Page 16 of Cursed Sight
He did not miss the way her eyes traveled over his body before returning to his face. Her smoky makeup made her blue eyes pop, and red lipstick accented her lips.
“Hi,” she said smoothly.
Ethan nodded. “Hi.”
Carefully, he turned his palm toward her and verified she was not a witch. His gaze slid to the display over the door, breathing her in, and he ruled her out as a tubar or werewolf when he took in a lungful of floral perfume.
Ethan ignored her small huff of annoyance at his lack of attention. He was not sure why the beautiful woman was not stirring even a second glance from him. A little voice in his ear chuckled before Serena’s green eyes flashed in his mind’s eye.
The elevator dinged on the eleventh floor, bringing him back to the metal box he stood in. The woman passed him, and he could have sworn she pouted.
A few minutes later, Ethan lowered his hand after knocking on Max’s apartment door for maybe the last time. Peering up and down the hall, he pushed out his magic in search of any other magical beings but only got a hit from his brother’s apartment.
“E? Everything okay?” Max asked as soon as he opened the door.
They clasped each other in a brotherly hug before Max stepped back to let him in. “Yeah, I’m good. I wanted to come see my brother if that’s okay.”
Max guffawed. “As if I’d say no to that—wait, I could easily say no to that if a woman warmed my bed.”
“How are things at work?” Ethan asked, ignoring the image.
Max told him about the minimal activity and how he was finally getting a hold of things. The surgeries following Moose’s had been normal, which from the look on Max’s face was a big relief.
“Glad to hear it. Anything else going on?” he asked, avoiding his news a bit longer.
“I finally have a move-in date for the house, but I don’t think you came over here to talk about that. What’s going on, E?” Max asked.
Ethan sighed. “Guess who’s got telekinetic powers now?”
“Really?” Max opened his fridge. “Want a beer?”
Ethan nodded. “I’d love one.”
“When did it happen?” Max asked, handing him a chilled bottle.
“A few days ago.” Ethan shrugged as they moved to the living room. The conversation shifted to Max’s upcoming move into his first home, before it swung back around to their magic once more.
“Have you figured out your trigger?” Max asked.
Ethan shrugged and shared with him the vision preceding the activation of his powers. A pain embedded under his breastbone at the offending image.
“So… You had a vision Serena died, and your reaction was to pull her into your arms?”
Ethan leaned forward, put his elbows to his knees, and sighed. “I guess. I had no control over it. I was still in my vision when I’d done it.”
“Sounds to me likeshe’syour trigger.”
Ethan took a pull of his beer before facing Max. “I think so too. I just didn’t want to admit it, so yeah… Thanks for that.”
Max chuckled. “You’re welcome. Always happy to force you to see what’s right in front of you. You should bring her to a family function so we can meet her. I mean, she and Ryan are the extent of the magical people we know. I can only imagine what shit the others are going through but not talking about.”
“Oh, she’ll be at a family function all right. She’s the one performing Brandy and Ryan’s ceremony.” He chuckled. “Want to get some practice in?”
Max narrowed his eyes but did not point out Ethan’s obvious change in topic. “Sure, I could definitely use more practice.”
Not only did the two brothers work on their telekinesis but Ethan tried to explain some of the dangers lurking around town. He also taught Max how to cloak himself in case he drew unwanted attention, like Brandy and Ethan had already done.
After some improvements on both their parts, Ethan left. He was thankful Max did not bring up Serena again, but she was not far from Ethan’s mind. He was constantly thinking of her lessons, the sound of her voice, and the way she smelled.
