Page 31 of Spirit Witch

“Well, I found a passage in the archives about spirit witches.The whole talking to ghosts thing?It’s not a freak accident, Enid.You can literally converse with spirits, beings, creatures in all the realms of existence because, well, you have a secret in your bloodline—”

“What secret?”I asked, and my gaze flashed over to Judge.

His jaw was clenched, and I grew nervous.

Did he know what Enok was about to say?

Why wouldn’t he tell me, then?

“Well, I don’t want to be presumptuous, but since you don’t know your biological parentage, well, Enid, I believe it is very possible you, like our Mabe, are a hybrid.”

“I mean, what kind of hybrid would make me see fades and walk through realms?I always saw ghosts, though.It wasn’t something new with puberty or something I unlocked.It’s the one thing I remember clearly when every other detail about my life had just flown the coop,” I mumbled, wincing as I waited for them to react.

“Exactly.You could always see spirits because you share a connection with them, Enid.Judge, do you want to tell her?”Enok said, confirming my fear that my mate, the love of my life, knew more than he’d let on.

“Nizhoni, he speaks the truth.Your blood carries more than witch DNA.You see, spirit witches are rare, the Somnior Coven extinct, because of the specific parentage needed to create such a creature.”

“What are you saying?”

“I am saying you are more than a witch.You are descended from a race of Angels that came to earth from the heavens and fell in love with the inhabitants of this realm.You are half Nephilim, Nizhoni.”

“What?”I gasped, and something within me stirred.

“OMFG!I knew it!There was always something different about her, right?”Jade said, clapping like this was good news.

“So, I’m an even bigger freak than I thought?”I asked, panicking.

“Hey, knock that off,” Mabe said, standing in front of me and placing both hands on my upper arms.“Do you think I’m a freak?I’m half fucking vampire, Enid.You are descended from a goddamned race of motherfucking badass angels and witches.You’re a rockstar.Now snap out of this downward spiral.We got shit to do,” Mabe growled.

Fuck.

She was right.This was nothing to be upset about.I was half an angel or something.Part Nephilim.Part witch.The result was a spirit witch and that meant I had more power than even I knew.My gaze flicked back to Judge, and he looked equal parts wary and hopeful.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him off to the side of the kitchen area so we could have a little chat.The others were talking amongst themselves, and their conversations dimmed to the periphery while I faced off with my mate.

“You knew?”

“Yes, but only because we found out together in that sweat when we were kids,” he whispered.“I did not want to rush your memories, but I wasn’t trying to hide it from you.”

“No more secrets.That was what we said.Going forward, I need you to be honest with me.I deserve honesty.Whoever ripped apart my life did so without my consent or approval, and I want it back.I want you back.All of you.All of me.No more secrets, Judge.I mean it.”

“Okay,” he agreed, more readily than I expected.

“Just okay?”

“Yeah.I mean, when I first saw you again in that dream, Nizhoni, I was so damn startled, I hardly knew what to say.Then I realized you were different.Something was missing, and I needed you back so badly I almost ran roughshod right over you.You have no idea how much strength it took for me to hold back and wait for you to be ready.But I can see you are there now.You did that.You brave, strong, beautiful woman.My woman.I love you.I will do anything for you.Anything.”

Then we were kissing, and I felt as if my heart was finally back together.That hole inside my chest was filled with so much love for him, for me.He was right to wait for me to be ready.Facing my fears was not easy, but I’d gotten through the first battle, the one with myself.Now I was ready for the next step.

“Um, you guys done sucking face?We got work to do,” Rio snapped.

A couple of minutes later, I was back to explaining myself to my friends.They had to understand what I’d finally pieced together.It was crucial, though I didn’t know how just yet.

“Okay, my angelic witchy friend, explain,” Mabe said, black eyes rimmed in red and sparkling with humor.

“Okay, so I don’t just see fades, they speak to me.It’s not like the movies where they want me to finish their business, it’s more like they want to help their descendants finish theirs.The fades here have been trying to pass on information, but I wasn’t hearing them.”

“Holy shit.”

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