AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I didn’t really see it myself, either,” Jake says, “but my mom told me as we were both getting ready to leave for work. It was on the early morning show. New York’s talking about the break-ins now, too.”
That’s right. I forgot that Jake lives with his parents. He mentioned that the first time he asked me out on a datedate, saying something along the lines that—if I wanted—we could hang out at my place because at least there we could have some ‘privacy’.
I nipped that shit in the bud real quick. Jake’s definitely the Netflix and chill-type, and while I might’ve accepted what he was so plainly offering if we weren’t co-workers, I told him then that, if I wanted to invite him over, I would. And that was that.
Until now, it seems.
“I was thinking, Hope… I know you walk home when work’s over. With this guy around, maybe it’s not the smartest idea. If you want a ride sometime or… I don’t know… to hang out after work, just let me know. I’m usually free.”
I’ll give him points for perseverance. Jake stays just on the right side of it not being quite sexual harassment, and as nice as his offer is, it’s pointless. If I wanted a ride, I could just take my car and he knows that. Then again… after how weird last night was, maybe it won’t be a bad idea to have a guy around.
Or maybe I really am just going nuts.
“Sounds nice,” I tell him. “I’ll let you know when I am.”
Maybe.
We’ll see.
* * *
I thinkI might have overdone it on the coffee.
During my lunch break, I took a page out of Jake’s book and took a quick stroll over to Dunkin’. I thought a pumpkin spice latte would help me shake off my sleepless night, but between the caffeine and the sugar—the bavarian cream donut I had for lunch didn’t help, either—I’m feeling pretty jittery by the time it’s four o’clock and I get to go home.
I’m not ready to take Jake up on his offer of a ride just yet, so I slip out of the library before he can catch up to me—but not before I take a quick stop over to the occult section to make sure that the grimoire is still there.
For probably the twentieth time today I checked, and it’s still on the shelf, freakingtauntingme.
At least I have some peace of mind that I left it behind. I might be sleep-deprived and over-caffeinated and secretly wondering who could possibly be screwing with me like this, but I’m feeling much better as I let myself into my house.
Until I take three steps inside and see theGrimoire du Sombradropped in the middle of my living room, that is.
That’s when I start to shriek.
CHAPTER4
WAIT
SAMMAEL
It took me four cycles of the human moon to find the grimoire.
Four cycles where I’ve done nothing but watch over my mate, a silent spectator, and search for that damned book whenever I brought myself to leave her side all so that I could find a way to be a demon again, not a phantom.
I put all of my faith in the spellbook. The matefinder incantation made me like this because I didn’t wait for my female to summon me; I pray to the gods that it will fix me.
There was one benefit to the cast. After promising myself to my mate—though she does not know it—I formed a whisper-thin bond with her the same time as I lost so much of myself.
It’s something small, but I treasure it all the same.
It could have been worse. Unlike Loki, when my spell failed, I did not turn fully demonic. I still have my essence, though without the ability to touch my mate, I cannot share it with her. I cannot accept hers, either, which means that—when I first appeared in her quarters—I knew nothing about her except that she is a human beauty, and she is mine.
Before I was a mage and part of Duke Haures’s guard, I was a student. If I could not rely on her essence to discover who my mate is, I would do it myself.
In the four cycles since I left Sombra, unable to return, I’ve learned much about her.
Her name is Hope. She is a mature female, though I know she hasn’t seen as many centuries as I have, and yet… that is part of her charm. In so many ways, she is an innocent, finding wonder all around her.
