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“Not souls?” I throw out, just in case she missed that train of thought.
She shakes her head. “Not souls.”
“Three girls,” Julian muses, seeming far happier about this development than I am.
“Assuming they’re yours,” I quip, and he growls, bringing his head to my ear.
“Only mine. Ever,” he whispers, causing goose bumps to form from his possessive declaration.
“What else do you see, Shante? Is she still transforming or is she still human, and benefiting from my powers through our shared bond?” Julian prompts, moving us on to the crux of why we’re seeing Shante in the first place.
“Not human,” she draws out, tipping her head to the side to inspect me. “Not vampire, either. She’s transformed, but into the being she was always meant to be. A familiar,” she explains. “Marina will continue to harness more powers the more blood you share. From this point on, your shared powers won’t disappear when you don’t feed. It’s an eternal bond.”
“I’m immortal?” The question is whispered as I try to cope with what this means. My family and friends will grow old and die, but as an immortal I won’t age.
“Your life is tethered to Julian’s. If you die, he dies, and vice versa,” she expounds. “With your shared bond, you’re some of the strongest beings on this planet. It would be near impossible to kill you. Not impossible, but nearly.”
I allow everything she’s said to settle. And then another question comes to mind.
“I have one more question,” I say, and Shante raises a brow to sayget on with it.“Before the auction night, I had a... situation occur. A bird spoke to me.”
Her eyes narrow and she purses her lips. “A bird spoke to you?” I sit up straighter at the incredulity I hear in her voice.
“Yes. A rather large crow.” I shoot daggers in Julian’s direction because it was his bird. “Mosely.” I tack on in case that wasn’t clear by my scowl.
“Mosely spoke to you?” Now it’s Julian’s turn to act as though I’m losing it.
“He did. In my mind,” I explain for clarification purposes.
Shante lays her hands on her crystals, doing what, I haven’t a clue. After a solid minute of concentration, her eyes pop open and she chuckles. “Of course.”
Julian and I share a look.
“Mosely isn’t Julian’s bird. He’s yours. Your guardian, to be exact.”
“Then why has he been with me all along?” Julian questions.
“He wasn’t able to locate Marina under the magic spell surrounding her. So he came to you to ensure you found her.”
“What do I do with a bird guardian?” I’m constantly floored by the new developments surrounding my life. Vampire familiar, talking guardian birds... what’s next?
“You might not want the answer to that question, love.” Julian smiles down at me.
“Anything else, Shante?” Julian asks, placing his hand on my shoulder, knowing I’m struggling with my newfound immortality and news of a guardian.
I want to ask her more. Basically, why do I need a guardian? And of all things... a bird? But I don’t ask, because Julian’s right. There are some things I’d rather not know ahead of time.
She shakes her head once and bows toward the table, not to Julian, but to her crystals.
“We’ll take our leave. Law would like to see you now.”
My ears perk up at this news. Could he be asking Shante about his future with my sister?
“Another thing you should stay out of,” Julian lectures, and I glower at him.
“You and I both know that won’t happen.”
“Yet another forgone conclusion,” Madame Shante muses to herself.
