Although I didn’t want to admit that I had dark magic, even to myself, I finally broke down after a rosy-cheeked maiden brought us a round of ales.
“Morgan suspected that Eva and I have demon magic. Today, she tested us for it.” I took a huge swig of the ale and winced.
If people thought cheap beer in the present sucked, they didn’t know anything about ale in the past. It was disgusting, but considering my current state of mind, necessary.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Hunter said loudly, earning him a few strange looks from other patrons.
Thank the universe we chose the back table.
No matter how hard we tried, or how on point the clothes M&M lent us were, we stood out in the past.
Hunter twisted to Eva. “Sugar, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Eva shrugged. “I’m still processing. And Odie didn’t mention anything either, so I figured she wasn’t ready.”
The others quieted, obviously not sure if they should push it, but Eva’s words had a different effect on me. Her admission that she had been waiting for me to feel ready took the sting out of her keeping quiet about her possible use of black magic in London.
Even though we were besties, bonded by being demon-touched, and shared practically everything, she was right. Sometimes, people just weren’t quite ready to share, even over-sharers like Eva. I needed to remember that. And cut her some major slack.
“Will you tell us the rest?” Diana asked, cutting through the careful silence.
Eva’s hand traveled to her scar. “Apparently, the magic seeped in when the demons touched us, but was activated after we went to Hell. I have no idea how Morgan knew that. I suspect that she’s been studying up on Hell. You know, to close the Hellgate at one point or another.”
Alex’s blue eyes had grown wider and wider as I spoke. “So if you hadn’t saved me, you wouldn’t have dark magic?”
“Don’t blame yourself,” I insisted. “There’s no way we’d have let you rot in Hell. We were always going to come get you.” I took another gulp of ale and set the heavy mug down with athunk. “Actually, Morgan thinks this might be a good thing.”
“How so?” Diana leaned forward. Out of all of us, she was the only one who seemed calm about this information.
“Because if we can harness demon magic, then we can fight the royals with power that rivals their own.”
“Will Morgan and Merlin teach you?” Hunter asked.
Eva shifted uncomfortably, and I gulped, sure this next part wouldn’t go over well.
I leaned in closer. We might be a fair distance from other patrons, and they were definitely a little intimidated by us, but they were also a curious crowd. We didn’t need any eavesdroppers listening in on this conversation.
“We have to timewalk again,” I said barely above a whisper. “To a period when a black witch who mastered demon magic might have lived.”
Alex’s spine stiffened. “That’s dangerous. Foolish, even. Black witchesreportto demons.”
I bit my lip. There was no denying that truth. If a witch had acquired black magic, they’d only done so by making a deal with a royal demon. What would stop them from turning us in to their demon master?
“It’s our best shot,” Eva argued. “Not only will it even the playing field, there’s a chance that mastering black magic will keep the royals from possessing us.”
“It’s an interesting idea . . .” Diana hummed. “I’ll be honest, it almost makes me wish that I was demon-touched.”
“Don’t say that,” I retorted, annoyed by the flippant remark.
“I’m serious. You two are embarrassed and ashamed right now, but you have an actual shot at ending this.” Diana shrugged. “Call me power-hungry or whatever you want, but after what the demons and the Dark Court have done, I want a hand in ending them. Just like they’ve stolen the lives from so many others.” Her eyes dimmed a little.
Suddenly, I realized that while Diana mightseemlike she wanted glory and recognition, her true motivation went deeper. Her best friend had been one of our classmates killed by the devils.
While I hadn’t thought about Tabitha Goode in a while, Diana probably remembered her every day.
“You’re right,” I conceded.”We didn’t ask for this, and shouldn’t be ashamed. Especially when this magic has the potential to help.” I sucked in a breath, knowing that Alex was going to hate this next part. “Which is why Morgan and I are leaving tomorrow. We’re not sure for how long. She wants me to practice timewalking before we take Eva. Maybe we’ll even find a black witch willing to help on one of these trips.”
“Tomorrow?” Predictably, Alex’s jaw tightened.If he didn’t cool it, he’d probably crack his teeth.
