Chapter 8 Vivian

T he second Greyson woke up, he couldn't stop asking a thousand questions, so I figured we could go on a field trip today. Which is why we are heading to Ashwood Apothecary right now, run by my favorite witch, Autumn Ashwood, and her family.

Meeting him outside, I pull Greyson to the side to give him a little backstory before we head in, as I spent the last five minutes during our drive answering his questions about what it's like to feed on someone and didn't have a chance to tell him.

I start with a question that has an obvious answer. "You know what I am, right?"

He stares at me with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "I sure hope so after last night."

My cheeks burn as the memories of last night flash in my mind. "It's not just vampires and humans that inhabit this world."

His eyes practically bulge out of his head, and I swear I can see the wheels turning behind those gorgeous blue orbs. "Are you serious?"

"Very," I murmur. "You are about to meet some. Autumn, she and her family run this shop."

He looks around as if a witch is just going to jump out at him before leaning forward, his hand nonchalantly falling to my waist as he whispers, "What are they?"

Glancing up, I lose my train of thought for a moment because he looks so angelic in the sunlight.

The bright rays make his hair seem like it's glowing. His features are carefully caressed by the light, highlighting the sharpness of his cheekbones and jawline yet the softness of his eyes and welcoming part of his lips.

The bell of a shop a few feet from us chimes, pulling me out of my stupor, and I clear my throat. "Ashwood Apothecary is owned by witches."

"Like real-life ride-on-a-broom witches?" he gasps.

Rolling my eyes, I scoff. "No, they don't ride on brooms. I mean, they used to, for sure, but that is something of the past. It was a gift that passed through different bloodlines of witches. I'm not even sure it still exists anymore."

"Goddamn," Greyson mumbles breathlessly.

"What?"

"You have made my life so much more interesting." He pauses, holding my stare and looking deeply into my eyes. "What am I supposed to do after this? Pretend I don't know that witches run this shop when I pass by? It's going to be impossible."

"I could always make you forget," I smirk maliciously, tapping on the side of his head.

He squints his eyes playfully. "You wouldn't."

Shrugging, I hook my arm in his and lead us down the walkway toward Ashwood's. "There could be others shopping here."

"Witches?" he murmurs.

"Yeah. But also other vampires, and maybe even humans."

As another question begins to roll off his tongue, I grab the door and pull it open, gesturing him inside. "I'll tell you more later. Come on."

"You better, or I'm cutting you off," he whispers into my ear, and I can't help the smile that forms on my lips.

Greyson walks past me, stepping into the apothecary, his eyes immediately scanning every inch of the main room. Crystals decorate the large table in the center of the area, from palm stones and tumbled to centerpieces and massive specimens.

But my gaze drifts to Autumn, where she stands behind the checkout counter, helping a customer who is radiating excitement.

Autumn's parents named her perfectly, an embodiment of the magical season itself. Her hair flows down her shoulders in loose waves, the shade of a pretty orange leaf in the heart of fall.

She smiles at the customer she's with, the freckles on her nose and her gorgeous green eyes scrunching up. I let Greyson wander while I make my way over to her.

"Have a great day, Maria!" Autumn chimes as she hands over the purchases in a recyclable bag with the apothecary's logo stamped onto the side.

"You too," Maria sings before spinning on her heels and striding past me with joy.

"Vivian, you look radiant as always," Autumn compliments me as I rest my hands atop the counter.

"You are always generous with your praise. You look incredible yourself."

"Why, thank you," she boasts, giving me a little twirl, the skirt of her mocha-colored dress billowing out. "What are you in for today? And…" She lowers her voice. "Is he with you?"

Nodding, I grin. "He is. I'm giving him a little introduction to our world while he stays with me, and I thought you would be the perfect place to start. Besides, I need to pick up more cookies for Lucy—she's almost out. And she gets grumpy if she doesn't have her favorite treats at the ready."

Autumn's lips part, revealing that perfect white smile. "She is my favorite customer. I'll go get a bag ready for her."

The plus side of having a witch as a friend is, well…having a witch as a friend. It's quite self-explanatory, really.

But Lucy's personal benefit is that she gets to eat cookies that lengthen her lifetime so that she gets to stay with me for a couple additional years. It won't make her live forever, but every bonus day counts.

Plus, the cookies are Lucy's favorite snack, and she would eat the entire stash all at once if I let her. They may enhance her youth, but it still won't protect her from tummy aches. Besides, the spell only works once a day. If she were to eat all of the cookies, it wouldn't have any different effect than if she only ate one.

The cookies are spelled by Autumn, a secret and a formula that only she knows. She placed this safeguard on it so that the cookies couldn't be abused to achieve immortality. That's not their purpose. And messing around with immortality is a dangerous game to play with. Magic has limitations to what it will allow before demanding great prices.

Autumn's flowy dress sways side to side as she walks toward the back rooms to get my order.

"Find anything you like?" I ask Greyson, turning to find him carefully studying the display case of ingredients.

"What could you possibly need feathers of a raven for?" he chuckles, pointing at the massive jar of black feathers.

With no one else in the store, I answer truthfully, not masking the truth for human ears. "Me personally? Nothing. But witches often use them in potions or spell enhancers. And humans typically buy them as a fun gag gift or knickknack for their own collection."

"Interesting…" He trails off, meandering from the wall of glass jars to a display of DIY potion kits. "Are these real?"

"To a human with no magic? The potions won't do anything special. But for a witch, it's an easy kit to grab and go for whatever they need."

"Hmm. Smart marketing," he mumbles, fascinated by it, and I can't help but chuckle.

"Do you want a potion kit? I'll buy you one. My treat," I offer playfully.

He flashes a glare at me. "Only if it comes with magic. Otherwise, no, thank you."

"Which one would you get?" I ask him out of curiosity.

He taps his finger on his chin as he studies the kits before grabbing one and holding it up. "This one."

"A love potion? Really? Are you worried your own charm won't be enough for a girl?"

He holds my stare firmly, not an eyelash moving from place. "Is it enough for you?"

Shit .

I don't know why that caught me so off guard, but the warmth building deep inside my chest nearly brings tears to my eyes. I don't know how he's managing to hop over every barrier I have built, but it's unnerving how much I don't seem to mind.

I wasn't entirely sure I could still have that reaction with someone. I buried those parts of myself away so deeply that they could never be found again. And I don't know whether I want to hold on to it or run far away.

My cheeks warm of their own will nonetheless, and thankfully, Autumn saves me from having to come up with something to say, "Here you go. Two scoops for the best girl."

"Are you referring to Lucy or me?" I grin.

"Lucy, duh ," she says straight-faced before she hands over the brown sack bag and a black box. "Here's the council's order for antidote potions by the way. I was going to call you this morning, but you saved me the trouble."

"Oh perfect. Thank you."

Antidote potions are used to counteract vampire venom. But they require one more ingredient before activating—the blood of the vampire who bit them. Without it, they are pretty jars full of witchy ingredients. A decoration is all they'd be good for.

We keep a large stock of them at the Barlowe, and I keep my own stock at the house. You never know when you're going to need it.

Turning, I call out to Greyson, "Are you getting anything?"

He shakes his head as he strides over to me, his hands tucked in his jean pockets, not stopping until his leg is brushing against the pantyhose on my upper thigh. "No, thank you. I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"I love your skirt, by the way, Vivian," Autumn compliments me.

Rising onto the balls of my feet and back down, I study my outfit. Black turtleneck tucked into a tight black-and-white plaid tulip skirt with black pantyhose beneath and cute black combat-style boots.

"Thanks," I murmur politely and hand her cash to cover my bill plus tip, which she carefully stows in the register.

"I'm Autumn," she greets Greyson, sticking her hand over the counter. "It is so nice to meet you. Autumn's never brought one of her bloodlings here before."

It's no secret to Autumn that Greyson is my bloodling. I don't keep humans in my company, except for during the Culling, although typically I spend mere minutes with them, and I never parade them around in public.

But at this point, the entire vampire community knows about my participation in the Culling. If they weren't at the event, I'm sure the gossip would have already traveled to them and fast.

"Is that so?" he asks, side-eyeing me while sticking his hand out to her.

The second her hand connects with his, she sucks in a sharp breath, her eyes widening and face paling. Goose bumps erupt on my arms at her reaction.

If it were anyone else, I wouldn't have thought twice, but despite Autumn's petite size, her power is immaculately strong.

Opening my senses up to her, I am knocked back by the intense surprise, confusion, and worry.

"What?" I bite out, demanding to know what she's thinking.

She studies him quizzically. "I don't know." She pauses like she's trying to decipher what just happened. "I felt your energy intertwined with his. I've never experienced that before. It was…very odd."

Well, what the fuck does that mean?

"It's probably just me having an off day. It happens all of the time, more than I would like to admit." She laughs painfully, but I don't miss the forcefulness of her breath or the denial emanating from her that she couldn't hide if she tried.

Holding her stare, I give her a look that I know she'll understand. One that says, We'll discuss this later.

She nods before planting a smile on her lips. "I'm sure I will see you both again soon."

"Bye, Autumn!" Looping my arm in Greyson's, I lead us out of the door.

Greyson clears his throat. "Was that weird to you? Or just weird to me? Although, right now, everything is weird to me."

I chuckle. "Probably just you. Autumn is always like that though—she can't help it. Her magic is strong, and sometimes it can be uncontrollable. I'm sure that's what happened back there. She was probably just confusing our energies."

"Our energies?" he asks, and I realize I should probably explain myself.

"Witches can sense people's energy either by touch or scent. It depends on the witch and their bloodline. It's how they know who is who at their core and what they are. Every individual has their own energy wave. Like how humans tell others apart from their fingerprints and DNA, witches do so with energy. Like she said, she has off days. I'm sure that's why she thought she sensed my energy on you."

"Could it have just rubbed off? Like from last night?" he asks as we near my car.

Shrugging, I brush off his concern. "Yeah, probably. I don't know exactly how it works."

He seems to accept my answer, and I don't say another word about it.

But that couldn't be further from the truth. I know all about witches and their energy readings. What I don't understand is why my energy was recognizable in him. I need to see her again without Greyson. She held back, not wanting to scare him, but I need the truth because Autumn knew that sensing my energy in him should be impossible, but she lied.

And so did I.