Page 3

Chapter 3

Nova

T he apartment the Council supplied was nice enough – a one-bedroom, one-bathroom with a small living room and a kitchen. It had exposed brick and a nice balcony with a fire escape. Nova could smell the brine from the Puget Sound, and the sounds of the city were strange after a lifetime in a small town.

She studied the already furnished apartment, wrinkling her nose at the boring color scheme. It looked like some kind of setup for a magazine or something with silver accents, soft blues, and a lot of whites.

It wasn’t really her style, but Nova didn’t expect to be here long.

The mission from the Council was relatively simple.

All she had to do was some recon based on a few reports they’d received. For how long, she wasn’t sure yet. Maybe a few weeks?

Some of the paranormals in the area were making their presence known and the one rule the Council enforced harder than any others – the entire reason the Council existed – was to keep the humans from finding out about the paranormal.

Observing the paranormals in the city was the only order she currently had. She assumed her handler would give her new orders based on the reports. If it was simple enough for one hunter to handle then she’d be ready, but if not then they’d send in a whole team to help her.

Nova tapped her Council ID and considered it for a second.

Twenty-three years old, and finally doing what she’d been working toward ever since she’d lost her older sister.

She wasn’t stupid, she knew she was green and na?ve when it came to people. Her parents had homeschooled her, thanks to her scar and the resulting heterochromia. She’d spent thirteen years training as a hunter with her father and his family. Her mother had taught her as much magic as Nova was able to use so that by the time she finally left for the University of Morgana…

No one would ask questions about her scar with the abnormal eye color, or her dual bloodlines.

Her magic had manifested early, which was rare for those like her who had traits from two different paranormal races, but it wasn’t all that strong. She was limited to a few, very basic moves. It wasn’t like anything her mother could do, but it worked for what she needed as a hunter.

It was more than her sister had possessed though.

Gianna hadn’t possessed any magic at all. Maybe if Nova had been better at magic, she could have done something…

She sighed and slid her ID under her mattress and turned away from the window. Those thoughts were poison she couldn’t seem to give up.

It was nearly sunset, and she needed to get ready anyway.

Nova pulled the necklace over her head and inspected the charms her mother had made for her. She smiled as she selected a few and slipped them off the chain.

Tying the one for silence into the laces of her boots, she considered the others. Taking off her belt, she slid the one to hide her scent from shifters and vampires into the slots her father had made for just this sort of thing. No one would see the charms, no one would know what she was.

And the last one she hung on the earring of her left ear, fluffing her purple hair and letting the long, curly strands cover half her face. It hid the charm, the scar, and her unnatural eye.

She rubbed the small metal coin between her fingers and felt the way her mother’s magic dampened what she was. Now she would look like little more than a human to anyone and anything that might not like a hunter sticking their nose into their business.

One last thing.

Grabbing a long-sleeved turtleneck, she slipped it on over her tank top, checking to make sure the black fabric covered the magic runes tattooed into her skin. The design was under her collarbones, the lines dark and thick with the matching tattoo down her left forearm and on her shoulder.

They helped her focus the little power she had to use it as a weapon.

Rare magic tattooed into her body to help protect her against those in the paranormal world that were far stronger than she was. The runes might just save her life one day, but her father had made sure to beat it into her that they were a last resort.

Hunters shouldn’t rely on magic – all the ones who did ended up deader than dead.

Nova studied her own reflection and she grabbed her black baseball cap. She pulled it on to keep her hair in place over her eye.

Exploring the city would be fun.

She double-checked her keys. There were a few self-defense weapons on there that any normal human girl would have. Except her knuckles were made out of silver and her mace was actually a potion that would put any paranormal to sleep. There was also her father’s hunter’s knife in her boot.

That was it.

Her hands twitched for the weapons she usually wore on her person. Even though she had all the permits she could possibly need for someone in private security, thanks to the Council fast-tracking her through the system, she couldn’t carry that kind of heat while doing reconnaissance.

If she saw anything, she wasn’t supposed to engage, not without orders from her handler.

She slicked on some Chapstick and grabbed her wallet with all her human identification in it and some money. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the sun had set and darkness was settling over the city.

Nova smiled and grabbed her jacket as she headed out, ready to see what the city had to offer.