Page 105 of Starry with a Chance of Nightshade

Bram lifted his head. “What could cause them to appear on her in such a manner? In all my years, I cannot recall seeing something such as this.”

“That I don’t know,” admitted Stratton. “I haven’t seen anything like it either.”

He stiffened. That wasn’t exactly true. He had seen something similar before, but that had resulted from Victor Frankenstein’s experiments. Victor had been left with Fae sigils on him as well, looking a great deal like tattoos at first glance. And then there was his most successful monster—Adam. He too had them, but far more than Victor. The theory had been the markings were a result of Fae in Victor’s bloodline, combining with Fae parts, demon parts, and the alchemy he'd leaned heavily on during it all. But no one had ever dug deeper that Stratton was aware of, to either prove or disprove the theory.

Since Astria was clearly not a product of Victor’s testing and wasn’t a monster, that theory didn’t apply to her. How she’d come by the markings was a mystery to Stratton.

Astria’s shoulders drew in as if she was trying to make herself smaller. She made movements as though she was tugging at sleeves that weren’t there.

When Stratton thought about how hot the day had been but how she’d worn a duster of all things, he realized she’d been trying to hide them. As if she was ashamed.

That set his teeth on edge. “You’re beautiful just the way you are. You don’t need to hide anything.”

She jerked slightly, her cheeks flushing red.

Elis laughed. “Wow. Just blurted that right out, didn’t he? He’s not wrong either, Astria. You are.”

Dave went to her and pulled her into a hug.

She teared up and turned into his embrace. “Why do bad things keep happening to me and to people I care about? Am I cursed?”

Dave snorted. “Not in the least. You’re special, hon.”

“I’m not,” she protested.

Torid went to her and pressed against her leg as Dave continued to hold her.

Stratton wanted to be the one she sought comfort from.

Dave smiled down at Torid before he put his hands on Astria’s shoulders and dipped his head. “Hon, you’re so incredibly special. Do you understand that you beat every odd? Your very existence is a miracle. When you first showed up, interested in a job when you were eighteen, I knew instantly that you were different. Special. That you were more than human. It took me a bit longer to realize just how special you are.”

She stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. “Wh-what do you mean you knew?”

Jim cleared his throat. “Astria, we don’t call him Devil Dave for fun. There is a meaning behind it.”

Confusion filled her eyes before her jaw dropped open. “Are you telling me you’re the devil?”

Dave laughed. “No. I’m notthedevil. I’madevil. A Jersey one. There are a good number of us. I’d like to take a moment to brag and say I was the first of the Jersey variety, though. The rest of my siblings and cousins came after me.”

Austin stared harder at him. “I’ve never seen you in full devil glory. Is it true that you have a horse face and a forked tail?”

A glib expression coated Dave’s face. “No on the first, yes on the second.”

Austin’s eyes grew in size. “Is anything on you horse-like? Because all the stuff I read in the Van Helsing vaults mentions horses.”

Dave glanced down the length of himself, his focus landing on his groin. He then shot Austin a smirk that spoke volumes. “Oh yeah. Something about me is totally horse-like.”

Elis pulled a hand over his face, groaning loudly.

Astria simply stared at Dave, and it was clear she was in shock. “Really?”

Pink stained Dave’s cheeks. “Uh, forget I said anything. I really don’t want to discuss my anatomy with you, of all people. I see you as a niece.”

“Oh,” she said, nodding before staring harder at him. “You’re really a Jersey devil?”

“I am,” he replied.

“What do you mean you’ve always known?” she asked, her attention moving down to Torid. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

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