Vulnerable: Book 1 of the Magic Mutations Series | ✓

33: The Start of the Next Adventure

"Fun night, Ollie?" Lukas asked as he sat down next to me, a spoon of cereal midway to my mouth.

"Excuse me?" I replied.

But he wiggled his eyebrows at me in response.

Absolutely mortified and face so red you could probably fry an egg on it, I hit him on the arm.

"Ow! Zappy! Watch what you do with that."

"Don't make embarrassing comments," I warned him.

"Then keep your moans down in future."

"Lukas!"

He snickered at me, but it didn't quite meet his eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, noticing the tinge of sadness to his gaze.

His eyebrows furrowed momentarily, but then he shook his head. "Glad to see you're happy, is all." He placed a hand on my shoulder, eyes scrunching up at the painful touch before he got up, and walked over to the kitchen to take some pills. On his way out of the kitchen, he paused in the doorway, turning back to me. "And glad to hear you'll be moving in with us, Ollie."

If I thought my face was red before, it was even more red now. "You heard everything..."

He touched his ear. "Vampire hearing, remember?"

"Oh my gosh!" I buried my face in my hands, and listened to his laugh echo down the hallway and stairwell as he walked away.

· · ───── ∘☽༓☾∘ ───── · ·

Bags packed and loaded into the cab, I took one last glance around at the surroundings before climbing in. Winter was quickly creeping in. The Hammersmith streets had a glow to them, freshly wet from the rain that had just subsided. All the trees in the neighbouring park had withered under the brisk weather, shrivelling up and falling to the ground, swept away long ago, leaving only the baren branches behind.

As I ducked my head, lowering into the cab, I wondered if I would still see this place the same when I came back. If London would still have its dreary, yet somehow vibrant, hue to it when I returned, or if my new life as a magical being would see the mundane world grow dim.

But I did my best to shove those thoughts out of my mind for another day.

Sliding to the furthest seat, Ben slid into the middle bench spot, with Erica being the last to climb in. Across from us on the fold-down seats sat Jayce and Lukas.

Reaching around to grab my seatbelt, I accidentally nudged Lukas's knee with mine, causing him to jump slightly at the jolt of shocks I sent through to him.

"Sorry!" I said.

He shook his head. "You zap me all the time and mean it. Don't sweat it this time, Ollie."

We shared a grin for a moment, but as Erica closed the cab door, a sound echoing through the vehicle, she said, "Oh how exciting is this?"

At once, the same worries from outside came rushing back, amplified as the cab began to move.

I turned my head out the window as Ben, Erica, and Jayce began to chat about all their plans, where we were staying, sight-seeing schedules, and theories on activating my power (Erica had put a spell on the backseat of course). As hard as I tried to distract myself by the city landscape, brick buildings, and various car and foot traffic, my mind kept slipping back to the same thoughts.

What if we can't find it?

What if it doesn't work?

What if I'm not actually a fairy?