fucked up, I know. Even though I was raised in this life, I haven’t failed to see how wrong it is. But hey, someone’s got to do it, right?
“Maybe Harry Potter is a better nickname,” Larissa says and takes another swig of beer and laughs. “His parents died because of dark magic, too.”
“My parents were killed by demons.” I ball my fist and the light above the table starts to flicker. A hush falls over our little group, and Ryder looks from the light to me and back again. He knows how deep this cut runs, and how for some reason I cannot fathom, Larissa loves to pick off the scab and rub salt in this wound.
“Dude, that’s some party trick,” he laughs, trying to ease the tension.
“That’s enough,” Leo tells his twin and takes the beer from her hands. “Let’s get some air.”
Larissa narrows her eyes but then gets up when she sees Antonio give her a look that says shut the fuck up.
“You want another beer?” Ryder asks me.
“Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks.” I smile, though I don’t like beer, and I rarely drink much in public. It can be hard keeping my powers in check, and getting drunk or even just tipsy makes it even harder. He gets up, leaving just Antonio and Gia at the table.
“Don’t,” I tell my oldest brother, rolling my eyes as I shake my head.
He holds up his hands. “Wasn’t gonna.”
Silence falls over us and then Gia turns toward me. “Can you really curse people?”
“I mean, I could,” I admit honestly with a shrug.
“What could you do to them?”
Feeling Antonio’s eyes on me, I give her a wink. “Anything I want, really. Hey, want me to read your tarot cards?”
“I’ll leave you two to it.” Antonio gets up, going over to another hunter who’s playing darts. I get my cards out of my bag and hand them to Gia. Her blue eyes light up as she carefully cradles the cards to her chest, closing her eyes as she thinks with intention, just like I taught her.
“Tell me something I need to know,” she whispers, and then pulls a card from the top of the deck. “The Tower.” She turns to me, nose wrinkling as she thinks. “That’s not good, is it?”
“Well, it depends on how you look at it,” I say, but in my experience, the Tower is never a good sign. It was the last card I pulled, and Gia didn’t shuffle the deck. “It means a sudden change that’s usually disruptive and changes pretty much everything. But then it can lead to new beginnings, which is good! But…you forgot to shuffle.”
“Oh, shoot, you’re right.” She presses the cards to her chest, thinking of her question. “Does Aiden G like me?” She shuffles the deck and pulls out another card.
I smile and try not to chuckle as she puts down the Ten of Cups. “Ohh, this one means a favorable outcome and emotional fulfillment.”
“Does that mean he likes me?” Her face lights up.
“Maybe. But you know you don’t need a stinky boy to make you happy, right?”
She rolls her eyes, sick of hearing me tell her that. “I know, Wren. And just because you don’t want a boyfriend doesn’t mean I don’t.”
“You’re eleven,” I deadpan and raise an eyebrow. It takes everything inside of me not to glance up at Ryder, who’s still over at the bar, getting more drinks. I know better than to admit out loud that I want a relationship. I’ve been raised as a hunter, told my focus and purpose in life is to kill as many demons and monsters as possible, sacrificing my own happiness for the safety of others.
But really, I would kill for a partner again. Life is hard, and not having to do the hard things alone makes it so much better. I know having a boyfriend isn’t going to solve all my problems, but it would make it a hell of a lot easier to navigate. There’s something so fundamentally lonely about being the only witch in a group of hunters, of knowing I’m never going to be fully accepted by the people I consider family.
Because, at the core, I’m not family.
I’m some little orphan girl a compassionate hunter took in, finding me alone in an apartment in Italy after demons killed my parents, devouring them until there was nothing left. I like to think they gave their life to save me, but I guess I’ll never know.
“Mom’s here!” Gia exclaims and I look up, seeing my adoptive parents—and Antonio, Leo, Larissa, and Gia’s biological parents—walk into the tavern.
“Let’s put the cards away,” I tell my youngest sister. I give them a quick shuffle, letting them rest without any questions weighing on them, and quickly tie a ribbon around the deck before slipping it back into my bag.