Page 21 of Lila

She laughs before saying, “Don’t be so sure. You never know until you try it.” She winks again and I shake my head as I laugh.

“I’m Delphine, by the way.” She holds out her hand and I shake it.

“Lila. It’s nice to meet you.”

I feel something touch my leg and look down to find Gray beside me staring at the throuple.

His mechanical voice says “What that,” as he nods his head toward them and points.

“Grayson. It’s not nice to point. These are our new friends. Show them you’re a polite little boy.”

He huffs, then turns back to his tablet. A moment later it says. “That orange rope thing. What is it.”

Oh. That’s what he was asking about. Honestly, I’ve been wondering the same thing but I didn’t want to be rude. Thank god for little boys with no filter.

“You can see that, huh?” She bends down so she’s on his level and smiles. “It’s a bond that shows we belong together,” she explains gently and I suddenly remember the mate spell Lavender told me about. She said I’d be able to tell who were mates by the fiery magic connecting them. I guess this is it. That realization is followed by another.

“Wait, you can see magic?” I ask him. “Do your mom and dad know?”

He just shrugs at me and goes back to looking at the magic.

Chapter 15

Lila

“Grayson.It’snotniceto stare.”

His eyes flick up to mine and he shakes his head before running off back to the penguins.

“Sorry about that,” I grimace at Delphine.

“Oh, no worries. Kids are inquisitive. It’s only natural to question magic you’ve never seen before.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s seen it before. He could just never question it until now. His mom told me he didn’t get any of her witchy-ness, only his dad’s siren powers. But if he can see the magic connecting you, he definitely has witchy magic he’s been keeping a secret. Now I get to find out why.”

“Ohhh. Have fun with that,” she chuckles. “If he’s anything like me, he’ll take that secret to the grave.”

“Too bad for him I found him out.”

“Well, I’ll let you get to your inquisition.” One of the men raises a brow at her and she sighs. “Wanna exchange numbers and we can hang out sometime? God, why is making friends so difficult?” she mumbles the last part under her breath, but not soft enough for me not to hear.

Smiling, I pull out my phone. “I’d love to. You can never have too many friends.”

After we exchange numbers and say our goodbyes, I find Gray leaning over the wall as he studiously watches a penguin.

“Whoa! Don’t fall in,” I laugh as I grab him and set him back on the ground. “Did you find Penelope?”

His smile takes over his entire face and he nods his head rapidly as he points at the penguin in front of us.

“That one huh? How do you know?” I don’t see a name tag or anything.

He shrugs and goes back to watching the penguin that he just magically knows is his.

This town is so much cooler than Seaside Cove. There’s magiceverywhere. I’ve never been anywhere where magic is so openly practiced. It feels like the town itself is magic.

We hang out with the penguins for hours before something suddenly lands on my chest, scaring the shit out of me. “Ahhh!” I squeal as a furry creature thuds into my chest and nuzzles its nose all over me. A glance down tells me I’m not being attacked by killer squirrels and I breathe a little easier. Since the animal clearly doesn’t intend to harm me or leave my chest any time soon, I hold on to it so it doesn’t fall.

“Oh, you’re a cutie! Where’d you come from?” I ask the large bundle of softness. Seriously, I’ve never felt anything so soft before.

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