Ethan stares and Nikolai for another few seconds and then steps aside, not verbally inviting him in as a final test to make sure this guy isn’t a vampire. Nikolai doesn’t move an inch forward, not that I could blame him. Ethan can look intimidating when he wants to, and right now, he’s looking like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with.
“I met you before,” I start. “But that doesn’t mean I know you now or that I trust you.”
“Fair enough, my lady. It has been years. As I said, my name is Nikolai, and I was a friend of your aunt’s.”
“Technically, she was my great-aunt. Are you…are you a warlock?”
Nikolai gives me a look, clearly confused on how I don’t remember anything about him. “I’m basically a Druid.”
“Basically?” Ethan questions.
“Fine. My grandfather on my mother’s side was.” He makes a face. “I’m only half Druid in a sense, I suppose.”
“But you can do magic,” I interject.
“All fae can do magic.”
“Fae?” Ethan and I question at the same time. No. No freaking way. Witches, warlocks, vampires, and werewolves…I can get behind that. But faeries? That just seems too fucking farfetched.
“Half fae if you want to get technical,” he mumbles. “Though unless you’re my judgmental grandmother, being half human hasn’t been an issue.” He lets out a huff. “Speaking of magical bloodlines mixing with nons, how’s your brother? Did he ever grow into his powers?”
“Nons?” Ethan lowers the gun, just a bit.
“Nonmagical people,” Nikolai says slowly. “Like you.”
Not liking that response, Ethan raises his gun again.
“Harrison is good,” I reply. “And he doesn’t have powers.”
“Bummer. Estelle was hopeful, though the Fowler line did seem to favor the females, as you recall. Though your own mother was never receptive to her powers. I told Estelle magic can skip generations. Her own sister couldn’t do a spell to save her life—and I mean that literally. Estelle stepped in more than once to save her ass.”
I just nod again, mind going numb to keep from getting overwhelmed. This I what I’ve been looking for: someone who knew my aunt. Someone who can finally give me answers. I look at Ethan, trying to mentally convey that to him. Seeing that Hunter is relaxed, Ethan finally lowers the gun and takes another step back.
“Oh wow.” Nikolai enters the house, proving once and for all he’s not a vampire, since vampires have to be invited in. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”
“Um, thanks,” I say right away. “Though I didn’t do it. Estelle did. Before she died.”
“This house was begging for an update. What made her change her mind and finally do it?”
“I, uh, don’t know.” I can feel Ethan’s eyes on me, and I know he doesn’t like me opening up to a stranger like this. Though Nikolai isn’t really a stranger, right? I know him…I just can’t remember it. “There’s a lot I don’t know,” I go on. “Estelle cast a memory spell on me, and most of my memories involving her or anything to do with magic are, um, very slowly coming back.”
“Shitty move. That seems like her, though.” He shakes his head. “I am sorry. Why’d she do that?”
“If I knew, I would be in this situation,” I say ruefully. “She never said anything about it, did she?”
“Not to me. Probably because she knew I wouldn’t be in favor of that.”
“Do you have any idea why she would want me to forget all about being a witch and being able to do magic?”
Nikolai thinks for a moment. “No, she loved having powers and knew the advantage it gave her over others. She used her magic to help others, especially after her first husband died.”
“How did he die?” I ask, feeling a pull on my heart. Something about this is familiar too.
“He was possessed by a demon. She wasn’t able to save him in time.”
“That’s horrible,” I say and then hear her words ringing clear in my head. She didn’t want me to have her fate—which she saw in a tarot card reading. But her fear wasn’t in me becoming possessed, no, it was that I would suffer a loss like she did.
Which means Ethan is the one in danger.
CHAPTER 26
Nikolai adds a second—and then a third—heaping spoonful of sugar to his tea. Ethan is standing at the threshold of the kitchen, gun still in one hand as he watches us.
“How did you met my aunt?” I ask, pulling out a barstool and taking a seat, blowing on my own cup of steaming tea.
“That’s quite the story.” Nikolai flits around the kitchen like a hyperactive kid, opening and closing cabinets and drawers. “I’m only half fae, and depending on what mood the Overseer is in, I may or may not be able to pass through the realm. She was in a particularly bad mood that spring and I was forced into the human world of my father.” He opens a jar of honey and nods approvingly, adding some to his tea before finally sitting down. “I knew the area was famous for witches and hoped to find someone like-minded.”