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But it was always there. Present without being visible. It felt a lot like the first time I visited the Hayden pack on my father’s orders.
“What’s in the box, anyway?” Kiara asked. “Like, is it ritual stuff?” She traced the keyhole on the ancient steel padlock and whistled. “Must be important.”
“Honestly, I don’t think it is.”
I worriedly stared at the empty road ahead. In a few more miles, we would be back at the Hayden ranch.
Then, I would have to present this mystery box to Kiara’s moody father.
One thing at a time, Regina, I thought. Get to Kiara’s apartment first.
My fingers drummed the box again. “There are no spells on it. No charms. No marks. It’s just a box.”
“If your dad wanted you to personally deliver it to my dad, then yeah, Gina. It’s definitely important.”
“I can’t argue with that logic.”
She flipped her long black hair over her shoulder, bluish-green eyes glittering with afternoon light and amusement. “You know me. Logical.”
“There’s nothing logical about putting cold spoons under your eyes at night.”
“Really? You’re going to make fun of me for that?”
I chuckled while flipping my turn signal. The car slowed as I applied pressure to the brakes. “That sleepover was ages ago. Maybe…five years ago?”
“You missed so much here.”
“I know, but you know how it is for Navarro witches.”
She sighed while placing her hands on her bare knees. The woman was wearing blue jean shorts and a crop top with a heart on it in the middle of October. How she wasn’t cold now with the brisk wind outside was beyond logic, even with all her claims of being logical.
“Yeah,” she agreed, “y’all tend to work all the time.”
“We have to feed where there’s a need.”
As I turned right into the pack’s entrance, I thought of that famous Navarro phrase. Papa used to say that every time he unrolled a magical scroll or slit open an envelope with his favorite silver knife. That letter opener sat in my bag, unpolished, waiting to be held again by the daughter of a successful witch. The handle was still warm with his energy. I could be okay for a moment as long as it was like that.
I could be alright as long as I got to touch the three rubies set into the end of the handle, surrounded by ivy carvings that twisted down toward the pointed end. The thing was getting dull, but I didn’t want to sharpen it and ruin the blade. Or worse, drop the thing and accidentally pop one of the rubies out.
One for me. one for Mom. One for Papa.
Selena Navarro never stood a chance of giving birth to me. Sometimes, I took her old Polaroid out of my wallet and tried to picture her with advanced wisdom, laughing lines, crow’s feet. However, she might have looked at Papa’s age—which, well, I guessed didn’t quite matter now.
He was gone. He went to join her in that gorgeous golden Summerland sandwiched somewhere near our dimension.
Gravel kicked the undercarriage of the Honda Civic. Poor thing needed maintenance soon. Between Dad hitting the pavement with a heart attack that couldn’t have been saved by modern medicine or magic and my extended family demanding my presence at various events, well, my car hadn’t exactly been the thing to think about servicing.
I had barely gotten any service myself. Once Papa was pronounced dead, everything sped up. I had to sign papers and release books to whomever, wherever, whatever. Dad left me in charge of everything, and I stepped up to the task. I was his daughter, after all, and he had raised me to be a confident, charming, and considerate woman.
He had also raised me to see the brighter side of things, to notice the sun shining behind the clouds. Though today was proving difficult in that regard, I did my best. Because sitting beside me was my best friend, and she wasn’t about to leave me alone with my grief.
I smiled as I pulled up in front of her apartment building. Really, it was just a house converted into two townhomes. Apparently, that was something this particular alpha liked to do.
After turning off the engine, I unbuckled my belt and stepped out of the car. My eyes went directly to the window across the street, which seemed to hold a specter earlier this morning when I initially arrived. The window was dark as it had been initially, sunlight backlighting the entire house with an orange hue.
Halloween was upon us. The veil was much thinner now, and I could feel the way the trees whispered of the coming spirits. All kinds of things were about to lurk on the streets, many different creatures of various dimensions, and a multitude of feelings. Grief was a big one this time of year. Grief and the expectant sorrow of the coming winter.
I took a deep breath while shutting the car door. I tucked the box under my arm and looped my keys around the forefinger of my left hand while rounding the front of my green vehicle. “You know, I actually don’t remember your dad too much.”
