Page 107 of Sunsets & Other Dangerous Things

“Don’t you want to know what happens?” The way the woman said it was a challenge.

Esther looked to Uther, but he was mirroring her expression. It was her choice. She sat back down.

August gestured to the innocent-looking cup. “You’ve lived hundreds of years this way. Maybe there’s no reason to take the cure. But I had one made with you in mind because…”

He paused and looked around the room.

Whether the look he gave Esther was embarrassment to have an audience or seeking comfort, Esther wasn’t sure, but she nodded encouragingly all the same.

“I hoped we could be aunt and nephew in the typical sense of the word. I’d stop by for tea and cookies, and we’d catch up on each other’s lives on a regular basis. I’d shovel your sidewalk in the winter so you don’t slip on your way to the car. We’d buy each other Christmas gifts, and I’d introduce you to myboyfriend. It’s all selfish stuff, but you’re the only family I have in town, and I can’t stop by except at night, and then it’s all this drama with you being a vampire and I’m a witch and what a mess my parents made of things.” He stopped to take a breath because his words were picking up and his shoulders were hunching like a shield. “And I can’t help but hope a part of you wants a normal relationship as well.”

Hannah kept her gaze firmly on August. They were both the same set of hazel, and for some reason, this observation was what finally connected them for Esther. Hannah was tiny and blond to August’s broad shoulders and dark hair. But over a few hundred years of adding and subtracting family genes, this one marker still connected them.

Hannah picked up the tea in both hands and held it close. There was a domestic innocence to the move. Just an older woman having tea with her nephew and wanting to warm her hands.

“I saw the page,” she said. “From the grimoire. I’ve had it for decades. But you must have realized this, or you wouldn’t have taken it.”

“I’m sorry, I just?—”

Hannah lifted a hand, cutting him off.

“I am old.” She chuckled at her tea. “At first, the days fly by so quickly. Then the years, then decades. I understand you think it’s the witches and vampires that keep us apart, but I have been separate from our family for much longer than your parents’ generation.” She took a sip from her tea before continuing. “You are correct in your assumption. I do miss having a family.”

August smiled and his eyes were watering, but he kept silent, waiting for her to continue.

“But I should tell you, this won’t work.”

The smile dropped from August’s face. “What do you mean it won’t work? Why are you drinking it if you know it won’t?”

Hannah took another sip. “I would like to have tea with my nephew, while he introduces me to his friends. Is this that boyfriend you mentioned?”

“Hi.” Uther gave an awkward wave that turned into hand wringing, and Esther smiled.

“Yes.” August’s features reanimated. “Aunt Hannah, this is Uther.”

“Uther,” she replied and reached out to shake his hand. “How Arthurian.”

He shot up from this seat to take her hand. “I didn’t pick it.”

“No, I doubt you did. But it suits, I think. Are you good to my nephew? You treat him well, like a prince should?”

“Oh my god, Aunt Hannah.” August covered his mouth, red splotches covering his cheeks.

Esther didn’t think she’d seen August embarrassed before.

“Of course,” Uther replied, all serious.

“See that you do.” She turned to Esther, and Esther sat up straighter. “And I’ve already met you. Do you keep his confidence as well?”

“I like to think so.”

She nodded and placed a hand on Esther’s arm.

Esther understood the tea then. Whether the potion worked or not, her hands were warm now. They could pretend this was a human moment, being properly introduced to August’s aunt for the first time.

“See that you do.” She turned back to August. “And that chatty vampire, Ashley. Is she good to you as well?”

“Ashley?” Esther studied August, looking for a reason for Hannah to be asking about her.

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