put the groceries in the trunk, and slipped behind the wheel.
We drove in silence, but it wasn’t tense like before. It was a different silence, as if now we shared a secret, something unique no one else in the world shared.
Even though I wasn’t saying a word, my mind whirled with so many fucking questions. How did she have powers? How did they work? Who was she? Who was that man? Did that happen often?
I parked my car in Kenna’s driveway and helped her with the groceries. It was only when everything was atop the kitchen island that I finally asked her about it.
“Your hair is blond again,” I said, starting with something light.
Kenna grabbed the boxes of pasta from the paper bag. “Yup.”
“I’m assuming blond is your natural color.”
She placed the pasta inside the cabinet behind her. “Yup.” She let out a long sigh and faced me again, her bright blue eyes a little apprehensive. “I dye it brown, though every time I use my powers, the dye fades. I don’t know why.”
I frowned. “Why do you dye your hair?”
She averted her eyes and fussed with the bags over the island, but not really doing anything. “Because I don’t like it blond.”
It was a lie. And she knew I knew it was a lie, but she didn’t care.
“What about your powers?”
She returned her eyes to me. “I was born with the ability to conjure and control the darkness. I don’t know why or how. All I know is that my powers are evil, and there are people out there who would do anything to use them.”
Was that the problem? Someone out there wanted her powers? That was why she dyed her hair, and was reluctant to let people get close to her? She and Olivia were running from someone?
I wanted to ask all of that out loud, but I was concerned about pushing it too far and having her kick me out. She was slowly opening up, answering something here and there. I had to go slow.
Though, I could tell her a bit about me.
I extended my hand to her. “Come with me.”
Her brows curled down and her eyes fixed on my hand. “Where?”
“I want to show you something.”
Kenna hesitated, then she slipped her hand in mine. At that moment, another vision hit me. The blonde girl sat on the ground, and I knelt in front of her, in desperate need to keep her safe.
That feeling was so intense, I sucked in a sharp breath. The vision was gone and I stared at Kenna’s beautiful face.
She tilted her head at me. “What is it?”
I locked my eyes with hers, knowing that the same feeling from before applied now, for Kenna. The realization that I would do anything to protect her hit me hard and made it hard to breathe.
Holding tight to her hand, I pulled her with me, to my house, all the while conscious of her delicate hand in mine, of her closeness, of her sweet cherry scent so delectable whenever a breeze blew or she got too close.
I only let go of her hand when we arrived in the spare bedroom on the second floor of my house, where I kept the board with all the information I had gathered over the years.
Kenna froze in the doorway, her eyes bugged and her mouth open. Slowly, she dragged her feet closer to the board and took a good look at it.
Here, I was entirely exposed to her. She might not understand a couple of things, but she could make sense that I was different. Not human. Her eyes scanned the piece of paper where I took notes of the visions I had each time I touched her, except for the one from a few minutes ago. Then, she saw a picture of the ring, the drawing of some demons who I found in town in the past few weeks, and lastly, a picture of Lia and her, and my random notes about them, followed by several question marks.
Kenna pointed to Lia’s picture on the board. “She isn’t my mother.”
I gaped at her. To be honest, I had suspected that before, but chose to believe whatever they were selling. “Who is she, then?”
“Just someone I met,” she said, her eyes rummaging the board. “Someone who helped me through the tough times. Someone who deserved a better life than the one forced on us.”
So, she was running from someone. And Lia too. They were hiding here, and pretending to be