Page 45 of Snow's Charming
“So, what do we do first?” I asked.
Armand smiled and escorted us all into a special elevator that only goes to the penthouse.
“Let me show you to your rooms so you can get comfy. Then I’ll head to my safe deposit box and retrieve my Book of Shadows.”
“Raven, perhaps I should come with you?”
“Accius isn’t after me. Besides, he’s still in upper Manhattan, near Central Park. He won’t look for us in the financial district.”
“I’d feel better if I went with you,” Armand said as he reached for both of her hands, brought them to his lips, and kissed each knuckle.
“The book has a protection spell on it. It knows to go to you, should someone try to steal it. And we both know I’m a hellfire. I’ll be fine, Armand. I promise.”
“Very well,” Armand said with a sigh. “I know better than to argue with you.”
“Great. Then I will get them settled and then make some preparations before leaving to grab the book.”
“All your supplies should be in my library,” Armand said as the elevator dinged, showing we had stopped on the penthouse floor.
The door opened, and my eyes widened at the gorgeously decorated and spacious foyer. It looked as big as three studio apartments put together and had ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking the city skyline.
“This place is huge!”
“I bought the building some 90 years ago and renovated the top floor into a place for myself. A lot of the billionaire vampires did the same thing. The ones who call New York City home live in the financial district.”
Armand shrugged his shoulders. He opened the door, and we all shuffled in. The inside of the penthouse was just as grand as the foyer. Crown molding framed each wall. I looked up and three large crystal and gold chandeliers brightened the room every 20 feet. The great room was enormous and could have doubled as a bowling alley. Armand placed his keys on a large marble credenza and turned to face us.
“I know you all came from the coffee shop, but canI interest any of you in the hard stuff? After dealing with Accius, I’m sure some of you need it.”
“I could use a shot of whiskey, neat.”
My father gave me the side-eye when I asked Armand for a glass, but I really didn’t care. I’d just learned I was a werewitch. All this time, I’d been trying to hold on to my human half, but now I wondered what it meant to be part wolf and part Jackie. I shuddered at the thought.
“Sesi, I know you’ve had a lot to deal with these past few days?—”
“Dad, please let me forget for just a few moments what it means to be part Jackie—as in I’m a werewitch. I don’t want to process that nugget right now.”
Armand’s eyes darted from mine to my dad’s. He patted my father on the shoulder and gave him a smile.
“Relax, Kenneth. It’s not like she can’t hold her liquor. She’s a shifter, for crying out loud,” Armand said with a chuckle. “Sesi, I only have Scotch. I find it better than the average whiskey.”
“That’s fine.”
“I’ll take one too, Armand.” Said Sylus.
It was now Chary’s turn to give his son a disapproving gaze.
“Chary and Kenneth, really—they aren’t human. And since when have the two of you cared about alcohol consumption? Neither of you waited until the legal drinking age—yet both of your adult children are of legal age. I don’t understand the problem here.”
“We just want to do right by our kids, Armand.”
My father said this as he accepted the glass of Scotch Armand handed him.
“Dad, you died this week; we resurrected you when we broke you out of that mirror; I learned I am a werewolf, and if I mark my mate I kill him, myself, and the entire pack. A Nuri witch clan is out to kill me and Sylus because of some ancient law I know nothing about. Oh! And the latest thing is, I’m a witch, just like Jackie. I think a drink—possibly a bottle—is warranted.”
“See? She has a point.” Armand said as he poured a generous amount of the amber liquor into a tumbler and passed it to me.
“Thanks, Armand,” I said with a smile while taking the glass in my hand. He then handed a glass to Sylus.
