Page 47 of A Touch Charmed

She gave me a funny look. “August twelfth. Why?”

Finn’s energy flared as he fidgeted beside me, but he didn’t interject. As his power nudged mine, he encouraged me without words to take the lead in the conversation. Not easy when I was pretty sure she would dodge the subject.

I had to remember that I hadn’t been a hundred percent open-minded about magic at first either, but we’d need her and Galen. I couldn’t let this go.

“You know magic is back on the island, right?” We both understood my question was rhetorical, considering that Audrey had iced her bar not too long ago. “And we’re pretty certain of who all the signs are. Except for Leo.”

“You think that’s me.” She didn’t put a full wall up, but I sensed she was on her guard.

“It’s a possibility,” Finn said. “We think there needs to be a family connection of some kind, and we know Thora and Jocelyn are two of the fire signs.”

“Did you feel the first earthquake?” I kept my voice soft, full of understanding. “Not the most recent one that caused the landslide under Selene and Ella’s home, but the one that happened the night I came in on the ferry?”

Her gaze darted between me and Finn, panic dilated her pupils. “Why are you asking me this? Don’t you think I would’ve said something?”

“Honestly? I don’t know you well enough to answer that,” I said.

The energy between me and Finn fired up, causing both our palms to glow bright and hot. Kenna eyed the light. A sheen of sweat dotted her forehead. I’d been mostly certain Kenna was our missing Leo on the way over here. I was now absolutely positive. Her reaction gave her away. But that still didn’t explain why she was so afraid. She grew up with the legend and had seen magic firsthand when Audrey iced her bar.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not the Leo you’re looking for.” Her eyes darkened as she crossed her arms and went back to busying herself with tasks that probably could’ve waited. The wall had been firmly slammed down. She wasn’t open to discussing it further.

Finn leaned over and whispered in my ear. “We’re not getting anywhere tonight.”

Kenna had her guard all the way up and pushing her would probably just make it worse. We needed her. We couldn’t afford to alienate her, especially when there was a good chance we’d never get Jocelyn and Rafe to work together.

I didn’t want to leave things this way, though. I’d just found out that she was my cousin. There was already tension from the things my stepfather had done. I didn’t want her to think I was anything like Warren Chase.

“Do you have any pictures of my father?” I asked.

Kenna had her back to me. Her shoulder muscles loosened, and when she turned around, her eyes were a light sea-green again. “As a matter of fact, I do. Let me run up to my apartment real quick to grab a family album.”

She dropped the rag she’d been holding and disappeared behind an Employees Only door. Her apartment was above the bar. It wouldn’t take her long to come back. If she came back. I could just as easily see her staying upstairs until we took the hint and left.

Finn turned to me. “She’s the Leo.”

“A lot of good that does us when she won’t admit it.” I turned my gaze to the door she’d disappeared behind. “Why do you think she’s hiding it?”

He shrugged. “She could be scared. The original descendants had been scared enough to give up their magic. By denying it, she’s effectively doing the same thing.”

“Maybe.” That didn’t match the Kenna I knew in school, though. While we hadn’t been besties by any means, she’d always been bold and fearless. Not the kind of person who would cower over the legend. “What should we do?”

“I’m texting Wes now.” Finn had his phone out. “We’ll let him and Audrey know. Audrey will probably send Violet over here to work on Kenna. They’re close.”

Kenna returned with a photo album in hand. Pleased that she came back at all and not wanting to chase her away, I opted not to mention the legend again. She took a seat next to me at the bar and flipped the album open.

“That’s Dante, with my dad and Atlas.” She pointed to a picture of a handsome man with auburn hair and moss green eyes.

As I drank in the image, I looked for all the pieces of myself. He had the type of smile that promised trouble. It reminded me a little of Finn. I’d gotten my nose and mouth from my mother. But those large green eyes had come from my father.

I touched a finger to the photo. What would my life have been like if he hadn’t died? Would he have loved me? He looked like someone who had a lot of love to give. Tears blurred my eyes. I didn’t even know this man. It seemed stupid to cry over him now.

Finn took my hand, pushing soft cotton balls of comfort through his energy. “Feel what you feel, bluebird. Don’t try to shut it down because you think you don’t have a right. You have every right and then some.”

“I’ve got more here.” Kenna turned the page slowly, giving me the opportunity to stop her if I needed more time. “I think this one was of him and your mother.”

The two of them stood on the beach. He had his arm around her, looking like he held everything he’d ever wanted in this world. My mother had been laughing, and even through the grainy quality of the photo, I could tell it was real. I’d seen her smile before. It always seemed so wooden and forced. But here was the proof that there had once been a time in her life when she’d been genuinely happy. My heart mourned them both.

Kenna lifted the clear plastic film and took out the picture. “You can keep this one. I didn’t know my uncle Dante, he died before I was born, but I heard stories about him growing up. He was a great guy. He would’ve been thrilled to have you as a daughter.”

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