Page 28 of Illusory

“I’m happy he got to spend some time with you today. I’m sure it helped seeing you guys,” I said and then searched his face for an answer to a question I hadn’t even asked. “You think it helped, right?”

He scrubbed his palm against his shaved head and shrugged his shoulders. “Fuck if I know. Our man’s not exactly an open book, you know? I’m just glad to see my dudeconsciousand speaking again.”

I nodded, knowing that feeling well. Seeing him open his eyes again the night he Turned felt like the sun breaking through a storm that had gone on for weeks.

“Do you think—” My question was interrupted at the sound of the doorbell chiming through the foyer. Apparently, it was open house season at the Blackburn Estate.

Cursing under my breath, I unclenched my fist and shook off the remaining trickle of blood. In my rush to get up, I accidentally knocked my hip into the table and nearly sent the tumbler of my hard-earned blood flying.

“Chill,” said Ben, holding out a calming hand to me. “I got it. Finish…whatever in Hades it is that you’re doing,” he said, eyeing the tumbler of blood and the fresh cut on my palm, as though he’d only just noticed them, before sauntering off to answer the door.

Biting down on my lip, I allowed the last few drops of blood to drip down into the crystal glass and then grabbed the paper towel, applying pressure against the wound to help stop the bleeding.

Ben appeared at the doorway a few moments later with a peculiar look on his face. “Hey, Jem. Look who it is,” he said in a faux upbeat voice as he walked back into the kitchen with Morgan trailing behind him.

I triedand failednot to cringe at the sight of her.

Not that I had anything against Morgan per se, but we hadn’t exactly been on the same side of the whole turning-Trace-into-a-vampire-to-save-his-life thing. Not to mention, I’d been dodging her calls all morning.

“Whatever, Jemma. Nice to see you too,” she said and then rolled her eyes at me before crossing the kitchen and then flopping down into the chair across from me. The one Ben had been sitting in.

“Yeah, that’s kind of where I was sitting—”

“Like I care,” she snapped, glaring at Ben like she might strike him dead with just the look in her eyes.

Ben promptly pivoted to a different chair. “Right-o then.”

“Nice to see you in a good mood for a change,” I mumbled as I slid the glass of my blood toward the center of the table and away from her—just in case she started throwing fists or swinging chairs at our heads. When I was sure my hard work was safe and out of reach, I looked back up at her and frowned as I remarked the purple shadows under her eyes. “You look tired, Morgan.”

“Thanks. So do you.” She tossed her curly red hair over her shoulder and then pulled in an exhausted breath. “I barely slept a wink last night. I was too busy having visions about Nikki’s Son of Perdition all fucking night long. What’s your excuse?”

“You had a vision about the baby?” My eyes widened with interest as I tilted forward in my chair, leaning in closer to her. “Please tell me it was something useful.”

“My visions are always useful,” she said, sounding defensive. “They just need to be put into context.”

Yeah, that was debatable, but I didn’t argue the point. “So, what did you see?”

“Bits and pieces of different scenes,” she said and then shoved her palm in my face before I could shoot her an I-told-you-so look. “Most of it hasn’t come together yet, but there was one part that stood out to me clear as day.” The way she’d said it, all low and hopeless, made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Is this going to ruin my day?”

“No.”

My shoulders relaxed, though the relief was short lived.

“It’s probably going to ruin your whole year,” she clarified without a lick of sympathy. “They’re coming, Jemma. They’re coming to reap what they have sown and we’re all going to burn in hell for it.”

My heart hammered in my chest at the sound of her foreboding voice and ominous warning.

“Christ, Mor. Don’t sugar coat it for her or anything.” Ben looked at her like the cold-hearted Seer she was.

“It’s not my job to coddle her,” she said and then slid her scathing gaze back to me. “You have more than enough of that around here and I really wouldn’t be doing you any favors.”

She obviously hadn’t met my mother yet. “Who’scoming,Morgan? What exactly did you see?”

“The Sisters,” she hissed lowly, her green eyes turning dark and murky as she sidled toward me. “They’re coming for Nikki’s baby, and it’s not because they want to throw her a baby shower.”

“The Sisters?” asked Ben, bouncing a glance between me and Morgan. “Who the fuck are the Sisters?”

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