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“Have a seat,” she said. “I’ll get your Grandfather.”
I turned back to Xander. He still looked tense. This whole time he’d been telling me everything would be okay, comforting me, while it was clear he was struggling himself.
I took his hand and squeezed. Some of the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease. “Come on. We should sit.”
As soon as we were on the brown, squishy couch, his grandparents walked into the room. Xander’s grandfather had gray hair and a warm lined face. Though, I could see the toughness in his hard eyes. As if he already knew we came with bad news.
The older couple settled into a pair of chairs opposite us. “You going to introduce us?” Xander’s Grandfather said.
“I’m Skylar.” I didn’t wait for Xander to try to explain our relationship. I wasn’t even sure if it myself.
“I’m Gerald, you’ve met Fern.” He inclined his head toward his smiling wife.
“Nice to meet you both,” I said.
“I know this isn’t a social visit,” Gerald said. “Get on with it.”
I tensed at his gruff, straightforward manner but in a way I appreciated that he wasn’t wasting time. We didn’t have to beat around the bush with small talk.
“Lola is dead,” Xander said. “The stone’s been passed to Skylar.”
Fern stood and walked away from her. She faced the plants in the window so I couldn’t see her face. Slowly, she touched the leaves on a thriving vine and the green leaves burst into pink flowers.
I gasped. “How did you do that?”
Fern turned to me. She had tears in her eyes but was forcing a smile. “Lola’s favorite flower. It seemed fitting.”
“It’s beautiful but how did you do that?” I couldn’t take my eyes off the little pink flowers.
“She’s part mage,” Xander said.
Fern walked back to her chair and settled back in. “How did it happen?”
“They were after the stone, weren’t they?” Gerald asked.
“Yes,” I said. “She was murdered.”
Now, Gerald stood. “I knew this day would come. We’ll summon the other packs. We must prepare.”
Fern tugged on her husband’s hand. “Sit down. You are not the alpha and you haven’t been for a while. This isn’t your job.”
“Xander will need help,” Gerald said.
“We won’t need to summon the packs,” Xander said. “Because we’re not going to fight. We’re going to destroy the stone.”
Gerald shook his head. “We’ve been through this. We don’t have the means.”
“We have a demon,” Xander said.
Gerald’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “And you trust this demon?”
Fern stood and walked over to me. She lowered her hand. I looked up at her, then over at Xander. Magic hung in the air, like static, sticking to the surfaces and tingling over my skin.
Xander nodded. I turned back to Fern and accepted her hand. Magic coursed through me, spreading like warm liquid from her into me. I wanted to pull away, but Xander’s hand moved to my knee, offering encouragement for me to maintain my hold.
A moment later, she released my hand and locked her eyes on mine. “You’re the demon.”
I didn’t know what to say. I was still struggling with that part of me and I wasn’t sure if I should be admitting to my newfound heritage.
