“Omigod! Are you serious? She’s seriously ours? For reals?” Romy cradles the tiny black kitten and glances between us.
“She’s all yours.” Damen nods. “But you should thank Ever, not me. It was her idea.”
Romy looks at me, a grin spread wide across her face as Rayne twists her mouth to the side, pursing her lips in a way that makes it clear she’s sure she’s being played.
“What should we name her?” Romy glances between us before focusing solely on Rayne. “And don’t say Jinx the second, or Jinx squared, or anything like that, because this kitty deserves her own name.” She hugs the kitten tight to her chest, planting a kiss on the top of her tiny black head. “She also deserves a much better fate than the other Jinx had.”
I look at them, about to ask what happened when Rayne says, “That’s all in the past. But Romy’s right, we need to find the perfect name. Something strong and mystical—something truly worthy of a kitty like this.”
We sit, the four of us sprawled across the various chairs and couches in Damen’s oversized den. Damen and I sharing a cushion, limbs entwined as our minds sift through long lists of suitable names until I clear my voice and say, “How about Luna?” I glance between them, hoping they’ll like it as much as I do. “You know, like the Latin word for moon?”
“Please.” Rayne rolls her eyes. “We know what Luna means. In fact, I’m pretty sure we know way more Latin than you.”
I nod, struggling to keep my voice calm and composed, refusing to rise to her bait, when I add, “Well, I was thinking that since they say cats are connected to the moon and all—” I stop, taking one look at her face and knowing there’s no point in going on, she’s dead set against it.
“You know, it used to be said that cats were the children of the moon,” Damen says, determined not only to rescue me, but also to prove, once and for all, why I’m worthy of their respect. “Because like the moon, they both come to life at night.”
“Then maybe we should name her Moon Child,” Rayne says. Nodding when she adds, “Yes, that’s it! Moon Child. It’s so much better than Luna.”
“No it isn’t.” Romy gazes down at the sleeping cat in her lap, stroking the narrow space between her ears. “Moon Child’s all wrong. Lumpy. Too much. A name should be only one word. And this kitty is clearly a Luna to me. Luna. That’s what we’re calling her then?”
She glances between us, counting three nodding heads, and one that refuses to budge just to spite me.
“Sorry, Rayne.” Damen clasps my hand, a sliver of energy the only thing that separates his palm from mine. “I’m afraid the majority rules in this case.” He nods, closing his eyes as he manifests an exquisite velvet collar of the deepest purple that instantly appears around Luna’s neck. Romy and Rayne gasping, eyes shining with delight when he manifests a matching velvet bed. “Perhaps you should place her there now,” he says.
“But we’re both so comfortable like this!” Romy whines, not wanting to part with her pet.
“Yes, but we also have lessons to get to, don’t we?”
The twins glance at each other, then rise simultaneously, carefully placing Luna in her new bed and hovering at its edge, making sure she’s sleeping comfortably, before turning back to Damen, ready to begin. Taking the seats just across from him, ankles crossed, hands folded in laps, more obedient than I’ve ever seen them. Ready for whatever Damen’s got planned.
What’s this about? I shift as we untangle our limbs.
“Magick.” He nods, glancing between them. “They need to practice daily if their powers are to return.”
“How do you practice?” I squint, wondering if it’s anything like the classes Jude’s planning to teach. “I mean, are there exercises and tests, like in school?”
Damen shrugs. “It’s really more a series of meditations and visualizations—though far more intense and of a much longer duration than the ones I put you through on our first journey to Summerland, but then, you didn’t require as much. Even though the twins hail from a long line of very gifted witches, I’m afraid that as it stands now, they’re back to stage one. Though I’m hoping that with regular practice, they’ll recapture their abilities in reasonable time.”
“How long is reasonable?” I ask. When what I really mean is: How soon do we get our life back?
Damen shrugs. “Few months. Maybe longer.”
“Would the Book of Shadows help?” Realizing just after it’s out, that I shouldn’t have said it. Damen’s expression is not at all happy, though the twins are now poised on the edge of their seats.
“You have the Book of Shadows?” Rayne says, as Romy just sits there and gapes.
I glance at Damen, seeing he’s none too pleased, but since the book could very well help them as much as I hope it can help me, I say, “Well, I don’t exactly have it, but I have access to it.”
“Like for real? Like a real Book of Shadows?” Rayne phrases her words like a question, though her gaze tells me she’s sure it’s a fake.
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “Is there more than one?”
She looks at Romy, shaking her head and rolling her eyes before Damen can say, “I haven’t seen it, but from Ever’s description, I’m sure that it’s real. And quite powerful too. Too powerful for you at the moment. But maybe later, after we’ve progressed through our meditations we can—”
But Romy and Rayne are no longer listening, their attention focused solely on me as they rise from their seats and say, “Take us there. Please. We need to see it.”
twenty-seven