“I need to ask you about your earcuff,” she said.
My earcuff? Why did she need to know about that? But I answered her honestly. “It was a gift.”
“You said it was from your grandmother, who died.”
“Yes,” I agreed. I didn’t want to talk about this.
“Where did she get it from?” she asked.
“There was a booth at a market.”
Her intense gaze never left my own. “It has been infused with magic.”
Magic? “It’s just an earcuff,” I insisted.
“It is far more than that. The magic links the world of the afterlife to this one. And what I sense from it is distinctly female.”
My mouth had gone dry as a bone. “No fucking way,” I stated.
Nemi’s wing thumped me up the back of my head. Then she hopped forward until her beady little eyes could glare at me.
I swallowed. “This presence you sense—would it link to something living?”
Cara’s eyes were fastened on the hummingbird. “It can. For a while, anyway. These spells need to be refreshed, or they will fade with time. And if they are linked to something living—it can be very hard on whoever carries it.”
I should have known she wouldn’t leave me. My heart spasmed, and I had to clear my throat before I could speak. “She always worried about me.”
The Watcher’s expression reflected both concern and empathy as she watched me work it through.
It was something I was having significant issues with. My grandmother was supposed to have joined the man she’d loved, not be occupied with riding herd over my chaotic life. “Is that a healthy thing for her?” I asked.
Cara’s eyes darkened. “Not for forever, it likely isn’t. But for the short term, it might be okay. I just thought you should know.”
I raised a finger to stroke Nemi’s soft feathers. She pecked at it, annoyed. Just like a certain woman I used to know.
“Gracias,” I said.
The Watcher nodded. “Enjoy your run.” And with those parting words, she left me.
Run? Right. The students were gathered in front of the building, and I spotted two Bellatis that seemed to be in charge. As everyone was standing in their teams, I joined mine.
My thoughts circled in an unfocused manner as they eyed me suspiciously. I’d chatted them up only long enough to get information from them and hadn’t encouraged communication since. Plus, I was certain that my attempts to look cool and composed were a complete failure. And I’d noticed that agitation on my part tended to cause nervous reactions in others.
I gritted my teeth. The sooner I saidadiosto this place, the better.
A part of me wanted to talk that over with the bird on my shoulder. This magic-mojo earcuff thing was seriously messing with my mind.
As soon as the run began, I settled into a comfortable pace and ignored my team. I finished a little out of breath. Jogging had, at one time, been a part of my normal fitness regime. But my life, as of late, had been anything but normal.
As I followed the other team members out to the back field, I contemplated that I was now running for entirely different reasons.
The instructors prepared to guide us through fight class. Nemi cheeped at me, as though to remind me that I needed to mess this up. Big time.
The students were accustomed to the routine, and most paired up immediately. But the tall and muscular figure of the instructor zeroed in on me. Something about the way he moved reminded me of Slade.
“I’m Cody,” he said. “And as you are new, I will do an assessment of your abilities. That way, I can team you up appropriately.” He grinned at me. “Don’t worry, I won’t dent you. Much.”
I let my lips curl into a vapid smile, but in reality, I was evaluating the way he moved. We began to circle each other, and I could tell the guy knew what he was doing. Which made sense, if he was the instructor.
