Gia scoffed. “Don’t underestimate him. Franco has an army of goons with guns.”
“So? You’re a witch, surrounded by other witches. The Lockwoods will help you. I know they will. I’m surprised Susan didn’t rally them to get you sooner. I know I said they aren’t fighters, but they’ll do anything to protect their own, and you’re their family.”
Gia remained unmoved. “Apparently, Susan tried to contact me. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.”
“Okay.” There was a long pause. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?”
Gia’s expression pinched, and she looked away. “Because I’m not good like you. I’m complicit in everything my father has done. I never did anything about it. I ate food bought with blood money, lived in his mansion full of pretty things, let him care for me when I was ill. He killed my mother, and I accepted his sanctuary like a fool.”
“Like a fool? You were a child. His actions aren’t your responsibility. Even after you became an adult. I don’t believe for a second you could have stopped him on your own. It wasn’t solely up to you to do something. You might not have been bound like me, but humans don’t need magic to control one another. I’m not better than you, Gia.”
“But you fought back.”
“No. I never stopped my family doing a damn thing. Not to others in my coven and not to anyone else. The reason the Thornfields don’t have a stronger foothold in Shearwater Landing, enslaving humans or other witches, is that a bigger, badder coven of vampires is in power. It’s nothing to do with me.”
Gia choked on air, her eyes going wide. “Vampires?”
“Don’t get distracted.” Aurora floated closer, and Gia didn’t flinch. A small relief. “I’m saying, all I could do was escape. Neither of us is complicit for not being able to stop the people who held us prisoner.”
“But I didn’t try. You literally left your body to get out. I waited for the perfect opportunity to land in my lap.”
Aurora fixed her with a hard stare. “To me, it sounds like you discovered a truth that had been hidden from you, and you reacted to a new situation. That’s perfectly reasonable.”
Gia rubbed her temple, and Aurora took advantage of her lack of argument. “There’s nothing wrong with needing help. What do you think I’m doing now? I took a risk and ended up needing help as much as ever. I don’t see why either of us should have to do anything alone.”
“You don’t need to do this alone.” Gia rubbed her head again and walked over to the coffee table to grab one of her pill bottles. “I feel terrible. It’s sickening to think I lived there for twenty years after he killed her. And I…I think my brother knew.”
Fuck. His betrayal seemed to hurt Gia as much as what her father had done. At least from what Aurora was picking up. “You have a brother?”
Gia swallowed a pill, chasing it with the dregs in a nearby water bottle. “Yeah, he’s older. Heir to my father’s empire. But Marc was always kind to me. God, that sounds pathetic.”
“Gia, stop judging yourself. Latching onto kindness in a toxic environment is survival. Not pathetic.”
Gia tossed the water bottle away. “Sure, but I’m furious about all of it. And, I don’t know, it’s easier to be angry at myself because at least I have control over fixingme. Of being a better person. I can’t fix what Franco did. Can’t make my brother care about anyone but himself. I can’t bring my mother back, and I can’t make Franco remorseful for what he’s done. I can’t take him down.”
Aurora wanted to ask why not. Gia had such potential and an impressive amount of magical power. More than Aurora had, even with her body. But this wasn’t about fighting or magic. Not right now. “You don’t have to stop him. You can escape and take backyourlife. Those aren’t small accomplishments. It’s all I ever planned to do. I didn’t plan to come for my family when I was free. I was never looking back.”
Gia chewed her lip. “Same. I planned to sell up and disappear, but now it’s too late.”
Aurora wished Gia had asked the Lockwoods for help. They could have helped her deflect pursuers with magic before it had gotten to this point. “How did they find you?”
“Franco knew who my biological father was. It wouldn’t take a genius to look into his extended family and find Susan. But I thought I had more time. No one knew what I’d discovered, and I hoped Franco wouldn’t put it together right away. He must have been waiting for something like this to happen.”
“Well, Franco and his goons are in for a rude awakening. We used magic against them today. They’ll be pissing themselves. Confused. Running scared.”
Salvator’s quick recovery and lack of terror made Aurora pause. How had he held his own against the paranormal? It was difficult to imagine even a seasoned human criminal being unflappable in the face of a real-life ghost. Butthen, Aurora couldn’t imagine what Salvator’s life had been like. Maybe nothing fazed people like him.
“Do you think anyone else saw your magic?” Gia asked.
“You mean your magic.” Aurora smiled, but Gia didn’t follow suit. “I doubt it. The SUV blocked us, and to be honest, humans naturally frame anything they see within the confines of how they believe the world works. Unless it’s impossible to ignore. All anyone would have seen was a man falling into a vehicle and shouting when he touched it.”
“But you revealed yourself.”
“In the bright sun. I bet people across the street didn’t see more than a shiny ripple.”
Gia frowned. “It’s not like it matters now.” She rubbed her head again. “Fuck, I think I’m getting a migraine.”
Aurora wished they’d at least made it to the apothecary. “Do you need to lie down?”
