Page 10 of Castings & Curses

Mikaela snorted. “You mean finding out your girlfriend is a bloodsucker and didn’t mention that in four years? Or that she’s only with me because I’m the reincarnation of the person she actually loves?” When Fabian didn’t reply, she looked him up and down. “What’s up with you and your friends? You’re not surprised in the slightest.”

“We assumed as much.”

“You assumed my girlfriend was a vampire?”

Fabian winced. “I know exactly how you feel, Mika.”

She shook her head with a scoff. “Let me guess, your friends are also vampires?”

“No, but one of my friends is a half-demon, and the rest… well, the rest have magical powers.”

“You’re joking, aren’t you?”

“Sadly not.” Sometimes, Fabian wished he was only joking, but that dream had died last year. “A year ago, I felt the same as you when I found out that monsters were a part of the world. Or worse, that I had magical powers.”

Mikaela raised one of her eyebrows. “You’ve got magic?”

“I can control water. More or less.” To prove his words, Fabian raised a ball of water from the river and let it splash down again. His control didn’t allow him to shape dolphins, but he’d improved a lot since the early days.

“Wow.” Mikaela appeared stunned.

“I was horrified,” Fabian admitted.

“What changed?” Mikaela asked, now curious despite herself.

Fabian pulled up his shoulders. “Mainly, that I couldn’t change it. The water belongs to me, and my friends need me. That was the most important thing. They need me.”

Mikaela took a deep breath. “And you believe Hanne needs me?”

“She wouldn’t have waited for five hundred years if she didn’t.”

“That’s madness!” Mikaela huffed, shook her head, and huffed again. “I’m me. Not somebody else.”

Her distress mirrored Fabian’s own reaction when he found out reincarnation was true, making him wince. “Honestly, I have no idea if that’s true. I mean, in what way we’re truly unique or if our souls just repeat themselves.” He shook his head to clear it from those way too heavy thoughts. “I think what I really want to say is that a few hours ago, you wanted to marry Hanne.”

“That was before I knew who she was. Or who I was.”

Fabian nodded thoughtfully. “True. But don’t you think that, at the very least, she deserves a chance?” Mikaela looked utterly miserable, but Fabian had to try. “Do you really want her to vanish from your life tonight? Without having any of your questions answered?”

Mikaela turned to him, horrified. “No! But she’s a vampire. What if she… I just don’t know anything anymore.”

Fabian felt the strong urge to take Mikaela in his arms, but that would have been too forward. “Here’s an idea. You call Hanne and tell her you want to talk on neutral ground. Meet her for breakfast at…” Where did they serve breakfast in Greenvalley? “At the Richards Pension. You two, Lucille and I. If something happens, we’ll be there to jump in. You won’t be alone.”

“You’re going to come?”

“I promise.”

A tentative smile crossed Mikaela’s face. “All right. Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Fabian got up, only then noticing how wet his bum had become from sitting on the wet grass.

“Water mage, are you?” Mikaela teased him.

Fabian felt himself blushing. “I’m working on it.” Chuckling, he walked up the hill. When he saw Lucille hovering there, he gave her two thumbs up. The ensuing smile on her face told him it had all been worth it.

* * *

The next morning,they all met in the sunny breakfast room of the Richards Pension. The pension belonged to the parents of a classmate. Shayna wasn’t exactly a friend of Fabian’s, but she was tolerable without the rest of her friend circle around. At the moment, she was serving a couple in the back, blissfully leaving them alone.

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