“Are you going to tell your dad?”
He turned back toward me. “No.”
“Thanks.”
He blew out his breath. “I know everything sucks right now, but I promise it will get better.”
My lips twisted, but I said nothing. He was trying to console me. I knew it was genuine, but he didn’t understand. It would never be better.
I didn’t want to be a blind soldier like him.
“Yeah. I guess I’m gonna go put this stuff back.”
“Do you want to eat first? I’m starving.”
“Sure.” I shrugged.
I watched him move around the kitchen, whistling as he went. It was hard to picture that this was the same boy who’d shot the shifter multiple times and would spend the rest of his life hunting monsters. In a way, I pitied him. He hadn’t asked for this life either and instead of fighting back, he’d accepted it.
I could never do that.
“Did you just put hot sauce in the pan?”
He whipped toward me. “Yup. Cholula.”
I made a face.
He shook the spatula at me. “Have you tried it before?”
“Not in an omelet. Gross. No.”
“Then you can’t say anything until you’ve tried it.”
With an exaggerated bow he set the plate in front of me and handed me a fork. My stomach rumbled at the sight of the steaming egg, potato, and veggies. He turned back to plate his own and joined me. Unlike the massive dining table we’d eaten at yesterday, the kitchen table was small and cozy.
“Oh. Wait. You’re gonna need something to drink with that.” He stood up and walked to the fridge. “What do you want?”
“Water is fine.”
“Bubbly or regular?”
My eyebrow arched. “Regular water is fine.”
He filled up two glasses for us and rejoined me. I thanked him and blew on the omelet before taking my first bite.
To my surprise, Javi was as good of a cook as his mom was. The hot sauce had a strong kick, but it was tempered by the avocado he’d thrown on top. Still, I devoured the omelet too quickly, burning my tongue.
Javi gave me a smug smile. “See? Not so gross now, huh?”
I chugged down the water and sighed. “It’s good. I didn’t know you could cook.”
“Mama taught me.”
A pain blossomed in my chest. If my mom had lived, would she have taught me? It wasn’t the first time I felt the sting of my loss, but it had been a long time since I’d really thought about it.
Pushing away the emotions, I sat back in the chair and eyed my cousin. “So, aren’t you supposed to be at magic school?”
He tensed. “It’s not magic school. This isn’t Harry Potter. It’s advanced, serious training. Anyway, I got excused from classes. Family matter. But today I’m taking you over to see the campus.”
My eyes snapped to his. We were leaving the house? Hope rose inside me. Already my brain ran the scenarios, planning a way to get away from him.
“If you’re thinking about running away again, stop.” His words shattered my thoughts.
I frowned. “I’m not.”
He scoffed and scraped the rest of his omelet off his plate. “Before we go, I thought we could start a little training here.”
My lip curled.
“See if you have any skill with a weapon.” His eyes flashed with excitement.
“No thanks.”
His smile faltered. “There’s not a lot else to do before my dad takes us over to the academy. Unless you want to listen to my dad’s lecture on GRIMM protocols.”
“Fine. Weapons it is.”
The smile returned once again.
I bit back a groan and stood to carry my plate and cup to the sink. I stared at the decorative plaque hanging above the double sink. Two flamenco dancers painted in vibrant reds and oranges. Beautiful, but a strange choice for the kitchen.
“Your mom painted that,” Javi interrupted.
I spun around to face him. “She did? Why is it here?”
He shrugged. “It was saved with abuela’s stuff. Must have been when your mom was young. Mama wanted to keep it and thought it would brighten the kitchen.”
I stared at the picture again as if it could reveal secrets of my mother—who she had really been and if I was anything like her.
“You can leave the dishes there. Anya will get them.” Javi broke my thoughts.
I’d already washed the egg off, so I slipped it into the dishwasher along with my cup. Turning back to Javi, I sized him up.
There was no kidding myself into believing this would be a fair match up. I’d never hit as many targets as he could. He was a freaking hulk with a gun. I’d never shot anything before, and my only experience with swords was my failed lessons with fencing. Papi insisted I try the sport because it had been Mama’s favorite, but I was terrible at it.
Shaking off the memory, I sighed. “Let’s go.”
Javi led me to the gym. He could barely contain his excitement at the prospect of teaching me how to fight. While the idea of being able to defend myself against future monsters was appealing, a part of me worried what would happen if I started letting my guard down too much. I wouldn’t be turned into a mindless soldier.
I needed to remember my goal. Escape and then I could spend the rest of my life… in hiding.
Once inside, Javi motioned me toward the back wall and pushed the button to slide the wall panel. I still couldn’t get over the fact they had their own secret store of weapons. It was like something you’d see in a superhero movie.
Some of the weapons took up the whole wall, and I’d never seen the likes of them before. What did they do? All I could tell was that they were gigantic and could probably cause a lot of damage. Apparently, it was perfectly legal to own such weapons. I was beginning to realize that the same rules didn’t apply to the insanely wealthy or maybe
