Page 38 of Twisted Gift

I exhale on a laugh. “Yeah, here’s hoping.” Tapping my fingers against my thighs, I chew my bottom lip, debating whether now is the right time to fill Nikolai in on the Jules bomb.

“What’s on your mind, gorgeous?”

“We don’t have enough time for that conversation, Nik.” I sigh. “But there is something I need to tell you.”

He cocks a brow. “Go for it.”

“Remember how Max kidnapped me because he thought I was fae—because I had fae ancestors?”

He frowns a bit. “Yeah...”

“Tristan looked into it at my request. He couldn’t find anything, so we figured they died during the war.”

Nikolai nods. “Why do I think you’re about to tell me whoever it was didn’t die?”

I cringe. “Oh, he died.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m the one who killed him.”

His face pales in the same moment his pulse skips... and then speeds up. “Fucking hell,” he mutters. “Jules was your fae ancestor?”

My responding nod is reluctant. “My great-great-great-great-grandfather to be exact.”

His eyes widen. “Great-great-great-great.” He counts each “great” off on his fingers as if he’s trying to calculate how many years had passed. “I wasn’t even in Rockdale then,” he mutters. “I had no idea.” He shakes his head, finally looking at me again. “Shit, that’s messed up.”

“You’re telling me,” I agree. “On a lighter note, we’re throwing a party here on Friday.”

He seems to shake off the initial shock, offering me a wry grin. “Ah, an end of the world sort of deal?”

I roll my eyes, jabbing him in the ribs with my elbow. “No, it’s Oliver’s birthday. Max asked me to help out, so I offered to host.”

“You think right now is the best time to throw a party? Maybe we should hold off until we know the war is over?”

I shake my head. “It’s not Oliver’s fault all of his friends are fighting some supernatural war he knows nothing about. His birthday celebration shouldn’t suffer because of it.”

Nikolai rolls his eyes. “Fine. Whatever you say,” he mumbles in a dramatic voice.

I scowl. “Oh, shut up. Since when are you one to pass up a party? With an open bar.”

A grin touches his lips. “Well, when you put it that way.”

“Right.” I draw out the word. “That’s what I thought.”

“So, is this my formal invitation?”

“That depends. Are you going to be able to handle yourself without pissing off Skylar?”

He smirks. “It’s just so easy.”

I shoot him a pointed look. “I’m serious. Oliver doesn’t know about the fae, and this is important. It has to go perfectly. He deserves that.”

Nikolai lets loose a heavy sigh. “Relax, gorgeous. I’ll be on my best behavior. There will be humans attending I assume?”

With a slow nod, I say, “Of course.”

“Good. I’ll show you how to feed on them.”

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