After Solitude

Chapter 33

Jett's POV

That bitch. He didn't say bye or anything, just hung up on me.

The new witch seemed friendly enough, I don't know if I fully trust her yet.

I'm surprised Nik would bring her here without testing her loyalty first. I sigh. I'll rip her limb from limb if she screws us over.

As soon as we get to the sunroom, we see Zoey working on something.

"What're you doing, baby?" I ask her as she uncrinkles the crease between her eyebrows.

She smiles, "I'm upcycling, I found this really old book," she lifts it to show me, "the words are really diluted. I couldn't read a word in it so I figured it'd be okay?" She answers in more of a question.

"Perfectly fine, baby." I walk closer with Nik and Brina following behind.

"Hi, Zoey. My name is Brina." She introduces herself.

Zoey adverts her eyes from the paint brush rubbing across the book, "oh, hello. I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was coming over." She wipes her hands on her paint splattered jeans.

It's early in the morning, I'm surprised she's already started a project. She usually likes to sleep in a little more, perhaps when a woman is on her period, she doesn't sleep as much.

"She's going to help us, love. We have to stop you from bleeding before tomorrow." Nik explains.

Brina looks at the three of us, "well, I'm not exactly sure I can stop it, but I know I can hide the smell of her blood to others."

I roll my eyes. Of course, she's incompetent.

"No, it needs to stop." Nik states with crossed arms.

I notice Zoey's fingers rubbing into her arm. She's nervous about something.

Don't be scared, baby.

"What's wrong?" I approach her, grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles.

"Is magic like it is in the books?" She asks.

I'm dumbfounded. What do books know about real magic? You have the things like Harry Potter, but that's not a good representation of magic, not that I've read the books, I just assume since a human wrote it.

As I hold her hand, I give it a small squeeze of reassurance. I don't understand why she's nervous, but it only matters that she is and I need to help.

"What do you mean?" Brina asks, just as confused as I am.

Zoey's eyes shift around the room, "like... I don't know. Never mind." She shakes the thought from her head.

"No, love. Go ahead, ask your question." Nik instructs.

She clears her throat, "What are the risks?" She asks slightly more confident.

Brina displays a warm smile. Some worry lifts off my shoulders as she seems to be trying to make Zoey feel safe.

"Magic comes from the user. It can drain my energy but I come from a family of witches so my energy is more than someone who is just practicing." Brina explains.

Zoey's eye find Nik, silently asking if she's telling the truth. Nik nods, confirming Brina's story.

I can't help but remember Brexley. Nik told me what was going on but to me it still seems fishy, Dahlia was very good at what she did, and she said Tammy killed Brexley. Even if she didn't turn Poppy into a newborn, I'm still fully convinced Tammy has something shady going on.