Page 28 of Dangerous Relics and the Women Who Love Them
“I could heal your feet as if they were never broken. Then, you could go back to doing what brings you joy.”
Reyson could be epically weird sometimes, but I got what my sister saw in him. He’d destroy the cosmos for my twin, but he also did good things because it was just who he was. I doubted Reyson would bring back her parents or could find her dickhead ex-boyfriend, but he could make it possible for her to dance again.
“I’d love that more than anything, but what would I tell people who know my feet are broken?”
“It’s not a secret I’m here anymore. So tell them you know me,” Reyson said.
Okay, my sister’s boyfriend did some pretty amazing things, but he could have a god sized ego sometimes.
“I’m not worried about the people at my high school. They are used to magic. It’s the humans that know me. Some of my human friend’s parents have been bothering Kaine for taking me in because they don’t know him. Derrick disappeared, and his parents think I had something to do with it. They are practically stalking me and showing up at random places demanding to know what I did with him. If they see me without my casts this early, they’ll start saying I made up him breaking my feet.”
“No. No way,” Kaine said. “I’m tired of that boy and his family dictating your life when he possibly ended your dance career. He’s still doing it long after he fucked off somewhere he can’t be punished for what he did to you. His parents are seriously deranged if they think you could have murdered him with two broken feet and disappeared his body the same night you were in the hospital. If you absolutely feel the need to keep up appearances, let Reyson heal you, but we can manipulate those casts, so you only have to wear them in public.”
“I can do that too,” Reyson said.
“Don’t let them win, Beyla,” Killian said. “I’m not sure where their deranged crotch fruit disappeared to after he abused you, but I know what kind of people they are. Theywantyour dance career to be over because they think he’s the victim here.”
“Well, I certainly didn’t do it, but what if he was? His parents gave him everything he wanted. If he were going to run, they would have been in on it. They would have set him up somewhere with money, a place to live, and probably a new car.”
“Witching 101,” I said. “Karma and fate are major for us. He had some threefold shit coming his way for possibly ending your dance career, and he probably would have hurt other women after you.”
“Yeah, but I have magic now. I didn’t when he hurt me. I have things I want to say to him, and I want to watch him feel as helpless as I felt that night. Someone took that away from me. Please, heal my feet. They aren’t taking ballet away too.”
I smiled while Reyson took care of her feet and casts. Her parents may have tried to keep her from her birthright, but that kid wasdefinitelya witch.
Chapter21
Killian
By the time we left lunch, little Beyla wasn’t just walking around perfectly. She gave us a ballet performance in the garden after we begged her when she said it was like they were never broken. That kid was going to be a famous prima ballerina one day.
Her magic was still raw, but she weaved an enchantment while she was dancing. She was just improvising to music on Ripley’s cell phone, but she was good. And some stupid teenage boy nearly took that from her because he was threatened by it. Thank Lilith for Reyson that he could give her dance career back to her if she wanted it.
Ravyn and I were back at her cottage, looking at the scans from the grimoire. I had a lot of things to say about the evil shit the Cult of the Aether Sisters got up to, but their grimoire was absolutely beautiful. Someone had taken the time and care to illustrate it with the plants and crystals needed for the spells.
Ravyn and I could translate this, but it would take time, and we couldn’t exactly do it at the museum with Valentine there. I was just as work focused as Ravyn was, especially now that I had more options for helping her at the museum. Valentine was ruining that.
There was a lot of pretty obvious innuendo at brunch to know Ripley abused dating a god and asked him to look at Ravyn’s love life. I got that Ripley was happy, and she wanted that for her twin, but this was important and couldn’t be forced. Still, if Reyson saw a coven forming, I actually liked Key and got along with him. Ravyn liked him too. I’d never pressure her like Ripley was doing. But, technically, weneededhis help.
“Do you think Key would want to come over on his day off if we bribed him with your good whiskey? The grimoire is massive, and we can’t translate it with Valentine all up in our business. Sasha has sent us twenty pages so far, and neither of us is as good with Old Norse as Key.”
“I don’t know if I should be annoyed or impressed, he knows things I don’t and can translate ancient runes like he’s reading some of the fiction at Ripley’s library.”
“Bitch, you’re lying if you’re trying to say you aren’t utterly impressed that he’s brilliant, and it doesn’t turn you on a little that he could just look at these scans and tell you exactly what they say.”
Fuck, I wasn’t even remotely bisexual, and it turnedmeon. Intelligence was sexy. Yeah, a pretty face was nice, but if you couldn’t have conversations that challenged you, what was the point? Ravyn was the full package, and so was Key. I’d like to think I fit in there, too, somewhere.
“Okay, itissexy. It’s his day off, though.”
“I get the feeling that warlock doesn’t do a damned thing he doesn’t want to do. He didn’t bulldoze his way onto Valentine’s dig to share his knowledge or end up quoted in books and articles. Key came because of that prophesy and the upcoming eclipse. He’s not like Valentine. Keywantsto stop it. If the answer to that is in the grimoire, I think he would be mad not to be invited. Plus, I get the feeling he finds translating ancient grimoires just as sexy as we do.”
“Probably so, and that speaks to my soul.”
“So, call him and invite him over. We’re going to need all the help we can get. Valentine knows how the cult plans to use the eclipse to come back, but he’s not going to tell you with us in the room and until he thinks you’re going to help him.”
“Good call. I’m all about whipping out the magic vagina to manipulate the villain because they are generally stupid like that, but Valentine’s aura is giving me the creeps.”
Valentine was giving all of us the creeps with that nasty aura of his. If Reyson saw the possibilities of Ravyn forming her own coven, now was definitely the time for it.
