Page 30 of Her Ghostly Embrace
Gia shut the door.
Lilly frowned in concentration for a few moments. “No. Susan’s wards must have broken when she passed away, and no one else from the coven lives here. I’ve never actually been inside her place before.” She glanced around the bare room.
“You weren’t close?” Gia asked.
Lilly shrugged. “I’m new to the coven. Relatively speaking. I’ve only been a Lockwood for a few years. The elders are welcoming, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t looking to get involved in leadership and didn’t see them outside meetings and coven gatherings.”
Interesting, but coven politics weren’t the most pressing thing at the moment. “What are wards?”
Lily’s brow furrowed. “They’re protective spells.”
Was that all she had to say? Gia hated being left in the dark. “What do they do? Protective how?”
Lilly frowned, her gaze darting to Aurora, then to Gia. “How have you never heard of wards?”
Gia’s cheeks flamed. “Because as far as I was concerned, magic wasn’t real this morning.”
Lilly’s eyes widened. “But Susan was your aunt.”
Aurora floated closer to Gia, and she wished she didn’t find it comforting. “Gia didn’t realize she had extended relatives until recently,” Aurora explained. “I told her magic is hereditary, but?—”
“But it’s not.” Gia’s whole body heated, a sweat breaking out on her palms. “I’d know if I had magic. It’s not possible.”
Lilly’s wide-eyed stare locked on Aurora.
“I can’t sense magic in this form,” Aurora said as if Lilly had asked a question.
Gia’s heart rate spiked as both women looked at her. “I don’t have any magic, so it doesn’t matter.”
“I can sense magic,” Lilly said way too carefully. “Gia…you do have magical power. I can feel it.”
Gia swallowed a biting remark, her fists clenching. “No, I don’t. Wouldn’t I know if I had magic?”
“Not necessarily,” Aurora said, but Gia couldn’t bring herself to look at her. “Finding out later in life happens.Especially when witches are disconnected from their magical family members.”
Gia’s eyes itched, and her throat burned. “But if I had magic, couldn’t I use it? Wouldn’t I—”Have been able to escape? Have had a better life? Stopped my father from hurting people? Stopped my headaches from ruling my life?She choked on the unsaid words. “Wouldn’t I have noticed if I had powers? Shouldn’t it have been obvious? Things exploding when I was mad or something?”
“No.” Lilly’s shock was replaced with concern. “Magic can’t do anything unless you call on it. Casting spells is intentional. You can’t accidentally use magic. But if you know what to look for, you can find it within yourself. Witches learn to tap into their power from childhood.”
This could not be happening. How could something this integral to who she was be hidden her entire life?
“You said your biological father wasn’t who raised you,” Aurora said. “Did your mother ever say anything about him?”
“She might not have known he was a witch, depending on the circumstances,” Lilly added.
“My mother died when I was five.”
“I’m so sorry.” To her credit, Aurora looked it. “But that could have contributed to you not knowing you were a witch. Your mother might have been waiting to tell you.”
“I don’t think so.” Gia’s mother couldn’t have known, could she?
Lilly raised her hands like she was trying not to spook a wild animal. “We don’t know your family, and aren’t trying to rewrite anything. But you possess magical power, and we can teach you to use it if you want.”
Gia collapsed onto the couch.Use magic?She could learn to cast spells? Lilly had said wards were protective. Could she use her magic to keep herself safe? To keep the Balzanos away?
Absurdly, the idea made Gia want to punch a hole in the wall. She’d had this power the whole time and not known. Her life could have been so different.
Regret and longing for what could have been threatened to crush her, clawing at her insides and shredding her heart. But Gia could still have a better life. Even if she wished she’d discovered magic a decade ago. Now was better than never.
