Order of the Omni: A Supernatural Romantic Suspense Novel (The Immortalies Book 1) Penny Knight (100 best novels of all time TXT) 📖

would regenerate the crystal the more you drew from it. The last two days you were recovering from withdrawals from magic. And also, physically recovering from your muscles being ninety percent contracted for nearly twenty-four hours.”

I gulp.

“Oh,” I say, eventually. What else is there to say?

“Elita, you don’t need it.” He leans forward. “You are very capable of mastering it without magic. You’ve proven the night you saved that woman.”

“But it wasn’t like what I experienced after the explosion. My mind completely opened.”

“Yes, it must have been a combination of factors. Being unprepared, hitting your head, and the crystal breaking,” he says.

“But even without the amulet, if I bumped my head, would I not go to the dark place?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” He sits back. “I didn’t know you were unable to be around anyone but Immortals. Once you were pulled out of the darkness, Topher couldn’t come back in without you physically being in pain. That is when your withdrawals started.”

“Ok, so if the crystal was broken, how did I get this back?”

His face hardens.

My eyes go wide. Franziska?

“Topher visited the woman who made it for you. I am sure he has more to tell you from that visit.” His tone was definitely not happy.

Shit.

I bet Franziska would be even less happy. This is gonna suck.

“You are resisting accepting the truth about this world. You cannot rely on magic. I don’t know why you are so inclined to use it, but it will ultimately kill you, and in the meantime, you have given the witches everything they need to totally be in control of you as a human.”

How the hell did I do that? Wait, he’s right, the question is why I didn’t see that.

If I was in withdrawals, then this amulet is my drug, and Franziska my dealer. I love her and I know she only wants to help.

“She would never use it against me,” I say to him. “Never.”

“Never is a long time,” he says.

“I already have an extremely short list of people that mean something to me, Leo. Please don’t take another one off the list. You don’t know her like I do.”

“Fine,” he concedes. “But you have to promise me you will make it a priority to learn how to use your powers without it.”

“Can we not use the word powers?” I scrunch up my nose.

“From the woman who coined the term sun power? You are going to turn your nose up at powers?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Fine, if I somehow make it out of this shit storm alive… wait. How many days do we have left? If I was out three, that means two before I might end up kaput. I promise if I am still breathing, I will make it a priority to learn how to master my powers, Sensei. But I have one condition.” I sit back and wait for his response.

“I would be disappointed if you didn’t.”

I smile.

His eyes glisten.

“I want to find my mother before then. I want to know where I came from. No, I need to know where I came from.”

And why she left me for the men that followed. I need to know that before I die, and if there is a possibility that’s in a couple of days, I want to know before then.

He doesn’t hesitate.

“Anything you need for that to happen I will facilitate. And just so we are clear, where you go, I go. From now until the sun rises after the eclipse, and you’re safe.”

“No complaints with me. I’m over life and death experiences for a while.”

“It’s settled, we will organise a secure location for the transit. But we will make one stop along the way. We just need to find her address.”

My stomach drops.

After all these years avoiding temptation to investigate her, I’m about to finally jump down the rabbit hole and look for the worst person I have ever known.

My mother.

The next two days went by quick. I didn’t leave the penthouse. Lucky I was in isolation in a five-star hotel. The balcony gave me the fresh air I needed.

I hardly saw Leo. I mean, he did check in every few hours ensuring I was still safe and haven’t, as he liked to say, wandered into trouble.

But I didn’t have time even if I wanted to deviate away from the nice safe plan. I was serious about no more life and death experiences. The reason I didn’t have time, is that there was a lot of damage control to do with Topher.

It was a quick cycle through emotions, but it did take up one whole day. First, he was in tears of relief that I was not a walking zombie junkie. But then anger took its place. And, wow, was he pissed that I made him leave me there.

It was a whole mess of a shit storm for a bit but, as always, we found our way back. And he spent yesterday on the ‘let’s get Elita back to eating delicious food and smiling again’ train.

It worked.

Mostly.

I won’t lie, dread has been building to this moment. This is the day I’m going to confront my mother.

Leo, Topher, Broderick and the usual crew of men are waiting in the lobby. I needed some extra time to make sure I could control the shaking in my hands. A few extra minutes in the cold shower.

Breathing exercises. Calming meditation that Franziska had always tried to teach me. I’m pulling from every source I can, crazy or not. Whether or not I believed in it. I’m desperate at this point.

The elevator opens.

I’m ready to go.

I see the men and I don’t break stride. With my travel bag hanging off my shoulder, I almost reach them when I hear something that completely floors me.

“Elita.” A man’s voice calls out. I freeze. Not any voice. Brian’s.

“Elita!” He calls again louder, and I turn. His large frame is already in front of me. “What the fuck?” He looks me up and down. “Are you