he’s a werewolf?”
I laughed at her conclusion. “Do werewolves exist?” She would know. Between the two of us, she was the expert on monsters.
“They do exist.” She frowned. “But, he can’t be. They have a distinct magic—you can smell it. Guess I can cross that off the list.”
Riley had always enjoyed playing detective. It bothered her when she couldn’t figure people out. And now that we had loads of time on our hands, this thing with Grey had become her new pet project—a mystery she needed to solve.
“Vampire?” I supplied for her.
She snorted. “Vampires have been extinct for the past century.”
“Hmm…” I drummed my fingers along the table, thinking. “What about a demon?”
Riley straightened, considering that. She shook her head. “No, I doubt that. His magic feels too pure.”
I shivered; winter was setting in, and it was getting colder. I got up and added more wood to the stove. Thanks to our Ares magic, we always had a fire going, but by nightfall we were freezing. It got so bad, Riley and I moved our mattresses out of the bedroom and into the kitchen each night to stay warm.
Later that evening, Petra visited for dinner. She tried to visit at least once or twice per month, and she always brought loads of food with her. Each time she came, she brought Riley a letter from Selena. The first time she had done this, Riley locked herself in the bedroom, emerging later with red eyes and a dreamy smile. “Good news,” she said, patting my shoulder. “You’re not my only sibling.”
“Oh, thank god,” I teased her. “Now you can focus on killing someone else.”
She chuckled, then told me she had three brothers, two of which were twins. “I can’t wait to meet them.”
“Me too,” she sighed. “If that ever happens.”
Tonight was no different; Petra didn’t disappoint. She showed up with steamy tomato soup, shepherd’s pie and cinnamon poached pears, all things she cooked herself. And as always, she brought a letter from Selena and a large bottle of red wine, something Dad would have never given us in the human world. But in Mythos, you were considered old enough to drink alcohol once your magic rooted inside of you.
After dinner, we all shared the bottle until we were giggly and our insides were warm. This was Riley’s favorite time to share stories about our childhood, mostly the embarrassing ones. Petra’s whole face lit up, but there was sadness in her gaze too. She tried to hide it, but not being a part of our memories bothered her.
Riley told her about the time she put honey in my hair while I was sleeping—revenge because I drew on her face with a sharpie the night before—causing all three of us to laugh until our bellies hurt.
Petra let out a wistful sigh. “Ah, I wish I could have seen that.”
I swallowed, wishing the same thing.
Sensing the conversation had steered toward a more serious tone, Riley cleared her throat. “We didn’t tell you the best part,” she said, grinning, “Once we were bored with pranking each other, we decided to prank Dad.”
“Oh, that’s right.” I covered my face in shame as it came back to me. “The fireworks.”
Petra’s dark brows lifted. “What did you do?”
“We set them off in his shed,” Riley said. “While he was in there.”
Petra covered her mouth to hide her grin. “Daniel must’ve been livid.”
“He grounded us for a month for that stunt,” I recalled, chuckling. “He did not find it as funny as we did.”
“What a shame,” she said. “He used to have such a wonderful sense of humor.”
The comment quieted all of us, our laughs dying down. I think Riley and I both kept forgetting that Petra and Dad had a past before we came along.
“He’s an idiot for letting you go,” Riley said, always the blunt one between the two of us. “You seem like you would’ve been perfect for each other.”
Petra snorted, her cheeks reddening. “Yes, well…I guess we all make our choices, don’t we?” She yawned and stood. “I’m tired; I think it’s time I go.”
More like, a good time to exit the conversation.
Riley left to use the bathroom and I walked Petra to the door. As she was leaving, I said, “You should talk to him, if you ever get the chance.”
“Your dad?” She straightened and narrowed her gaze on me. “What for?”
“He said you were the love of his life.” I shrugged awkwardly. “That seems kind of big for him.”
At first, I didn’t think