Page 61 of Secrets & Spells
She slumps in her chair, the seriousness of the situation finally sinking in. “I’m really sorry.”
“Good,” Gwyn says, steepling her hands on the desk. “You’re grounded, obviously. For the next two days you’ll go to school and nowhere else. Next week’s half term, and you will come here with me every day. You’ll do whatever homework your teachers set for you to complete over the break in the office. Once you finish that, you will reorganise the stockroom. You will not go to the festival or the closing dance.”
“What? But you said I could go with Michael.”
“That was when I trusted you to make good decisions. You made a stupid, reckless choice, and these are the consequences. Be grateful it’s me doling out your punishment and not the town protection team.”
Eve nods, hugging herself. “That’s fair.”
“Now, I believe you owe your aunt an apology. I’ll give the two of you a moment.” Gwyn leaves, closing the office door behind her quietly.
Eve clasps her pale hands in her lap and meets my eyes for the first time. “I’m sorry, Aunt Selene. What I did was stupid, and I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you leaving me alone in the shop.”
I dip my head in acknowledgement. “Thank you. You should apologise to Raine and Audrey too.”
“I will,” she agrees hastily then drops her gaze, wringing her hands. “Are we OK now?”
She looks so hopeful that I want to give in and say yes, but the truth is we aren’t—not yet. “I forgive you, but you broke my trust. It’s going to take time to build that back up.”
Eve nods, her mouth a flat line of grim acceptance. “I understand.”
“Good. Do you have homework?”
“Yeah, I have to write a poem for English. Maybe I can make it an apology for Mum. Do you think she’d like that?”
Smiling, I reply, “I think that’s a great idea. Come here.” I hold my arms out, and she eagerly steps into the hug. “You know we love you, right?”
“I know.” She steps back and picks up her schoolbag. “Guess I’d better get to work on that poem.”
“Good luck.”
The moment the office door closes behind Eve I tilt my head back on a long exhale. I’m glad she realises how serious this was. Thank the stars Raine wasn’t seriously injured and didn’t want to file a complaint with the town protection team. Eve would never have forgiven herself if she’d hurt someone, and if she’d been arrested her hopes of training at a prestigious academy would have been dashed. Stars-willing this close call will be enough to stop her from doing anything so reckless again in the future.
Chapter 24
Jared
The deep cushion of the leather sofa I’m sitting on creaks as I settle in for my latest session with Mohinder. Unlike the vampire therapist, his cosy office is what I expected. The walls are a subtle shade of cream with thoughtfully placed pieces of abstract artwork hung in the few spaces free of bookshelves. The broad strokes in earthy shades of green and brown with a splash of burgundy tie in well with the burgundy leather of the comfortable furniture. A vanilla-scented candle, made specifically for supes so as not to overwhelm those with a more sensitive sense of smell, burns on the small round side table next to Mohinder’s armchair. It’s soothing.
“Good evening, Jared. How are you today?” Mohinder asks in his gentle baritone. He begins every session the same way. While the office is nothing unusual, Mohinder isn’t what I expected from a vampire therapist decades my senior. Not that you’d guess his age by looking at him, a human would assume he’s somewhere in his early thirties, but I’m quickly learning there’s no way of knowing if someone’s thirty or three hundred when it comes to supes.
His hair is shaved close to his head at the sides but left longer on top, the colour dyed a similar burgundy to that in theart on the walls instead of his natural dark-brown. A vertical silver bar piercing adorns the outer corner of his right eyebrow, and his short, neat nails are painted a glossy black. Mohinder’s outfits are always professional yet lean into his style in a way I admire. I dress well enough, but I’ve never been the fashion-forward sort. His outfit today is a sleek black blazer fastened with buckles instead of buttons over a black t-shirt, and black tailored trousers with a white pinstripe tucked into chunky black boots. It makes my chocolate-brown suit and tie seem a little boring, but his fun take on office-wear inspired me to try out a pumpkin-orange pocket square today.
Waiting a beat, I take stock of myself before responding to his question. “I’m OK. There was a bit of excitement in the town square yesterday. It was scary, but, surprisingly, I kept it together.”
“I heard about what happened to Raine and that you and Selene ran over to help. Why do you say surprisingly though?”
“What do you mean?”
“From everything we’ve discussed so far in our sessions, I have no doubt that you’re an incredibly resilient and resourceful individual. So, I would like to know why you’re surprised you handled a high-pressure situation like that well.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek. “I guess being afraid for so long has made it hard to remember that I’m more than all the negative stuff. This is going to sound bad, but I think Audrey being terrified for her mate made it easier for me to cope. It meant my focus was on helping her instead of worrying about myself.”
He nods sagely. “None of that sounds bad. In fact, I think it shows you’re a very compassionate person.”
I fidget uncomfortably. “I don’t know about that—anyone would have wanted to help in that situation.”
He gives me a wry smile. “You’d be surprised.” Steepling his hands in his lap, he changes the subject. “How are you feeling about the festival starting tomorrow?”
