Page 58 of Twisted

“Yep.”I pull my hair back so Mabel can put a ruby necklace on for me.“Xavier knew.I don’t know how he knew, but he knew.”

“He has a way of getting whatever it is he needs,” she starts, going back to her impressive jewelry collection.“Whether it’s information or someone’s loyalty, he usually gets his way.”

“Yeah.I’m finding that out.”

“But what happened?”

“They kidnapped me.”I look up and blink back tears.I just had my makeup done.I can’t cry and mess it up now.“I don’t know what happened to my parents.They could still be alive and looking for me.”

“Can you do a location spell to find them?”

“Yes, but I’m not exactly sure how.Finding someone with the same blood as me is more than possible…if I knew how to do it.”

Mabel makes a face, looking at me as she thinks.I assume she’s trying to decide what earrings for me to wear.

“We’ve always been warned to stay away from witches, warlocks, or anyone remotely similar.But I’ve heard from Caroline that there is a witch who runs an antique shop who might be able to help you.I could ask if maybe she could hook a girl up.”

“I would love that,” I say without asking or even caring who Caroline is.Being able to do a locator spell for my long-lost parents and know it was the real deal would be amazing.“Thank you.”

“Of course!Anything for my bestie.”

“You’re not going to, like, get in trouble for reaching out to a witch, are you?”I look at myself in the mirror, hardly recognizing the woman looking back at me.Though there’s a part of me that definitely can get used to being all done up like this from time to time.

“No, I won’t get close.And you’re fine to be around other witches.It’s more a rule for us, but you’re here so maybe Xavier will change his mind.”She wrinkles her nose.“Or not.You’re an exception.”

“To being around witches?”

“Yep.We’re forbidden.”

“Because of the whole war?”

“That,” she starts and hands me a pair of black diamond earrings.“And the fact that Xavier’s maker was killed by a witch.”

* * *

The G-Wagon comesto a stop in an alley in what I would consider a “bad part” of town.It’s certainly a place a woman like me shouldn’t venture to alone…if I weren’t a witch and a skilled hunter.

“Don’t let the run down facade worry you,” Xavier tells me.He’s dressed in all black today, looking dangerous and sexy yet again.This man could be the death of me, and I’d probably die happily if it involved us both horizontally in one way or another.“I’ve been told the food is quite good.”

“What kind of food do they serve?”I ask then shake my head.That should be the least of my worries.This has “mafia drug dealer meeting” written all over it, and if that’s what goes down tonight well…to be honest, I have no idea what I’d do.

Vampires kill.They’re monsters in some way, needing blood to survive.But humans kill far more than vampires ever have, and they will continue to for as long as they exist.Not every vampire drains everyone they feed off of, either, and that’s a whole other moral dilemma I don’t have time for right now.

But bringing in drugs that end up in the hands of teens isn’t good.Fentanyl is bad enough, but throw in something stronger and more potent…it’s a problem and one I don’t know I can stand behind and not say anything.Which makes me wonder wheredoI draw the line?

“Wren,” Xavier says in a way that lets me know it’s not the first time he’s called my name.

“Yeah, sorry, I spaced out.”

“Where did you go?”He unbuckles and turns to face me, looking at me clearly despite the dark and gently taps my forehead.

“I don’t even know,” I confess and let out a breath.“Just trying to get a feeling on what’s going to happen, I suppose.”

“You seem nervous.”

“I am..a bit,” I tell him, knowing it’s not worth it to try and lie.He can sense it anyway.“I don’t know what I’m walking into.”

“I will protect you, Wren.You are my wife and I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”