Incipient A Dark Paranormal Romance - Bianca Scardoni Page 0,104
to you about,” she said, her tone turning serious.
My brow raised in a questioning look.
“I’m not sure if I mentioned that I had been trying to track down mom for the last few weeks,” she started, eyeing me nervously. “Well, anyway. I found her.”
I blinked at her. Just hearing her mention our mother made my heart spur icicles. “And?”
“And we spent some time together.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“She wants to see you again, Jem,” she said, finally getting to the point. “And I think you should meet with her.”
“For what?” I asked frostily. It had been months since the Council cut her loose from her forever resting place and she had not made the slightest effort to reach out to me or Tessa once since then. “Why now?”
“I know you think she just up and disappeared on us after the Council pardoned her, but she didn’t. She’s been looking for a way to help you—to understand our bloodline better. She’s learned a lot, Jemma, and I think she can really help you.”
I crinkled my nose at her. “Help me do what exactly?”
“Help you reach your full potential,” she answered wistfully. “Who you are…what you can do…it’s so much more than any of us ever imagined. I think if you just hear her out, you’ll see—” Tessa’s words cut at the sound of the front door opening and shutting, followed by the sound of heavy footfalls making their way toward us.
My jaw was still partially unhinged when Trace appeared at the threshold, his blue eyes lighting up at the sight of Tessa. Lucky for her, she wasn’t one of the people he’d forgotten. And I totally wasn’t jealous.
“Jesus, Trace,” she said as she jumped up from the sofa and rushed over to him. “When the hell did you get so hot and grown up?” she asked as she pulled him into a hug.
His gaze cut to me from over her shoulder. “Probably around the same time you did,” he said as he flashed me that million-dollar smile of his.
She took a full step back and catalogued him. “I swear you get better looking every time I see you. There’s got to be something in the water.”
“You should know, you grew up here,” he answered and then gave her a flirtatious wink.
“Okay, enough. You’re both older and hotter. We get it,” I said, rolling my eyes at them.
“Aw, I think she’s jealous. How cute,” teased Tessa, which prompted another eye roll from me.
“So, what are you doing back in Hollow Hills anyway?” he asked as they ventured back into the living room together.
“What else? I’m here to—”
“To catch up,” I quickly jumped in, afraid she was going to inadvertently let something slip. “Tessa was just telling me about her last hunt. Super crazy. Right, Tess?”
Tessa stared at me, her mouth opening and then closing as she nodded. “That’s right. Super crazy.”
“Really?” asked Trace as he took a seat beside me and then dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “I haven’t heard one of these in a while,” he said, sounding both nostalgic and genuinely interested as he waited for the ‘super crazy’ story to emerge.
“Oh, well, you know how it is,” she said, dismissing it with a wave of her hand. “Once you heard one, you’ve pretty much heard them all, am I right?” Tessa widened her eyes at me, looking for a save.
“Exactly,” I said and then forced a laugh. “So, who’s hungry? Should we order some food?”
Tessa nodded spiritedly. “I could definitely eat.”
“Me too.”
Trace bounced a glance between the two of us and chuckled. If he thought we were nuts, he at least had the decency not to say it aloud. “I brought some wings and pizza from the bar,” he offered, eyebrows raised. “Or I can order something else?”
“Wings and pizza sounds perfect,” I said as I leaned over and stole a kiss from his lips.
As soon as Trace left the room to get the food, Tessa turned back to me and scowled. “Thanks for putting me on the spot like that. At least give me a heads-up next time.”
“Sorry,” I muttered, forgetting that she wasn’t familiar with my way of life, where lying to everyone about everything was pretty much my default setting. “He came home early,” I said, though I already knew that Tessa was going to need to stay sharp and on her toes if we had any hopes of surviving the next couple of hours with him.